I haven't seen a thread about this game and it's coming out soon, so here it goes.
What is Shadowrun?
Shadowrun is an FPS on the Xbox360 and PC that allows for players on each to play against each other. The game is essentially online only with 16 player matches.
What is the premise behind Shadowrun?
Something about the future, blahblahblah. There are 4 races (Trolls, Elves, Dwarves and Humans) fighting it out with magic and technology in addition to just weapons.
What are Shadowrun's unique features?
Shadowrun is essentially "Halo with Gadgets" or an "RPG on speed". The description of the game is that it expands traditional shooter combat. In a typical FPS, if you see someone you can run, shoot, throw a grenade, melee maybe drive a vehicle. In Shadowrun, you can teleport, glide, throw gusts of air, heal, ressurrect, strangle, summon creatures, turn into smoke, wield a katana, etc...
How do magic and tech work?
Each player has a certain amount of essence. This essence is put to use with either tech or magic. Magic spells require essence to be cast and tech skills lock up a certain amount of essence. Each race also has different amounts of essence and affinities. Humans can use lots of tech with little penalty, but a human using magic uses more essence than say an Elf. You can have 3 spells quick mapped to the controller and then more that are located in a menu. Which you have mapped and which you use overall add lots of depth and strategy.
What are the races like?
Humans - good all-around, no real weaknesses, but don't really excel at anything.
Elves - Fast, good at magic, heal over time (when they have available essence)
Trolls - Big, strong, get stronger with damage (Their skin hardens as you fire at them, so each shot you hit a troll with makes them harder to kill)
Dwarves - Small, low hp, but can steal essence
What are the weapons like?
The standard FPS fare: pistol, smg, shotgun, rifle, sniper rifle, rocket launcher, mini-gun, katana
What are the matches like?
The matches are round-based, with 1 life per round. At the beginning of each round you can select with magic/tech you want to start with. There are CTF and deathmatch style games.
List of examples of "cool stuff" you can do in Shadowrun
Let's say....
- you're in a room completely surrounded, you can teleport up (or down) and be in the floor above (or below) completely alone.
- you see a group of enemies just standing alone across the map while you're on the roof. You can throw a grenade and then use the "gust" wind power to blow it even farther. (the poor man's rocket launcher)
- you can equip the "wired reflexes" tech and use the katana to deflect bullets
- you can run on top of building, teleport 10 feet up and then glide over the battlefield.
When will this game be released?
No official announcement yet. Gamestop has it listed for May 29. It will be soon, though.
Why is Epyon so interested?
This game is designed by FASA Studios, the team behind Crimson Skies and they hired the lead designer behind Halo 1 to supervise the game. The graphics admittedly aren't amazing, but the developers were recently on 1UP's podcast. They stated that they worked hard on making it fun first before they made it pretty.
Additionally, this is the kind of game that looks incredibly complex and deep. Something that will really reward time spent with it. It reminds me a lot of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory's spy vs. merc multiplayer. A learning curve that is, admittedly steep, but rewarding and enjoyable. (Don't worry about getting owned too much in Shadowrun, there are excellent tutorials to instruct you on the magic and tech, etc....) Bottom line: The game looks fun, and I want there to be a good PGL group playing.
Official Shadowrun Page
CG Announcement Trailer (E3 2006)
New Trailer (In-Game)
Beta Footage (no sound)
There's a lot more footage on YouTube.
Linear Mode
