Shadow Tower: Abyss

***Shadow Tower: Abyss*** (シャドウタワーアビス, *Shadou Tawā Aabisu*?) is a role-playing video game developed and published by FromSoftware for the PlayStation 2. The game is a sequel to *Shadow Tower* and features a number of genre and mechanical elements that can also be found in *Demon's Souls* and the *King's Field* series. *Shadow Tower: Abyss* was announced on August 22, 2001 and released in Japan on October 23, 2003. An English version was being developed by Agetec, but the project was canceled by Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), its publisher, prior to completion. A fan translation was released in 2011.

## Plot

The game is set within the citadel first featured in *Shadow Tower*, and sees the return of a number of familiar non-player characters. The protagonist, an explorer, is in search of an arcane spear thought to have given great powers to the long-dead ruler of the kingdom, and ushered in an age of unrivaled prosperity. What remains of the kingdom today is largely covered over by the forest, save for the tower itself. Once inside the citadel, the protagonist encounters a mysterious Old Man, who traps him within and forces him to climb to the very top of the structure to escape.

## Gameplay

*Shadow Tower: Abyss* is played entirely from the first-person perspective, and requires the player to navigate through a series of catacombs, caverns and open-air walkways in an effort to ascend the tower. There are numerous regions within the citadel, including subterranean forests, hellish caverns, waterfalls and temple-like chambers. While exploring, the player encounters a variety of friendly and aggressive characters, and collects keys, armor and up to 500 different weapons. Furthermore, the game features the ability to wield two weapons, a detail that allows players to easily switch between a handgun and a dagger, for example. Unlike *Shadow Tower*, the sequel does not feature a multiplayer mode.

The game world is populated with a total of 68 monsters and non-player characters, who "seem to have regular schedules and activities--that take place independent of [one's] actions--such as burning a bonfire and talking amongst themselves". The majority are aggressive and attack the protagonist on sight, while others provide information and serve to further the plot. During battle, players can sever segments of a creature's body with knives and decapitate them with carefully placed shots from their firearm. Indeed, the wings of aerial combatants can be targeted with a sniper rifle, causing them to plummet to earth when struck. Additionally, the game's Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) results in opponents often fleeing from the player when injured.

Typical to a number of games within the role-playing genre, *Shadow Tower: Abyss* features a statistics-orientated character development system. Unusually, however, the protagonist does not gain experience points, but 'grows' by destroying the numerous denizens of the tower and harvesting their souls. Thus, over time the player will gradually become stronger and inflict comparatively more damage. This 'growth' mechanic is also found in the game's predecessor, and serves to encourage players to explore as much as possible. Hit points, which represent the life force of the player, and magic points, for casting spells, are determined by additional mental and physical attributes. Vitality, for example, directly affects the number of hit points, while Strength influences the maximum weight that can be carried. Break, Pierce and Slash each determine the damage done by the relevant melee weapon, whether it be a hammer, dagger, or an axe. In addition, certain items grant permanent or temporary bonuses to the player's attributes. A Soul Pod, for example, will grant the player an extra twenty points for any attribute, while the Symbol of Elements increases the magical Elements statistic by fifty percent for a brief period.

Although there are firearms spread throughout the game, ammunition is scarce, and the various melee weapons are all durable. If the player uses their axe excessively, for example, it will eventually deteriorate to the point of breaking. While replacement weaponry can be found in containers and retrieved from corpses, the game features a number of different shops, which are each represented by glowing crystalline structures: Merchants (green), Blacksmiths (purple) and Healers (red). 'Cunes' are the game's unit of currency, and are typically looted from cadavers. In addition, there are save points, which are represented by a cyan crystal.