Shellshock 2: Blood Trails
Encyclopedia
Shellshock 2: Blood Trails is a first-person shooter
video game developed by Rebellion Developments
and published by Eidos Interactive
for the PlayStation 3
, Xbox 360
and Microsoft Windows
. It is the sequel to Shellshock: Nam '67
, developed by Guerrilla Games
and published by Eidos in 2004. It was released in February 2009.
set during the Vietnam War
. The plot revolves around a special operations team led by Sergeant Caleb "Cal" Walker, who vanished after being sent into the jungles of Cambodia to retrieve a mysterious cargo known as WhiteKnight, which was lost after a U.S. transport plane was shot down by a NVAF jet. Cal lost his men to the earliest victims of Whiteknight, the downed U.S. plane crew. Cal was infected with the virus that he meant to secure.
One month after the event, Cal comes out of the jungle alone, only to be captured and brought to a U.S. base in the Pleiku Highlands. Cal's newly drafted brother, Private Nathaniel "Nate" Walker was brought by Sgt. Jack Griffin to the base in order to extract info regarding WhiteKnight from his deranged brother. Unfortunately, Cal was able to escape after killing some soldiers during a VC attack on Pleiku. The joint VC/NVA attack was orchestrated by Nguyen Van Trang, a VC officer sent to capture Cal.
Nate, with help of Griffin, and GIs that he met along the way, must hunt down Cal, moving from Pleiku to an old temple in Cambodia. Nate is also tasked to stop Nguyen Trang and his comrades from capturing Cal. Nate, through the course of his journey, combats those infected with WhiteKnight, the VC, and NVA.
for parent company Eidos before Rebellion bought the studio and renamed it Rebellion Derby.
GameSpot
's Brett Todd gave the game a 4/10, saying the game suffered from "dumb enemies", "terrible controls", "simplistic level designs," "no multiplayer," and a single-player campaign that was "short". Todd also said "ShellShock 2: Blood Trails spices up Vietnam with a liberal application of zombies" and "a few good scares," but ultimately "there isn't much game here." He concluded his review saying "Even if you're interested in the Vietnam War and have a zombie fetish, you can likely find a better use for your money."
Reviewer Erik Brudvig of IGN
said "First-person shooters are in no short supply and the ones without the inflated budgets often have trouble competing with the high rollers. That is the case with Shellshock 2." Brudvig states of the game's pacing that "Shellshock 2 starts off well enough but quickly goes downhill and is over before you really have time to appreciate how bad it is." He scored the game a 4.6/10. Ultimately, Brudvig felt that "The visuals, level design, AI, and just about anything else you can think of can't match up with the top-tier first-person shooters."
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
video game developed by Rebellion Developments
Rebellion Developments
Rebellion is a British computer games company, based in Oxford, who are most famous for the first Aliens vs. Predator computer game. It has published comic books since 2000 and launched its own book imprint, Abaddon Books, in 2006.-History:...
and published by Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. It is the sequel to Shellshock: Nam '67
Shellshock: Nam '67
Shellshock: Nam '67 is a third-person shooter set during the Vietnam War in which the player takes control of a newly drafted U.S. soldier. It was released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC platforms on September 14, 2004. It was published by Eidos Interactive and developed by Guerrilla...
, developed by Guerrilla Games
Guerrilla Games
Guerrilla Games is a first party video game developer and wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment. The company is based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, currently employs approximately 150 individuals, and is headed by managing director Hermen Hulst and development director Arjan...
and published by Eidos in 2004. It was released in February 2009.
Plot
Shellshock 2: Blood Trails is a first-person shooterFirst-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
set during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The plot revolves around a special operations team led by Sergeant Caleb "Cal" Walker, who vanished after being sent into the jungles of Cambodia to retrieve a mysterious cargo known as WhiteKnight, which was lost after a U.S. transport plane was shot down by a NVAF jet. Cal lost his men to the earliest victims of Whiteknight, the downed U.S. plane crew. Cal was infected with the virus that he meant to secure.
One month after the event, Cal comes out of the jungle alone, only to be captured and brought to a U.S. base in the Pleiku Highlands. Cal's newly drafted brother, Private Nathaniel "Nate" Walker was brought by Sgt. Jack Griffin to the base in order to extract info regarding WhiteKnight from his deranged brother. Unfortunately, Cal was able to escape after killing some soldiers during a VC attack on Pleiku. The joint VC/NVA attack was orchestrated by Nguyen Van Trang, a VC officer sent to capture Cal.
Nate, with help of Griffin, and GIs that he met along the way, must hunt down Cal, moving from Pleiku to an old temple in Cambodia. Nate is also tasked to stop Nguyen Trang and his comrades from capturing Cal. Nate, through the course of his journey, combats those infected with WhiteKnight, the VC, and NVA.
Development
According to Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley, the title was previously being developed by Core DesignCore Design
Core Design was a British video game studio best known today for creating the popular Tomb Raider series.-History:Based in the city of Derby, England, Core Design was set up in 1988 by Chris Shrigley, Andy Green, Rob Toone, Terry Lloyd, Simon Phipps, Dave Pridmore, Jeremy Heath-Smith and Greg Holmes...
for parent company Eidos before Rebellion bought the studio and renamed it Rebellion Derby.
Reception
The game received mostly negative reviews.GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's Brett Todd gave the game a 4/10, saying the game suffered from "dumb enemies", "terrible controls", "simplistic level designs," "no multiplayer," and a single-player campaign that was "short". Todd also said "ShellShock 2: Blood Trails spices up Vietnam with a liberal application of zombies" and "a few good scares," but ultimately "there isn't much game here." He concluded his review saying "Even if you're interested in the Vietnam War and have a zombie fetish, you can likely find a better use for your money."
Reviewer Erik Brudvig of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
said "First-person shooters are in no short supply and the ones without the inflated budgets often have trouble competing with the high rollers. That is the case with Shellshock 2." Brudvig states of the game's pacing that "Shellshock 2 starts off well enough but quickly goes downhill and is over before you really have time to appreciate how bad it is." He scored the game a 4.6/10. Ultimately, Brudvig felt that "The visuals, level design, AI, and just about anything else you can think of can't match up with the top-tier first-person shooters."