Shadow Man/YMMV


 * Adaptation Displacement: Like it says above, few people are aware that the games were originally based on a comic book. As far as the adaptations themselves go, the first game is often mistaken for an N64 exclusive.
 * Even at that, the games seem to be a separate continuity from the comics they're based upon and are likely separate from the rest of the Valiant/Acclaim universe. The first game was adapted for the comics but condensed to one issue and the second game released after the comic division was shut down.
 * Breather Boss: Avery Marx is, despite his long and creepy build up, perhaps the easiest of all of The Five to defeat. He does little damage, makes no effort to dodge even a full frontal attack, and has a pretty low damage threshold.
 * Crowning Music of Awesome: The musical scores for both games are fantastic, but the first is more memorable for being extremely frightening at times.
 * Ensemble Darkhorse: Jaunty, the wisecracking skeletal English serpent... Thing.
 * Goddamn Bats: The Wailers and Shiverers attack Shadowman by draining his life force from a distance. The good news it that destroying them with the Shadowgun gives back whatever they stole. Duppies and Deadwings are also a huge pain in the ass for their ability to spit giant loogies from a distance and -for Duppies- rapidly shred you to pieces up close.
 * And in the sequel, we have small flying demons that will either zip around in the distance shooting energy beams or fly in circles around Shadow Man and claw at him. "Pain in the ass" is too kind a phrase for these hateful little shitstains.
 * High Octane Nightmare Fuel: The Asylum level called "Playrooms" sounds like fun, doesn't it? Interestingly enough, many areas in Liveside are even scarier. It comes to a head in the dilapidated New York tenements, which features very few enemies but is drenched in terrifying, pitch-black atmosphere. The music does not help at all.
 * It gets even worse: the desiccated corpses in the tenement all have tape recorders playing a two-second loop of someone whimpering in most versions, but the PC edition has them play a longer clip consisting of the Home Improvement Killer forcing his hysterical victims to repeat Mark 5:9 as they sob and plead for mercy. Yeesh.
 * To one up the above comment, picture this scenario: You're in Deadside and you see a waterfall of blood. Normal given the circumstances of where you are. Now, back in that liveside domain you see another waterfall of blood like in Deadside and you start thinking to yourself: "Ya know what? I think Avery's killed a little more than twelve people..."
 * Gardelle County Jail is littered the the headless corpses of Dr. Batrachian's victims. Even Mike is freaked out when they start getting up and attacking him ("This isn't happening!"). The harsh, ragged breathing noises these victims make through their exposed throats is deeply unnerving.
 * Jack the Ripper's domain is also quite creepy, especially when you come upon his private chambers and find his "homework" hanging from the rafters. The fact that the bodies are concealed under bloody sheets mitigates it only slightly.
 * Narm: The voice acting. The sequel manages to make this even more ridiculous.
 * Compared to most other horror games before and since, it's really pretty good. Mike/Shadowman's voice actor sounds quite badass and Jaunty is a riot. The narmiest characters would have to be all of The Five except Jack the Ripper.
 * Nightmare Retardant: The cheat codes. Disco Mode especially.
 * Porting Disaster: The PSX version is pretty god-awful for a number of reasons.
 * Tear Jerker: Luke's teddy bear in the first game. Mostly the backstory surrounding it.