Software:Shellshock 2: Blood Trails

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Short description: 2009 video game

Shellshock 2: Blood Trails
Developer(s)Rebellion Derby
Publisher(s)Eidos Interactive
Producer(s)John Walsh
Designer(s)Keith Ledger
Artist(s)Daryl Clewlow
Composer(s)Martin Iveson
Ben McCullough
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release
  • EU: February 13, 2009
  • NA: February 24, 2009
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Shellshock 2: Blood Trails is a first-person shooter video game developed by Rebellion Derby and published by Eidos Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is a sequel to Software:Shellshock: Nam '67. It received poor reviews from critics.

Plot

Newly drafted soldier Nathaniel "Nate" Walker is brought to a secret military base in Vietnam by Sgt. Jack Griffin. Jack explains that the army has paid a man named Whiteknight to create a biological weapon to use in the war, but the plane transporting it was shot down. A group of soldiers was sent to retrieve it, but the only member who returned was Nate's brother Caleb "Cal" Walker, who had gone mad. Jack tries to get Nate to talk to Cal and calm him down, but before he can, a group of Viet Cong attacks, and Cal escapes in the confusion. While trying to get away, a Viet Cong captain named Trang corners Nate and attempts to get him to defect and lead him to Whiteknight. Nate and Jack manage to escape, but become separated.

Nate begins to get visions of Cal brutally attacking and killing American troops. When Nate sees a US Soldier get dragged into a tunnel under a church, he jumps in to follow him. On the other side, Nate finds some US troops holding out against the Viet Cong, along with action-obsessed movie star Serena and her cowardly agent Rupert. Nate has his first encounter with an infected, who kills Serena. Nate and Rupert manage to escape on a boat. Nate hears on the radio that Cal has been captured by special forces at a mansion, and the two head that way.

Once there, they discover the mansion swarming with infected, the soldiers dead, and Cal has escaped. Nate comes across Trang, who once again attempts to convince Nate to defect. Nate refuses again, and Trang is forced to retreat when Cal returns with more infected. Nate and Rupert once again try to escape. A group of infected kill Rupert, while Nate is cornered and almost killed when Jack returns with a helicopter, saving Nate but getting bit in the process. Jack turns in the helicopter, causing them to crash.

Nate has another vision of Cal, and realizes he's heading for a Buddha statue. He follows the Ho Chi Minh Trail, hoping to find him, but is captured by Trang. While knocked out, Nate has a vision of Cal meeting with Whiteknight, who claims he tried to sell his weapon to the US Government, and infects Cal with it to prove that it works. Nate breaks out of Trang's camp, hunts down, and kills Trang. As Nate leaves on a helicopter, he looks out to see an infected Jack get gunned down by the Viet Cong.

Arriving back at an American base, Nate rendezvous with the American leaders. They tell him another squad attempted to retrieve Whiteknight and failed, but they got the last transmission from them. Nate realizes it's Cal's voice, begging the US not to send anyone else and to leave the infected alone. However, they send Nate in to retrieve Cal and Whiteknight anyway. After tracking down Cal, Nate discovers that he has been cured of the infection, Whiteknight revealing that he gave Cal the antidote and can cure others with it. However, Cal believes he will create another bioweapon and attempts to kill him, giving the player two options:

  • If the player shoots Cal, he helps Whiteknight get to a helicopter while watching a reinfected Cal get executed by the US Army. While leaving Vietnam, Nate makes the decision that once Whiteknight gives the antidote to the government, he plans to kill him.
  • If the player allows Cal to shoot Whiteknight, the two will leave together while Whiteknight is consumed by the infected. Nate says that Cal died three weeks later of his injuries, and the infected breaks out of the quarantine zone in Vietnam, slowly taking over the world, while there is a rush to discover an antidote.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic(PC) 40/100[1]
(PS3) 35/100[2]
(X360) 30/100[3]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Eurogamer2/10[4]
GameSpot(PC) 5.5/10[5]
4/10[6][7]
GamesRadar+StarStar[8]
IGN4.6/10[9]
VideoGamer.com3/10[10]

Shellshock 2: Blood Trails received "generally unfavorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[1][2][3]

Bans in Australia and Germany

On June 23, 2008, Shellshock 2: Blood Trails was refused classification by the Australian Classification Board, because of violence which was deemed too strong to be accommodated within the MA 15+ classification which was the highest rating video games could be given at the time. The game's distributor decided not to appeal the ban.[11][12] For similar reasons, the game has been placed on the List of Media Harmful to Young People by the German Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons and is illegal to distribute in the country. [13]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Shellshock 2: Blood Trails for PC Reviews". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/shellshock-2-blood-trails/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. Retrieved April 1, 2013. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Shellshock 2: Blood Trails for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/shellshock-2-blood-trails/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-3. Retrieved April 1, 2013. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Shellshock 2: Blood Trails Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/shellshock-2-blood-trails/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox-360. Retrieved April 1, 2013. 
  4. ↑ Bramwell, Tom (February 16, 2009). "Shellshock 2: Blood Trails". Eurogamer. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/shellshock-2-blood-trails-review. Retrieved April 1, 2013. 
  5. ↑ Todd, Brett (February 27, 2009). "Shellshock 2: Blood Trails Review". GameSpot. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/shellshock-2-blood-trails-review/1900-6205414/. Retrieved April 1, 2013. 
  6. ↑ Todd, Brett (March 12, 2009). "Shellshock 2: Blood Trails". GameSpot. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/shellshock-2-blood-trails-review/1900-6206019/. Retrieved April 1, 2013. 
  7. ↑ Todd, Brett (March 12, 2009). "Shellshock 2: Blood Trails". GameSpot. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/shellshock-2-blood-trails-review/1900-6206020/. Retrieved April 1, 2013. 
  8. ↑ Dean, Ian (February 25, 2009). "Shellshock 2: Blood Trails review". GamesRadar. https://www.gamesradar.com/uk/shellshock-2-blood-trails-review/. Retrieved April 1, 2013. 
  9. ↑ Brudvig, Erik (March 2, 2009). "Shellshock 2 Review". IGN. https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/03/02/shellshock-2-review. Retrieved April 1, 2013. 
  10. ↑ Orry, Tom (February 16, 2009). "Shellshock 2: Blood Trails Review". VideoGamer.com. https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/shellshock-2-blood-trails-review. Retrieved April 1, 2013. 
  11. ↑ "Shellshock 2: Blood Trails". August 31, 2019. https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/shellshock-2-blood-trails. 
  12. ↑ "Shellshock 2 banned in Australia". https://www.gamespot.com/articles/shellshock-2-banned-in-australia/1100-6193152/. 
  13. ↑ "Shellshock 2: Blood Trails (2009)". https://www.mobygames.com/game/39296/shellshock-2-blood-trails/. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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