Shock Troopers (AES4ALL) Review

Original release:

1997

Game details:

1-2 Players

Standard controller

VGA box

The following game was not officially released for Sega Dreamcast. It is emulated using AES4ALL developed by chui. This is an evaluation of the emulation of the game as well as the game itself.

Using Team RDC's release you can play this game as though it is a commercial game with only a brief loading screen.

Emulation

This game is kind of a strange one on the emulation front. The speed of the game itself is fine; it plays just as it should with occasional (and in incredibly brief bursts) slowdown while loading. The music is an entirely different story though. The music has this strange stutter to it. It isn't really skipping, but it's as though the entire thing is being played with a drummer who can't keep a steady beat. It's not a huge deal; you can either tough it out or mute it.

Gameplay

Since there's some music issues with the emulation of this game on Dreamcast, Shock Troopers needs some good gameplay to make up for it, which it does with ease. Maybe it was just the fact that I hadn't played a game like this for so long, but I had a great time with it. Shock Troopers is an 8-direction shooter; a genre that died along with the arcades and hasn't been seen since. Not even on XBLA or PSN, really. The game plays like some kind of a cross between a shmup and Metal Slug, meaning if you're a Neo Geo fan this is right up your alley. All that being said, there's nothing truly standout about this game. It does what it set out to do and it does it well enough. If you missed out on the arcade days, then I definitely recommend this game. It's a good time capsule of what a generic arcade game was like.

Storyline

This was on Neo Geo hardware and is an arcade only release. That about sums it up, I believe.

Graphics

These are on par with the gameplay summary; they do what they set out to do and they do it well enough. The graphics are lightyears ahead of Shit Pilots, but considering that this is the same year Street Fighter III: New Generation came out, they're not impressive either.

Sound

If I had played this in the arcades or had time to snag it for MAME, I'd give word, but for the Dreamcast version you'll probably want to mute this. As for the sound effects, they're standard fare.

Conclusion

This is not a bad game at all; the sound emulation will probably turn some away from this, but for those who realize your TV has a volume button, you'll have a great time with it.

7.8/10