<!--
	Title: (The Lab Report) Shogun
	Source: Zzap!64, #51
	Date: July 1989
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

<p class="larger">Infocom, Amiga £29.99</p>

Ah so, as 'Kendo' Fish would say. Remember old Richard Chamberlain 
(housewives faint all over the country) in the epic TV drama
where he sailed a ship to Japan and got involved with the war
between two leaders to rule the country? Well this game is based
on the same book (by James Clavell) as the TV series.

<figure class="float-right-half">
<figcaption><strong>The ship is rocked by a violent storm</strong></figcaption>
<img src="/public/img/articles/zzap64-shogun-review/shogun-screen-shot-1.jpg" alt="Shogun screen shot">
<p></p>
<figcaption><strong>The crew are starving, but worse still they smell!</strong></figcaption>
<img src="/public/img/articles/zzap64-shogun-review/shogun-screen-shot-2.jpg" alt="Another Shogun screen shot">
</figure>

As John Blackthorne (Richard Chamberlain) you are the Pilot-Major
of a Dutch trading ship, the Erasmus. In the year 1600 the
Pacific Ocean is dominated by Spain and Portugal. Their
knowledge of the Asian seaways is top secret information, but you
have a stolen Portuguese rutter which has helped make you the
first Englishman to successfully sail through the Straits of
Magellan into the Pacific. But the journey has cost many lives
already. The surviving crew are starving and Captain Spillbergen
is dying. Worse still, after sailing for weeks without sight of land,
the ship is caught in a terrible storm. The first task is to steer the
Erasmus safely through dangerous reefs and tidal waves
to try and reach Japan.

But if you thought life on the ocean waves was hazardous, as a
European in Japan your life is permanently hanging by the
thinnest of threads. You see, these Japs are strange folk with
an odd sense of honour. Like if a chap loses a game of ping-pong
he's likely to impale himself! And their only punishment is death,
usually by an extremely painful method like being boiled alive.
They have weird customs as well -- a samurai told me off for having
barbaric manners and then urinated over me! Then he
ordered me to take a bath -- in public!

Still, if you win their respect (bowing to every samurai is a
good idea) they let you wear a silk kimono. But even then, without
warning, you can be chucked into the slammer for an indefinite
period without any clothes. Somehow you must try simply to
survive as you become involved in the tussle of two great lords
(Ishido and Toranaga) to rule Japan -- the emperor has died,
leaving a seven-year-old heir. Your one asset is your ship --
much better than the Spanish and Portuguese ones -- which could
enable one of the lords to vanquish the other. But your
main enemies are Catholic priests -- don't forget, this is the
time of the Spanish Inquisition and worst luck you're a
Protestant!

Occasional but beautifully-drawn pictures add to the
engrossing atmosphere created by the detailed text -- much of it
(including some strong language) taken straight from James
Clavell's great novel. The story is a wonderful yarn about the clash
of two totally different cultures. And the interaction between the
English hero and his strange new world suits the adventure genre
will. If Japanese objects and customs seem totally alien to the
adventure player, this is exactly how they would seem to John
Blackthorne.

The parser is very flexible, comprehending many variations
of syntax. However, understanding samurai honour is
impossible and progress is made mostly through trial and error. If
you do get stuck the game has a useful (but far too tempting) in-built
hints facility. As this is 'interactive fiction', the
problems are essentially linear. Various sections must be
completed in order, just like the chapters of the book. *Shogun* is
more of an adapted novel than a true adventure. But if
atmosphere is what you really want, this is your game.


<table class="larger" style="font-weight: bold; border-top: 4px solid; border-bottom: 4px solid; font-family: var(--article-sidebar), Arial, sans-serif;"><tbody>
<tr><td>ATMOSPHERE</td><td>93%</td></tr>
<tr><td>PUZZLE FACTOR</td><td>65%</td></tr>
<tr><td>INTERACTION</td><td>70%</td></tr>
<tr><td>LASTABILITY</td><td>76%</td></tr>
<tr><td>OVERALL</td><td>74%</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
