Paradox Designs

I have had the Shadowrun game for a while, given to me by a friend, but I only recently opened it. I had heard very little about the game, so didn’t know what to expect. After playing it for 2 days, I feel i can write a comprehensive review.

Basics

Shadowrun is a semi-traditional FPS, with third person elements. The game combines weapon usage, tech usage, and magic. All of these elements must be purchased at the start of a match^[1], and the purchasing choices alone make this game have a bit of strategy involved. Each item is balanced, with bonuses and flaws that will affect your gameplay. In addition to these items you can purchase, you have the choice of 4 races, when joining a game. These races are Dwarf, Human, Elf, and Troll, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses.

Gameplay

Shadowrun’s gameplay is mostly multiplayer only^[2], but there are single player training missions that will get you aquanted with the game, as well as solo games, which are about as close as this game comes to campain. As with any other online gameplay, it will vary, depending on your party and their skills.

One annoying part of the game was when you die, there is no automatic respawn. Too much teamwork is required to win successfully, and in random Xbox Live games, getting someone to revive you^[3] can be troublesome. Many of the maps are confusing, and dont seem to follow any pattern.

Overall

All in all, shadowrun was fun for a little while, but got tiring very quickly. I havn’t yet played it at lan parties, or with a constructed party, so those might be better, but all in all, it was an average game, not like what is seen in many of this generation’s games.

Rating:

1. You can purchase new items, but most of your old items will stay with you, even when you die. By playing for a long time, one can stockpile almost everything in the game. [↩]
2. Unless you attend a lot of lan parties, enjoy bot matches, or prefer 4 player split screen, an Xbox Live subscription is required [↩]
3. A magical spell that makes you alive, but dependant on the person who cast it [↩]