GENRE
	Puzzle / Action
	DEVELOPER
	Infinite Ventures
	PUBLISHER
	Kemco
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1
	CONTROLLER PAK
	yes
	RUMBLE PAK
	yes
	RAM PAK
	no
	BUY NOW AT

With the recent release of the classic Shadowgate for GameBoy Color, interest in Shadowgate 64: Trails of the Four Towers has been building steadily. Shadowgate 64 (SG64) faithfully brings the feel of the original Shadowgate to the N64, with updated graphics, sound and all new puzzles. While an all around solid game, like any other RPG on the market it's not really for everyone, and the game, much to my disappointment, fall short in some areas.

Shadowgate 64 is working off of one of the world's most powerful 3-D hardware and it shows. The areas are nice and solid, and rendered in full 3-D with steady frame rates. However, the game falls far short in the texture department. While there are areas that show marvelous texturing with high quality textures (the sewer caves in the beginning of the game) the texture quality steadily declines into acceptable, sometimes blurry images. What's even more depressing is the dithering. Nearly the entire game supports a dithered look, making everything look muddy. The only success with regards to visuals is the use of optical illusion in some parts of the game. As I've stated earlier, the textures for the sewer caves creates the illusion that the caves are much deeper than they really are, and later on in the game, pre-lit textures of posts and columns gave the impression that the N64 was rendering incredibly ornate walls. Overall, the visuals do have this heavy 1st generation look that might turn some people away from the game. That said, Shadowgate is an Adventure/RPG, graphics isn't really the measuring stick we should use to judge a game.

I've heard some bad things about the audio in this game but to be honest, there's nothing to complain about in the audio department. In fact, I've grown to enjoy some of the game's music. It has a very nice medieval flavour that some of you will enjoy. The music is moody and helps you get into the game. The castle of Shadowgate contains so many floors that it is easy to get lost and a change in music helps keep players on track. In terms of sound effects, the developer got everything dead on. The samples are very well done, making everything sound believable.

The game starts off with a text introduction to the Shadowgate story line, a good way of introducing players who are unaware of the original game to the Shadowgate universe. After choosing your preferred language (English or Spanish), the game moves to a pre-rendered cut scene of an ambush by a band of unknown archers on a convoy of civilians. The limitations of the cartridge medium dictated that the cut scenes aren't FMVs per se, but were more like pre-rendered cutouts pasted over a background. Animation was limited, but the renders aren't bad, as it conveys a storybook feel more than anything else. The game starts off in the dungeon, where the player controlled character, Del, wakes up to find that the unknown raiders have captured him. It doesn't take very long realize that the rest of the game will be spent inside the castle trying to unlock the mystery of the Castle Shadowgate and its inhabitants. The game's first person 3-D engine is commendable, running at a content frame rate. In fact, the game controls mimic Turok's, with the C buttons acting as the navigation buttons while the analog stick is used for looking around and examining the environment.

It can be said that the game environment is Shadowgate 64's strength and weakness. Those of you who are familiar with the original game will remember that players would have to search each room thoroughly for items in order to be successful in the game. Unlike Zelda games, hints are less frequent and it is often up to the player to discover what to do next. Shadowgate 64 copies this classic element from the original Shadowgate with ease, with the 3-D environment providing an additional level of immersion. Players will be impressed with the vastness of the castle, a castle filled with traps, labyrinths and haunted quarters. However, the vastness of the game makes it immediately overwhelming to the gamers. The lack of any real hints as to what to next will often force players to wander for hours while searching in vein for that missing piece of the puzzle. The game contains so many items that collecting them becomes a task, even when players have no clue when or how the items will be used. Some written articles, like books, are well placed and easily obtainable. Many of them contain pages of written text, providing much depth and insight into the world of Shadowgate. On the other hand, articles like the Maps or small keys were difficult to locate, blending in with the background well enough that they could have easily been missed. Compounding the problem was that the Map isn't very useful as it only showed gamers their general location.

While the puzzles were generally well thought out and interesting, based on a player's learning curve, they aren't very well balanced. Some are no brainers while others take hours to figure out. One puzzle comes to mind. After mixing two very specific potions into a bowl, a mist is created, revealing a star lit roof. Among the constellations of stars is a bright red star, with what seems like a key hole in it. To make the key, players must them move on to the other room and put a nail into a key making machine, assuming they remember to pick up the nail earlier in the game. With the key in hand, players are then expected to stand on a chair to 'reach' the key hole. The only problem is, even at that height, the key hole is quite a distance away and the key ends up floating there, destroying any sense of atmosphere the game might have generated earlier on. Which brings me to another point. When picking up or using items in the game, they float towards or away from the player, something I find awkward to watch.

As gamers explore the castle, it is immediately clear that the game doesn't flow smoothly. Moving from room to room will treat gamers to a nice fade to black animation as the room beyond is rendered. Once the rendering is done, the new room then fades into view. This lag in movement is somewhat distracting and could become disorienting as players will sometimes lose their sense of direction. However, Shadowgate 64 has its charms. Since players will spend most of their time talking to spirits and apparitions, the castle is virtually devoid of and living characters. As players explore vast chambers and winding tunnels, the game exhibits an eerily haunting atmosphere. Early in the game, players will stumble into abandoned rooms where they find a shoe on a table, but when they proceed to pick it up, it won't leave the table, and we are led to believe that an unseen force is holding it down. In the same room, a wooden horse sits quietly on the floor. While examining the horse, ghostly laughter from unseen children erupts and could be heard echoing through the room. Nice touches like this certainly helped the game establish atmosphere.

N/A

Shadowgate 64 is a solid game with some flaws. Gamers who are looking for an action packed adventure might be disappointed, but those of you looking for another deep and engrossing adventure should give this title a try.

7.0/10