"I am the Lord of Dead side, Shadow born at the confluence of worlds to walk between. Live side is without the meaning that my partly living possesses here in Dead side, where the darkness is manifest at the edges of reason. As a god, I step forth upon the writhing, suppurating surface of the Dead side Serpent. What sleep is here? What dreams there are in the unctuous coilings of the snake's mortal shuffling. Weapon in my hand, MY HAND, the arching deathblow at the End of All Things. The horror. The horror. I embrace it."                                                                                                                                                                                                       -Guy Miller, Dead side Dreams
                                                     [co-creator of Shadow Man the game]

 Welcome to Dead side, the dark and foreboding realm of the dead, a place of torment and madness, where lunatics and madmen rage unadulterated. A place where the very land itself is made from the decomposing flesh of it's inhabitants. It is a place that everyone, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, goes when they die. But for Michael Leroi and his Shadow Man alter-ego, this nightmarish hell is the place he calls Home.



Before I star the review let me give you some back story to help you understand the game and how Michael came to be the Shadow Man. Born in New Orleans Michael grew up in a family of four. A Mother, Father and a Brother who's name is Luke. After Mike graduated from high school he attended college where he studied English literature. For one reason or another he eventually dropped out and started gambling. With his money nearly gone, Mike moved to Chicago where he took a job as a taxi driver, while keeping secret from his family that he was no longer in college. One Night while on the job the passenger that Mike was ferrying was gunned down in a drive by shooting. Fleeing the scene Michael eventually lost his pursuers. Unsure what to do, Mike pulled over to check on his passenger. Realizing that he was dead , Mike looked through his belongings and found $20,000 dollars in a briefcase that the passenger was carrying. Instead of turning it in to the police Mike took the money an fled. Returning home to New Orleans Mike used his new found wealth to shower his family with gifts, even paying for his brother Luke's much needed operation. But the gang who the money belonged to tracked him down and threatened to kill him and his family if the money was not returned. Unable to repay the debt mike sought out a Bokor [Voodoo priest that practices both white/black magic] for protection. Eventually the gang returned. While sitting at a red light a car pulled along side them and opened fire. Every member of Michael's family was killed, everyone except Mike. Recovering from a coma Michael lost his memory and was later found by the Boker who turned him into a zombie slave that he used for assassinations under the name "Zero". One day Mama Nettie, a very powerful voodoo priestess arrived and took revenge on the boker(presumably for an assassination by Zero). Using the last of her powers Nettie forcibly implanted the Mask of Shadow, an artifact of voodoo origin into Michael's chest. From that moment, during the night or in Dead side the mask would emerge from his chest, turning him in to the Shadow Man, a African voodoo warrior with supernatural power to protect the world from threats that came from the spiritual plane. Michael would regain is memory and enter the service of Mama Nettie. One night Nettie had a prophetic dream where 5 serial killers under the command of a demonic entity known as "Legion"(alluding to the same demon that Jesus cast out in Mark 5:9 of the bible). This is where the game begins and also where this introduction will end. Please keep in mind that I have never played the Dream cast version, only on the PC,Ps1, and now the N64, so please remember that when I make comparisons from the other versions

[After stumbling upon the review rules I thought it best to claim the top as a reference even though it was written mainly from memory for the sake of avoiding a ban. I did however Use  shadow man wiki and a 1999 interview that Guy Miller gave to IGN to check that I had the facts of the back story right and in the correct order. I don't want it to be considered plagiarism since there are only so many ways to tell a back story before you have to start making things up. The poem at the top of the page was written by Guy Miller and appears in one of the cut scenes in the game. As to why I put a back story in the review was because the the description in the game profile was a little vague. People in the comments section where wondering why mike used a teddy bear to cross over. To be clear to everyone mike isn't focusing on the teddy bear but on his brother Luke, whom the teddy bear belongs to. As he focuses his desire to see his brother again mike slips into dead side where his brother is. Crystal? Good! It also helps to add a short description to better understand a game review. Now as to the review below it's all me so if I get banned I can't help it because I did my best. Wow, so much legalese for a game review. I feel like I need to add a disclaimer about pregnant and nursing mothers as well as operating heavy machinery. ]                                                     


                                                             ++++++++++Review++++++++++
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  Graphics         |9|       Visually this version holds up guite will against the other versions. Some textures like the sky are a little more blurry than the Ps1. There is no dynamic shirt movement in this version either,however the overall textures of the character models as well as the environment textures seem to be better than the Ps1 version. Nothing compares to the PC version so it probably wouldn't be fair to compare it. Overall the visuals are nice, clear, and creepy. Textures like the flambeu doors made of stretched skin and the Dark Asylum that looks oddly like a cross between a medieval castle and a industrial age factory make for a very surreal experience. This is a stark contrast from the live side levels like the Bayou which is guite beautiful in it own right, even if it does have a sort of evil vibe to it. This also applies to the New York level, it in some ways looks guite nice and yet          retains it's House of Horrors feel. Not to mention the actual enemies, some of which were human once, of those some have visible autopsy scars and other marks on there bodies that give a hint of how they came to be in dead side. Probably the creepiest enemy would be the two headed torso,that thing still freaks me out. All & all the visuals do a very good job of creating a chilling atmosphere and drawing you into the game world.
   

  Sound            |10|      The sound is by far one of the best aspects of this game. Everything from the "Moonlight Sonata"      playing in the intro to the sound of screaming of the True forms in their cage is great. One of the best gaming moments I ever had was doing battle with Milton T Pike (one of the Five) for the first time while The Doors song "This is the End" plays. That will always be in my top 5!! Every thing from the sound of footsteps running over hot coals, to the screeching of the shadow gun and mechanical hum of asylum machinery are done nicely. Much more when you trigger an event like waking  up the sisters of blood from their slumber. I still dread the sound of their energy blasts. All I can say is that like the graphics it does good job of making the world a rich and believable place.
   

  Addictiveness    |10|      120 dark souls to find and multiple weapons and items to collect, everything from shotguns to sub      machine guns, voodoo weapons and the all-powerful violator. All that and much more make this one of the most addictive games ever made. There is also carteux which are basically gourds but you can use them to increase your health if you offer them to the la on a alter in the temple of life. 100 carteux for every extra level of life with a max of five to obtain. There is also the reward for finding all the dark souls. If you manage to find every last one of the 120 you'll be able to open the level 10 coffin gate. What's behind it is a mystery because I'm not going to tell you. You wouldn't want to ruin the supprise any way would you? Needless to say it's well worth the effort. Not to say it's a chore or anything because it's not. It's actually very rewarding. Just think of it like Pokémon but with evil black worm looking things.  
    

Story            |10|      This also is one of the best aspects of the game. You play as Michael Leroi(A.K.A Shadow Man) whose   task is to stop the impending Apocalypse brought about by the Demon "Legion". To that end you'll Have Track Down Five serial Killers Who are trying to pierce the veil between Live side and Dead side to open a conduit through which Legion can send his army of true forms(juggernaut like creatures that stand about one story tall) each with a dark soul implanted in them. But eliminating the five won't be that easy, because each one has also been implanted with a immortal dark soul, making them nearly indestructible. Only the shadow man with his wraith blasting Shadow gun can separate these beasts from their immortal power and bring an end to their infernal existence once and for all. Along the way you'll have to explore the worlds of dead side and live side to find clues and artifacts as well as collecting dark souls to increase your shadow power so you'll be able to face them. Since your also immortal You can never truly die in this game but you can be sent back to the last checkpoint. Be sure to check in with nettie and Jaunty from time to time because you'll hear a lot more of the story if you do.  

    Depth            |9|       Another area this game shines. The amount of detail the makers but into this game is amazing. Everything from the design of the weapons to the thought put into the layout of Dead side and the Asylum make it all seem like it could really exist. And just because you "complete" an area doesn't mean your through with it. Some areas will be inaccessible until you find a certain gad (mystical tattoo)that allows you to touch, walk on, or be submerged in fire.
    

Difficulty       |8|       This is probably the one weakness of the game. The above mentioned layout of the game can get         confusing. I've played this game multiple times on more than one system and I still get lost some times. The enemies can sometimes be a pain. Mostly the dubbies and the dead wings that usually appear in groups. It can get annoying later in the game when looking for a certain area and having to fight almost constant battles while doing it. My advice is to just run because they'll just appear again if leave and come back into the area. I also recommend you Google "shadow man map" to get a map that came with the game or from the strategy guide (I can't remember which one it came with). And  If this is your first time playing I also recommend you make your own rough map since the other one I mentioned admittedly isn't that good. Believe me you'll be glad you did towards the end of the game when you have to do a little backtracking. One last thing, the last boss's second form is relentless. You will die.........over and over and over and over...........................                           






So in conclusion I'll say this. Very few games have ever captured my imagination as much as this one. The only exceptions being Final Fantasy 7 & 8 and Legend of the Dragoon. Those are the only three. Everything from the level design to the characters, story and especially the dark poetry make this one of the most memorable games I have ever played. If you can, I would seek out a pc copy from eBay or from Amazon since it's by far the best. I've also heard Steam is in talks with activision to sell it. Either way, no matter what version your playing, this is one game you do not want to miss. I highly recommend it.              

Accidental dupe.
*closed*