| Shamus | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Synapse Software |
| Publisher(s) | Synapse Software Atarisoft Atari Corporation |
| Designer(s) | Cathryn Mataga |
| Programmer(s) | Atari 8-bit Cathryn Mataga Apple II Greg Nelson C64 Jack L. Thornton Jr. TI-99/4A Greg Simons Color Computer Larry Abel VIC-20 Tom Griner |
| Platform(s) | Atari 8-bit, Apple II, VIC-20, Commodore 64, IBM PC, TI-99/4A, TRS-80 Color Computer, Game Boy Color |
| Release | 1982 |
| Genre(s) | Shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Shamus is a shooter with light action-adventure game elements written by Cathryn Mataga (credited as William Mataga) and published by Synapse Software. The original Atari 8-bit computer version was released on disk and tape in 1982.[1] According to Synapse co-founder Ihor Wolosenko, Shamus made the company famous by giving it a reputation for quality.[2] "Funeral March of a Marionette", the theme song from Alfred Hitchcock Presents, plays on the title screen.
The player moves through four flip-screen levels, each containing 32 rooms, shooting attackers and collecting keys for locked areas while searching for the exit. Shamus was inspired by the 1980 Berzerk arcade video game.
The game was ported to the Apple II, VIC-20, Commodore 64, TRS-80 Color Computer, TI-99/4A, and IBM PC. Several of these were published by Atarisoft. It was later sold on cartridge by Atari Corporation following the launch of the Atari XEGS in 1987.
Shamus was followed by a sequel in 1983, Shamus: Case II, with the same characters but different gameplay. In 1999, Mataga released a remake for the Game Boy Color and later both Shamus and Shamus: Case II for iOS.