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About Shogo |
Reviews
Defending the Monolith v2.0
Homepage: http://www.planetshogo.com/dtmDownload: Mod v2.0
The Basics
The Monolith: Defend It!
Defending the Monolith (or DTM) is a teamplay mod that is sort of like capture-the-flag but with a twist. Your goal is to destroy the other teams Monolith (which, not surprisingly, looks like the logo of Shogo's creators) while keeping them from destroying your own. Added to the mix are six brand-spanking new MCA classes with new models and new weapons.
Sniper The Sniper is perhaps the weakest class defensively, but it makes up for it by packing a powerful punch. One shot from it's roomed-in rifle is enough to drop just about any other MCA. This is the camper's dream machine.
Demolitionist The Demolitionist aka Demoman is a well-balanced class. It packs a good punch and moves pretty well. I'm guessing that I'm not the only one who thinks it looks like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Having said that, it's still my favorite class.
Rocketeer The Rocketeer can't take much damage, but it is one of the most useful classes in that it can fly and carry another MCA with it (use the tractor beam key)! You'll need someone to be a Rocketeer to lug all the Heavy Weapons guys around. Its weapons can do some decent damage, but speed is the name of its game.
Heavy Weapons Just about everything about this mecha is huge. It's absolutely enormous and can really dish out the pain. The bad part is that it is painfully slow. You will need a Rocketeer around if you plan on getting anywhere this week.
Soldier The Soldier is a new (since the beta versions) class. It is lighter than a Demolitionist, and thus faster, but it packs a little less punch. This is a good mecha to start with.
Medic This class really adds a lot to whole mod. In addition to being able to heal your teammates, it can also sap life from opponents (or opponent's monoliths). You won't want to get into a knock-down, drag-out fight with one, but a medic makes an invaluable addition to any team.
Because this is a teamplay mod, it is best with at least six (and preferably more) players, although two-on-two works pretty well too. Playing as a team is not optional, it is a necessity. Rocketeers need to lug Heavy Weapons guys into combant. Snipers provide long-range defense. Medics run around and heal people like mad. Soldiers and Demolitionists fight in the trenches. It not only takes good FPS skills, but good teamwork as well to be successful.
It's obvious that Fierce Koala and the boys put a lot of time, energy, and thought into this mod. The new MCAs are well-designed (for the most part, see below). Each MCA has new weapons with all new models, skins, and firing sequences. Each weapons seems like one that that class would carry (some of them are quite cool--particularly the portable circular saw that some classes have as a hand-to-hand weapon).
The classes are well balanced, so the Heavy Weapons guy can't run roughshod over everyone--he's too slow. The Sniper can't stand out in the open and waste people--he's too weak. This really emphasizes the need for teamwork.
They also added little "emoticons" to the game. You have to add commands to your autoexec.cfg to use them. You can tell the world if you are happy, sad, needing a lift from a Rocketeer, or needing medical attention. There's also an icon that appears over your head when you are talking a la Quake III.
The MCA-change and team-change commands are now console commands (much nicer than adding autoexec commands, IMO). In case you forget what the commands are, you can type "help" for a listing.
Some of the animation on some of the models seem a little strange, especially when the Sniper runs. He looks like he's bouncing or skipping. It makes me laugh every time. The skins for the weapons and the MCAs are very plain-jane and don't really do justice to the time put in on the models.
I don't know if I82's awesome DTM_Maniac_Castle and DTM_Maniac_Entrance maps work with this version of DTM or not. If they don't, I hope he updates them in a hurry. The maps that come with this version are decent (I like DTM_SEIGE the best), but this great mod deserves more maps.
I'm not sure what the point of DTM_GAUNTLET is. It's really only big enough for one-on-one action which would just then be a race to see who can fire rockets at the other's monolith faster, defeating the whole purpose of the mod.
If you change MCA, you will not stay in that class after the level changes. You revert back to the class you were when you originally logged on to the server. A small thing, yes, but annoying nonetheless.
When I did my original review, I was impressed with DTM. Now I'm even more impressed. The new models and weapons are slick. The teamplay aspect and overall balance are excellent. Defending the Monolith breathes sorely-needed new life into Shogo multiplayer. Judging from its popularity at recent Shogo Parties, other Shogo players are just as keyed about it as I am.
My only question is, why aren't more people playing it? Get on the servers, man!
Special thanks to Zematus and Quantus for their help with the screenshots. Thanks guys!