Shadowrun
July 2007 Issue
![Cerise Issue 3 [July 2007]](http://cerise.theirisnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/cerisejul07_tn.jpg)
Features
- From the Editors
- Craft Check: Sunpaint T-shirts
- Gaming in the Media: To Wii, or Not to Wii?
Interviews
- Jess Hartley [Tabletop RPG writer]
- Robyn Bremner [Game tester, Capcom Interactive Canada]
Articles
- Inviting More People to the Game
Author: Cherie Thomason
- Racial Inclusiveness in Gaming
Author: Latoya Peterson
- Does Inclusive Game Design Make Sense?
Author: Andrea Rubenstein
- The Women of Twilight Princess
Author: Ariel Wetzel
Cherie proposes some simple ways to make games more inclusive.
Latoya explores the problems that the industry has with race and proposes some solutions.
Andrea takes on some of the common stumbling blocks that hinder inclusive game design.
Ariel breaks down the major women of Twilight Princess and examines how the game uses female characters in general.
Gamer Stories
Reviews
- Nintendo Wii and Wii Sports
- Shadowrun
- Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side First Love
- Retro Review: The Dreadnaught Factor
Shadowrun, FASA, Xbox 360/Windows Vista, 2007
Shadowrun, for those not familiar with its pencil-and-paper RPG origins, is a cyberpunk/fantasy hybrid world. A Troll with an Uzi eats soy burgers at fast food restaurants, Elves are armed with an arsenal of magical spells, and Humans are wired to the teeth with cybernetic body enhancements. All those examples are pretty run of the mill for Shadowrun. Keeping that in mind, the video game, which is barely related to the source material (for a number of reasons that won’t be covered in this review), is a completely original team-based shooter.
Characters
Although not all the Shadowrun races are available (sorry, no Orks or metavariants!), most of the main races are up for grabs. As a player, you are able to choose from male Trolls, Elves, Humans and Dwarves. That’s a whopping four character models, with one difference between them for either team (Lineage and RNA), folks. For as much customization the game gives you in terms of skills, it is a bit disappointing to not have that translate over to models. Let’s face it, seeing four other teammates looking exactly like you is a little less fun when it boils down to it. Looking past the models, the choice of whether you want to take some heavy penalties as a slow-moving, heavy arms Troll, regenerate health and run quickly (but die three times as fast) as an Elf, steal essence and tiny it up as a Dwarf, or get a bit more money as a human is your choice, and one that greatly affects how you play the game. This flexibility allows players to play to their strengths. Despite the blasé models, the separate races themselves are a great idea and add variety to the game along with the inclusion of body-enhancing tech and powerful magical spells.
Magic
The magic in this game will definitely upset hardcore Shadowrunners. Brace yourselves. Resurrection and teleport are both available in this shooter (a big no-no in the pencil-and-paper game). That aside, the magic gives a definite edge to the game. As the game is balanced, each race is given a set amount of essence. Essence is ‘essence’-tially a magical pool that you can use to cast spells, with each spell taking up a certain amount of precious essence. Along with teleport and resurrection, other abilities, such as Tree of Life, Strangle, Gust, Smoke and Summon, are at your fingertips. The skills are well balanced, having both positive and negative factors.
Take resurrection as an example. When you are rezzed, the player that resurrected you is your lifeline for the rest of the round. So, yes, though you are back in the game, you can suddenly be bled out for health if the person who brought you back gets popped in the head. The various other spells allow you to manipulate the battlefield, such as Strangle which provides you with a damaging wall of crystals to create choke points.
Tech & Weapons
Magic aside, of course there is also some sweet, sweet tech. The tech is more of a benefit to your character with fewer drawbacks than its magic counterpart; however, with that said, tech does take up permanent essence which makes you a less effective spell caster. Wired Reflexes, Smartlink, Gliders, Anti-Magic Generators, and Enhanced Vision are the pieces of cyberware that helps with the basic shooter elements of the game moreso than magic. For example, if you pick up Smartlink, not only will it somewhat auto target, it will give you the ability to zoom with any weapon and also prevent you from delivering the dreaded team kill.
And last but not least, weaponry. Unfortunately, there isn’t too much to say on the subject of fun tools to blast away opposing teams. Along with the standard arsenal of pistols, SMGs and sniper rifles, there isn’t anything to get excited over. A katana is available to purchase and it works well with Wired Reflexes to block bullets, but there’s nothing here we haven’t seen before.
Conclusion
For all Shadowrun has going for it, it’s not a terribly good shooter. With limited maps and only three modes of play (Extraction, Raid, Attrition), Shadowrun is likely to be yet another shooter that will be swallowed into the five-dollar bin once Halo 3 comes out. And as a prediction, I don’t see the game lasting at all after Microsoft’s juggernaut makes it way to the 360, since Shadowrun is a multiplayer-only game. The ideas are wonderful, but the lack of maps, modes and even characters leave the game lacking and the players wanting more. It’s not that the game is boring at all, but after playing the maps and toying with the neat abilities it will leave you saying, “….That’s it?”
Regardless of how you know Shadowrun, be it from the previous incarnations of it on Sega Genesis and SNES or the pencil-and-paper RPG, Shadownrun on the 360 certainly is a different direction for first-person shooters. Many of these elements are very radical and off-putting to the normal culture of shooter players, but in the end, the lack of content and the “unfinished” feeling the game delivers will ultimately be its demise.
