The Shadow of Zorro Review

All throughout the game, Zorro gets to achieve various tasks that are harmonized with the game's storyline. Although, some of the missions seem very simple, in the end, they turn out to be a huge disappointment. This is largely due to the unclear function of certain objects. Sometimes, the player can't tell whether items serve some purpose, or if they are merely an integral part of the environment. Consequently, you'll end up completing a task simply by accident, or else by hopelessly clicking on everything you see on the screen. Quite a drawback, for sure. Another major flaw in this area is that you sometimes cannot even see the things you need to pick up or activate. And that's mostly thanks to the feeble camera movement - for no clear reason, the camera cannot shift up and down, hence it will be quite difficult for you to eye an object placed at a certain location. On top of that, the viewpoint in the game occasionally fails to capture the action on screen and you might not be able to notice an enemy approaching.

Regarding the enemy AI, there are a few apparent glitches that are worth mentining. For instance, every so often enemy troops won't notice you at all; they will shout out for help, but they will pass right next to you like they are blind or something. Besides that bug (which occurs rarely) the AI works pleasingly. When you're spotted by the opponents, they will scream, run towards you, and occasionally even hurl a bomb in your direction.

Prior to the game's release, the developers have revealed that Zorro will not be killing anybody throughout the whole game. If the enemy troop is defeated, he will simply pass out for a short time. After a while, this aspect becomes a drag, because it often happens that you have to continually pass through a particular area - this obliges you to fight the same enemies over and over again, until the path is clear and you can go on. Regrettably, the guards will be unconscious for a few seconds, which doesn't give you much time to get outta dodge.

There's no use of beating around the bush. Zorro can be fun to play. But for how long? Are you enough of a devotee, who's prepared to sacrifice his/hers precious time for a game that has serious flaws in the visual department, as well as some major stumbling blocks in the gameplay concept? There's no doubt that fans might find the game rousing. Although, I fear that after you've played the game for a few long hours, it gets the strong tendency of becoming extremely tedious. In the end, it's obvious that I was mainly let down by the lame combat mode. Like most of you out there, I was eagerly waiting for this game just because of the swordfights. However, once you realize that you don't have the freedom of moving about, or doing anything else during combat, the whole game becomes rather monotonous.