74. Shadow Of Memories

(PS2/Xbox/PC/PSP, Konami, 2001, U.S title: "Shadow of Destiny")
Somebody wants Eike Kusch dead.
Maybe its his emo Green jacket, his sensitive ponytail or his freakishly long legs which, despite their roundhouse kick potential, do nothing to help when he is stabbed in the back and left to die on the streets of Lebensbaum, the quiet German village where he lives.
Eike awakens in a void where he meets a creepy, smooth talking Homunculus. Given the opportunity to change his fate, Eike receives a small time bending device called a digipad and is returned to the cafe he visited moments before his murder. Maybe this time, Eike can have a say in his future.

So begins Konami's Shadow of Memories, a complex and mysterious story in which Eike must use his time travelling ability to prevent various attempts on his life long enough to work out who wants him dead and why.
The game is built around paradoxes, Eike soon discovers that the slightest changes to his own past can have huge repercussions and he is soon up to his sky-high thighs in trouble.
No, seriously, his legs are REALLY long.

In third person, the player controls Eike as he runs back and forth through time, striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap, will be the leap home This can involve obvious fixes such as ensuring witnesses are around at the fatal hour or more obscure answers such as travelling back a hundred years to ensure a fountain is built or travelling back five years to replace a rope. Eike meets many characters along the way and realizes that attempting to change his own fate will inevitably change the fates of many other people.

Shadow of memories is a quiet, patient and lonely game, best played in long secluded sessions. The story has paradoxes that put Back to the future II to shame and much attention is needed if you are to follow the game through logically to one of it's multiple endings (which, depending on Eike's actions, change the outcome of many characters lives drastically)

The game looks very quaint. Its European setting oozes out of the screen, with the various time periods having relevant colour styles and architecture. The player models unfortunately haven't dated too well though. The voice acting is hit and miss depending on the character, but never bad enough to put you off playing. There is very little action in SoM, just lots of travelling, talking and lateral thinking. Eike is a likeable hero who really didn't ask for the hassles he has to deal with, he is a far cry from the selfish sulkers that front many story based games and genuinely seems to care about not wronging the people around him.

Shadow Of Memories is love-or-hate, It has an intriguing plot that demands concentration but most of the game consists of running back and forth and starting conversations. For some players, the fact there the game contains no "fire" button will be enough to send them running. The puzzling is cool and the game's attitude to the all important "What is life worth?" question is refreshing and thought provoking.
I remember buying SoM on a whim and playing it all night, my sister occasionally popping her head round the door and saying "You're STILL playing this? Its been hours!" That can only be a good review I think.

Shadow Of Memories is a game where the object is to salvage lives, not end them. It's not a theme that you'll come across too often and Konami must be commended for daring to use it.