Shogo: Mobile Armor Division

As you might have read in some of the other reviews, the game isn't without its flaws. The critical hit system is completely random and makes the on-foot missions somewhat frustrating if you're not careful, the A.I. is absolutely brainless (both for the enemies and your companions), and some bugs will occasionally lead to cheap deaths. Honestly, though, my biggest gripe about this game is that it's too short. In the end, though, the most imporant question is that whether it's fun or not. And for me, the answer is most definitely YES. I always found it interesting that the game lets you do stuff any ordinary FPS would consider a mission fail. For example, instead of forcing you to reload a save when you start killing NPCs, it lets you figure out on your own that you either can't progress or you just unknowingly followed a different path in the storyline. And yes, there are multiple endings. The anime aesthetic is definitely unique and blowing stuff up in the middle of a city as a giant mech never gets old. The aforementioned critical hits make the on-foot levels a bit worse but once you learn to play it safe, it's not so bad. These levels are still a treat to play thanks to the satisfying gore and selection of weapons that all feel fun to use and fire with punchy sound effects. And with great sound desing also comes awesome music which is both appropriate for the game's theme and it creates a nice atmosphere. I'll admit that I have a big nostalgia for this game and playing it takes me back to these long nights when I only remembered that I was playing for too long when daylight started pouring into the room. But for any fan of retro shooters, this game will still be a curiosity and I guarantee that you'll have a good time playing it.

Combat is satisfying and they handled the whole Mech thing better than nearly any other game has done. From the weapons the the scaling of scenes and battles, there is just something very satisfying about being on a battlefield with tiny humans trying to shoot you while you just casually stomp them, or run them over in "vehicle mode." On foot, the story is the same. The guns are fun to use and the sense of scale for an area is satisfying. There is a tiny bit of platforming that can get a little irritating, Not because it's tough or anything, it's just that kind of "one small move..." type of problem. And once you beat the game (or before you do, that's on you) you can go through it again, either for the optional ending or using the "tiny mech" cheat, which forces your on foot character to be the mech, complete with the same guns as the mech that deal the same amount damage. It's a fun way to blast through the campaign a second time, like some kind of god-tier human wrecking ball. The only thing that's shit about this game is that it was meant to be part of a trilogy and it never got the sequels it deserved. Part of me still holds out hope, though. If only it had launched in say, January 1998 instead of Autumn, around the time of HL1.

The game requires a ton of fixing to actually work properly, and even if you manage to fix it the game still crashes ALOT. It's ashame because the game is honestly pretty decent. Unique setting, and art style, good gunplay, and for it's time the graphics were not bad. The voice acting can be laughably bad at times, but I buy these sort of fps games for the gameplay. Overall I strongly suggest NOT buying this if you have a modern PC, but if you have a older PC I say give it a try.

Tried everything, no full-screen and mouse goes crazy (W10). Edit: well it runs in W11, but always with a strange white bar at the top of the screen?

Shogo was one of a handful of games that I have missed over the years. Due to moves and such, I had lost my original Shogo CD, but was excited when I saw GOG was selling it for $6! A testiment to the saying 'Great games don't need amazing graphics', this game has an amazing story, good music and a great combination of gameplay. Its built on the LithTech 1.0 Engine which doesn't stack up as nicely to similar games of the same period, but the content of the game overrides any technical shortcoming. If you've never played Shogo, here's a chance to play great game at a bargin price. If you have played Shogo and can't find your disc, its worth the $6 to place through again!