Score
Gameplay:	9
Graphics:	8
Sound:	7
FunFactor:	8
PlasmaFactor:	10
Overall:	8.4

Shadowrun Review
June 7, 2007 by Kenneth Seward, Jr.

I should be dead right now. Taking a round to the head in the heat of battle would normally send anyone to their grave. And yet I am still here. I have been revived by one of my comrades. Picking up my sword, I rush back into battle. Because I am supposed to be dead, I am able to sneak up on my human enemies. With a flick of my wrist, my katana removes life’s many burdens. I don’t even stay to watch as a crimson sea flows forth from my victim’s wound. Knowing that I must complete my mission, I quickly leave the scene. I wasn’t able to say his last rites. It’s ok. I will probley see his face, seeing as how I already killed him once before!

In the Shadows…

 

I am pleased to say that Shadowrun, the new multiplayer FPS from Microsoft Game Studios and FASA Studio, is one of the coolest games of its’ genre. Just look at the some of the people behind the game. FASA Studio has brought us games like Crimson Skies and Mech Warrior. John Howard, the lead designer on Halo, is also on board. Throw in the fact that this game uses concepts developed in groundbreaking series like Counter Strike and you’ve got a winner!

Shadowrun, loosely based on the hit RPG franchise of the same name, is a game about magic.  Humans and metahumans (elves, trolls, and dwarfs) shared the earth’s magic and for a long time were able to live together in peace. That was until the magic ceased to exist. This caused a split between the races of those times. With the absence of magic, some of the metahumans turned into regular humans. With the humans inheriting the earth, the last remaining metahumans were forced to go into hiding. 5000 years later, in the year 2021, technology reigned supreme. One day, an enormous amount of magic erupts from the earth and blows out of the top of a ziggurat (a stepped temple) in Santos, Brazil. This eruption of magic caused certain humans to turn back into their ancient metahuman forms. A government group called RNA (I still don’t know what that stands for) wants to control the magic for profit using the world’s latest technology. They are met by the Lineage, rebels that are direct descendents from the metahumans that went into hiding years ago. They feel that magic belongs to everyone and shouldn’t be controlled. This is where the game starts; an all out war is being fought between the two factions.

When you first start the game I recommend going to the training mode. Shadowrun isn’t your ordinary FPS and doesn’t play as such. This is an all-multiplayer game and there are a lot of variables that determine the outcome of a match. The tutorial will start with the weapons, technology and magical abilities used in Shadowrun. The weapons include: a pistol, SMG (submachine gun), shotgun, rifle, sniper rifle, rocket launcher, a katana, a minigun and grenades. To use the firearms, you have to press the right trigger. Whether or not you hit your target depends on the type of weapon you have, the distance you are from your target and how fast you press the trigger. The shotgun, for instance, will do the most damage at close distances. The SMG’s accuracy will continue to dwindle the longer you hold down the trigger. The weapons work as they should, all but the rifle as I have found it to be the weakest of the bunch (even weaker than the pistol). The katana can kill someone with one slice from behind. When you sneak up on opponents, they will have a questions mark over their head. If you hit them from behind when you see the mark, they will slowly bleed out and die. This is good if you need to cut and run.

The next thing that the tutorial goes over is the magic and technological abilities used in Shadowrun. Before I talk about your abilities, I have to explain how the main game works.  Mulitplayer matches are broken up into six rounds where two teams, the RNA and Lineage, battle each other to attain a certain goal. At the start of the first round, you are given money to buy abilities and weapons that will help you win the round. At the end of each round you are scored by how well you helped your team and are rewarded more money. If you die during a round, you have to wait till it is over to respawn (unless someone can resurrect you, more on that later). This cycle happens for every match, because you lose your abilities and money at the end of the sixth round.  

The tutorial will walk you through using each ability and Technological enhancement (Tech for short). The magic abilities are: Resurrect, Tree of life, Strangle, Gust, Smoke, Teleport, and Summon. Resurrect is used to…well resurrect your fallen teammates. When you cast Tree of life, a tree is spawned from the ground that can heal the wounded. Strangle is used to hold enemies at bay. When cast, it creates magic crystals that trap and damages them. Casting Smoke, which turns you into it, allows you to escape being physically damaged by gunfire, explosions or melee attacks. Gust is used to push enemies away and damage those who are using Smoke. Summon is used to call forth a magical minion that attacks nearby enemies. When it comes to technological equipment, they range from a glider that allows you to fly short distances to enhanced vision that lets you see through walls. There is even a device called the Smartlink that helps your accuracy with guns as well as keep you from shooting your teammates. Once you buy a spell or Tech in a given round, it stays with you for the rest of the match.

Don’t think that you can use magic and tech whenever you like. In order to use the magic you bought you have to have enough "essence". How much essence you have is displayed on the left side of the screen and will drop with each spell cast. After a few seconds, your amount of essence will slowly rise back to its original level. Certain spells, like Resurrection, cause you to lose levels of your essence for the remainder of the round (or in this case till the person you resurrected dies). Some of the enhancements come with a trade off as well. Activation of the Wired Reflexes enhancement, which gives boosts in speed, will cause you to lose a portion of your health. Other enhancements will lock out some of your total essence, giving you less to use in battle. Another thing to note is that after magic and tech is bought, you can only assign them to three buttons on the controller (the left bumper, left trigger, and right bumper). You can open your supplies list and switch which abilities you’ve assigned at any given time or you can chose to use them straight from the inventory. Even though this is easy to do, using this method takes more time and could get you killed.

One of the most important variables in a match is the race that you select. Not only are they cosmetically different, but they have different attributes as well. The trolls are big and slow. However by using their essence, they are able to harden their skin when being attacked. This allows them to absorb a lot of damage before going down. They can also wield large weapons easier than the other races. The dwarfs are the smallest of the races and have average health. They also have the most essence out of the four races and an ability to drain it from enemies that gets too close. The Elves are the fastest of all the races but they are the weakest when it comes to health. To help balance this, they are able to regenerate their health when not being attacked (think Halo and you’ll understand). Last comes the human race. They are average all around. They have one advantage in the tech department. Human essence is not locked when an enhancement is assigned.

The Flow of Crimson…

 

Shadowrun has nice graphics. I wouldn’t compare it to games like GRAW, or Gears of War in terms of high graphical power. What the developers at Microsoft have done is create a distinctive look for Shadowrun. With its vibrant colors and the fact that everything from the environments to the characters is very stylized, Shadowrun is a FPS that stands out. Shadowrun also has one of the most unique multiplayer maps I have ever seen. It takes place on top of the before mentioned ziggurat. The map is broken into levels that ascend into the atmosphere. You acutely walk through clouds on your way to the top. To use the word "cool" would be an understatement!

The Drums of War…

 

The sound quality for Shadowrun is great. It helps to make you feel as though you are really fighting for your life. After playing for hours, I can tell what spells people are using two doors over. I know this because when I teleport through the wall I am not surprised with what I see.  

Headshot!

 

Playing Shadowrun usually leads to one heck of a good time. You can join up with your friends in a lobby (similar to Halo) and search for games online. When you find a game the server will try to keep you and your friends on the same team. If people quit before the match is over, the server will move people in order to keep the teams even. These little things help the over all online experience, making it easier for you to meet up and play with friends. One problem I found, however, was the fact that you can’t pick which game you want to play. The public match making is made by the server alone.

Vista

 

The best thing about Shadowrun is that you can play on your Xbox 360 against PC players using Windows Vista. This is the first time where we get to see who would win in a FPS; keyboard and mouse or the controller. Well, I played against PC gamers and came out on top. I had the highest ratings out of everyone in the match. Of course I am only one person and from what I hear, the PC version isn’t much different from the Xbox 360. Shadowrun might not be the defining game for cross-platform play, but it’s still a lot of fun.  

 

Bottom Line

 

Shadowrun is a must buy for any FPS fan. Especially those who like to strategize their way to victory. It is, however, not without it’s faults. I don’t like the fact that you don’t know if you are playing against a PC person or a person on a Xbox 360. The only reason I knew I was playing PC gamers was because I unlocked achievements that you can only get by playing gamers on Vista. Other than that you would have to ask them. Another thing I don’t like is that you can’t see your TruSkill ranking. I would like to know how I rank with everyone else online, seeing as how the server makes matches based on ranking. I am not too upset with these things because Microsoft is known for bringing out updates to fix problems in their games. And I can’t deny who much fun I am having with Shadowrun as it stands.