MoHo
Futuristic convict-a-thon previewed
The Running Man
Having glanced through the plot of MoHo, it becomes fairly obvious that for all its development maestros, it's a bit of a rip off of a certain book. Yet I don't ever recall the idea being used in interactive media, so I'll give Lost Toys the benefit of the doubt, and hey! It makes good sense; a plot where you are a prisoner of the State and are forced to compete in gladiatorial events against your fellow hard-time-hotel occupants. And for what? For entertainment! As a prisoner, you're sentence is life behind bars, a somewhat depressing prospect for an ambitious felon like yourself, and your only hope is to work your way up the ziggurat to get a short at becoming the People's Champion - the prize being your freedom. If you can overcome the scum of the universe that you'll be pitted against, you can walk away a hero and a free man.
Hard Labour
Lost Toys are creating over 80 compact levels, grouped together in approximately 10 of the government's finest institutions. You can choose to play as one of five characters, each with their own different physical properties, areas of expertise and attack combinations. While it is unclear as to how MoHo will be controlled (or what the heck "MoHo" actually means!), Jeremy Longley, Director of Lost Toys, went on records as saying that "With MoHo we've produced a next-generation game on a now-generation platform!" Only time will tell whether MoHo lives up to Jeremy's claims.
Rainbow Colours
As you can see from the screenshots dotted around this page, MoHo is a very pretty creature. It reminds me of DMA Design/Rockstar Games' own Wild Metal for the Dreamcast (or Wild Metal Country as it was known on the PC). In fact, the graphics and engine look very similar, and it may not be all that surprising to find out that Rockstar are also in on the project, providing development assistance as Take 2's in-house party people. With seven gladiatorial game modes and addition bonus and multi-player levels, MoHo looks to be an interesting, if not impressive arcade title. It's aimed at gamers of all ages and experience levels, so presumably the violence present in other titles will be left out of this one. That is somewhat in-keeping with Bullfrog's philosophy that games needn't be ultra-violent to sell.
Conclusion
Lost Toys may be a new name to many of you, but it was founded by three very talented ex-Bullfrog employees; Glenn Corpes, Jeremy Longley and Darran Thomas. The three designers have between them been responsible for games like Populous, Dungeon Keeper, Theme Hospital and Syndicate Wars. These men have experience and plenty of talent to back it up, and as such we will be following MoHo's progress very carefully in the coming months. Release Date - July 2000