Surveillance Kanshisha
Encyclopedia
or simply known as is a First-Party
PlayStation 2
Adventure
Science fiction
interactive game published by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan
with animation created by Production I.G, which was released in Japan
on April 25, 2002 and was sold for a price of ¥
5,800.
The game had not been released in any other territory aside from Japan/Asia.
and Mars
is made possible thanks to the United Nations
' plans to conduct space travel. But with the presence of a mysterious terrorist group called Neo Kleit preparing to oppose to the UN's attempt to expand on space travel, a United Nations
-established counter-terrorist unit called Shadow Sword is called in to eliminate the group and protect the space development program and civilians with the help of a high-tech computer surveillance system called The Surveillance.
As Shadow Sword continues to protect civilians in their space travel and hunt down terrorist members of Neo Kleit, the unit gets tangled in a mysterious project that involves genetically enhanced creatures.
Players play the game by assuming the role of Shadow Sword team leader Yusuke Sasaki, who the player use in monitoring cameras of The Surveillance. There are six sub monitor screens with the main screen above them as players would use the latter to observe and analyze to obtain information for the level to progress, especially for Shadow Sword operators to move around and complete their objectives, by using target cursors to mark the main screen for The Surveillance to examine with a map on the right side of the screen for locating subjects of interest and where cameras connected to The Surveillance are located. Proper use of the cameras and using correct judgement would determine the fate of the Shadow Sword teams in terms of progressing in Surveillance.
During a session on the announcement of Surveillance at the 15th Anniversary Production I.G World Tour in Ginza
, Production I.G commentators have noted that the gameplay challenges players to use the main monitor and the other six submonitors in order to accomplish a scenario.
At the end of each stage, a chapter report would be presented to show players how well or bad they have done for the particular scenario. According to an interview with the Production I.G staff involved in making Surveillance, they had mentioned that the chapter report would give players the opportunity to check their progress and see what things do they either have to do or to avoid doing in the future.
The game's design was created by both Junya Ishigaki and Atsushi Takeuchi with Takashi Watabe and Yasushi Ohara. Hiroyuki Nishimura was the main director of the game with Hidekazu Terakawa being in charge of game design and was one of the game's director.
In an interview with Hidekazu Terakawa (Game Designer/Director), Atsunori Maeshima (Game Director), Tetsuji Yamamoto (Executive Producer, SCE
) and Junichi Fujisaku
(At the time of interview, Chief Director of Production I.G's Section G - Software Development Section), they had said that the game was entirely created by various staff members from Production I.G alone with little to no involvement from Sony Computer Entertainment
, including planning. Maeshima had pointed that during game development, he saw the game in comparison to the Blade Runner
movie.
The game's cutscenes, which were in MPEG-2
format, made the team decide to move the platform from the PlayStation
to the PlayStation 2
due to issues of the former's loading capabilities as the cutscenes are at least 5 hours and 30 minutes long according to Yamamoto. In addition, they had used real photos of Mars
and Phobos
as part of the cutscenes.
had first broke news of the possibility of the game based on the Yarudora series. On August 31, 2001, Sony Computer Entertainment
made an official announcement that Surveillance Kanshisha would be created for the PlayStation 2
with Production I.G working on the animation for the game.
In the 15th Anniversary Production I.G World Tour 2002 in Ginza
on April 20 and April 21 of 2002, Surveillance had been unveiled by Production I.G with guests including Mamoru Oshii
when the game was announced for a 2002 release.
A movie clip was shown on the internet for free from April 25 to May 14 of 2002 to promote the game to the public from the website of Morrich Club, now a part of Sony Music Online Japan. A Surveillance commercial had aired on TV Tokyo
on August 29, 2002.
and sold for ¥
1,575. The book included information ranging from the story of the game from the production of the game, including pictures of CG graphics used by Production I.G.
An article published by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan
commented that if the game was animated, the DVDs would have been bought. Furthermore, it also comments on the game's creation was to showcase the capabilities of the PlayStation 2
's graphics
.
The Shadow Sword team was described as being similar to the Policenauts team in Konami
's Policenauts
.
First-party developer
A video game development party can be one of two parties: a first-party or third-party developer.- First-party developer :In the video game industry, a first-party developer is a developer that is part of a company that manufactures a video game console, and develops exclusively for it...
PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
Adventure
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...
Science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
interactive game published by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
with animation created by Production I.G, which was released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on April 25, 2002 and was sold for a price of ¥
¥
¥ is a currency sign used by the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan currencies. The symbol resembles a Latin letter Y with a double stroke. The base unit of both currencies shared the same Chinese character pronounced yuán in Mandarin Chinese and en in Standard Japanese...
5,800.
The game had not been released in any other territory aside from Japan/Asia.
Plot
The game takes place in the year 2053 when space travel between EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
is made possible thanks to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
' plans to conduct space travel. But with the presence of a mysterious terrorist group called Neo Kleit preparing to oppose to the UN's attempt to expand on space travel, a United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
-established counter-terrorist unit called Shadow Sword is called in to eliminate the group and protect the space development program and civilians with the help of a high-tech computer surveillance system called The Surveillance.
As Shadow Sword continues to protect civilians in their space travel and hunt down terrorist members of Neo Kleit, the unit gets tangled in a mysterious project that involves genetically enhanced creatures.
Characters
All of the characters were both created and animated by Production I.G.- (Kenichi Suzuki) is a Japanese Shadow Sword operator and commanding officer of the team. He is a Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonelLieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
and an ex-JGSDFJapan Ground Self-Defense ForceThe , or JGSDF, is the army of Japan. The largest of the three services of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Ground Self-Defense Force operates under the command of the chief of the ground staff, based in the city of Ichigaya, Tokyo. The present chief of ground staff is General Yoshifumi Hibako...
officer who had served in the 1st Airborne Brigade1st Airborne Brigade (Japan)The , also known as the Narashino Airborne Brigade , is stationed in the Narashino Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces Base in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture. It is part of the Eastern Army in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force...
in its 4th Airborne Infantry Battalion. He is in charge of using The Surveillance system to direct his comrades in the field.
- Edward Banfield (Yūichi Nagashima), referred to as Ed by his friends, is a British Shadow Sword operator with the rank of MajorMajorMajor is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
. He's Shadow Sword's lone electronics warfare officerElectronic Warfare OfficerIn the U.S. Air Force, an Electronic Warfare Officer is a trained aerial navigator in the Air Force who has received training in enemy threat systems, electronic warfare principles and overcoming enemy air defense systems...
, and he is quite knowledgeable on the use of The Surveillance due to time spent on the system related to his position.
- Maurice Bilal (Nobuo Tobita) is a British Shadow Sword operator with the rank of MajorMajorMajor is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
. He was trained with the United Kingdom Special ForcesUnited Kingdom Special ForcesThe United Kingdom Special Forces is a UK Ministry of Defence Directorate which also has the capability to provide a Joint Special Operations Task Force Headquarters...
on explosive ordnance disposalBomb disposalBomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
and serves as the team's demolitions expert.
- Amanda Grace is the only female Shadow Sword operator, also experienced in explosive ordnance disposalBomb disposalBomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
.
- Nicholas Gump (Takashi Nagasumi), referred to as Nick by his friends, is an American Shadow Sword operator with the rank of Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonelLieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
. He's in charge of the team's logistics.
- Steve Hammond (Yasunori Matsumoto) is an American Shadow Sword operator with the rank of Captain. He's the team's trained sniperSniperA sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
and had once participated in the Olympic GamesOlympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, which gives him self-confidence.
- Ned Hardy (Kiyoyuki Yanada) is an American Shadow Sword operator with the rank of Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonelLieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
. He had been formerly under the .
- Charlie Hix (Katsuyuki Konishi) is an American Shadow Sword operator with the rank of MajorMajorMajor is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
. He has the smallest stature of any of the Shadow Sword operators, which allows him to conduct rappellingAbseilingAbseiling , rappelling in American English, is the controlled descent down a rock face using a rope; climbers use this technique when a cliff or slope is too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection.- Slang terms :...
without running into any kind of problem.
- Jim Perkins is a former United States Air ForceUnited States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
AstronautAstronautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
trainee, who is recruited to Shadow Sword.
- Milliana Isakovich (Eriko Kawasaki) is a Russian Shadow Sword scientist with the rank of Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonelLieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
. She had formerly served in the Russian Ground ForcesRussian Ground ForcesThe Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...
as its leading scientist and scholar at its gene research academy before she was asked by International Cosmic Security System to serve under Shadow Sword.
- Tim Lawper (Satsuki Yukino) is an American Shadow Sword operator assigned in a non-combat role as adviser and communications specialist to the entire team with the rank of Captain. She was with the before joining the group.
Gameplay
During a session on the announcement of Surveillance at the 15th Anniversary Production I.G World Tour in Ginza
Ginza
is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi.It is known as an upscale area of Tokyo with numerous department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses. Ginza is recognized as one of the most...
, Production I.G commentators have noted that the gameplay challenges players to use the main monitor and the other six submonitors in order to accomplish a scenario.
At the end of each stage, a chapter report would be presented to show players how well or bad they have done for the particular scenario. According to an interview with the Production I.G staff involved in making Surveillance, they had mentioned that the chapter report would give players the opportunity to check their progress and see what things do they either have to do or to avoid doing in the future.
Development
In an interview with Hidekazu Terakawa (Game Designer/Director), Atsunori Maeshima (Game Director), Tetsuji Yamamoto (Executive Producer, SCE
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
) and Junichi Fujisaku
Junichi Fujisaku
is the chief game director and game writer for Production I.G's Game Production Department. He is a graduate of Production I.G's think-tank "Oshii Academy", used to train the next generation of staff for the company.-Works:...
(At the time of interview, Chief Director of Production I.G's Section G - Software Development Section), they had said that the game was entirely created by various staff members from Production I.G alone with little to no involvement from Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
, including planning. Maeshima had pointed that during game development, he saw the game in comparison to the Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
movie.
The game's cutscenes, which were in MPEG-2
MPEG-2
MPEG-2 is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information". It describes a combination of lossy video compression and lossy audio data compression methods which permit storage and transmission of movies using currently available storage media and transmission...
format, made the team decide to move the platform from the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
to the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
due to issues of the former's loading capabilities as the cutscenes are at least 5 hours and 30 minutes long according to Yamamoto. In addition, they had used real photos of Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
and Phobos
Phobos (moon)
Phobos is the larger and closer of the two natural satellites of Mars. Both moons were discovered in 1877. With a mean radius of , Phobos is 7.24 times as massive as Deimos...
as part of the cutscenes.
News
IGNIGN
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...
had first broke news of the possibility of the game based on the Yarudora series. On August 31, 2001, Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
made an official announcement that Surveillance Kanshisha would be created for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
with Production I.G working on the animation for the game.
In the 15th Anniversary Production I.G World Tour 2002 in Ginza
Ginza
is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi.It is known as an upscale area of Tokyo with numerous department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses. Ginza is recognized as one of the most...
on April 20 and April 21 of 2002, Surveillance had been unveiled by Production I.G with guests including Mamoru Oshii
Mamoru Oshii
Mamoru Oshii is a Japanese filmmaker, television director, and writer. Famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling, Oshii has directed a number of popular anime, including Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer, Ghost in the Shell, and Patlabor 2...
when the game was announced for a 2002 release.
Promotion
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
on August 29, 2002.
Media
A Surveillance Guidebook was released out to the public on May 10, 2002 and was published under Kadokawa ShotenKadokawa Shoten
is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...
and sold for ¥
¥
¥ is a currency sign used by the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan currencies. The symbol resembles a Latin letter Y with a double stroke. The base unit of both currencies shared the same Chinese character pronounced yuán in Mandarin Chinese and en in Standard Japanese...
1,575. The book included information ranging from the story of the game from the production of the game, including pictures of CG graphics used by Production I.G.
Reception
A review of the game on Dengeki Online had praised the game for the story and the cutscenes that were done by Production I.G, though it criticizes it for having little to no involvement of the players when they play the game. Another pointed out that the game was good for, particularly, the use of the cameras and the animation except that the scenario used for the game's plot was more than sufficient for players not to understand the story.An article published by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
commented that if the game was animated, the DVDs would have been bought. Furthermore, it also comments on the game's creation was to showcase the capabilities of the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
's graphics
Graphics processing unit
A graphics processing unit or GPU is a specialized circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory in such a way so as to accelerate the building of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display...
.
The Shadow Sword team was described as being similar to the Policenauts team in Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
's Policenauts
Policenauts
is a cinematic adventure game with a hard science fiction storyline, written and directed by Hideo Kojima, and published by Konami. It was initially released for the PC-9821 computer platform in 1994, followed by remade versions for the 3DO in 1995, and the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1996...
.