Shadowrun: Biggest Disappointment of the Year

[Kekvit Irae]

I recently got Shadowrun for the X-Box 360. I was already disappointed that a great game from both the Genesis and Super Nintendo turned into a first person shooter, but I was ultimately disappointed when I played the 360 version.

Problems:
1) Vista Required. Despite being cross-platform (360 users can play with PC users), the vast majority of "intelligent" PC gamers do not have Vista, and thus cannot play Shadowrun.
2) Lack of classes. While customization is easy, allowing you to combine magic with tech, there are very few options, and everyone obviously takes Resurrection off the bat.
3) Essence is the end-all be-all statistic. Back in the Pen & Paper version, if you had an Essence of 6, you were considered pure of all cybernetic enhancement. This is a permanent statistic and do not use this as a form of mana to cast your spells with, unlike the 360 game. In the 360 game, Essence is a variable, and powers all your spells and cybernetic enhancements, and regenerates. To a diehard Shadowrun gamer, this annoys me to no end.

And lastly, and the worst offense of all...

4) Absolutely no single-player campaign. Want to play single-player? I hope you like tutorials and botmatches. The game is essentially Battlefield 2 in the future.

[Geoffrey S]

But I have to ask, weren't these limitations absolutely clear from previews and the like? I know I read one preview and a feature list and it was entirely clear what the game was designed to be, with no room for confusion.

[Watchman]

From the previews I've seen the magic system already broke just about the three biggest taboos of the whole pen-and-paper equivalent (teleportation, resurrection and something else I don't recall at the moment), so I can't say I exactly expect much of the whole thing.

[Ironside]

The publishers of the Shadowrun roleplaying game have issued a statement saying, "Microsoft rewrote the timeline and setting for this game, so it is not in continuity with the tabletop RPG. It may be more accurately described as a game loosely based on Shadowrun."

Says it all really.

Although I must say that a combination of cyberpunk and fantasy sounds as a quite interesting combination.

[Kekvit Irae]

There's virtually no plot. RNA corporates defend magical artifacts from The Lineage eco-terrorists. That's about as far as the story goes.

[Xiahou]

1) Vista Required. Despite being cross-platform (360 users can play with PC users), the vast majority of "intelligent" PC gamers do not have Vista, and thus cannot play Shadowrun.

I don't believe that's specific to any one game either. Last I heard, Vista will be required for all cross-platform play.

Maybe someone else knows different.

[Husar]

I don't believe that's specific to any one game either. Last I heard, Vista will be required for all cross-platform play.

Maybe someone else knows different.

That's what I thought when I read that point, I think it's because all that Windows Live stuff is supposedly integrated with Vista etc, haven't found anything in my business version though, maybe works automatically if you have the right game(but then they also promised some webspace that could be easily used from Vista, haven't found that either ).

[Watchman]

Although I must say that a combination of cyberpunk and fantasy sounds as a quite interesting combination.

FASA was always pretty good at coming up with interesting ideas. Sadly, another thing it was very good at was then almost crippling those good premises with unbelievably clunky rules and world-settings-cum-histories that would have been better left unwritten.

Trust me on this, I own the rulebook for every edition for SR. The latest, 4th Ed, is the first one with a rules mechanic that genuinely works and doesn't hit all kinds of strange and absurd snags. It ought to tells something that it took Fanpro (the current owner of the game) but some two years to make it, compared to FASA unsuccesfully trying for over a decade...

[Bob the Insane]

I have to say as a former Shadowrun player (PnP) I was and still am disappointed with the design concepts in this game...

When I heard there was to be a new SR game I thought woohoo! But then it was going be a FPS... Well it possible I thought, an awful lot of my SR games devolved into running gun battles...

Then I heard it was a CS clone... Well it is still possible I thought, runner vs sec teams type of thing, with the runners trying to steal something and the sec team trying to stop them...

Then we heard about the magic; Teleport, Turn to Smoke, Resurrection...

Hmmm.... (I think essence kind of fits because your Magic stat can't be higher than your essence, it is as if everyone in the game is magically active. It is a shame they don't have the whole your essence is reduced by cyberware thing though...)

Finally, it's not even set in Seattle...

I have purchased it, but not for it's Shadowrun-ness but for the whole Games for Windows cross platform gaming thing. Try it out and all and at least it is cheaper on the PC. Yes I am one of those (ahem) "unintelligent" gamers with Vista...

(Note I do have multi-boot with XP too on a separate partions for anything that completely refuses to work in Vista)...

If you are thinking of getting this... Expect Counter Strike with magic... That is it, there is nothing more!!

[darkragnar]

Hows the game though ? almost no one's mentioned what's it like as a game ? is it buggy ? the animations suck?....something on that lines.

sure it might not have a SR background but is the game fun to play ?
I head some good things about this one when they previewed it but almost every site now has give it a [rubbish] score, id just like to know what ya'll think about the game itself.


EDIT: Language, please. Froggy.

[Ja'chyra]

Problems:
1) Vista Required. Despite being cross-platform (360 users can play with PC users), the vast majority of "intelligent" PC gamers do not have Vista, and thus cannot play Shadowrun.
.

I play games and I have Vista, does that make me an idiot?

[Husar]

I play games and I have Vista, does that make me an idiot?

No, we're just part of the minority of intelligent PC gamers.

[Blodrast]

I play games and I have Vista, does that make me an idiot?

Which part are you inquiring about ?


I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it. I know, I know, I should be ashamed. I am, actually.
Smartass mode off, and now going into a corner.
(Also, Ja'chyra, I was just kidding.)

[Ja'chyra]

Lol, almost 12 hours, I was expecting that a bit quicker