Shadowman: 2econd Coming Preview

Like Acclaim's other lead action hero, Turok, Shadowman has his roots in the world of dark comics. The original game, based on the comics, was released in 1999 for the N64 and shortly thereafter for the PlayStation, the PC, and the Dreamcast. As in the comics, the story in the game takes place in New Orleans, where the lead character--an ex-student named Mike LeRoi--has several bad encounters with the local underworld. Mike's entire family ends up being murdered, which leaves him with a desire for vengeance. Supported by a voodoo priestess named Nettie, he's implanted with a voodoo mask named the Mask of Shadows, which gives him the power to defeat his enemies. It also lets him cheat death and turn into Shadowman, an undead assassin with formidable magical powers. As Shadowman, Mike can enter Deadside--the world of the dead--at will.

Mike LeRoi has gained some weight...

During the day, Mike is a relatively normal person, albeit heavily armed in the sequel, but at night, Mike becomes the Shadowman. This transformation also occurs when Mike dies. Shadowman considers himself the lord of Deadside, as he's the most powerful entity in the world of the undead. While inhabiting Deadside, Shadowman has many specific powers, and he can also reenter the real world at will. In addition to his skills, he can use voodoo items to cast spells, and he can focus the Mask of Shadows' powers through everyday objects so he can use them as magical weapons. Guns from the real world transform into so-called shadow guns in Deadside. When fired, they unleash shadow wraiths instead of bullets, and these wraiths rip the souls out of Shadowman's enemies. While Mike can be killed in the real world, this doesn't happen so easily once he's in Deadside: He can't drown, and if he falls off high ledges, he won't be hurt. In the mortal realm, Mike owns a bar named Wild At Heart, which is where 2econd Coming starts. Those of you who played the first game will also remember another character named Jaunty, Nettie's other voodoo slave. He is a sleazy-looking Irish dwarf who shares a particular ability with Mike: the ability to cross over to Deadside. Jaunty's Deadside incarnation takes the form of a snake, the Keeper of Boneyard Gates.

...whereas Shadowman's lost some.

In the first game, Mike/Shadowman had to stop a horde of serial killers who were led by an evil creature named Legion. It was Legion's plan to open up gates throughout the world through which all the murderers who had ever died could reenter from Deadside. Needless to say, Shadowman killed Legion, and his evil plans were thankfully crushed. In the sequel, Mike/Shadowman teams up with a former NYPD cop and self-proclaimed demon hunter named Thomas Deacon to fight a mysterious group called the Grigori. The Grigori are demons who have lived among humans for the last 2000 years and whose goal is to reunite with, and unleash upon the world, their former leader, Asmodeus. After the intro sequence, the game starts at Mike's bar, where Shadowman has to battle a few thugs who have trashed his place. Once he defeats them, he finds out that Jaunty has been kidnapped and brought to the Grigori's new leader, Papa Morté, who is a gang lord in New Orleans. Night turns to day, and Mike is looking for Nettie to find out what's going on. She explains to him that she and Papa Morté had battled in the past. She then sends Mike on a mission to rescue Jaunty.