I always enjoy listening to video game music!
I wanted to share my thoughts on
Shadow Man, as someone who played and thoroughly enjoyed the game when it released on the N64. The music you picked is indeed quite disturbing, but in the context of the game is makes absolutely perfect sense and does an excellent job of setting the mood and atmosphere for the area you're in: it
is a place that should be utterly disturbing.
A quick look at a story synopsis online (you guys could have at least done that! :P
Well, I know you guys pour a lot of tme and work already in getting these podcats done in the first place, so I'm not complaining) reveals the game's story is based on the Shadowman comic book series published by Valiant Comics. The world consists of Liveside (our everyday world) and Deadside (land of the dead), where the main villain (named Legion, "for we are many," this is actually in reference to a
demon confronted by Jesus as told in the Bible) plans to usher in the Apocalypse by using five serial killers known as 'the Five' as his heralds and claiming the Dark Souls, the immortal souls of damned warriors, to create an immortal army and send it into Liveside. And it all starts in 1888 with Legion confronting Jack the Ripper.
The hero, Michael, unwillingly becomes the Shadow Man due having the Mask of Shadows forcefully implanted within his chest by the voodoo priestess Mama Nettie. (By the way, I also appreciated the game for its New Orleans setting and the fact the hero was one of
few strong black main characters in video games).
Suffice it to say the game has very dark and serious undertones throughout, and the superb voice acting (this was rare on the N64 at the time) and wonderfully crafted cut scenes did an excellent job of making this game one of the few 'true' mature games for its time (ie it didn't simply rely on copious amounts of profanity and violence/ gore to earn its 'mature'label).
Plus, the gameplay was nothing to sneeze at. The levels are large and begging for exploration, and as you progress you earn new abilities that let you explore more as well as becoming even more powerful (somewhat like a
Metroid game).
The game was an impressive addition to the N64 library. And its soundtrack is actually very memorable, not just due to the song picked for this episode: it is in fact on my list of
Top Ten N64 Soundtracks.
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on: 11/24/13, 16:58 |