Activision's Shanghai has been around for quite a few years now and on virtually every platform imaginable. Since Shanghai's release in 1986, it has proved to be very popular and addictive all around the world, spawning sequels and countless clones. So, it's not hard to see why Activision chose Shanghai: Triple Threat as their first 3DO release.
Essentially a quick port over from previous PC versions( just in time for the holiday season.), Shanghai:TT doesn't sport much of anything in the way of multimedia/ CD style features. No full motion video, digitized actors or voice- just simple gameplay, attractive graphics and some neat little tiles animations and sound effects. And really, it doesn't need much in the way of gimmicks. Shanghai is- always has been- a good, solid and entertaining game.
Original Shanghai uses the ancient Mah-Jongg tiles to create a totally different game that is a cross between concentration and pick-up sticks. The tiles are stacked in a descending fashion- highest at the very middle of the pile and then descending in tile height outward( This pile of tiles is known as "The Dragon."). The object is very simple- remove matching pairs of tiles in an effort to clear the table. To move a tile, it must be able to slide either right or left with no other tiles in the way and no tiles on top of it. Shanghai is as simple to play as Tetris and just as addicting- which is to say,"Very."
In addition to Classic Shanghai, Activision has thrown some other keen variations into the mix- The Great Wall, where the tiles are standing upright like a wall, instead of stacked on a table. Take a piece from the lower rows and the tiles above it will fall down to take it's place. In the Beijing game, you can slide tiles, or an entire row of tiles right or left to create multiple matches at once by having like tiles touch each other. The third game, Golden Tile is a two player competitive game where the players try to rapidly clear their tiles in an effort to reach the golden tile. The various games are all very interesting and fun to play.
Other options include musical and Zodiac tile sets, various tunes to listen to, the option to turn the time limit off and varying difficulty levels. Up to 2 can play, though a four player mode would have been appreciated. The game supports the 3DO mouse( whenever that happens to come along.) and you might find the stock controller tends to be a little inaccurate at times when zeroing in on that certain tile.
In Arcade mode, you must follow a course along the Great Wall of China in an effort to complete 30 stages of timed( or not, if you turn off the timer.) competition. This mode includes bonus stages, set amounts of help and take back commands and passwords after completing a round. One or two can play, as well. In fact, player two can join in at any time.
For what it is, Shanghai is a good, solid game that will especially appeal to older players. It's simplistic gameplay makes Shanghai:Triple Threat unlike any of the other strategy/ puzzle style games available for the 3DO( Lemmings, Incredible Machine and Gridders.). I have always liked Shanghai, since first playing it on the old C64, and the 3DO version is probably the best version of the game yet. Next year, a doctored up, multimedia version comes out for PC, complete with a "Hollywood" actress as your guide. Don't expect to see anything like that in Triple Threat, though. And after playing it awhile, don't expect to need any of those gimmicks to keep you involved either.
