Please login to submit a screenshot

Title Shadow of the Beast
Publisher Psygnosis/Reflections, 1989
Game Type General Action
Compatibility Not A1200, but WHDload patch available
HD Installable Yes (With Patch)
Submission RJP

Review
Along with Defender of the Crown, Deluxe Paint and Lemmings, Shadow of the
Beast is one of the names that will forever be synonymous with the glory
days of the Amiga. Beast might even be the most important, for it was the
first game to really stretch Jay Miner's custom chips and be manifestly
superior to the ST version. You didn't need to pore over the tech specs to
see which was the best computer anymore; the Amiga's advantage was
suddenly tangible and for the next couple of years it would be *the*
aspirational games machine.

As is often the case with such technical break-throughs, the game itself
is pretty straightforward - a platformer come beat-'em-up. The one real
innovation is the way it isn't broken up into levels - instead you are
largely able explore the large gaming world in any order you please. This
freedom of movement is somewhat restricted because you need to collect
various keys and power-ups in the right order to move from one section to
another, but adds an adventure-like depth nonetheless.

The sections themselves fall into three types:

1) Outside bits, running across long flat stretches of plain, dispatching
waves of fantasy-inspired monsters with kicks and punches before they can
inflict damage, and avoiding traps. The latter most commonly take the form
of large spikes or surreal giant hands which shoot out the ground without
warning, but also include guided missiles (!) and dragons which fly
overhead and drop bombs. These parts of the game are distinguished by
utterly stunning multilayer parallax scrolling and copper lists. Although
the graphics are quite bright, the dreary mountains and forest in the
background somehow convey the ominous feel of a late afternoon just before
a thunderstorm.

2) Dark, dispiriting inside bits, including underground caves and a
castle. These are more platform in character and require a fair bit of
exploration to find keys, power-ups etc.

3) A horizontal shoot-em-up part where the main character dons a flying
suit and moves through a bizarre sci-fi landscape.

It's all very well presented as you'd expect, with Psygnosis's trademark
intro sequence, fantasy graphics and a wonderfully gloomy panpipe
soundtrack. What really made Beast stand out at the time was the
super-smooth 50 fps screen update, which gave it an authentic arcade feel
and proved impossible to replicate on an ST or contemporary PC.

But is it any fun? Well, it's not bad. It's pretty tough, though
infinitely more playable than Beast 2, and you find yourself progressing a
little further with each attempt. The real stumbling block is the rather
lack-lustre quality of the enemies. While well animated, they lack the
vivid detail of the backgrounds, often being rendered in only 3 colours or
so, and their attack patterns are fairly simplistic. Too frequently, they
just form a line and shamble towards you from left to right.

We've seen a lot better since 1989, but Shadow of the Beast is undoubtedly
one of the first "real Amiga games", as AUI magazine put it, and retains a
quirky charm even today.

"A computer classic that must be played on an Amiga to be fully enjoyed."

I got this game very soon after it's release in 1989. Ten years later, I still haven't beaten it. But nonetheless, this game is a work of true craftsmanship. Sure, it's a 2D side-scroller, but it's an invigorating challenge from start to...well, as far as I've gotten. The storyline goes that your character was stolen away in the middle of the night by a group of evil, cabalistic worshippers. Using evil magics, they transform you from a regular human child to a strange creature of mystic abilities and power. Then, they make you their message delivery boy.

Yeah, it's not much, but then years later, they make a fatal mistake: they kill your parents as you watch. This does not sit well with you, and you decide to make them all pay by going through and taking them all down one by one. We all know the revenge premise, but it feels good knowing that everyone you're taking down is unshiftingly evil.

The game progresses in a linear fashion (although seemingly non-linear due to the different directions you can go at the start) as you weave from below in a dark tree fortress to above ground interiors such as dank castles and graveyards. All the while you jump, punch, and grab objects to exact your revenge on the final enemy.

GRAPHICS: 10
This game didn't win awards for nothing. The whole game looks like something you can hang in your living room, with beautiful backdrops (esp. the plains backdrop with the mountains and the moon in the sky) that rival some 2D games today. The characters are all fairly large for the game screen with truly massive bosses. While there isn't any gore, there are several characters that are, shall we say, not pleasant. Level design and monsters vary dramatically from level to level.

SOUND: 10
This category doesn't get a 10 so much for sound as it does for music. The sound effects pale in comparison to the mood setting tunes (my personal favorite is the castle music with a mixture of gothic and techno beats). Although any game that samples the Aliens pulse rifle sound automatically gets a 10 in my book.

CONTROL: 9
Move left, move right, punch, jump and kick. Controls just don't get easier than that. My only gripe is that the character turns far too slowly. You really need to time things in order to get them right. Thank God they fixed this in the second one.

GAMEPLAY: 10
Despite the fact that I haven't beaten a game after owning it for ten years (go ahead! Laugh! I dare you!), this game still has a fun factor attached to it. The difficulty may put off some people, but it will call others back time and time again, hoping to see what lies in wait at the end.

I've played this game on other platforms, but they all pale in comparison. If you own an Amiga, and can find this game somewhere, get it. I promise you won't be disappointed.


Reviewer's Score: 10/10 | Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99