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### Force Majeure Preview [PC]

#### http://www.daikenkai.com/monokey/

#### Previewed By J. Monkman

Originally coded for the AutoFire 2K7 shoot 'em up competition (and receiving a respectable third place out of sixteen entries), Monokey's Force Majeure is a visually stunning and exceptionally-retro arcade-style blaster, heavily inspired by the back catalogue of software giants IREM, Capcom and SNK. Having built themselves a reputation for successfully creating difficult yet rewarding games featuring innovative gameplay elements, Monokey's latest offering (albeit here in WIP preview form) looks set to offer more of the same, but this time they are gearing up for a commercial release.

To be honest, if this early demo is anything to go by then Monokey have got themselves a sure-fire winner - I'll definitely be one of the first in line to buy myself a copy when it's released (hopefully this coming Winter). Force Majeur is an outstanding arcade game that ticks all of the necessary shoot 'em up boxes, with jaw-dropping pixel art, co-operative two-player mode, bullet-grazing mechanics, power-ups, score-multipliers and an overwhelming quantity of bullets and explosive eye-candy.

One of the key features that I particularly can't get enough of is the way that the game rewards you for taking risks - destroying enemy fighter craft at close range and counter-blasting flak out of the sky really pays off. Another point worth noting is that (thanks to some clever balancing) you can't play Force Majeure with your thumb pressed down on the fire button the whole time; your fighter-plane's manouverability is *very* restricted when in firing continuously, so using controlled bursts of fire is the key to success.

Everything about the game shines with professional quality, and although the demo only consists of a single level (complete with multi-stage boss-battle) it really is a praiseworthy homage to the arcade classics of the 1990's that we all love. With the current trend for 'abstract' graphics holding a firm grip on the shoot 'em up genre, it's really refreshing to play a new release featuring unasshamedly old-school pixel graphics - and Monokey's JunkBoy has got to be one of the best artists on the indy gaming circuit.

With the development team currently set to work on a new game for round two of the SHMUP-DEV 2K7 competition, I wouldn't be surprised if the previously announced release date is pushed back to next year. However, if the commercial-quality of this demo is a fair representation of the final product, I'm sure that the complete version of Force Majeure will be worth both the wait *and* the (TBA) shareware price tag.