Shogo: Mobile Armor Division Demo

With Transformers being the exception, the mecha genre never did quite catch on in the Western part of the world, although there have been some attempts. MechWarrior might be the obvious go-to example for everyone, but that respective franchise tried really hard to keep up some form of realism for the events unfolding on screen, while the robots themselves also made some sort of sense, from a mechanical point of view.

Shogo: Mobile Armor Division is a video game developed by Monolith, the studio that is well known for their F.E.A.R franchise. However, they took a lot of their ideas and inspiration from the Japanese anime universe for the game at hand, in order to portray a very different science-fiction experience and properly recreate the specific Oriental atmosphere that dominates the anime scene.

Story-wise, the game is all about war, which takes place somewhere on a different planet and it revolves around a very rare and precious liquid called “kato”. Naturally, different factions want to get their hands on it by any means necessary, which means that the planets containing this element are always plagued by unending battles. You play as a soldier that's part of one of these factions and you also happen to be in command of a Mobile Combat Armor unit.

Although the large mech suits might look too heavy to be efficiently used in tight environments, they are actually quite mobile and fast in the game, which means that the gameplay itself is rather fast-paced and always intense. They can also crumble quite quickly under fire from other mechs, especially since it is also possible for them to score critical hits and do a lot of damage in a very short amount of time. Fortunately, you have a critical hit chance as well and the combat is that much more exciting this way.

Graphically, you should not expect too much, given the fact that the game was released almost two decades ago. However, it does use a 3D engine and it certainly is playable even now, despite the low-resolution textures and the rather wacky animations. The atmosphere is incredible, though, thanks to the exquisite level design and the engaging story that always keeps you guessing.

While it may be true that it does not really have too much competition to talk about, Shogo: Mobile Armor Division is a game that can truly surprise you, regardless of its age. It is worth checking it, if only to experience the thrill of being inside a mighty combat armor.