Product Description

NOTE: Requires Windows Vista to run

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: #3818 in Video Games
• Brand: Microsoft
• Released on: 2007-05-29
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platform: Windows Vista
• Format: CD-ROM
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .42 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 -- even if you're playing on a Windows PC

Customer Reviews

Great fun
I was a little weary of purchasing this game due to the lack of good reviews on this page. However, I noticed a lot of these reviews are simply aimed at the fact the game is Vista-only. (despite being titled Games for Windows.) Since I currently run Vista, I don't really care that XP users can't run the game. Quite frankly, it bothered me that so many negative reviews weren't about the game, but simply that MSFT decided to make it Vista.

Getting past this, I installed the game on my system and it runs beautifully. My computer is heavy on the performance side, so I'm not sure how well it runs on older systems. (I assume most Vista-installed machines have decent specifications.) I also own an Xbox360, so it's great to easily load up my Xbox Live account and play with all my friends. The game matching takes a minute or two, but there are always games available, even late at night.

The gameplay is enjoyable. Note: There is no campaign or anything like that. The only single player aspect of this game is the training. You can pick up how to play the game fairly quickly, but it will take some time to really master the skills and use them competitively.

It's got a CS feel to it (since you buy your equipment/magic at the start of every game) but the magic adds an interesting level of strategy to the game. Since people can fairly easily be resurrected in the game, mowing down an enemy and moving on isn't always the best strategy.

Overall, this game is an enjoyable FPS. As I said earlier, the learning curve is slight to play but large to really get good. I recommend this game to anyone who doesn't have any gripes about it being Vista only.

Everything the game does, it does right. The only problem is that it doesn't do very much.
Shadowrun is a game that seems to have a lot of potential. In the end, though, it isn't fully exploited. The game mixes fantasy games and sci-fi shooters in a marriage that should be any nerds dream, and it does so very well. When you go online the game is solid. The problem is that there are only 3 game modes. So, after completing the tutorials and playing a few matches online, you'll be wondering where the rest of the game is. Sadly that is a question the will forever remain unanswered.

There are a couple things to note about Shadowrun. First, it is Windows Vista only and does require a decent system (2GBs RAM and Ge Force 7600+ graphics card). It is enhanced for dual core system so if you have one it, its a plus. Also, since this is a Games for Windows LIVE title, the online requires a Windows LIVE account (hotmail account) to play online. You can play against other PC players with a silver account, but to most games are from Xbox 360 players and you'll need a Gold account which is $50 a year if you don't already have one (it does come with a month free). Of course the game can be played locally over LAN, if you're opposed to online for whatever reason.

Shadowrun is set in a fictional future where, in addition to technological discoveries, magic is uncovered for the first time in 5000 years. The discovery of magic lead opposing forces into war and also created different races of meta-humans. As the player, you're fighting for the forces of RNA or Lineage for control of magical artifacts simply called "artifacts" (creative, right?). Anyway, the story doesn't matter at all and serves only as an excuse for you to be shooting at other players online.

When you join a match you'll be placed on a team. At the beginning of each round you'll have a chance to buy your choice of weapons or skills. For anyone who has played Counter Strike, that should be pretty familiar. Then you'll set off to destroy the opposing team. Should you be killed you will not respawn, but you can rejoin the fight if one of your team members revives you. Once the game gets going there will be people flying and teleporting around, as well as shooting and healing, killing and reviving. It is a lot to wrap your mind around and that is the real strength of Shadowrun.

In the game there are four races, human, elf, dwarf, and troll. Each race has its own advantages and they are all balanced very well. In addition to the races there are Tech and Magic... oh and of course guns too. Magic skills allow you to heal team mates, or teleport, or even summon minions and more. Tech abilities allow you to use a glider, or have radar like vision, or improve your speed, or aim better. As for weapons there is your standard fair of pistol, machine gun, rifle, shotgun, sniper rifle, mini-gun, rockets, and (maybe not so standard) katana. When you start messing around with Race/Skill/Weapon combos then you start to understand Shadowrun's complexity, and its uniqueness. From my experience it is easy to make a combination you like, but difficult to master all the different aspects of what your enemy may be doing at any given time.

So, the game is totally based around team play and, as I previously mentioned, there is an astounding 3 different modes to play and that might even be brought down to two. Each map is set up as either a Extraction Map or a Raid Map, and Extraction Maps you can't play Raid on and vise-versa. Extraction has both teams fighting to bring the artifact back to their base, while in Raid only Lineage tries to capture the flag while RNA tries to protect it. In either of these game modes if one team eliminates all players on the other team, they win the round regardless of the artifact. The third game type, availible on all maps, is called Attrition, where the objective is to kill the other team. In Attrition the artifact stays on the map, but only serves as a kind of power-up that either team can use. While all of these game modes are fun they're not very diverse and I really feel the game could use more modes to choose from.

Graphically the game does pretty well, but there are a few issues. Each team has a different look for the different races, but other that that there is no difference between characters. You can't change your clothes or looks in the slightest way, there isn't even a choice to change gender (everyone is male). The developers also failed to put in a ladder climbing animation for some unknown reason. Still, everything looks good even on the lowest settings. Everything holds up graphically even with 16 players quickly moving around and using magic and skills.

Sound is pretty simple in the game. I don't know that there is much to say on it. It isn't bad or distracting, but its not something you'll be looking for the soundtrack for. One thing the game does that I appreciate, is that it gives you auditory warnings as to where enemies are and where your team mates are fighting. Some people might find that annoying, but it isn't overdone, so I'm glad they included it. As far as sound effects go everything sounds like it should.

In the end, Shadowrun is a fun, but limited game. Everything it does works well, but you might get sick of what is really just two different types of matches. This PC version can actually be picked up fairly cheap now. I got mine for $10 with a free month of Gold. If you're the kind of person who enjoys playing games like Counter Strike endlessly and want to try something different you need this game. For everyone else, you wont be hurting yourself if you decide to skip this one.

Great Game
Most underated game ever. Top 10 best games I have ever played, it is the most fun if you have your own "clan". Takes skill unlike Cod4+Cod5. Good game for Windows Vista.