1997 · First-person shooter · Science

Shadow Master

PlayStation console exclusive

Sci-Fi First Person Shooter where the player controls a heavily armed vehicle.

Released: 31 December 1997
Platforms: PlayStation Windows
Genres: First-person shooter Science Shooter
Developers: —
Publishers: SCE Studio Liverpool
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: First person
Themes: Action Science fiction
Country: United Kingdom
Age ratings: ESRB T

About

Shadow Master is a 1997 first-person shooter video game developed by HammerHead and published by Psygnosis for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It met with predominantly negative reviews, which praised its visuals but criticized it for clunky controls and poorly designed, frustrating gameplay.

›Story

For over a millennium, two alien races had been waging an interstellar war, known as the Outer War. Now, during the fictional year of 1742, the people of the planet Sylvan began to grow uneasy as rumors had spread involving the disappearances of trade ships. Eventually the planet had lost contact with many of its outlying trade ships and star ports, which led to the complete communications blackout of the systems outer worlds. Refugees had come from the outer planets and told stories of mass destruction, death and plunder, with entire worlds being stripped of their resources, and countless innocence were either enslaved or slaughtered by mechanoid monsters.

A 'death black-shadow' as was referred to by the elders of Sylvan, had engulfed the system. An invasion fleet has begun to occupy the planet, with one force standing in the way of its complete take over: you.

Keywords

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Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Shadow Master is a first-person shooter, set in a science fiction universe. The player takes control of a futuristic and heavily armed ATV to traverse each level, combat aliens, and complete level objectives. Before each mission, the player is briefed by 'strategic command' on their mission objectives. The player is then brought into the level, which they can explore.

The vehicle the player uses is controlled with either the D-Pad and shoulder buttons, or the two analog sticks in the PlayStation version. In the PC version, the mouse and keyboard or joystick can be used for movement. The player's vehicle has a certain amount of health and shields. If these drop below zero, a game over results.

Development

Shadow Master was developed by Hammerhead, a newly formed company founded by Chris Stanforth, formerly of Traveller's Tales. The visual design concepts for the game were done by Rodney Matthews. The game was showcased at E3 1997 before being released later that year.

Reception

Shadow Master received mostly negative reviews. Critics unanimously praised the game's visuals for their cutting edge effects and imaginative design, but most found its gameplay severely lacking. Crispin Boyer of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) summed up his assessment in simple terms: "Shadow Master looks good, sounds good, plays horribly." One of the most common particular criticisms was that the combination of a vehicle-bound player character with first-person perspective results in odd and often clunky controls, and the vehicle frequently gets stuck.

IGN stated that "weapon control is unclear, and piloting your vehicle is ugly. If that's not disheartening, try aiming at a gun turret behind a wall and getting stuck in a corner." Kelly Rickards of EGM added that "the futuristic buggy-vehicle bounds around so much, it's a challenge just to shoot a simple enemy, let alone drive in a straight line."