Shadow Man 2 : The Second Coming (PS2)

Generally, the game has been scaled down. Although there are a respectable number of locations to get through, 2econd Coming has conspicuously fewer than its predecessor. I don't know the true figure, but it certainly 'feels' like it's only 30% the size of the original.

The story is much thinner. The game lacks a sense of place and character. In the first game, you knew from the start about the locations you would visit and the personalities you would meet there. There was a build-up that made arriving at those places, and meeting those enemies, dramatic. In 2econd Coming, you just turn up at each location blindly. Unlock a gateway and you're in...Ireland. Next one...you're in Russia. At the end of these 'levels', you meet one of the boss enemies. But as we were never previously given a run-down of who these individuals are, it doesn't feel important.

There isn't as much to read in your document files. Although you can argue that this is a game not a book, the weighty documents in the first game added much to its depth.

You can still upgrade your life and magic meters by collecting 'cadeaux'. But instead of a hundred for each increment you now need only ten. And they are conveniently luminous as well as bigger.

You can imagine how such simplifications address complaints about the first game. 1999's Shadow Man was huge. So sprawling and complex was the game-world that a map (which not all editions of the game supplied) was needed if you didn't want to get lost. There were lots of locations packed with objectives that were not directly relevant to the plot. Much of your time was spent clearing temples Tomb Raider-style, with the prizes being upgrades of your powers, and access to the next plot-related location. Collecting hundreds of cadeaux was an awesome task, and they were often concealed. You can imagine how people might have found this wearying. And it didn't help that the massive Playstation market had the worst-presented version regarding controls and visuals (Only higher-spec systems could do the game justice).

So 2econd Coming is 'Shadow Man-Lite'. Shorter, shallower, easier. The only improvements on the original are the graphics (which is expected), and a more dynamic combat system (albeit flawed). It was possible to complete the first game using only your default pistol. You almost never needed to use any of the other weapons you picked up. And as many reviewers commented, shooting your default gun at everything became dull quickly. In 2econd Coming you can fight with your fists as well as with a variety of useful weapons. The trouble is that the auto-targeting is erratic. You don't have a free button for manual locking, so you cannot circle-strafe a target as before. You now have to rely on the computer to lock on targets around you. It will pick out objects as well as enemies, so trying to circle-strafe an enemy will switch your target to a distant jar. It can even fail to keep a lock on a big target directly in front of you, making some fights annoying.

I'm glad 2econd Coming is here. But I'm also disappointed that what I felt to be the best elements of the original have been left out. I liked the way the first game was so huge and free-roaming. I loved the atmospheric music (2econd coming has a different composer, and while some parts of the score are OK, other parts sound tacky, and I hate thin orchestras). Another one please.