Shadowrun

Written by Troy Matsumiya  on October 16, 2006

First Impressions: Run for the shadows in these pointy ears.

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PC and console gamers love their first-person shooters. But it was only since Halo and the marvelous Xbox controller have console gamers had the opportunity to experience the same FPS joy as their PC brethren. This of course raised the biggest controversy to hit the gaming industry since Lara Croft's over-inflated juggernauts Ц namely, which is better: the keyboard/mouse or the controller?

Gamers will soon be able to answer that burning question (*cough* keyboard/mouse *cough*) thanks to FASA Studios' Shadowrun and Microsoft's Live Anywhere technology, which for the first time will allow Xbox 360 players and PC gamers to battle against each other online.

At first glance, Shadowrun seems like an odd choice for a FPS since it was originally a pen-and-paper RPG. But FASA specializes in turning pen-and-paper games into insanely fun shooters (MechWarrior, MechAssault and Crimson Skies, anyone?) so you know the franchise is in good hands. While the genre has changed, the original spirit of the game will fortunately remain intact.

The story takes place in 2012 when dormant magical abilities inherent in all humans are suddenly and mysteriously reawakened after a 5000 year absence. This not only gives everyone magical powers but also causes some nasty side effects Ц and we're not talking about drowsiness, gas or bloating. It turns out the magic also messes with some folks' DNA, causing them to transform into dwarves, elves and trolls, complete with pointy ears and bad teeth.

There will be two opposing factions, both fighting for an ancient ziggurat in the fictional South American city of Santos. On one side is the greedy RNA Global Corporation, which will stop at nothing to gain access to the ziggurat and its mysterious powers; heck, they blasted the side of a mountain and nearly destroyed Santos in the process so needless to say they're not the kind of people who hand out candy to needy children. On the other side is the Lineage, who vow to protect the sacred ziggurat.

However, you really won't need to worry about all this since the story is simply background material to set up the conflict. In fact, there will be no true narrative or even a single player campaign; like Counter-Strike and Battlefield, Shadowrun is strictly focused on online multiplayer. You will still be able to fight bots offline but this will essentially be a training mode for the fast-paced 16-player online battles.

Your weapons will be classic cookie-cutter FPS: pistols, SMGs, sniper rifles, assault rifles, shotguns, RPGs, et cetera. Nothing special, right? What will make Shadowrun unique, however, is its blending of high-octane FPS action with cool Technology and powerful Magic spells. Tech features items like the SoarPak Glider wings which enable you to you fly for short distances; Wired Reflexes that increase your speed (combine this with a katana sword and you will be able to deflect bullets like a Jedi); and Enhanced Vision that lets you spot friends and foes in the dark and even through walls. There are even anti-Magic grenades to break down spells.

Magic lets you do cool things like turn yourself into smoke to let bullets pass right through you; conjure up a Tree of Life which replenishes the health of anyone nearby; and plant a Strangler Vine that acts as a barrier and can entangle enemies. But perhaps the most fun ability will be Teleportation, which as its name suggests will allow you to teleport across a room and through walls, ceilings and floors. Imagine teleporting behind a pesky enemy sniper and stabbing him in the back; around an otherwise impassible barrier; or even teleporting to safety an instant before you hit the ground in what would have otherwise been a fatal fall. This little magic trick will no doubt add a unique tactical dimension that will open up a host of unusual and nifty offensive and defensive strategies. You can also combine Magic and Technology, so using Teleportation with the glider wings will give you full three-dimensional freedom. Cool!

While Teleportation might be the most tactical spell, Resurrection will likely be the most valuable since this spell is the only way to revive fallen players Ц who, incidentally, have only one life per round. The interesting thing is that if you are resurrected, your life Essence is tied to your savior; this means that if they die, you will start dying unless you are resurrected by someone else. On the flipside, when you Resurrect someone, your life Essence will take a hit since you are giving part of your own health to your fallen comrade. Most importantly, players can only be resurrected if their body is intact; in other words, if the enemy takes a few extra moments to blast your body to smithereens, your round is over.

You will be able to assign up to three Magic or Tech abilities to quick hot buttons, giving you instant activation at your fingertips. You can have more than three abilities, but these will have to be accessed from a relatively time-consuming menu system instead.

Some of the more cynical gamers out there might be thinking that this game could rapidly deteriorate into a ridiculous magical fragfest of teleporting noobs. However, using Tech and Magic requires players to draw upon their reservoir of Essence which runs down with each use. Essence regenerates over time but there are various usage penalties; for example, equipping Tech will reduce the total amount of Essence you can spend on Magic. The penalties vary with each race, so you will have to carefully consider your preferred race and load-out.

Think of each race as class-types since different races will have different abilities and weaknesses. Humans are the balanced all-around class, and can use Tech with a small Essence penalty. Elves are the fastest but weakest; however, they can use Magic with very little Essence cost, making them the most powerful Magic users. Their health also slowly regenerates over time.

Trolls are the slowest and only have a small amount of Essence, but possess a great defense system; if you shoot them, their skin turns to stone, forming a tough shield that takes a long time to chip away. Dwarves are perhaps the most interesting class since they act like sponges, sucking up any Magic near them and rendering spells useless. This allows them to walk through magical barriers, kill Trees of Life, deactivate Troll armor and so on; however, they will have to be careful not to get too close to their teammates since their ability (which is active all the time) doesn't distinguish between friends or enemies. The downside is that their Essence regenerates very slowly and their Magic-sucking radius is quite small Ц meaning they will have to get very close to their target for their abilities to work Ц but they're also physically diminutive, making them a difficult target to hit.

Gameplay will be similar to Battlefield with its focus on objective-based tactical teamwork. Game modes will include Raid, where one team must capture an icon and the other team defends Ц basically single flag CTF. Fortunately, anyone carrying the icon will be unable to teleport, which would otherwise make things way too easy. The Extraction mode will be your standard CTF-type with both sides protecting an icon. Battles will take place in a variety of maps ranging from the South American jungle, the slums and streets of Santos, a power station and the head office of RNA Global.

The developers are currently debating whether or not to include team deathmatch since it goes against their tactical teamwork design. However, you can't deny it would be a damn fun addition.

Similar to Counter-Strike, you will earn money based on your performance and must purchase weapons, Tech and Magical abilities at the beginning of each round. If you die, you will lose your items and must repurchase them again; talk about adding insult to injury. However, if you survive, your Tech and Magic will stay with you in subsequent rounds and increase in power. Nice!

The Achievements Xbox 360 players love so dearly will be available in the PC version and will transfer over to your Xbox Live account (if you have one). Cool! The PC version will also include VoIP support so PC gamers can talk trash to their Xbox 360 counterparts and poke fun at their controllers.

Graphically, the game looks stunning with highly detailed characters, cool magical effects, incredible shadow, lighting and particle effects and, well, everything you expect a next gen game should look like.