The Synapse Software Corporation developed the single player action game, Shamus, and it was released for play in the early eighties by IBM. It was originally created for the Atari 8 Bit system at this time, but it was soon ported to numerous formats besides the personal computer, ranging from the Commodore 64 to the Nintendo Game Boy Color. It was followed up on limited formats with a sequel called Shamus: Case II. Both were inspired by the arcade hit, Berserk.
The premise behind this game involves helping a robotic looking private detective through a fairly lengthy series of mazes.
There almost one-hundred-and-thirty mazes in the game, each in four different skill levels. The walls of the mazes are comprised of an electrified force field and there are numerous enemies in each maze. The little robotic hero will face spiral drones, snap jumpers and robo droids. He is armed with a weapon that throws Ion Shivs, and he can have two in the air at once when he is firing upon his enemies.
The main goal of each level is to clear it entirely of enemies. Touching the electrified wall will result in death, and so will being attacked by any of the above mentioned enemies. After clearing a room of enemies,
the user will have to find the exit and move on to the next. As each level is completed, they get harder, mostly due to the increase in pace. As the game play speeds up, it becomes harder to hit moving enemy monsters, and it also becomes more likely that Shamus will touch a wall in his frenzy. If the user spends too much time clearing a room, his task will become more difficult when the Shadow comes out of the blackness to attack him. The Shadow’s Lair is the final destination of the game, but a sneak peek at the Shadow will inevitably befall you. There will, however, be numerous items that Shamus will be able to pick up in the levels to help his case. Mostly, these items offer you points, but occasionally you will glean an extra life…which you will need in this lengthy play.
Shamus is a solid play that inspired many more games like it in multiple formats. It is challenging and simple at the same time, and was really a work of masterpiece for the time that it was created, simply because it is very small, but still very playable. This is one that the whole family can enjoy!
