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Games section
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Everybody has been waiting for it! Now it is here! In my hands, I'm holding the full version of Shogo! After the demo version, which has caused so much excitement, one thing was clear: If any game had a chance to claim the title of Best Amiga Game from Heretic II, then it would be Shogo! No wonder everybody was so enthusiastically looking forward to this piece of software. Hans Joerg Frieden was kind enough to provide me with a test version before the release date. And this wasn't a beta or something, but the real final version of the game, just as it will be sold. At the time of my writing, the package wasn't finished, so I can only repeat what Hyperion told me. Just like Heretic II, it will be sold in a paper jacket and come in a cardboard box.
A manual is supposed to be included, too, I think, but there is one on the CD in HTML anyway. It also contains the latest version of Warp3D, AHI and qstat (a program to test the server). The remaining space is used by the music.
But now, let's get this thing on the hard disk. Never before it was it so nice to install a game (and I did it twice, because I mistyped the serial number at the first try). Accompanied by a musical intro and the title picture of Shogo you make a few required settings and then relax while the installer begins to work. Shogo uses almost 400 MB and so of course the installation takes several minutes. If you have a slow CD-ROM drive, you can install the video sequences directly (additional 20 MB) - you don't have to do this manually as for Heretic II. Then you can select a default setting for the game, according to your computer's performance and you are done: that's comfortable installation, Clickboom.
Normally, I would write here: I start the game and the action starts. Shogo is different. Never before it was so nice to start a game. After double-clicking the icon, the Shogo-Launcher appears (see screenshot), and you hear music already familiar from the installer. I won't go into the details too much, but if there is a game that can be easily and quickly configured, than it is Shogo. You can set almost everything and thanks to the bubble help it is easy as pie. And then the time has come: Launch Shogo.
After the first start, the program asks for the desired detail level. And now the action starts. Unfortunately, the program kept crashing at a certain point. So I wrote to Hans Joerg Frieden and he helped me promptly. It was because of a variable I had set for iFusion. It was only meant for developers and as soon as I had removed it, everything worked fine. (Thanks again for this fast support.) You may have already noticed that this test is a little unusual. And that's because Shogo is unusual for an ego shooter. Normally, I would now quote here the background story. Forget it! It would be longer than the rest of this review. So I will concentrate on the basics. Your mission:
You take the role of Sanjuro Makabe, pilot of an MCA (Mobile Combat Armor) and commander of the UCA Security Force. It is your mission to find a rebel leader called Gabriel and render him innocuous. The story is set on the planet Cronus and the space ship Leviathan, the flag ship of the UCA. It is commanded by Admiral Akkaraju. Cronus is the only known source of the biologically active substance Kato, an incredible power source required for interstellar travel. Well, although this sounds pretty much like every other ego shooter, Shogo really is different. The main reason is its comic-like appearance in the Manga style. The opening screen displaying the name of the game could just as well have been taken from a Japanese TV show like Pokemon. This creates a great atmosphere. Not as earnest as Q***ke or Heretic II, more on the humorous side.
Regrettably, there is no intro, you have to read the background story itself. After each level, the story is continued with text, and also with animations and speech. This aids the cinematic effect.
But let's concentrate on the game itself. The first couple of levels are an introduction, to help you find your way in the game and the storyline. For the most part, you steer an MCA, a 10-metre high mechwarrior. Usually, you see things from the ego perspective, with your gun in front of you. You can also switch to a viewmode similar to Heretic II, but it doesn't look so grand. Except for that, the game looks great. In the higher detail levels, you see fogs and lighting effects like never before on an Amiga. There are impressive outdoor scenarios (like level 1, where you are in a snowy landscape) and labyrinth-like indoor levels. Because an MCA is so huge, it is a lot of fun to aim at the "tiny" cars and soldiers. And when a jeep explodes, you'll see the amount of work that went into it. The difficulty increases from level to level, and you can choose the difficulty you begin with.
The cool thing is that it's not only about going from gate A to door B, finding key C to activate lever D. Often you have to work in a team (but be careful, you can hit and kill your own teammates). Unfortunately, friend and foe sometimes aren't distinguishable at the first glance, but you get used to it. Same thing with the controls. Since you can configure everything here, too, there are no problems.
The second level starts in your cabin on the mothership as orders arrive to report to the Admiral. A nice mission. You don't have to kill anyone (since we are among friends here), just find your way to the Admiral. Occasionally, the commander contacts you via radio to see what is taking you so long. In fewer words: The storyline leads through the game and keeps you wanting more. The game is easy to learn, but not boring. To keep it that way, you can of course play with other humans. For this, you either need a local network or the Internet. I didn't have the time to test the multiplayer capabilities, so I'll review them at a later time. The only thing I tested was the setup of the server, which is fast and easily done with the launcher.
In Shogo, everything comes together. The graphics are perfect, the music and sound effects are never disturbing and the well-thought-out story, the Manga style and the sheer amounts of weapons and extras make Shogo a super hit.
But one thing you shouldn't forget: This game is only for the "elite" of Amiga computers. But the users of PPC- and 3D-boards should consider themselves lucky, and the rest can at least dream.
Well, now please let me continue, I want to complete this level and it will soon be morning and the kids will wake up...
It's a real pain to have me review this game! What did the programmers think? Are they kidding me? I'm looking like mad for drawbacks in Shogo, but I just can't find any! So I will blow up some things out of proportion: It's a pity that everything (manual, screen texts and speech) is in English only. A localized version would have been nice. But still: an absolutely brilliant piece of software. You really notice the amount of work that went into it, and I sincerely hope that this work will be honored and Shogo will sell like mad. Never before did a game push the hardware to the limits so much. It's not only a feast for eyes and ears, the brain regales itself on the puzzles, the fingers cycle through all the different weapons and the stomach grumbles because you forgot to go to the fridge: Shogo-mania has kicked in! So, if you have a suitable computer, you MUST buy this game. If you are still not sure, then give the demo a go.
Jürgen Theiner
