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| | Title:
Shadowrun
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System:
Xbox 360
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Genre:
First Person Shooter
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Publisher:
Microsoft
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Developer:
FASA Studio
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Release:
2006
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Online:
Yes
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ESRB:
Rating Pending (RP)
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The legacy of Shadowrun is more than a dozen years old and played a pivotal role in the corner-stone of RPG’s. The game didn’t have cutesy elves, dandies who were quick to say, “I don’t have time for this,” or heroes who had to unlock a “hidden power” to save the world. Shadowrun was a hard-nosed look at a desperate future and a man trapped in a conspiracy to unravel his unfortunate death. The cyber-punk atmosphere and futuristic setting has mirrored a ripple-effect through the age of gaming, even today. Deus Ex, Citizen Zero, and The Matrix all follow in the likes of Shadowrun’s innovation.
Even more than a decade ago, developers used a technique for leveling and acquiring skills that changed the way we played console RPG’s. Jagged Alliance, Anarchy, Knights of the Old Republic and just about every other (recent) major console and PC role-playing game follows the tradition of allowing the player to customize their skills. Shadowrun’s innovation didn’t kick in right away, though. It took years before individual skill development became a standard in the RPG world. Shadowrun was just there as one of the few titles to show us that feature first. FASA Studios, however, is taking the very likes of Shadowrun and giving the game an entirely different make-over in the form of a first-person shooter.
Whether or not the game’s story will follow (or continue) in the likes of its predecessor, is still up in the air. What’s ascertained is the futuristic setting and warring factions vying for control. Like the first game, there is a war to control the re-emergence of magic. Specifically, it appears two groups are looking to get their hands on the all-powerful "magic"; one group appears to be a military force comprised of humans, while the other group is an elvish rebel insurgency. Apparently there will be more races or species available to play, as the trailer suggested, but that’s still under wraps. Nevertheless, the actual gameplay appears to mirror the likes of Epic's Unreal series. The shooting is simulated at arcade speeds with a lot of lightning fast head-shots, and bullets being exchanged at striking alacrity.
The question on the minds of a lot of gamers is probably whether the gameplay will incorporate RPG elements for upgrading specific skills, etc. Sadly, this aspect of the gameplay hasn’t been clarified yet, although it can’t be discounted. However, other forms of RPG features appear to make the cut. Players will have a nice selection of magical and technological abilities at their disposal, available by simply purchasing them in-between stage rounds. How many abilities will be available, in total, hasn’t been revealed yet, but it looks as if players will have a range of attacks or defensive skills to use. Some of these magical abilities include teleporting, gliding, resurrecting, or summoning. According to demo specs, in-between rounds players will have credits to spend on upgrades, abilities, and weapons. Credits, of course, are earned via killing opponents or completing specific tasks within a stage or round. Apart from magic, players will be wielding all kinds of guns throughout the game. Sniper rifles made up a large part of the trailer clips, as well as sub-machine guns, shotguns, a katana, and other standard artillery featured in most FPS games.
Notably, the physics and gun effects really shine through on this game. There appears to be a lot of aerial gun fighting that takes place--when shot, the characters react according to their speed, height, and distance. An interesting clip had one of the elvish characters sniping someone who was in the middle of a long hop from atop a building. The victim appropriately flayed aimlessly in the air after being shot, hitting the ground hard.
Graphically the game seems solid, but more-so, much of the gameplay was focused on fast-paced shootouts taking place at breakneck speeds. The game also has some gorgeous environments, ranging from urban surroundings set in a dark future, to ancient ruins with an Aztecan look. One thing to note, however, is that all of the maps on presentation were designed for competitive deathmatches. Gametypes such as capture-the-flag/capture-the-artifact and team deathmatch comprised most of the gameplay. There are also special elements within each stage that can work as a bonus factor to whichever team controls that point. One such example was a “healing tree” that can restore life when next to it--forcing teams to try to prevent one another from taking control of that sector.
The game will boast up to 16 players via Xbox 360 and PC online modes. There’s also a single-player mode with bots, and tons of other game features that have yet to be announced. For more information be sure to stay tuned in with Xboxcore.com for developing news on Shadowrun.
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