Shadow Madness |
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Saturday July 3,1999 |
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Shadow Madness |
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Saturday July 3,1999 |
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A nice adventure is waiting for you ! |
There have been several role-playing games coming from Japan recently. Those have had much success in North America, the Final Fantasy series for example, which returned with more than seven editions bearing the same name. But competing with it is a US company, eager to prove a good role-playing game does not have to come from Japan. To that end, Crave Entertainment has released their first title for the playstation console: Shadow Madness. The story starts in Arkose, a fantasy world. You are an adventurer named Stinger, who has witnessed the massacre of his village. He believes he is the only survivor of this catastrophe, before he walks through the village and see the villagers suffering from a strange malady. When you are about to leave the village, you meet Winfall, a mage. He is also hurt by the destruction of the village. Shortly after you meet a farm robot which lost it's Master because of the evil about. You decide then to leave and search for the cause of the destruction and the misfortunes that have struck the population. During your travels in this world, you will face many enemies and creatures. The interface is similar to Final Fantasy VII. First you choose how to respond to the enemy (aggressively, normally, or defensively). Your characters with magical abilities can use them to attack or help partners, others can use their weapons. A unique feature of Shadow Madness is the capability to avoid undesirable meetings and fights, by listening closely to the sounds of the game. When you hear a noise, you can hit L1 and R1 to squat down, and nine times out of ten the enemy sill leave without seeing you. This helps to get greatly when you want to go to the next stage of your adventure quickly. The disadvantage is your characters will not gain experience or improve their skills.
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Some parts of this game are a little tiring. At times your movement is limited. You may arrive at a gate that is locked with a key. You think you can force it open, but no, it says it cannot be opened. Also, when you need to buy new equipment for your characters at the store, it is impossible to tell if the parts they have are better than the one your character already wears. You have to buy it first. The graphics are good, they do not work like the famous Final Fantasy VII system, where you move a character in 3D over a 2D background, but are still good. Despite everything else, there is very beautiful scenery, done completely in 3D. This game should be seen and played like a beautiful story, with characters having interesting histories and dialogue. At the beginning you do not really know the story of each character, but as you advance in your search you learn more about each. This is one good point, because a long introduction at the beginning can be annoying, and unrealistic. The gradual story in this game is a pleasure. It is necessary for you to have some patience before learning the whole story. Shadow Madness has a good story, graphics, music and sounds. It is a very good rpg, but one which needs some experience in role-playing, because amateur role-players will have to show a lot of patience to enjoy the game fully. Nevertheless if they succeed in playing through to the end, anyone would appreciate this game which will entertain everyone with its rich story, discoveries, and good combat. |
Companies Developer: Publisher Category NOTES Interest : 80 % TOTAL : 80 % Requirements Console: Number of players: Analog Control Vibration function ESRB
Rating Jean - François Dignard Master J |
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