The Paw Print

By Cameron Smith

About Shadow the Hedgehog

Shadow the Hedgehog is an action-adventure third-person shooter game developed by Sonic Team and published by SEGA. As one of the first-ever spin offs in the world-popular Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise, this dark-shaded quest was released for the Xbox, Playstation 2, and Nintendo GameCube platforms on November 15, 2005. In this game, join the ever-serious Shadow as he searches for answers to his past and fights against a mysterious extraterrestrial adversary.

Plot: A+

Shadow allowing Sonic to accompany him during an in-game cutscene

The planet Earth is under attack by mysterious alien beings known as the Black Arms. Shadow the Hedgehog, suffering from amnesia, fights against various forces and searches for the powerful Chaos Emeralds to answer questions about his past, his purpose, and his ideals. But the real question is…what side will he choose? Will he save the world? Will he conquer it? Or will he abandon it? The choice…is up to YOU!

Gameplay: A-

Shadow traversing the game’s first stage, Westopolis

In Shadow the Hedgehog, blast through six stages filled with robots, aliens and a boundless amount of hazards. Shadow can not only rely on his Homing Attack and Spin Dash moves to defeat enemies, he can also use various forms of firearms to damage enemies from afar. During Shadow’s adventure, you have the choice to take three different paths that splits the game’s plot line into ten endings, each of them more diverse than the other. What would happen if Shadow helped Sonic and his friends, as well as the government military force G.U.N? What would happen if he sided with Dr. Eggman or the Black Arms? The choices you make in the game will affect which ending you’ll be resulted with. Play as much as you can and decide Shadow’s fate!

Reception: C+

Shadow the Hedgehog received mixed-to-average reviews from critics. Metacritic gave the GameCube port a 51/100. Other ratings include a 8/10 from Nintendo Power, a 4/10 from GameInformer, two stars from AllPlay and GameSpy, and a 4.9/10 from IGN for the GameCube and Xbox platforms. The game was criticized for its sense of maturity, controls, level design, and the use of guns and firearms, although it received praise for replay value. Despite the mixed reviews, Shadow the Hedgehog was considered the best game in 2005 by the Official Jetix Magazine and was named the best platformer of 2005 by Nintendo Power. The GameCube port even earned a Nintendo Selects Player’s Choice label for its popularity. Here is a comment made about the game by the Official Xbox Magazine: “Don’t worry, Shadow the Hedgehog isn’t half as ‘urban’ or quite as ‘gangsta’ as it first seems.” The critic who wrote this comment also panned the game’s mature narrative, which was meant to rope in older audiences. The game was criticized for its “laughable” and nonsensical plot and that various Sonic conventions undermined the game’s attempt to sound “mature” and “edgy.”

ESRB Rating:

Rated E10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Language.