classicamiga.com - Shadow of the Beast

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The reason many bought an Amiga!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

This is the reason I first got into Amiga emulation. This game has probably the finest hand-drawn 2D graphics of the 16-bit era, easily putting many high-profile console or even some Arcade games of the date to shame. Compared to other 1989 games, this was visually (and aurally) ahead of its time. It's incredibly tough to play, though, but I suppose I won't be the only one that'll say that the game was designed with a CHEAT/TRAINER in mind ;)

I still can't believe that a 1989 game can look so impressive. 2D games matured after 1991-2, but this game looks like it was made in 1994 (and in fact, it's a lot better than MOST 1994 games). Not to mention that it's quite "tragic" the fact that an early Amiga A500 game can be that good, while many later AGA games fail to convince. The designs, the colours, everything is top-notch. Above criticism, these graphics were selling Amiga's for a long while.

But it's not only about graphics, the music of this game is also of high-calibre, and incredibly epic and magical. Simply fantastic, it rivals many of my favourite MOVIE soundtracks. The SFX are non-existent, but with such music who needs them?

The score given for gameplay reflects its quality with an infinite energy trainer activated. Without a cheat, this game gameplay-wise is substandard, since it's incredibly tough and unforgiving. However, when you play without worrying about your health, this is an engrossing epic action/adventure that makes you want to see what's coming next.

Honestly, I play it often from time to time in order to enjoy the visuals and the music. For some strange reason, I never get tired of seeing and doing the same things. Timeless.

The definition of classic, and still satisfying after 15 years. Unfortunately, none of its two sequels manages to come even close (especially the lacklustre part II), but this remains as a testament to Amiga's capabilities compared to other systems of its time. The Atari ST version that came later is simply hilarious and pitiful, and the Genesis is faithful, but compared to the Amiga original lacks the sharpness of the visuals and the quality of the music, and a certain "spark" if you may. This is one of the few retro games I'd pay to get it in its original box (BTW, excellent cover artwork), just to have it in my collection.

Review originally submitted by the classicamiga member one-second.

Overall rating:		9.0
Graphics:		10.0
Sound:		10.0
Gameplay:		8.0
Lifespan:		8.0

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Shadow of the Beast

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The reason many bought an Amiga!

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