***
Genre: First Person Shooter
Released: September 30, 1998
Monolith is best known today for their fast paced over-the-top shooters. Since Blood a year earlier --their Wolfenstein 3D clone and first game-- not much has changed here. Shogo MAD would later be replicated and dipped in dye as Blood 2. (Leaving behind what made Shogo interesting, I must add.)
As for Shogo, shooting an enemy's limbs (There's no particular one, since the effect is at random.) gives you some health. When confronting 2 or more enemies, alternating between them is a great strategy. Shoot the
first, and as he winces in pain, shoot the other(s). When the first starts to recover, have at him again and repeat the process.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Some bosses do not respond to you unless you cross a boundary. For example: The fight against Samantha in the "Bullet in the Head" stage can be won by literally standing in one spot. You fight this bitch 3 or 4 times throughout, and it becomes a recurring joke in the game. Sanjuro says, "Why won't you die!" or something to that effect. Uziel in "An Old Friend" starts shooting like a madman from the second the battle begins. Only one problem: he is hurting himself by firing at the ground in front of him with his big-ass gun. You could take the elevator up and face him on the platform, but he can kill himself if you stay still. [END SPOILERS]
The on-foot levels vary from a moving train (Later used in Blood 2, I believe.) to city slums, to highly secured facilities. The mecha levels have the coolest weapons. The "Spider" latches on to anything you can see, and destructs in heavenly flames, damaging anything caught in the blast. It is slow to execute. "Shredder" and "Bullgut" pack a wallop as well; the latter firing spread missiles, and the former a rapid beam --good for chewing up Fallen scum. The only notable on-foot weapon is the "Kato Grenade". This orb bounces off surfaces and disintegrates it's live target. (Including you and your allies.) Your MCA, or "mobile combat armor" can transform into a land craft. This is pretty useless. I did love to step on and shoot soldiers in my MCA; visa versa is a chore.
Other than some cool mech designs, the "Critical Hit!" mechanic, and some awe-inspiring guns, Shogo: Mobile Armor Division is a generic game. You will fight the same basic guys from start to finish. (Character models in 2 colors? C'mon Monolith.) It really makes sense now.
Supervisor: "Hey Samson, how is F.E.A.R. coming along?"
Character Designer: "Oh, it's great. Since I can't draw for fuck, we are going to call them 'clones' in the game. Now I can go home early!!"
Supervisor: "That's nice. Well I'm headed back to the Philippines, so be sure to tell William to overwork himself with the A.I. before you leave. Looks like he enjoys his work, but tell him to do so regardless."
Though slightly less compelling than Half Life, it is still worth checking out for some short lived thrills-- if you can cope with the stupid design choices.
Note: Someone was making a multiplayer mod back in the day that put a group of OF players up against a controlled MCA. I don't know if that was released or not. I have not touched the multiplayer matches, but I doubt anyone is playing. lol.