Shadow of Destiny
Review of Shadow of Destiny
One fine afternoon Eike finds himself leaving the café after enjoying a cup of Joe. Bright, sunny, who could ask for a more perfect day? Who? Ill tell you who, an assassin.
For as Eike is nearing the town square a person lunges toward him, but not head on, no, for this is a sneaky and devious person. The knife lodges firmly between the shoulder blades of Eike, bringing him smashing to the ground, bleeding and doe eyed, staring at death. Much to his surprise though, somehow he has awoken in a strange place. A creature is there, represented only by an ominous voice that echoes throughout the room…ready to give Eike another shot, another chance to alter his fate, to bend his destiny.
Starting the game was a simple and straightforward task. Menus and options are presented in an appealing manner with ease of use. Control of Eike is handled very smoothly with the Analog sticks or the D-pad. Inventory management is just as smooth. By pressing a button you are presented with a side bar that contains all your possessions. You may navigate through these and use them if need be. One feature thats nice is that inventory items cannot be used or disposed of incorrectly.
Making your way around the town is very easy and a map is also provided to aid in your journey. This games control is a non-factor, with a simple easy interface, the entire meat of this game is in the story and puzzles.
Speaking of puzzles, there are quite a few. Scattered throughout are the main events/puzzles, and the side events/puzzles. Some of the main events can be fairly easy, but a lot of what will end up influencing the story, and inevitably the ending, are the side events, which can end up being a bit trickier.
Granted the game-play does start out rather slow and the time travel concept takes some getting used to, but rest assured, it picks up nicely. I had an excellent time following the story and watching the cut-scenes. The replay value is also very high. Plenty of multiple endings await Eike, and rest assured, they are totally different. Nothing bothers me more than playing a game to get an alternative ending, just to find its nearly the same as the original one.
The graphics are a mixed bag. There can be incredible detail in the characters and scenery at one moment and then in another you are presented with low textures and low polygon layout. Overall though, the majority of the game is very well done. The character models are detailed and almost life-like. There is only minimal fog used to cover far away buildings, but no pop-up to speak of.
The detail can be impressive. Inside of buildings within the town, pieces of furniture and objects are well rendered and laid out in a believable fashion. Although the city streets are only sparsely populated, the detail that is given to the characters is enough to make you not even care about the quantity.
The background music does do a nice job to set the often-eerie mood, but I would have liked just a bit more emphasis in this area. Music and background noises do change along with the time period you are in, but more detail would have put the game in a better setting.
I really loved the voice acting in Shadow of Destiny. Aside from a scene or two, out of many, you are presented with passionate and well-written dialog. Sometimes characters can go on for minutes telling their tale or giving you background, but never was I feeling impatient to skip the scene. The story and the well-rounded way in which it is presented make this an adventure game you want to experience.
OUR PLEDGE: We promise that we have fully played 'Shadow of Destiny' before writing this review. The scores given above are our honest opinion and were not influenced in any way by the manufacturer or distributor of the game.
This review was written by Robert Gibson © Absolute PlayStation
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