<s>
Shamus	B-Application
is	O
a	O
flip-screen	O
shooter	O
with	O
light	O
action-adventure	O
game	O
elements	O
written	O
by	O
Cathryn	O
Mataga	O
(	O
credited	O
as	O
William	O
Mataga	O
)	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Synapse	O
Software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
family	I-Device
version	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
disk	O
and	O
tape	O
in	O
1982	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Synapse	O
co-founder	O
Ihor	O
Wolosenko	O
,	O
Shamus	B-Application
made	O
the	O
company	O
famous	O
by	O
giving	O
it	O
a	O
reputation	O
for	O
quality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
,	O
VIC-20	B-Device
,	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
TRS-80	B-Device
Color	I-Device
Computer	I-Device
,	O
TI-99/4A	B-Device
,	O
and	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
later	O
sold	O
on	O
cartridge	O
by	O
Atari	O
Corporation	O
following	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
XEGS	I-General_Concept
in	O
1987	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shamus	B-Application
was	O
followed	O
by	O
a	O
sequel	O
in	O
1983	O
,	O
Shamus	B-Application
:	I-Application
Case	I-Application
II	I-Application
,	O
with	O
the	O
same	O
characters	O
but	O
different	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1999	O
,	O
Mataga	O
released	O
a	O
remake	O
for	O
the	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Color	I-Device
and	O
later	O
both	O
Shamus	B-Application
and	O
Shamus	B-Application
:	I-Application
Case	I-Application
II	I-Application
for	O
iOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inspired	O
by	O
the	O
arcade	O
game	O
Berzerk	B-Application
,	O
the	O
objective	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
to	O
navigate	O
the	O
eponymous	O
robotic	O
detective	O
through	O
a	O
4-skill	O
level	O
,	O
128-room	O
maze	O
of	O
electrified	O
walls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shamus	B-Application
differs	O
from	O
Berzerk	B-Application
in	O
having	O
a	O
persistent	O
world	O
instead	O
of	O
rooms	O
that	O
are	O
randomly	O
generated	O
each	O
time	O
they	O
are	O
entered	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shamus	B-Application
is	O
armed	O
with	O
"	O
Ion	O
SHIVs	O
"	O
,	O
SHIV	O
being	O
an	O
acronym	O
for	O
Short	O
High	O
Intensity	O
Vaporizer	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
able	O
to	O
hurl	O
up	O
to	O
two	O
at	O
a	O
time	O
at	O
his	O
enemies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
exactly	O
the	O
same	O
way	O
as	O
Berzerk	B-Application
,	O
the	O
player	O
will	O
be	O
attacked	O
if	O
they	O
spend	O
too	O
much	O
time	O
in	O
one	O
room	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
case	O
,	O
the	O
Shadow	O
himself	O
emerges	O
from	O
off-screen	O
and	O
hops	O
directly	O
at	O
Shamus	B-Application
,	O
unhindered	O
by	O
the	O
walls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
VIC-20	B-Device
port	O
is	O
8K	O
and	O
contains	O
only	O
32	O
levels	O
,	O
unlike	O
the	O
128	O
in	O
every	O
other	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Softline	O
in	O
1983	O
stated	O
that	O
"	O
Shamus	B-Application
is	O
the	O
best	O
cross	O
between	O
arcade	O
and	O
adventure	O
games	O
currently	O
on	O
the	O
Atari	O
market	O
...	O
To	O
know	O
it	O
is	O
to	O
love	O
it	O
,	O
play	O
it	O
constantly	O
,	O
and	O
not	O
get	O
enough	O
of	O
it	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
year	O
Softline'''s	O
readers	O
named	O
the	O
game	O
seventh	O
on	O
the	O
magazine	O
's	O
Top	O
Thirty	O
list	O
of	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
programs	O
by	O
popularity	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
1984	O
they	O
named	O
Shamus	B-Application
in	O
tenth	O
place	O
for	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ROM	O
Magazine	O
gave	O
the	O
Atari	O
version	O
a	O
9.4	O
out	O
of	O
10	O
rating	O
,	O
and	O
Creative	O
Computing	O
suggested	O
"	O
Make	O
sure	O
you	O
have	O
no	O
pressing	O
appointments	O
before	O
becoming	O
involved	O
in	O
a	O
round	O
of	O
Shamus	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
wrote	O
in	O
1984	O
that	O
Shamus	B-Application
for	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
"	O
is	O
a	O
thoroughly	O
enjoyable	O
game	O
with	O
all	O
the	O
action	O
and	O
suspense	O
that	O
both	O
novices	O
and	O
sophisticated	O
gamers	O
will	O
demand	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1982	O
,	O
Computer	O
Gaming	O
World	O
reviewed	O
the	O
Atari	O
original	O
,	O
praising	O
the	O
animation	O
and	O
the	O
"	O
vastly	O
superior	O
graphics	O
"	O
over	O
Berzerk	B-Application
,	O
but	O
complaining	O
of	O
the	O
inability	O
to	O
pause	O
the	O
action	O
and	O
of	O
a	O
bug	O
in	O
the	O
speed	O
control	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shamus	B-Application
was	O
considered	O
"	O
the	O
most	O
addictive	O
"	O
of	O
the	O
four	O
games	O
reviewed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Matthew	O
J	O
.	O
Costello	O
reviewed	O
Shamus	B-Application
in	O
Space	O
Gamer	O
No	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Costello	O
commented	O
that	O
"	O
Shamus''	O
is	O
not	O
easy	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
folks	O
at	O
Synapse	O
are	O
giving	O
Atari	O
owners	O
their	O
money	O
's	O
worth.	O
"	O
</s>
