The Emperor Has No Clothes
User Rating: 3 | Shadow of Rome PS2
Somehow this stunningly mediocre game seems to have won the hearts of critics and players alike. This reviewer cannot really see why. Aside from having some of the worst artificial intelligence -- guards are usually, quite literally, staring at walls as you "sneak" past them, then when you are spotted, they scratch their heads, say "huh?," stare at you, then go back to looking at the wall -- it also has surprisingly disappointing, blocky-looking graphics, quite a letdown from the company that made the Onimusha games. The character modeling is too blocky, especially in the gladiatorial segments. Everyone seems to be built like Schwarzenegger, or at least a shorter version thereof. The missions in which you play as Octavianus are, well, downright boring, and lead to hand-cramping as you keep L1 pressed down constantly so that the character walks, since running prompts the attention of the AI-challenged guards; this prolongs already uninteresting and repetitive segments reminiscent of the Commando games. Although this is a minor point, it does deserve mentioning: the game is not very historically realistic, either. Not so much in the story or characters -- it is always necessary to take liberties with the record in order to create a good story -- but in the details. For example, in the time of Octavian there was no Colosseum in Rome. It wasn't built till 100 years later, under Vespasian. It'd be like having a game about the American Revolution with the Lincoln Memorial in the background. Also, the random wall inscriptions, upon inspection, prove to be chosen at random with no regard to their place in history. One was from Renaissance-era Florence, commemorating the Medici family, and mentioning the Holy Spirit and St. John: quite a feat for stonemasons living almost half a century before Christ! I know a lot of you will say "so what?!?", but you'd think that in a game this ambitious, some attention would have been paid to detail. Take a game like Kuon, for example. Not the most exciting game, but it more than makes up for its slow pace with its atmospherics and attention to period detail. When you play it, you think to yourself that the designers had some concept of, and respect for, history. In the end, detail is very important, and for some reason, SoR flubs it, when it really didn't have to. There are more than enough stock photos of Roman inscriptions from the period that could have been used. The game's popularity seems due to its combat segments, which are fun enough. But they're not that great. Overall, the hype surrounding this game has led to one of the most disappointing gaming experiences this reviewer has had in a long time.
