Shadowrun is a game best suited for a gamer with great patience
Shadowrun is a game that has great potential, which is sad considering most of it goes un-tapped. Especially considering games like "Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter" and "Rainbow Six: Vegas" on the market for similar prices and include more content. As a result, Shadowrun is a game best suited for a gamer with great patience.
Shadowrun puts you in the shoes of, well, nobody in particular, the game has multiple classes to choose from, Elfs, Dwarfs, humans, and trolls, all with their own pros and cons. Let me start off by saying that it is sad that Shadowrun has no Story Mode. With all of the magic spells and futurisic technology in place, it would have been nice if Microsoft at least put a generic Lord of The Rings/Star Trek-like-story story in Shadowrun. The only single player modes in Shadowrun are Training modes that simply teach you how to use spells and whatnot, and a Bot Match mode that disables acheivements. Which means this game is only multiplayer, so if for some reason or the other you don't like playing on Xbox Live, then you should stay far away from Shadowrun.
What's that you say?"Well at least the multiplayer must be good"? That is somewhat true, but there are only a 12 maps and 2 modes, so your mileage may vary depending on how much you like the maps. There is also a Counter-Strike esque weapon purchasing system, so you will have to play for a short while before having enough money to get what weapons, magic, and technology you want. The 2 modes are Capture the Flag related, so there is not neccisarily enough variety in the modes to last 12 maps, which makes the game quite repetative. But, to the game's credit, the weapon purchasing system works out pretty well.
The graphics, while good, leave much to be desired. While the animations for your magic spells you cast look amazing, there are many visual glitches in Shadowrun. The gamer's selected character when dead will have a 50/50 chance of clipping through the ground. There is no ladder climbing animation in the game, despite the fact that most of the levels are littered with anywhere beetween 3 to 10 or more ladders. Also, the walking animation looks very slow, almost seeming like the player's character model is walking on a slippery floor at times, things like this make the game feel unfinished in spots.
One thing Shadowrun does accel in is the audio. The gun sounds in Shadowrun are very believable, and the sounds you will hear when you use a magic spell sound spectacular. One thing that could be improved is the voice work in the Training modes. The game's instructor will often go off topic and talk about things not related to your Training, which will drive impatient players nuts by the time they reach the 4th or 5th Training level.
Shadowrun is a game with great potential that is mostly wasted. But if you are a very patient gamer, then if you can find this game for a bargain price, then by all means, buy Shadowrun. Just don't expect to be blown away.
