Shogo: Mobile Armor Division

.oO Reviewed: GOG version on Windows 7 64-bit. Single Player only. Oo. I've evaluated this game mostly on the action. Combat alternates between foot and mech sections, and only one of them is really worth playing. The foot sections are blasé and cannot compete with certain FPSes released before 1998. At this party, the décor is Generic Military Installation™ and the annoying guests are re-skinned clones. The tired arsenal of shotgun/uzi/machine gun is made even more so by its superior applicability in predominantly close-quarter fights; the three other handheld weapons are neither that creative nor that useful. More to this point, there are too many Gotcha! (Quickload)™ moments, as enemies are often positioned around corners or immediately behind doors and can drop you in the blink of an eye. The mech sections fare better. Your mechs are quite large relative to humans, and size is effectively conveyed by simply making everything around you--humans, cars, and entire buildings--smaller. Robotic sounds and super-human movement add to the illusion of being inside a mech, although a more mechanical HUD would have greatly improved this effect. The mech weapons are more engaging, particularly the Bullgut--a cluster launcher that spits a random blast of angry, spiraling, missiles--and the Red Riot--a tactical nuke launcher with satisfying payload delivery that makes it one of the best BFGs to date. Whether by foot or by mech, it is worth noting that the sound effects are stellar. Observe the thunderous thud of Assault Rifle popping off or the implementation of noises that are distinctly from anime fight scenes. With two endings, the story is better than anything in the Quake series, but that's not saying much. There are infrequent touches of random humor, the kind that only seems possible for smaller development teams--like those of yesteryear--to get away with. When put together, these things make this game worth a play, if only just barely.

GOG, one more time i see how you lie to us. You told us that you adapt all games in your library to modern systems. Where? I can't see it with this game. I buy old games in your store because i don't want to struggle, I just want to install the game and play it.

I first bought Shogo in a multi-pack of games and enjoyed it. Let me make one thing clear, this is not the best FPS out there, nor was it the best of its time. It has its problems from lackluster AI, random appearing guys (especially in rooms you cleared out before the cut scene) and little difference between the human/mecha gameplay. Shogo broke no new boundaries and is a rather average game. What I found most enjoyable was the wit and story of the game. To me, it more than made up for the lacking in gameplay elements, because as I said, this is an average shooter of the time. If you like cynical humor, or anime in general, you'll enjoy playing this game. One thing to look out for, in the museum of war, the game splits into two paths, depending on whether you side with the fallen or not. It is worth your time to play out both of them.

Shogo is a pretty good attempt to copy Mecha anime. It's everything you'd expect giant robots, a convoluted plot involving a giant alien organism, cheesy dialogue and of course, a love triangle. You get the impression that a lot of Shogo is tongue and cheek, including a jokey opening intro set to a midi version of a j-pop song. The gameplay is fairly standard action FPS fair, and that is a bit problematic. There really isn't a lot of difference between the mech levels and the human soldier levels in terms of gameplay. The weapons are different sure, and while you're well-nigh invincible in your mech, you're embarrassingly vulnerable as a soldier. However, you never feel like your giant robot is...well, a giant robot. He moves with the same speed as the human, weilds weapons the same way, and the levels in both scenarios are extremely claustrophobic. Sure your mech can transform on the fly into a hovercraft, but it has no real impact on gameplay. Shogo is fun and diverting for a while, but it hasn't aged well. If you've never played it and like fast-paced fps games, go for it. If you're looking for an engaging story, or another Mechwarrior, give it a miss.

Hey Monolith! Remember back when you used to make fun games like this, Blood and No One Lives Forever? Games that actually had humor in them despite being about secret agents, giant robots and undead cultists. All you do these days is make new verions of FEAR and they're really missing something. It might be that you think shoving your game full of scary little girls instead of humor makes them good but it really doesn't. Anyway, Shogo is all about running around in giant mech suits and blowing stuff up or running around as the mech driver and blowng the same stuff up only in smaller areas. The game mimics Japanese manga and anime visuals very well down to even having a cheesy J-pop song during the intro. The graphics are a bit dated but they still have a distinct style and everything runs great at higher resolutions. If you're just looking for a fun little FPS that doesn't take itself very seriously but lets you blow up giant robots this is a pretty good choice.