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Yes, it's true. Remember the
television series 'Quantum Leap'? This is its videogame
adaptation. Indeed, Shadow of Destiny's hero is also an insecure
dude -who desperately needs a haircut- whose task is to travel
in time to change history and prevent unfortunate events to
happen (including his own death): coincidence? I don't think so.
The likeness between the two is so striking that it forced me to
scrutinize the credits to see if my idol's name was in
there: alas, he's in Enterprise now. But 'Quantum Leap'
and Shadow of Destiny are one and the same.
Except that the hero is German. And that he doesn't have a
computer to assist him during his quest. And that he's a good
actor.
Actually, forget I said anything.
Shadow of Destiny takes place in a small European town named
Lebensbaum. While it doesn't match the twisted atmosphere of
Silent Hill, it induces strange sentiments in a subtler manner:
spooky characters and gloomy architectures were preferred to fog
and light effects, and I must admit it works perfectly. It gives
the game a unique feel that enhances the player's desire to
explore every detail of the game. Too bad there isn't much to
discover.
Remember when the games were all about gameplay? I think I do,
but I'm not too sure.
Shadow of Destiny belongs to the genre created by the mythical
Dragon's Lair: it's an interactive movie. In a time where most
adventure games want you to take total control of the hero and
let you perform triple jumps while shooting the bad guys or lean
out from behind walls to spy your enemies, it looks
anachronistic. It's simply a game from another time.
Calling the gameplay limited is like calling terrorism a plague.
Both are undeniable truths. About forty percent of this game is
sorely constituted of running around the city to pick up random
items or to talk to certain characters: at least you won't break
your controller because of this game... The controls are simple
and intuitive for the only reason that there is little to
control. Alas, even more so than in other survival horror games,
it gets tiresome quite fast. You see Shadow of Destiny isn't so
much about exploration than it is about solving puzzles.
Strangely enough, this game starts with a murder: your own.
However, you will be given a precious item called the digipad,
allowing you to change the course of your tragic destiny and,
more importantly, to seek revenge. Immersed in protagonist Eike
Kusch's world, you will face everyone's worst fear a dozen
times. But his primary concern is to find out who wants to kill
him -and why-, with the help of a mysterious individual named
Homunculus. The plot is absolutely grand, to the point that I'd
rate it among the best stories in a videogame ever. It isn't
spoiling much to say that anything can happen in this freaky
environment so you can get ready for interesting plot twists
even Agatha Christie wouldn't have made fun of.
Each of ten chapters starts in the same fashion: you first
witness Eike's death, then travel back in time before the
unfortunate event and must find a way to prevent it. Most of the
time, it isn't a difficult task: you just need to bring a
particular item to a character from another time. The
differences between the various eras are rendered in a smart
way: the colors used for each of them are very different and are
reinforced by the variable weather.
Shadow of Destiny looks great. Fantastic. While the town is
highly detailed and looks realistic, it's the characters that
make this game truly shine. Their animation is breathtaking and
their features seem extremely human. The clothes they
wear perfectly match their time periods and their expressions
take full advantage of the PlayStation 2's emotion engine. But
without a doubt, what contributes the most to expressing their
complex personalities is the awesome voice acting.
The amount of dialogue contained on the DVD is impressive, to
say the least. For once, lip-synching is a success in the
domestic version and the (often meaningful) speeches don't seem
to lose much in the translation. Consider the fact that fifty
percent of the game is made of various cut-scenes illustrating
discussions between Eike and the inhabitants of Lebensbaum, and
you'll understand that Shadow of Destiny is directed towards a
mature audience with a long attention span. The developers had
the good idea to allow you to skip the cinematics you've already
seen after your death. After a 'game over' screen however, you
won't be offered the possibility to do so. There is very little
music in the game, which can be viewed as a good thing since it
doesn't affect its peculiarity. You will sometimes hear a few
classical notes that reek of brilliance, but it will rarely last
longer than a few seconds. Although I'd usually criticize a game
for not having many different tunes, I have to say that it
doesn't really matter in this case for some reason.
Shadow of Destiny's other weakness is its length: anyone with
half a brain should be able to complete it under approximately
eight hours. While this sounds decent for a survival horror
game, keep in mind that the gameplay is abysmal, so this isn't
exactly a game you might want to complete more than a few times,
despite its numerous endings and alternative scenarios. Most
puzzles aren't thought-provoking enough and are just an excuse
to tell the player a beautiful story. Even if the game's plot
grabs you as much as it grabbed me, chances are you'll get bored
pretty fast.
To be honest, I loved this game for about fifteen hours. Then I
played another game and totally forgot about it. The sad truth
is that while the game's ambiance is almost unforgettable
itself, its lack of actual gameplay doesn't do the plot justice
and in the end Shadow of Destiny isn't very different from any
sci-fi flick that comes out every week or so in theaters near
you. It's a nice alternative to our favorite barbarous games,
but despite Konami's tries to make it look like an adventure
game, Shadow of Destiny will always be an interactive movie:
nothing more, nothing less. Watch the TV series instead.
.:. BillyKane |
