Actually the game isn't too bad.
Shadow the Hedgehog is essentially a more combat-oriented Sonic game. In the story mode you go through six long stages which you can choose depending on your progress in the game.
Say for example you go around helping the good guys like Sonic, Tails, etc. If you complete their goal to level "A". If on the other hand you complete the bad guy's goal you get level "B" and if you just don't give a fuck and complete no goals you get level "C". Cutting your own path through the story(Which apparently has 10 endings plus 1 secret one) adds a lot of variety to the stages.
The controversial addition of weapons is rather downplayed in this game to be honest. In the boss fights I've gotten a gun wasn't required in order to defeat them. As Shadow is in essence a Sonic clone he has the same abilities such as the homing attack and the light-speed dash. The weapons themselves number in over 30 I believe, everything from standard handguns to assault rifles, bazookas, sniper rifles(wtf). Also the "realistic" weapons are balanced out by a variety of wacky Eggman weapons like javelins and silly looking laser guns, as well as the evil alien race having their own arsenal. The weapons all carry limited ammo and you can stack extra amounts by picking up more of the same weapon. However you can only carry one at a time but your abilities are not hindered by carrying one.
Aiming is fairly automatic as if you're facing the general direction of an enemy it will fire at them. The homing attack is still rather wonky as you can end up homing in on enemies you'd rather not fight(Obviously annoying).
Camera still sucks, but hey that's par for the course in a Sonic game.
The game adds a number of interesting ideas I'd hope the next 3D Sonic game implements.
While on a checkpoint you have the ability to transport to other checkpoints in the stage, so if you missed something you can go back for it without restarting the stage.
Shadow can actually grab onto to ledges and to keep from running off a ledge he'll stumble a bit so you have a chance to recover your footing. Also Shadow does a nice stopping animation when slowing down from a run. There's also a wall-run though it's a bit difficult to get the hang of.
Graphically it's..well yeah.
I wouldn't quite call it DC level as the game throws around some pretty nice special effects and the texture work seems better. However this is counteracted by some rather annoying framerate drops(when the action gets a bit crowded).
More on this game later, but for now I have to work.
