Previous Next

You can't keep a good game down, can you? Trouble is, one or two mediocre offerings are proving equally resilient. Shadow Warriors scored a mere 57% as a full-price game, was reviewed two months running as a compilation outing, and was given away free with a lot of C64s! Don't let this fool you into thinking it's a brillo beat-'em-up, though - it isn't.

The plot is an irritating Hollywood cliche. "The world is plunged into deadly peril, (without ever realising it), and the only people who can save it are the big, butch fighters from a clandestine martial arts clan. And how do they do it? By wandering around town beating the crap out of everyone they meet, of course. Swell guys!

As well as the usual combat moves, Shadow Warriors allows you to leap onto and from platforms and to lift and throw your opponent. Throwing a baddie into objects such as telephone booths, hot dog stalls and barrels reveals power-up icons. These include bog-standard points, lives and energy, but also a rather nifty sword - although effective, it disappears when you get hit - so take care!

Shadow Warriors is a very average game. The graphics are blocky and simplistic, but look the part when fighting. The backgrounds are fairly fetching, especially on later levels, though strict collision detection and irritatingly difficult gameplay mean you might not get to see too many. The multiload could've been a lot worse, I suppose, but why you have to reload Level One even if you didn't complete it is beyond me!

At the end of the day, Shadow Warriors just can't cut the mustard. Maybe a few years ago it might've been a winner, but there are loads of good beat-'em-ups around today, most of which are better than this. If you haven't got it already, buy Target Renegade instead.