Every game has a background story. Usually, it's in the form of an intro that tells you everything that has happened and why you should be killing everyone you meet (as if we need a reason). My disc of Forsaken, Probe and Acclaim's version of Descent, (a 360 degree 3D deathmatch game) had no such intro (the folder in which it was supposed to be was completely empty). So, I had no such story.

I checked out Acclaim's site and this is what they had to say:

"An experiment gone wrong caused an uncontrollable fusion reaction to rip through the Earth, leaving nothing more than a lifeless husk. Devoid of atmosphere and bathed in the searing radiation of the sun, the planet has been condemned. You are among the Forsaken few who must risk life and limb and invade the now abandoned settlements to collect what little fortune was left behind."

In this case, the aforementioned fortune consists of gold bars (collecting ten will give you a free life) and crystals (I have no idea of what use they are) and power-ups (weapons, power pods, etc.)

You can choose one of sixteen different bikers (Bikers? The vehicles fly and don't have wheels), which are rather amusing, each with their own personality. They range from a red-neck trucker to an ex-cop, from an egotistical computer chip to a recalled rogue cyborg. Each of their bikes have different attributes, such as speed, maneuverability, shield strengths, etc., (although, in multi-player, everyone gets the same stats). You also get to choose from five different computer voices for your bike which tell you what you pick up and alert you when your shields are low. These range from the typical sci-fi-movie-female-computer-type voice to the over-enthusiastic game show host that reminds me of Eddie the Ship Board Computer from Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio shows.

There is an option for mature content (default off) hidden in the menu. I played it with both settings, but didn't notice any difference. Maybe a few four letter words were missing, but Nubia says bitch in both versions, so... I don't see very many teenage game players not finding this option and turning it on, anyway, but it was a nice thought.

You start out with five lives, which, in my opinion, is so much nicer than the "die once and start all over" games. I hate starting all over. (I hate dying, too, but there's not much to be done about that.) Periodically in the level, your respawn position is reactivated so you don't have to start at the beginning of the level. It is also refreshing that everything that you have killed remains dead once you respawn. That's much more convenient than having to keep fighting the big enemy that keeps taking you so close to death's door that you die the minute the next target appears on screen. Your power-ups remain where you died until you go pick them back up. You don't have to go about the level recollecting everything to be powerful enough to kill more things. (Which is quite advantageous since items don't seem to respawn in single-player.)

There are eleven single player maps in all. On some, you have a limited amount of time to get what you are looking for and get the hell out before something really big explodes taking you with it. Being limited in the amount of time you can spend looking around, you don't seem to notice that the wonderfully designed textures are rather flat. They still look nice when you are flying past at break-neck speed (and it keeps the game flowing) so this isn't such a bad thing. However, the secrets of the level have a tendency to remain secret when you don't have the casual atmosphere of checking everything over once all of the robots on the level have been killed. Also, you have that added pressure of "I have to get out before..." instead of just "I have to get out of here."

The game really is a piece of work. Even the start-up menu (which was my first impression of the game since I had no intro) is beautifully rendered. This has to be the most impressive FPS I have seen yet. The textures (albeit flat) are rather detailed and the weapons... OH... what a feast for the eyes! The more powerful the weapon, the more beautiful the effect, it seems. Some battles are gorgeous to the point of distraction when all the different weapons are being fired about the room. The Trojax (which can be charged up by holding the fire button longer) is a bright blue disc and the Transpulse(s?) are red arrowhead-shaped things that bounce off walls. Even the missiles are quite detailed in their own right. It's quite a wonderful effect when, in multi-player, players are firing different weapons and the different colored bolts (beams, etc., you get the point) are flying about in all directions.

The multi-player option (which can be played on Microsoft's Internet Gaming Zone) comes with 13 different maps that are big enough for up to 16 players. It also comes with different play options, such as Team Play, Bounty Hunt, Capture the Flag, etc. (First time I had a game with the Mods built in!) Anytime you blow up your opponent, you get all of her/his power-ups, (weapons, power pods, shields, everything) not just the weapon she/he was using at the time. It can be a match of incredible intensity and speed when two players converge in one area.

It took me a little time to be able to tell the difference between another player and the power-ups surrounding them. From a distance, a player hovering amongst a group of power-ups can blend right in. Also, recognizing a planted mine can be pertinent to survival. At first glance, some look like a new kind of power-up. Don't try to pick up these, however. (It can be quite detrimental to one's health.)

Acclaim suggests that you play this on at least a Pentium 133Mhz or Higher with Microsoft D3D compatible 3D accelerator card or a Pentium 166Mhz without acceleration with at least 32Meg RAM. My husband ran in the 40fps range on his K6-233 with his $70 Rendition 2100 D3D compatible card. I also tried it on my daughter's P166 in software mode. OK., so it doesn't look that great then, but what does? It supports a myriad of 3D accelerators as well as Logitech and Microsoft controllers. They have patches for using the base buttons on the Microsoft Sidewinder Pro on their site, but I didn't have any difficulty using mine. You can use a mouse for the game, but I recommend a joystick with a hat to get the full effect of sliding in all four directions.

Overall, a must-add to the ever-growing collection of FPS games. It's beautiful, fast-paced killing (can you *kill* a robot?) that isn't quite so righteous. In a way, it's quite refreshing to go in and blow things up just because you want to steal the gold as opposed to fighting off the enemy hordes to protect your world.

GAME DATA

Title: Shogo: Mobile Army Division
Category: Action
Publisher: Monolith
System Requirements: O/S: Windows 95/98
CPU: Pentium 166 or equivalent (Pentium II recommended)
Memory: 32 MB system RAM
Video System: Direct 3D 4 MB video card recommended (required for systems below Pentium 233)
Audio System: 100% DirectSound-compatible sound card
CD-ROM: 4x CD-ROM drive