Product Description

Shadowrun is the new multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) based on the classic RPG franchise. Team-based combat shoots into a new dimension, with a revolutionary blend of modern weaponry and ancient magic. After a 5,000 year absence, magic has returned to the world of 2021. Global corporations are in a war to to harness this reawakened power. Be a part of the RNA global megacorp and bring order (and profit) into a world of chaos, or join the Lineage to keep magic wild and free at all costs. Choose a side and wage war for the future of magic in the new world of Shadowrun. Up to 16 players battle for control of this new world through Windows Vista's Xbox 360-to-Windows Vista online compatibility.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1251 in Video Games
• Brand: Microsoft
• Model: AA7-00013
• Released on: 2007-05-29
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Dimensions: 3.00 pounds

Features

• Ancient magic co-exists with deadly high-tech weaponry - Purchase advanced technology and magic each round in an extraordinary arms race
• Balance your teams by using the talents of humans, elves, dwarves and trolls in your battles for supremacy among soaring corporate towers
• Train offline with the robust A.I. or play coop through online mini-games with your friends, as you master magic and technology
• Take on friends or work with them via System Link, Splitscreen, LAN, or Xbox Live

From the Manufacturer
FASA Studio, the creative minds behind MechWarrior and Crimson Skies, are back with Shadowrun, the new multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) based on the much-beloved role-playing game (RPG) franchise. Shadowrun propels team-based combat into a new dimension with a revolutionary blend of modern weaponry and ancient magic. Up to 16 players can battle for control of this new world through Xbox 360-to-Windows Vista online compatibility. In Shadowrun players vie for supremacy in a constantly evolving battlefield where advanced technology and ancient magic provide an unprecedented and high-velocity tactical action experience.

Features:

• Rich legacy brought to life. After a 5,000-year absence, magic has returned to the world of 2021, and global corporate might battles a relentless ancient order to harness this reawakened power. Be a part of the RNA, a global megacorporation, and bring order (and profit) to a world of chaos. Or join the Lineage to keep magic wild and free at all costs. Choose a side and wage war for the future of magic in the new world of Shadowrun.
• Bending reality and changing the rules of combat. Dive into a universe where ancient magic co-exists with deadly weaponry, and experience a revolution in multiplayer FPS gaming. Purchase advanced technology and magic for each round in an extraordinary arms race to improve your abilities and open new tactics for your team. Use your cybernetic eye to spot your enemy through walls, teleport behind your opponents in the blink of an eye, trigger a hologram as a distraction, and cut them down with a burst from your rifle to clear the room before they even know you are there.
• Intense cross-platform multiplayer action. For the first time ever, Xbox 360 and Windows Vista gamers can compete as a team or as foes. Experience a quantum leap in interactivity as console and Windows Vista-based PC gamers battle for supremacy online via Windows Vista and the Xbox Live® service. While Shadowrun gamers will battle endlessly for the right to be crowned the last man standing, they will also struggle to answer the question of which is the more-efficient killer: a Windows®-based PC or Xbox 360. Through the unprecedented cross-platform functionality, up to 16 gamers using both a Windows-based PC and the Xbox 360 console will participate together in the ultimate multiplayer frag-fest. Don’t be sidelined onto one platform: Control your own destiny and play on the console or the PC.
• Classic races reinterpreted for a new world. Experience the thrill of combat as magic reawakens creatures of legend. Humans are joined by elves, dwarves and trolls in a battle for supremacy among soaring corporate towers and an ancient ziggurat of power. Strike a balance on your team with races possessing unique abilities that complement your weapons and tactics.
• The ultimate online (and offline) battlefield. Fight against or alongside AI teammates or join up with friends against all comers via System Link, Split-screen, LAN and Xbox Live. Fill out your team with incredible AI characters that respond to each tactical situation and provide an unparalleled team experience. Train offline with the robust AI, or play through a host of minigames cooperatively online with your friends as you master the magic and technology of Shadowrun.

Customer Reviews

Some good some bad
Most of what folks are posting here is true... There is not single player mode (other than playing "Solo" matches against bots and the training "missions"). There are 9 maps and 3 game types.

I don't quite understand the frustration people are having over getting the game home to realize there is not single player mode, though. It has been widely reported for months (since the game was announced) that this would be a multiplayer only game. You should always research a game prior to purchasing it.

I find the game quite fun, and entertaining. I am a huge fan of the original pen and paper version of Shadowrun, and while this game does not stick terribly close to some of the "rules" of that version, it does an admirable job of presenting what I think of as a small slice of the Shadowrun world and mythos.

I am a FPS junkie, and this game does a lot to keep me interested. I really like the options I have on how to equip my character with the different spells, tech, and weapons. It is amazingly cool to be able to glide into the air teleport through a wall, take perch on top of a statue, and snipe the opposing team. Then I glide off my perch, back through the wall, and escape before they can retaliate. Or, even better, when under fire summon a minion to attack my foe as a distraction while I teleport in behind them to take them out from behind.

I like the ability to purchase new items between rounds. To me this seems fresh and new, but apparently that is because I did not play Counterstrike. Also, this serves to heighten the intensity from round to round, since each character is buying and employing new/stronger abilities each round.

Because the game is round and objective based it does require teamwork. The teamwork isn't as essential as it is in a game like Gears Of War, but it does help to work together. This is not a Halo clone, where you just run, shoot, die, respawn, repeat. Shadowrun requires much more strategy and teamwork. I feel as though this (along with games like Gears Of War) is one of the early steps we are seeing to the next evolution of FPS gaming. The Halo-type game is fun, but to me feels dated with its lack of innovation, and same-old-same-old feel. I prefer Shadowrun over the Halo 3 beta hands down.

However, this is not a perfect game by any means. FASA is having a very hard time getting their servers to cooperate. Many people, myself included, are having a hard time getting into matches. Most of the time a match is found within a couple of minutes, but there have been times when I have waited 5-10 minutes without a match being found before I turn it off and go to play Gears Of War. I have seen online that there have been some people that haven't been able to get into public matches since the game was released 5 days ago. FASA has stated they are working on the problem.

I do wish there were more gametypes, but what is there will be enough until an update comes out in a few months. The matches are all varied, since there is such a large variety of buildouts for characters, etc. I have had no 2 games that played the same.

My biggest complaint about this game is the inability to insure that your party stays together when you go into a match. I can have myself and 7 of my buddies together in a party and when we go to join a public match we will be split up in order to "balance" the teams. You don't even have the option to switch up who is playing on what team. The computer decides for you. This is frustrating and should be addressed.

In short, if you are an FPS fan and would be interested in something new that requires a little more thought than a straight forward run and gun I recommend picking this up. You may want to rent first to make sure this is for you, but I enjoy it very much.

Great for Xbox Live...
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3S8M561738BQJ The regular game has no overarching storyline and quickly becomes boring - however, it is a lot of fun on xbox live. Great graphics and fun weapons & spells make this a good first person shooter alternative to Halo3.

Fun and Accessible
I've been looking forward to this game for only about a month since I read about it. I bought it as soon as I can and I play it as much as I can. This game is alot of fun. It has a great mixture of fast paced combat mixed with strategy. The combat keeps you on your toes because everyone has the ability to teleport through walls right in front of you or see through walls and pop around the corner. That also could be considered the downfall because everyone has the same powers, so there isn't as much variety as there could be. Hopefully some of the small problems get a patch but it's a great game as is.