Introduction to Shogo
Shogo is one of the newest first person shooters developed by Monolith Productions coming out just a month before Blood 2.
Shogo takes all the elements of other first person shooters (such as Quake 2, Unreal and SiN) and combines it with a very Japanese storyline.
Anime plays a big role in Shogo's inspiration, and thus it is just like playing in your own anime cartoon. Shogo captures a realism in which no other FPS has. You don't jump out of your jail cell or marooned ship and start killing everyone in sight, you actually have friends and commrades that will help you on your journey.
The Developers
Monolith, while being a younger company than id Software, has already made a name for itself with titles such as Blood (the last game to use 3DRealm's Build Engine), Captain Claw (on of the best side scrollers of all time) and the Microsoft Sampler Packs (which is how they got started in the game biz).
Monolith's previous games show a legacy of quality games which is something we can look forward to with up-coming titles and lately they have been extremely busy with numerous projects like Shogo, Blood2, Rages of Mages, Get Medieval and Gruntz.
Monolith does more than just games. Monolith Studios is an in-house 3d Rendering firm that specialize in motion-capture, Audio and Video production, FX services and Multimedia Engineering. Such technology gets used to the development of their games.
Monolith Productions is located in Kirkland, WA, USA and pride themselves on being "Gamers making games for Gamers."
Shogo Characters
Shogo's characters are central to the whole plot. Character development will be developed to a level unheard of in games. In other words, you'll laugh, you'll cry (and you might hurl). Below is an outline of the characters in the game.
Sanjuro Makabe
Sanjuro, once a highly respected lieutenant in the UCASF, but a tragic accident during a critical mission left three of his squadmates--his brother Toshiro, and two lifelong companions, Kura and Baku--missing in action and presumed dead.
Sanjuro was held accountable for the casualties by the UCA, but his own self-recrimination weighs far more heavily. He and Toshiro were brought up in a military orphanage under the care of Admiral Nathaniel Akkaraju. Sanjuro was always very popular and well-liked, although his quick temper has been known to get him in trouble. The tragedy that damaged his career also darkened his spirits and left him bitter and defeated.
Sanjuro now seeks refuge in the willing arms of Kura's twin sister Kathryn. Admiral Akkaraju is giving him a second chance with the mission to assassinate Gabriel.
Toshiro Makabe
Toshiro, being the elder son, was more deeply affected than his brother by the loss of their parents. He grew up a sullen, withdrawn child, more comfortable in his own highly active imagination than in the company of others. He always envied Sanjuro's popularity and rugged self-assurance, but he was most jealous of his brother's relationship with Kura Akkaraju, one of the admiral's twin daughters.
Baku Ogata
Baku was a scrawny underachiever who was often the target of bullies at the military orphanage Sanjuro and Toshiro attended. The brothers befriended him and they all became fast friends.
Baku has always loved Kura, Kathryn's sister, but her relationship with Sanjuro destroyed any chance he would ever have to tell her.
Admiral Nathaniel Akkaraju
The Admiral's sense of duty and honor are legendary, which has earned him both respect and resentment. No one resented him more than Kura, who blamed him for her mother's death during a military crisis in the colony where they were stationed.
The Admiral's refusal to abandon his post cost him the love of one daughter, but the respect of another, Kura's twin sister Kathryn, who believed that he did the right thing. Admiral Akkaraju's grief over his wife's demise hardened his outward demeanor, turning him from a proud father and noble officer into a cold, ruthless disciplinarian.
His disappointment in Sanjuro following the friendly fire tragedy has never been forgiven.
Kura Akkaraju
From early in her military career, Kura earned tremendous praise for her unequalled marksmanship, tactical brilliance, and unwillingness to quit no matter how great the odds. Her spirited personality caught the watchful eye of Sanjuro, who quickly feel deeply in love with her. They were inseparable until her untimely death.
Kathryn Akkaraju
After her mother's death, Kathryn swore she would never use a weapon against another human being. So when everyone she cared about joined the UCA as combat soldiers, she took a position as a communications expert aboard her father's star ship: the UCASF Flagship Leviathan. Her quick intellect and feisty willfulness have ruffled her superior officers' feathers from time to time-namely her father's-but her skill and relentless loyalty are valuable enough to keep her out of serious trouble.
She always harbored a deep, abiding love for Sanjuro, but her pride never allowed her to admit it to him. When he and Kura started dating, Kathryn was crushed.
Gabriel
Little is known of the fanatical leader of The Fallen. What is clear is that he intends to seize control of Cronus and curb the harvest of bioridium, which will have disastrous effects on space travel.
MCA: Mobile Combat Armor
The single biggest thing that points to an anime heritage in a game is the existence of anthropomorphic, robotic battle armor. Alot of different cultures create mechs, BattleTech armor and such. But the Japanese created the "Mecha"; the machine that moves like a man.
In the game, missions will be played on foot and in MCA ("mobile combat armor" which can also be pronounced "mecha"). The two types of missions will differ in many ways. Adventures in your favorite MCA (choices will number four, but other MCA exist in the game) will take place in huge, open areas like cities, underground caves and huge factories.
Being 30' tall has its advantages. You will have the ability to stomp on cars, trees and people (and theoretically, on-foot enemy). Being able to carry a few tonne in your arms all so advantages. The weapons are huge. Everything from the Celsior AS-10 (that weight a measly 272kg) to the MT-101 (that sits at a heftier 760kg).
There will be four MCA for you to choose from:
Ordog - A good all-round MCA that is the ultimate compromise between speed and strength.
Enforcer - A little stronger, a little slower. Another well-rounded MCA.
Akuma - The lightest, fastest MCA. Can't take too much firepower, but is deadly in the right hands.
Predator - Can take a huge pounding, but is the turtle when compared to the hare-like Akuma.
The Shogo Arsenal
As mentioned earlier, the game is split between on-foot and in-MCA missions. Whether you are inside the battle armor dictates where you can go and what you can maim the enemy with.
The final weapons list is incomplete (balancing weapons involves cutting and adding to the list as the game develops) but here is the list thusfar:
On Foot Weapons
Tanto (Combat Knife) - Nice little weapon for cutting off an ear or finger.
Dual Pistols - Always in akimbo, these two beautiful weapons lay out a pretty constant line of bullets shooting alternately with descent accuracy.
Shotgun - Only shooting one shot at a time, this weapon lays out a nice blow if your close to your enemy but be careful in a high populated area for this weapon needs a reload after every discharge.
Machine Gun - Definetly my favorite weapon, this little beauty shoots at a very fast rate but is not the most accurate. It is how ever very fast and well utilized at close range or tree chopping. And do take note of the silencer on its barrel for a less noisy unload.
Assault Rifle - A favorite of the skilled player for its high accuracy. This weapon shoots well enough to type your name into your victim's forehead. Press the button for this weapon a second time and into sniper mode it goes but it will only shoots in three bullet bursts.
Energy Grenades - Originally scheduled to be placed on the Assault Rifle as an alternate fire, this weapon emits a blue ball of fragging power. Firing like a grenade launcher, it hits on impact and lays a nice amount of damage on your opponent, but be carefull, you're no god yourself.
Kato Grenades - Basically the same type of weapon as the Energy Grenades, this weapon was also intended for the Assault Rifle use. It uses a yellow protectile instead of the blue Enery Grenade, and has a designated time before exploding. This weapon will bounce all over before going off so don't play with it in your room.
Squeaky Toy - WTF??? That's right, a squeaky toy. This is used on one level to retrieve a missing gate keeper's cat who lets you through for finding the cat. In multiplayer mode, hitting someone a few times with it will makes them cry like a little baby. Humiliate the opposition!
MCA Weapons
Mono Knife - This is the ammo free weapon of the Ordog MCA. The mono knife resembles a small dagger.
Energy Blade - The ammo free weapon of the Enforcer. This weapon is a wide sword good for chopping parts off your opponent MCA.
Katana Sword - A very thin and narrow sword, this weapon belong solely to the Akuma MCA.
Energy Baton - Niether a sword nore a knife the Predator lovingly beats its opponents to death.
Pulse Rifle - Default weapon of the MCA, this weapon fires a round energy burst which is not very strong but its fast firing speed makes it an admirable weapon.
Laser Cannon - The laser cannon is a direct hitting weapon like that of the railgun in Quake2. It instantly hits your opponent and lays in a nice amount of damage. (it also leaves a cool red make on walls)
Spider - Definetly one of the most fun weapons of the MCA, this little toy sticks to the surface it touches and as the timer runs out, it unleashes a horrible blow. And yes you can tag these suckers on your opponents and they can't get them off.
Bullgut - The Tow of the MCA shooting four rockets at once. These rockets aren't, however, the most accurate for they never go straight but do pack a nice punch.
Sniper Rifle - Ah yes, the sniper rifle. The typical camper was really thought out for this beast. Hit the button for this gun a second time and say hello to the scope. One shot of this will kill ANY little Fallen people but I'm sure it would kill anyone fi you pumped a 3 foot bullet it them. It also has a nice amount of damage to other MCAs. (aim for the head)
Juggernaut - Creative is all that can describe this gun. It fires what appears to be a laser but as it hits its target it explodes.
Shredder - I'm my opinion its basically the Juggernaut on Prozac or the Juggernaut chaingun.
Red Riot - Mmmmm. I smell a Mecha a cookin'. Yes they'll roast with this. This gun makes Quake2's BFG look like a water ballon. Shoot this at a couple fighting MCAs and you'll see who wins the dispute.
Next ->
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3
RSS Feeds
