Shadow Of Memories (PS2)

It’s fair to say we all have our bad days from time to time, where nothing seems to go right. Spare a thought then for the star of Shadow Of Memories, Eike Kusch, who before the 8th April 2001 is over will be stabbed to death, burnt, smashed over the head, poisoned, run over and pushed off a tower. After being unceremoniously murdered in the opening cut-scene, Eike is resurrected and told by a mysterious entity that he has the ability to avoid he preordained death, though avoiding it alone won’t solve the overriding problem. Kitted up with a time-travelling device, Eike is sent back to the town of Lebensbaum to try to change his destiny, finding his assailant in the ...  Read the complete review

Konami make some of the best and most original games on the market. Shadow of Memories, whilst not among the most popular games ever made, is a thrillingly inventive RPG-esque murder mystery, where there's no combat or "boss fights" to speak of, but the game still offers a high degree of difficulty due to some meticulously designed gameplay, in which you must attempt to solve puzzles in order to save the protagonist's life. You play Eike, a man who was recently murdered, and given a second chance to find your killer, you must continually travel back in time and amass clues as to who did you in. Like Konami's Metal Gear Solid series, this is a very ...  Read the complete review

Eike Kusch has just died. Murdered while strolling through the German town of Lebensbaum, he shall never know the motive behind the murder. Or at least he shouldn't, but he awakens in a bizarre, inter-dimensional realm where a disembodied voice offers him the chance to go back in time and prevent his death. Despite initial misgivings about the intentions of his mysterious saviour, who admits a vested interest in Eike's survival, he accepts and wakes up in a coffee shop with a time travel device, half an hour before he is destined to die. The race is on. And what follows as he puts off the first attempt on his life, manipulating the past to secure his future, ...  Read the complete review

Title: Shadow of Memories Format: PS2 Publisher: Konami From time to time a gaming title comes along that seems to be doing something that hasn’t really be done before. That’s very much the case with this PS2 title from Konami – Shadow of Memories. If you were to judge this title by picking up the box you’d be forgiven for thinking ‘that looks a bit naff’ and putting it straight back on the shelf. Try not to be so hasty though, if you give this title the patience and attention it deserves you may well uncover one of the most enlightening gaming experiences yet seen on PS2. To bring you up to speed, ...  Read the complete review

Check any gaming site for a review of this release and you will find it scoring quite highly. Frequent mentions of strong gameplay, great graphics and an intriguing story-line pulled me in. The premise is that your character, Eike, is murdered but, is given the chance to save himself by a mysterious being. Once returned to the land of the living you can make use of a portable time-travelling device to unpick the reasons behind your death and make changes in the past to stop you from dying in the present. Sounds good.... ....it isn't. The game-play is formulaic and lateral. Often you are guided towards the correct choices to make in the game by ...  Read the complete review