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SHADOW MAN (DC)
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Publisher: Acclaim.
Developer: Acclaim Studios Teeside. Released: January 2000 (Europe). Genre: Action/Adventure. Other versions: PC; N64; PS. Posted 8th July 2024. By Shane Battams © 2024 |
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Shadow Man proved one of Acclaim’s most ambitious, prolific releases to come from their late-nineties catalogue, seeing their Teesside studio putting another of Valiant’s comic properties to good use. The technology of the time proved an issue, with the PlayStation version in particular suffering from a myriad of compromises and horrendous visuals. The arrival of the Dreamcast port some months later seemed like the ideal scenario, with SEGA’s sixth-generation system perhaps better equipped to facilitate this ambitious adventure fully. While there are some troubles familiar to Acclaim’s output that still linger, Shadow Man boasts enough pros to overcome them.
Based on the comic series of the same name, Shadow Man sees Michael LeRoi as the titular defender of both Liveside and Deadside. A voodoo warrior imbued with the Mask of Shadows in his chest, Michael begins his journey to recover the dark souls before Legion and his band of serial killers, including Jack the Ripper, can use its power to bring about the apocalypse. The mix of voodoo, horror and demonic forces proves a compelling brew, with dark cut-scenes bolstered by great voice acting and morose writing which paints a vivid image of the trials you face. Redd Pepper, a man best known for his trailer voiceovers, lends his deep tones to voice Shadow Man, and proves a great fit. For the time, Shadow Man boasted one of the stronger stories in the medium.
Michael LeRoi begins his journey in Liveside, becoming Shadow Man when he enters Deadside
This captivating world ties nicely into Shadow Man’s structure, which offers very open-ended design. Upon entering Deadside, it soon becomes clear that the world is large, encourages exploration and is filled with hidden paths. It’s daunting at first, with the lack of a map system adding to this, but it also proves immensely rewarding. The key to exploration is linked to two aspects: equipment and dark souls. As you search both the Wasteland hubs and individual stages, you’ll find plenty of items to aid your navigation. These include tattoos that allow traversal lava, blood waterfalls and swim in boiling water, turning previous hazards into further places to explore. Dark Souls, of which there are 120, increase LeRoi’s power and allows you to open Soul Gates that often lead to more levels or items of interest. It’s a rewarding loop that sees you growing Michael’s power with an immense feeling of satisfaction, even if the slower pace of exploration may turn off the impatient.
It results in a robust experience that should take anywhere between twenty and thirty hours to finish. While the adventure sees you mostly exploring Deadside, including the multi-level Asylum, which offers deranged horrors aplenty, the rare trips to Liveside are just as grim. Often seeing Michael encounter deranged serial killers who follow Legion, these require thorough exploration just to reach them, with unsettling barriers barring progress. Finding all 120 souls isn’t essential, but a good majority and the power they brings are important, necessitating return visits to each location. Luckily, warp points allow you to move between areas. A slew of other secrets, including cheats both helpful and outlandish, add even more to the game.
It results in a robust experience that should take anywhere between twenty and thirty hours to finish. While the adventure sees you mostly exploring Deadside, including the multi-level Asylum, which offers deranged horrors aplenty, the rare trips to Liveside are just as grim. Often seeing Michael encounter deranged serial killers who follow Legion, these require thorough exploration just to reach them, with unsettling barriers barring progress. Finding all 120 souls isn’t essential, but a good majority and the power they brings are important, necessitating return visits to each location. Luckily, warp points allow you to move between areas. A slew of other secrets, including cheats both helpful and outlandish, add even more to the game.
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It helps that playing Shadow Man is just as fun as exploring. A gaggle of monsters risk ending your journey sharpish, but LeRoi comes armed with his Shadowgun, as well as other weapons found along the way including real world firearms, a voodoo fireball shooter and a shield powered by energy. All combat relies on targeting not unlike 3D Zelda, and it feels pretty tight, with several zoom modes allowing you to account for tighter spaces. You can even aim in first-person if needed, though it does leave you vulnerable to attack. Platforming works well too, allowing you to jump across platforms, shimmy across ledges and perform a leap backwards. While Michael can slip off ledges at points, the controls feel responsive for the most part. There are even some cool touches, like how having items equipped prevents you from clinging to ledges or holding a gun while climbing a rope allows you to shoot while hanging. Although deaths send you back to warp points, key actions that open up paths remain recorded, reducing frustration.
Shadow Man oozes dark style, something immediately apparent when you step into the blood pools of Marrow Gates. The world is equal parts unsettling and fascinating, mixing voodoo motifs, underworld ruins and harrowing abominations to great success. The Dreamcast port was the first console version to bring this world to life without compromise, offering cleaner visuals and smoother performance that’s almost on a par with the PC release. While aspects such as character models still appear low-poly, and stutters occur in more intense situations, it’s still good for the time. The sound retains much of the quality from the earlier versions, including extensive voice acting, high quality sounds and top-notch music. Sadly, some bugs detract from these highs, such as music transitioning poorly between tracks and pausing causing the music to play twice, destroying your ears. These issues are a shame, but perhaps to be expected from Acclaim ports to the console. This being said, it proved a much better conversion than some of their other transitions to Dreamcast.
Shadow Man oozes dark style, something immediately apparent when you step into the blood pools of Marrow Gates. The world is equal parts unsettling and fascinating, mixing voodoo motifs, underworld ruins and harrowing abominations to great success. The Dreamcast port was the first console version to bring this world to life without compromise, offering cleaner visuals and smoother performance that’s almost on a par with the PC release. While aspects such as character models still appear low-poly, and stutters occur in more intense situations, it’s still good for the time. The sound retains much of the quality from the earlier versions, including extensive voice acting, high quality sounds and top-notch music. Sadly, some bugs detract from these highs, such as music transitioning poorly between tracks and pausing causing the music to play twice, destroying your ears. These issues are a shame, but perhaps to be expected from Acclaim ports to the console. This being said, it proved a much better conversion than some of their other transitions to Dreamcast.
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Shadow Man showing off his platforming chops
Shadow Man remains one of the most ambitious games of its time, melding expansive exploration with voodoo horror, compelling storytelling and oodles of content to a great whole. While a lack of polish and cerebral pacing did turn off some at the time, it still remains a distinctive adventure some decades later. While it doesn’t take full advantage of the hardware, the Dreamcast release proved perhaps the strongest of its console brethren. Those looking for a dark, engrossing yarn to lose themselves in (and aren’t averse to some exploration) should check out this one out.
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VERDICT
"Melding expansive exploration, compelling storytelling and oodles of content, Shadow Man represents a strong Dreamcast port that remains a cerebral and distinctive adventure." OVERALL: 8/10 |
OTHER GAMES WITH ATMOSPHERIC SETTINGS REVIEWED
Soul Reaver 2 (2001, PlayStation 2)
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BioShock (2008, PlayStation 3)
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PIXEL SECONDS: SHADOW MAN (PS)
The PlayStation iteration of Shadow Man scores its 6/10 in the most unorthodox of manners. This isn’t what we’d think of as a middling game in the conventional sense. Thematically and in terms of level design, it’s absolutely brilliant. Deadside proves a magnificent setting, a vast location populated by ambitious, varied landscapes. Each level drips with voodoo atmosphere, and places a focus on expansive, rewarding platforming. It also features a myriad of unusual weapons and a host of secrets to further motivate those willing to comb over the surroundings. Michael LeRoi is a cool central figure, and the game is further propelled by an awesome, gritty soundtrack. There are shades of Tomb Raider, and of Soul Reaver. The game’s problems stem from catastrophic performance issues that blight the PlayStation version. The game looks awful, and runs worse. Shadow Man suffers from frame rate issues that are as extensive as I’ve ever seen in a PlayStation title, performing consistently well below average and reducing a handful of levels to little more than a slideshow. More broadly, animation is jerky (you’ll have fun seeing the hero appear to levitate up ladders on a single pose) whilst surrounds lurch and wobble to a vomit-inducing degree. The controls feel lethargic and unresponsive, and this also impacts on what might otherwise have been some promising third-person shooting. Acclaim’s inability to optimise the game to the system left PlayStation gamers with something of a conundrum: whether to play a game comprised of excellent content, that struggled to run it. I found Shadow Man fun and engrossing, but the sheer extent of its technical hindrances cannot be overlooked. If you have the luxury of choice, prioritise the Dreamcast version, which followed shortly afterwards. [6] – Tom Clare © 2024
The PlayStation iteration of Shadow Man scores its 6/10 in the most unorthodox of manners. This isn’t what we’d think of as a middling game in the conventional sense. Thematically and in terms of level design, it’s absolutely brilliant. Deadside proves a magnificent setting, a vast location populated by ambitious, varied landscapes. Each level drips with voodoo atmosphere, and places a focus on expansive, rewarding platforming. It also features a myriad of unusual weapons and a host of secrets to further motivate those willing to comb over the surroundings. Michael LeRoi is a cool central figure, and the game is further propelled by an awesome, gritty soundtrack. There are shades of Tomb Raider, and of Soul Reaver. The game’s problems stem from catastrophic performance issues that blight the PlayStation version. The game looks awful, and runs worse. Shadow Man suffers from frame rate issues that are as extensive as I’ve ever seen in a PlayStation title, performing consistently well below average and reducing a handful of levels to little more than a slideshow. More broadly, animation is jerky (you’ll have fun seeing the hero appear to levitate up ladders on a single pose) whilst surrounds lurch and wobble to a vomit-inducing degree. The controls feel lethargic and unresponsive, and this also impacts on what might otherwise have been some promising third-person shooting. Acclaim’s inability to optimise the game to the system left PlayStation gamers with something of a conundrum: whether to play a game comprised of excellent content, that struggled to run it. I found Shadow Man fun and engrossing, but the sheer extent of its technical hindrances cannot be overlooked. If you have the luxury of choice, prioritise the Dreamcast version, which followed shortly afterwards. [6] – Tom Clare © 2024