Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20096 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Konami
• Released on: 2002-09-27
• Platform: Xbox

Amazon.co.uk review
Imagine being able to turn back time and prevent your own death: welcome to Shadow of Memories. Described by Konami as an "interactive novel", the game's plot follows the fortunes of lead character Eike, a man knifed to death in a quiet German town by an unknown assailant, who must save his own life and in the process discover why he was murdered in the first place.

This is a full 3-D world around which Eike can wander in a number of different time zones ranging from the present back to the middle ages, with suitable graphical treatments for all. It's a standard adventure game fare, with the usual array of objects to collect and use in the pursuit of altering history. Graphics are well above average on the Xbox and convey a real sense of being there; this is heightened by the superb 3-D sound, which makes a major mark on the gameplay, thoroughly enhancing the atmosphere in a way little seen in console games.

There are only two things which prevent Shadow of Memories from being an A grade Xbox title. The first is the length and frequency of the cut scenes. In the first 45 minutes of play there's so much scene setting that there's precious little for the player to do except watch--it can be frustrating, but the patient player is rewarded with a deep and immersive experience that becomes compulsive. The second is the short playing time--around seven hours to complete one of the game's half dozen paths. It's just not long enough for the serious gamer and does the title no justice.

However, if you can get past these hurdles, Shadow of Memories is a wonderful game, with the plot intriguing enough to have you arguing over who the killer was.

Shadow of Memories certainly won't be to everyone's taste: its unusual mix of heavy storytelling and adventure action seems a little odd at first but perseverance is the name of the game and the player who sticks with it will be left with an engrossing experience. --Chris Russell

Customer Reviews

Dares To Be Different!
This is clearly a game which polarises opinion. It's true, there's very little action, a lot of cut-scenes, and playing through the game once won't take more than about four hours for even the most inept player. Sounds awful, doesn't it? But in fact, as regards console gaming at least, this is a unique and intriguing adventure. The basic premise is that the hero is murdered by an unseen hand in the opening moments, but is brought back to life by a mysterious entity with its own agenda and returned to the world with limited time-travel abilities... this means that you have to avoid a number of murder attempts by going back in time and preventing them from happening. This can involve going back a mere half-hour or hundreds of years, and your actions in the past create knock-on effects which alter the present (and hopefully prevent your demise). To give any more away would spoil the story, but needless to say you have to perform various tasks and solve various puzzles while trying to discover the identity of the murderer. What gives the game added longevity is the fact that, based upon your actions at various crucial points in the story, there are five possible outcomes. Once you have found all five, you get to play one extra level which reveals the sixth and final ending. Each ending reveals different aspects of the story, and it really is worthwhile finding all of them. The game is very atmospheric - there's little blood or violence, but a creepy, menacing sensation permeates the gameplay, and it becomes a very tense experience as time begins to run out. The graphics are good, with slight improvements over the PS2 version, but sadly there are no other enhancements exclusive to this XBox edition. If your idea of a good time consists solely of blowing things up or blowing people away, you're going to find this pretty tedious. If, however, you're open-minded enough to seek out a new gaming experience, where you'll be exercising your brain rather than your thumbs, you ought to try this. I loved every minute of it.

The worst game I have ever played
I watched in horror when I got this home and put it in my XBox. The graphics were awful, low end PS2 quality, there is little gameplay (just moving in betwenen cut scenes) and dreadful sound. It was by far and away the worst game I have ever played - and I've played Blood Wake! Avoid like the plague!

The most abmismal game ever...!
I have tried to endure this game over a period of a couple of days in the hope that it might get better...All I have to say is: I'll never get those couple of days back!

This game is truly awful...Gameplay is mind-numbingly boring, the plot is tedious and the overall aesthetic is just plain dull.

If anybody out there wants my humble opinion, here it is: Don't waste your money on this poor excuse for a game...Don't waste a perfectly good Xbox on rubbish like this!