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Few video game icons have enjoyed as much long-term success as Sonic the Hedgehog. Sega's blue blur has headlined best-selling games for three hardware generations, he's starred in Saturday-morning cartoons, and last year he even got his own Happy Meal. Nonetheless, Takashi Iizuka, the man behind the hedgehog for the past 12 years, decided it was time for a change. "We didn't want to neglect the Sonic series, though," explains Iizuka. "We wanted to expand it by creating this new kind of franchise that offers something that was never possible in the Sonic games. We wanted Shadow to be a little darker and a bit edgier. We don't want to leave Sonic behind; this is just a different path for us to explore."

      And that path is laden with heavy artillery. Unlike Sega's lovable mascot, the titular anti-hero in Shadow the Hedgehog can wield an assortment of weapons ranging from the rocket launchers to signposts that he rips out of the ground. He'll also man vehicles from time to time. The list of sweet rides you can commandeer includes a two-door convertible sport's car, a military jeep and even an alien hovercraft. "We included the vehicles to increase variety of gameplay within each stage," says Iizuka. The game doesn't stray entirely from its roots, however. The gunplay is mixed with a healthy dose of high-speed platforming to produce an experience that's both new and familiar.

    To bring the protagonist's shadowy nature to the fore, Iizuka's team has presented the player with a moral choice.The game's story revolves around a conflagration between a malevolent alien race called the Black Arms, and the GUN army charged with protecting the planet. Shadow must choose a side....

 

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