Shadowrun
Developed by FASA Interactive and published by Microsoft, Shadowrun seeks to take players back to where it all began. The title is essentially a prequel to the rest of the series but that's not what has drawn controversy among fans of the franchise. Instead of keeping with the traditional role-playing elements the new rendition is solely, get this... an online first-person shooter. I'll give you a few moments to catch your breath.
Ok. Now that you've calmed down here's what you need to know. The new Shadowrun takes place near the dawn of the return of magic in the year 2031. Four races (Human, Dwarf, Elf, and Troll) live together and two factions (RNA and Lineage) vie for control over the newly re-discovered powers. That's really all the story there is to this game because quite honestly it's not very deep. Don't get me wrong, the world is well-crafted and there appears to be a lot of history here. It's just that when it comes to the game telling a story it does little more than create initial set-up.
Gameplay:
The main reason that Shadowrun does not tell a story is because there is no single player campaign. Sure there is a "Solo" selection when the menu screen loads but the only experience you're going to get out of that is six levels of training for the multiplayer. This is a game that needs to be online and if, for whatever reason, you do not have access to Xbox Live there is no point for you to pick this game up (unless you have A LOT of friends for a LAN). I suppose if your Xbox 360 isn't connected you could always go for the Windows version of the game but considering this review is for the former platform we'll stick with the material on hand.
Once you get past the shock that you just paid $60 for a game with no single-player features you'll come to realize that the game is actually "almost" worth the price of admission. The online component for Shadowrun is no less than enthralling once you get a game going. There are many hiccups in this regard (I'll get into those later) but after you get the hang of the different modes and find strategies you'll become addicted in no time.
With support of up to 16 players split between two teams Shadowrun really shines but there are a few flaws with the design that keep it from being perfect. Unfortunately though the game offers three modes they are not diverse enough for my tastes.
Raid Mode is essentially a capture the flag game type where the Lineage has to grab the Artifact (flag) and score on the RNA. Extraction is essentially the same mode though both sides try to grab the Artifact and score. Finally Attrition is what one could call a Deathmatch though the artifact is still available in the center of the map for the purposes of picking it up to locate enemies rather than score points. Considering each of these modes revolves around the Artifact in some way and drop points are always the same the only variety you'll see is in your peers, the maps, and when the CPU swaps your team.
When you begin a game you'll immediately be sorted to a team based on your preferences and TrueSkill (though you never learn what that is...). From there you'll have to pick one of the four races to play as. There are no player skins or ways to customize your character so if everyone on your team picks Elf you're going to look like a pack of clones.
What race you choose really depends on your play style and how you want to approach things. Humans start out with the most money and are well balanced. Elves are fast and can heal over time but have a smaller health bar. Dwarves are move slower than Humans and Elves and they have a harder time regenerating Essence (Magic) than most races. Dwarves find strength in their ability to take two headshots before succumbing to a sniper and they can suck Essence from objects, enemies, and allies if they get close enough. Finally Trolls are virtual tanks that move like a turtle but can wield big guns and can take massive amounts of damage before falling.
Once the match begins you'll be prompted to buy something. This phase starts at the beginning of the match and is where you'll arm your character. Everyone starts out with a pistol, a couple of grenades, and no skills so picking an arsenal is arguably the biggest factor in victory. In that regard there are a few weapons to pick from (more variety would be appreciated) and a decent supply of tech items and magic skills.
As far as the weapons are concerned these are basically all staples to the first person genre. You start out with pistols but can pick up a SMG, Rifle, Mini-Gun, Shotgun, Katana, Rocket Launcher, and Sniper Rifle. Magic skills are split between offence and defense, though defense seems to take the lead in terms of quantity and ability. When you use Magic you'll be charged a specific amount of Essence which is treated kind of like magic points. Tech skills are simply technology that has been applied to your person that improves abilities such as accuracy, speed, or the ability to glide.
This Buy system works very well and keeps the playing field very even in the beginning. Considering that there are no spawning weapons on the maps you're basically limited to what you came to the fight with. As you kill, assist allies, or score points with the Artifact the game will award you with bonus money at the end of every round. The game ends when a team scores a total of six wins so it's safe to say the conflict escalates as more money becomes available. The only thing that I didn't like about this system is the good simply get better.
Let's say you're playing as the RNA and it's your job to defend against the Lineage scoring with the Artifact. Well, through whatever circumstances you find yourself on the losing side of the battle. You'll most likely be held back and unable to buy material necessary to mount a comeback. Starting each round with a pistol and grenades does nothing but create frustration when facing an army of ninja Elves. You can usually overcome these situations with skill after a while but until you get to that point expect a lot of frustration.
While I'm on the subject of skills, the manner with which Shadowrun allows you to use them is slightly cumbersome. With the shoulder buttons you can assign three techniques though R1 is reserved for shooting. That may sound well and good but in every round you'll come across a situation where you have to swap one skill out for another. If you're on the offense but a comrade dies you'll need to hold B to bring up a submenu, maneuver the cursor between Magic or Tech, select the skill you want and press either R1 to use it or the corresponding shoulder button to assign it. In downtime this may not be so bad but there is hardly ever a point where it's convenient to do this.
Finding a match is another area where Shadowrun creates a level of frustration. I've sat with the game searching for a match for as long as ten minutes. Load times are lengthy and even when you find a "good" connection the game will still lag horribly. I would go through round after round and on my way to victory only to have the game tell me that the connection was lost to the server and bump me back to the menu. Argh!
After reading through the list of Shadowrun's flaws you may be thinking to yourself; "Why is he recommending the game?" Well, despite the title's shortcomings and lack of polish it is incredibly fun. Quite honestly I don't think I have had this good of a time with an online game for a while. When everyone has a good connection Shadowrun becomes an absolutely addictive experience. Quirks aside the gameplay is very good and the skill system creates the feeling of uniqueness amidst the sea of online FPS.
Is the game worth $60? Not really. The lack of a single player experience hurts the title quite a bit and virtually kills it if you don't have access to Live. However, those of you looking for a fun game to play online will not be disappointed. Sure the connectivity can suffer sometimes though it mostly seems to be attributed to games where PC and 360 players are participating.
I'm keeping faith that FASA will create a patch to iron out the rough spots in gameplay and supply us with a better selection of maps, game modes, and skills. I haven't heard about anything being down the pipeline but the fact that "Content Download" is a feature leaves me hope. Until that happens Shadowrun remains a blast online but it's a flawed little gem that shines in moments rather than continuously. Will it dethrone Gears of War? Probably not, but it's still better than most of what's out there for the 360.
Graphics:
Shadowrun is presented with 720p, 1080i, and 1080p High Definition output. The title looks very good on Standard Definition but a HD Television set will pick up the little details that are lost on the former. The character designs seem to be at odds with the beautiful environments and the lack of detail between players creates look-alike models. Skills and weapons look generally find as well and some effects are downright lovely like the Tree of Life and Summon.
Character animation is somewhat limited and when you view characters in the third person angle you'll notice many unpolished things. One of the biggest examples of this lack of programming is when someone climbs a ladder. They won't move and they'll just kind of slide up or down it. This may have been ok in the previous generation but in this day and age it's a sign that a game didn't receive enough attention to detail. Other animations seem stilted thanks to server lag so if you see approach you with a katana but don't see them swinging assume the worst. Blemishes like this do not really detract from the gameplay they just appear unsightly if you're used to titles like Gears of War or Rainbow Six.
Sound:
The sound in Shadowrun is very well presented with some great directionality and presence on the all channels. During firefights it's not uncommon to hear a bullet hit the wall behind you, a katana slash a friend one floor down, and a summoned monster hissing around the corner. When the battle really heats up the experience can become quite engrossing though the content is relatively simple fair. There is very little music in the game, barely any voice work, and the sound effects are generally simplistic. Still, everything is functional and it works well within the game's design.
Conclusion:
I'm not going to pull any punches; Shadowrun is a flawed game. Lengthy load times, tons of lag, no single-player, a cumbersome technique system, unpolished graphics, and limited online modes and maps make for a title with plenty going against it. However, with all of that being said this game is truly a lot of fun. Once the game gets going it's hard to turn it off and you'll find yourself sitting through round after round convincing yourself to play "just one more before bed".
The structure of this game works off of a solid build and though it's entirely different from anything with the Shadowrun name attached, it holds its own. The flaws seem to stem from a lack of development time or defined polish. Perhaps the developers were having too good of a time playing with the game to really iron out the kinks. Hopefully a patch or download content will be available down the pipeline because as it stands this game is not entirely worth $60. I'm still going to recommend it though because there're enough good times in this package to keep online addicts shooting.