Shadow of Destiny - Watch Your Back With This One

• Published by: Konami
  
• Developed by: Konami Computer, Entertainment Tokyo, Runecraft (PC port)
• Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
  
• Number of Players: 1
• T for Teen: Alcohol Reference, Animated Blood, Violence
• Available On: PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox, PSP
  

Welcome to Lebensbaum, Germany.

You play as Eike. And at 2:30 PM, in a little German town, you are murdered. The object of the game is simple: you get to go back in time and do things differently, to save your life. How? With the help of a mysterious man whom you meet upon your death. He seems to have saved your life, Eike's life, and is willing to help you stay alive. He gives you a device called the Digipad that will light up at key moments and teleport you back in time. Be careful not to meet yourself...that could end badly.

He will also offer points of advice when you die.

You travel through three layers of time. Your present era (full color), the early 1900's (black and white) and the 1500's (sepia). You must be curious now as to why you would go all the way back to the 1500's, just to save you life, right? Eike is tied deeply into an exciting and dangerous adventure spanning over the course of hundreds of years. But with a multiple ending game? You'll have to replay and replay until you can piece together all of the endings!

Will the building be a library or an art museum? You get to decide. Over and over and over...

My favorite part about this game are the townspeople. They don't change. They just happen to all look the same through out each era that you can travel to. And, your actions with them affect their future lives! For instance...

There is a man inside the cafe, that if you show him your cellphone, he will freak out. This is because when you travel back to the 1500's, you can choose to pull out your cellphone, and scare him away with your sorcery. 

They game will certainly leave you with this feeling. 

 

The verdict?

Overall Rating: 5.5/10

Musical Score: 3/10

Voice Acting: 2/10

Graphics: 6/10

Game Mechanics: 8/10

Story: 9/10

Replay Value: 4/10

Comments

Musical Score: Okay, honestly I wasn't thrilled with it. It was fitting for the game, but otherwise, I wouldn't waste my time getting the soundtrack. It was enough having to listen to it to get the different endings. Hell, just the one play through was enough, really. But it was something I could stand.

Voice Acting: *non-stop laughter here* The only one that doesn't sound like a stick in the mud or some one being held at gun point was the "Mysterious Character" who gives you the digipad...

Game Mechanics: Very simple, no health bar, just energy units. Energy is always in the same places. Choices affect your ending. The puzzles are a little challenging sometimes, but really the puzzles are just "What do I do this time that didn't kill me last time?" The only way to get a game over is to run into, literally, your self.

Story: The story was very interesting and compelling! If you don't play for the other endings, you'll be left with the wrong impression. Like incest.

 Replay Value: Is terrible. Between the music and the horrid voice acting, I ended up watching the other endings. Maybe I'll go back and replay it, but it's all the same puzzles, just different choices. Nothing really changes playthrough to playthrough.