Shadowrun

 Based on the pen-and-paper role playing game of the same name, Shadowrun is a multiplayer-based FPS from developers FASA Interactive. The main focus throughout is your ability to combine the unique abilities of both 'Tech' and 'Magic' that is bought at the start of every game via a budget that the player is given. The different abilities are exciting and when combinations are pulled off can be very rewarding. Shadowrun does however suffer from a non-existent campaign, with just a selection of tutorials and a brief narrative giving any real substance to why the 'Lineage' or the 'RNA' are doing battle in our near future. But in saying this the multiplayer is addictive and there are enough maps and game modes to keep your interest for the foreseeable future.

Set in the year 2031, Shadowrun is a world contested. Magic is a cyclical process and enters the world every 5000 years, and when it did so in December 2024, all hell broke loose. An ancient artifact known as the Ziggurat has been buried in the side of a mountain in Santos, Brazil and is being fiercely fought over by the local Lineage and a global corporation known as the RNA. It seems like an interesting enough premise, but this is just essentially a shell that the game operates from. You wont here anything more from the 'Ziggurat' or other events that have shaped the Shadowrun universe. The game takes place before the original RPG and does incredibly little with the license which seems like a waste, which essentially it is and will disappoint fans looking forward to this release.

It could have done a lot with the license had Shadowrun been given any form of a campaign, and there are just six short training sessions between yourself and the dark realms of multiplayer. Hardly what you'd want but the training period does give you a good idea as to how use both magic and tech and when they are effective. With no further a due the main magic choices are Teleport, Resurrect, Strangle, Summon(which is cool, you can bring your own beast along to defend an area and kill foes), Gust, Smoke and Tree of life. All are great to use and varied in terms of how they will effect your experience. This is while tech varies from the Glider, Grenade, Enhanced Vision, Wired Reflexes, Anti-Magic Generators and Smartlink. There is a balancing act to how you use both magic and tech, as they are all suited to different approaches to each time you play, so you will have to develop a sound strategy to better your online opponents.

Oh yeah, and if I haven't mentioned it before, the magic apparently transformed Humans into other species such as Dwarfs, Elves and Trolls, and you'll be able to choose from any of those four races that suit you when you play. They all have advantages such as health regeneration for elves, and dwarfs that'll suck magic from you(yeah, that's what I said). Because in Shadowrun, there's this thing called 'Essence'. It's primarily a bar down by the left corner of your screen that determines all the magic and tech points you can spend. The amount of Essence you can use in each game can be cut down depending on what you've used. For example if you have used resurrect on a dead team-mate, to keep them alive a section of your Essence bar will be taken up to keep them alive. Humans get the advantage for example of it costing less to use tech, so if you focus on techs such as the Glider and Smartlink then humans would be a good choice.

When traversing the maps in Shadowrun, there are many locations to take advantage of. Using the vast array of weapons, tech and magic at your disposal, assassinating opponents by teleporting from underground walkways on Power Station, using Strangle to cut off choke points from enemies and using the many sniping positions are always rewarding and feels like the maps have been tailored for the most enjoyment possible, especially in more urban maps where explosions rip through densely crowded areas on a frequent basis and assassinations lie around every corner. It is a shame that more maps are not available though, mainly because there is obviously no campaign and would have felt more complete to play. It feels half-baked when there is a smaller version of the same map, rather than a different map altogether that gives you a different angle to select from your array of techs, weapons and magic.

There are other, let's say disappointing areas to the generally solid multiplayer as well, mainly because of unfinished animations. Although the character models and maps look sharp and exciting to play through, when you look at another player using a ladder for example you somehow find yourself in amazement as they float up it. Although it is the era of magic and the like, but somehow I didn't think that was on the agenda. It's a glaring error and feels unnecessary. Another is that the character models are set, and all the humans look identical, as do the elves and trolls. A degree of customisation here would have been welcoming to give every individual player a sense of personality. Thankfully these are not massive deterrences from the solid gameplay, but are noticeable and disrupt the otherwise great gameplay.

Because overall Shadowrun is by no means a bad game. It just feels like a great premise that hasn't had the initiative truly taken by the scruff of the neck by its developers. A campaign would have made it great, mainly through the vast amount of tech and magic that is available gives so many different ways to undertake objectives, and this would have been very rewarding in the same way as it is in multiplayer to see different combinations pay off so brilliantly. Also because of the wide array of abilities, intergrating RPG elements from the license may have also been an interesting dynamic. But despite these shortcomings and 'what would have been', there is enough here to keep you interested, and bearing in mind you have a few friends along for the ride, it is still an incredibly enjoyable game to play.