[360] Shadowrun Impressions

[CeeKay]

I was really hyped for this until I found out it was going to be just a multiplayer shooter.  A Shadowrun RPG would be great, but this looks like the same crap we've played time and time again.  No thanks.

glyc

heck, I would be more interested if they had bothered to put together a decent single player campaign.  I'd have faith in that alone since it was FASA who put together Mechassault and Crimson Skies.

[hepcat]

i really want this to NOT suck, but everything i'm reading is pointing towards sparse gameplay with the limited maps and only 3 game types.   

however, as i posted over at OO:

although i did enjoy the rather lengthy thread i found on the official boards dealing with the viability of being able to use a glider and the crouch position to "teabag" other players...which in turn brought up the proposal for a fourth game type centering on this very thing, and how scoring would be handled.

[denoginizer]

Quite honestly I'm more prone to purchase a multiplayer only game than a single player only one.  To me games with no multiplayer element are rentals.  My concerns about Shadowrun are about the small amount of content it seems to have.  For $59.99 I want more than 9 maps.  The concept of character development between rounds and depth of powers/weapons seems pretty interesting.  Just not $60 interesting.  In my opinion Microsoft should have gone the Warhawk route and priced it as a $30 downloadable game.  If you have to be online to play it anyway, why not make it available in the marketplace?

[unbreakable]

I'm not really drawn to a huge amount of levels, especially in an online FPS.  If the few levels there are really good, as is the gameplay, that's good enough for me.

Heck, I used to play Two Fort back on TFC for hours a day, all the time.

[JuniorDan]

This is all I got between 9am and now. Dude here was a beta tester he was answering a bunch of questions for people looking for a game review.

Take it from a guy who has played the Shadowrun Beta and loved it. No, not one tech, weapon, or magic is really overpowered. All weapons have been balanced carefully, and it's really just what you like to use. Take the Mini gun, for example. When I first played it, I was like "WTF?!?! A CHAIN GUN COSTS ONLY $700???:" But as I played and fought other people with the chain gun, I noticed it was not at all overpowered, it was balanced perfectly. If you have read IGN's comparison with the PC and 360 version of the game, they say that the 360 has somewhat of a small advantage, but not much. Also, the Beta was made to help FASA find glitches, so there won't be to many glitches lying around. And when discovered, FASA will probably patch it quickly. This game is actually going yo be played pretty competitively, Game battles might even have its own Shadowrun bracket. With a somewhat similar party system to Halo 2, it will be nicely organized. And about replaybility... Let's just leave it at this. In the Beta, there were only two maps, and i wouldn't stop playing them for three months. The game has a ton of replayability, and will not get repetitive, unless your some arrogant ass who only believes in what he thinks, like some of my friends...

If this game were $70, I wouldn't give a second thought about not putting down my cash on a store register counter. It's that good.

[Clanwolfer]

I almost pulled the trigger on the PC version of this today, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it at full price.  At the very least, I want to know enough other people are to give it a decent shot at an online community, but the fact that everyone is in wait-and-see mode is a warning sign.

I may yet still buy it, but probably not without some reviews.

[Space Herpes]

I'm not really drawn to a huge amount of levels, especially in an online FPS.  If the few levels there are really good, as is the gameplay, that's good enough for me.

Heck, I used to play Two Fort back on TFC for hours a day, all the time.

That's great, but Half Life was a full single-player product and then they released TFC for free.  Would you have paid $60 for TFC if it only had a hand full of maps?

[Destructor]

And just a few more replies before we hit Page 2. Then by then somebody would've bought it and we'll get some actual impressions. 

[JuniorDan]

Came in with low expectations and left blown away.
Initially I had low expectations for Shadowrun simply because I didn't really think RPG and FPS could be mixed well.So when I actually got down to playing the game I was confused as hell as to remembering magic and tech placements and all that. Honestly though,it took me about ten minutes in before I realized that I was saying the words Holy Sh**t and AWESOME every five seconds,and it wasn't just me.Everyone in the twelve or so games i've played(PC users and 360 users) were all screaming out praises to this game. It did occur to me though that for a multiplayer only game it was kinda lacking content,but then I was proven wrong again.FASA Studio announced that very soon we will have the first patch for Shadowrun adding alot of content that was planned to be in the full retail version, but taken out due to lack of time.Things like split-screen play on local and xbox live,another race(Orc I think),and some other secret stuff. They also said that there would be more to come after that(they weren't saying anything about what, but atleast we got something. BOTTOM LINE
If you are even the slightest bit of a halo,FPS,RPG,or counter strike fan.This game will give you ABSOLUTELY everything you'd want in a game combining these things.It also is nowhere near as bad looking as it was in Beta form, this isn't another Gears,but it definately packs a punch.
The levels are all extremely interesting and only add to the graphical quality of the game.I won't even explain how, you gotta see two of the temple levels for yourself.Great job FASA, SHADOWRUN kicks ASS.

Gameplay: Takes a while to get used to, but after a few matches it feels like second nature.You won't be able to play another FPS without getting the feeling it's just a little behind.(Believe me I already tried).No longer does the FPS Genre consist of only point shoot grenade repeat.

Graphics: This is one area that might not blow you away(After Gears what could),but it does look very good and some of the levels are absolutely georgeous.

Sound: In the sound department Shadowrun is up there with every other Triple A title.Especially in a 5.1 surround setup.Bullets wizzing your head,enemies teleporting, and the roar of a summoned beast as it slices through your foes(Or vice-versa) just sound amazing.

Longetivity: This game only has three gametypes and it already has everyone i've talked to addicted.Throw in what is going to be added soon and this game might still be in my 360 2 years from now.

Innovation: Simply OOZING the word.The gameplay the maps, everything.Even the levels on this game have elements in them i've never seen.This game took a bold chance and it pays off BIG-TIME.

[JuniorDan]

Solid, Fun, and interesting this game is obviously meant for the hard-core and will make casual gamers cry with pain.
I have been a fan of the old-school pen-and-paper RPG for many years, and when I heard it was finally getting a video game installment, (the previous ones on the Sega and Super Nintendo do not elude me, but I felt it was time for an update), I was ecstatic. Then I found out it was a team based first person shooter, and my heart sank. I immediately found myself judging this game as a failure for running away from its roots......boy, was I wrong!

The learning curve in this game is very high, and the AI will punish you.....but the characters each have their pluses and minuses and knowing how to use these pluses and minuses effectively is what will win the game.

There are several spells and tech to choose from and it will keep the action playing fresh, and joining a match late means you will be severely out matched as you buy these spells and techs during match startups. The tech and spells from the previous match carry over and you get more money for more spells and tech (kinda like leveling up....)

I felt a sense of pride when I flew over enemies in a glider, threw a demon down on top of them and teleported through a nearby wall to laugh as I see their deaths flash up in my HUD! I also enjoyed raining lead unto enemies while not hitting allies as my Troll ignored the damage and the aiming implant made sure my allies weren't caught up in my barrage.

There is also humans, who, while not having a big essence pool, have a cool ability to ignore tech penalties and go straight cyborg on people while other races have to make do with one or two tech implants.

Essence is the force you use for casting spells, and it regenerates differently depending on race.

There is alot complex and creative ways to make your character play in this game, but you will have to play fast or die even faster. (Don't let death scare you, as players can buy a resurrection spell as well.)

Indeed there have been games I have played where my entire team had died and finished the same game with all of my teammates alive at the end.

Again, if you are new to the game, you will be punished and it doesn't break in easily, but it will truly feel rewarding when you find the character that plays how you want them too. I would suggest a rental before a purchase as casual gamers will have a hard time adjusting and may think poorly of a game that punishes them so badly.....

[JuniorDan]

Ok I just caught myself......
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/shadowrun/players.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=stats&tag=stats;yousay

[ROTC1983]

Looks like people are having a blast with this...hm, now I am really close to purchasing it.  I love the whole universe behind shadowrun...ack, I might have to wait till payday

[JuniorDan]

When I go to Circuit City to pick up Forza 2 depending on my mood, I might take one for the team and give a straight up honest review.

[JuniorDan]

Just found this on a gaming forum of a dutch review of the game...

I just got this from Neogaf:

For Dutch people, here's a review: http://www.gamevillage.nl/showthread...21#post2531821
Summary:

The Good:
+ Abilities
+ Combination of races with abilities and weapons

The Bad:
- The buttons don't allow you to use your skills fast enough

Judgement:
Best FPS for 360 up till now

Gameplay - 9
Graphics - 9
Sound - 8
Replay - 9

Total: 9

They seemed to really like it!

you play it however you want, team work really matters, and the bottom line is that its just FUN

dont hesitate in buying this, the graphics may only be pretty good but the gameplay is the best on xbox live, hands down. im on my last days of the halo 3 beta and im currently playing shadowrun

[Destructor]

juniordan - you broke our unwritten rule of no impressions until the second page! Shame on you!   

That said - now the game looks a whole lot better. Hope to see more impressions along that very positive line soon.

[EngineNo9]

juniordan - you broke our unwritten rule of no impressions until the second page! Shame on you!   

That said - now the game looks a whole lot better. Hope to see more impressions along that very positive line soon.

Well, I don't think they were even his impressions, they were just quotes of other people's impressions from other forums.  Which doesn't really do anything for me.

[Clanwolfer]

Got it for PC.  Assuming my Internet works reliably all evening (been in and out all day) impressions tonight.

Edit:  First impression: Vista Live is taking FOREVER to download my Xbox Live profile.  Slick install, but the game fails the lift test atrociously.  Easy-to-read product key on the inside of the box is a plus: you'd think companies would get this right, but over the last few years I've STILL come across hard-to-differentiate product keys.  Heard the music sucked on another forum, but I'm really digging the title theme and video that's playing while my profile is downloading.

Update 2:  Trouble on the home front.  Phantom input in the menus: can't configure the damn thing.  Unplugged my joystick and it's still going.

Update 3:  Training is going well (it's pretty lengthy).  I like the system so far, although I've only learned enhanced vision, gliding, the tree of life, and resurrect.  Botmatches run reasonably well at 1024x768.  Probably will bump the res up when I'm playing online as long as it's still smooth.  Graphics are nothing to write home about, but I'm hardly paying attention to them at this point.

[Destructor]

juniordan - you broke our unwritten rule of no impressions until the second page! Shame on you!   

That said - now the game looks a whole lot better. Hope to see more impressions along that very positive line soon.

Well, I don't think they were even his impressions, they were just quotes of other people's impressions from other forums.  Which doesn't really do anything for me.

Well, while true, it was the first impressions we've seen on the entire page up until now. But I see we'll have our first true impression from a forum-goer shortly. But still on the second page.

[ATB]

Yep. impressions from people I don't know- unless they're reviewers for respected sites- mean zilch.

Still no reviews on gamerankings.

[JuniorDan]

juniordan - you broke our unwritten rule of no impressions until the second page! Shame on you!   

That said - now the game looks a whole lot better. Hope to see more impressions along that very positive line soon.

Well, I don't think they were even his impressions, they were just quotes of other people's impressions from other forums.  Which doesn't really do anything for me.

Your right. I did take the plunge and took one for the team. Review will be up shortly. Oh got Gun and Lego:SW2 for free along with Forza 2 and Mario Party 8 

[Doopri]

juniordan waaaaay too many games for one day.  i dont think youll have enough time to give a proper impression of shadowrun - you should just send it my way and i let everyone know how it is while you enjoy mario party

[JuniorDan]

OOOOOKKK. Chapter 1. completed training that included teleporting, gliding,Enhanced Vision, shooting, weapons, and combining all to kill the bots to end the training.  Its only one chapter about 20min of play, and the holy shit factor is in effect so far. There are 5 more training chapters to go, hopefully I will get to them tonight. Forza 2 needs love too.

Its looking real good so far.

[Clanwolfer]

Time Warner is still being a little bitch, so here are my initial offline impressions.

First of all, the presentation is slick enough.  Like I mentioned earlier, I'm really digging on the main title track.  The menus make sense and are reasonably attractive.  Gamma was set way too high out of the box, but fortunately they have the 'can read, barely read, can't read' boxes to make it trivial to fix.  It runs smoothly enough on my dual-core PC, with maxed-out details at 1024x768.  Each training segment starts out with a little bit of backstory/narration on what's going on in the gameworld, and your trainer mentions with each progressive lesson the increasing urgency of the situation.The sound is adequate, and the graphics, like I said, are functional if not spectacular.

The controls are my main concern.  It's pretty obvious that it's balanced for the console/PC cross-platform approach, which means that the targeting system is undeniably consolish to keep mouse/keyboard players from dominating.  There's a pretty punishing 'aim bloom', especially when jumping, gliding, or falling; anything longer than point-blank is a tough shot when you're really whipping the aim around quickly.  The aim bloom also punishes players using a mouse who 'whip' the aim quicker than a console player can push the stick, so no quick turn-and-fires.  For a game with so much complexity, there's a surprisingly small amount of keybinds.  They essentially decided to take the CCG approach to using tech or powers; you can buy as many as you can afford, but at any given time you can only have three equipped, which correspond to the 1, 2, and 3 buttons (and to corresponding mouse buttons).  I'm guessing good console players will have a pretty fair advantage here over players with two or three-button mice (pro-tip: use mwheel-up and mwheel-down for 2 and 3).  Still, everything is reasonably responsive on the PC, and I can't foresee either console or PC players getting a truly dominant advantage one way or the other.

This is my first Live-enabled PC game, so it's neat to see the friends list and all the Live functionality on the PC; I've already gotten a few achievements, which was neat, and I looked through the list quickly; aside from the usual achievements, there's a neat little set of cross-console ones, including getting a hundred cross-console kills, which I thought was pretty neat.

I played through all of the training missions, which took about 90 minutes or so (I had to try a couple of the botmatches twice).  There's obviously a lot of depth here.  Basically, you have to balance several factors in constructing your character; you pick race when you enter the game, which can be human (balanced), elf (fast, delicate but heal over time, lots of essence), dwarf (tons of essence, essence regenerates slowly but they can drain essence from nearby players or objects), and troll (walking tank; slow, can carry any weapon at full speed, automatically armor when they take damage).  Weapons are Counterstrike-esque in that you buy them and they disappear when you're dead at the end of a round, but magic and tech, which you buy from the same pool of money, is consistent throughout the match.  However, you only have two weapon slots, and three slots for magic/tech.  Magic uses a certain amount of Essence, which regenerates over time, and tech 'reserves' Essence so it can't be used, so you have to balance whether you want to be fast/accurate/whatever with tech, have lots of magic tricks up your sleeve, or both (but then the tech reserves the essence slots, so you can't cast often if you use powerful tech).  There's going to be a TON of great experimentation with builds here between race, magic, tech, and weapon.

The extended botmatch I played was solid, if not spectacular (you can definitely tell you're playing bots, but they're not utterly brainless).  The artifact gametype is really your standard CTF, but with the races and magic/tech, I can see it being as deep and compelling as any variant of Team Fortress.  In this gametype, you get one life, but there's a spell for resurrection, so if your body isn't destroyed, you can be brought back.  The catch is twofold: first of all, the enemy is going to be trying to destroy your body (it's not terribly hard, but it's not going to happen accidentally), and second of all, if the player who brought you back dies, you're going to "bleed out" over time until you die.  Your only chance in that case is to find a Tree of Life and hope another ally comes by with the resurrect spell, which can then link you with them.  Rounds can be extended to MUCH longer than CS because of the rezzing, but near the end of a match, if you have one player doing a lot of rezzing, a single kill can take out most of a team within a few seconds if they're all linked to him.

This game is definitely going to encourage teamwork more than your standard round-based shooter.  A talented gunner will be able to rack up kills reasonably quickly, but a good team with balanced builds is going to be able to throw a gamut of obstacles out defensively or tear through a shoddily-built defense; I can't wait to see some of the reasonably good clans give this a try.

There's not a TON of spells, but they cover the gamut of what you'll need.  The 'healing' school is is Tree of Life (a big tree you throw out that heals all nearby friends and foes) and Resurrect.  The 'area control' spell is Strangle, which throws out a bunch of crystals that cause damage to those touching it and immobilize them for a moment.  You can also summon demon minions which can, at the very least, serve as another body on the battlefield.  There's a teleport spell as well, that lets you move through walls.

On the tech end of the spectrum, you have your consumables (grenades and anti-magic grenades), your vision enhancement (see enemies through walls and at great ranges), a glider that lets you fall great distances without damage and move quickly through open areas, a smartlink that gives you extra zoom, accuracy, and keeps you from firing at firendlies, and a reflex-wire that makes you do everything faster and enables you to block incoming bullets with a katana, but costs a huge amount of reserved Essence.

As far as weapons, there's nothing you won't recognize.  A Halo-esque pistol, a standard shotgun, an SMG, a rocket launcher, a sniper rifle, a katana, and my personal favorite, a semi-auto rifle.

All in all, I think the 'mod' comparison is a little unfair.  It's true that there's absolutely nothing here that couldn't be done in the Source engine over time, but this reflects the kind of balance and polish you'd find at the end of two or three years of mod development, not something that would come out of nowhere.  Heck, even Counterstrike took years to reach the kind of balance and polish that this game has.  I've certainly enjoyed my few hours so far, and I'm sure I'll continue enjoying it as I'm able to jump online and to experiment with some more builds.

[Misguided]

Pffft...what kind of Shadowrun game doesn't have a monofilament axe? 

[Turtle]

So either way, the game isn't worth $60 or even $50.

[weeskwee]

it's a multiplayer only game. the beta (which i was part of) was not the full game. in fact, it looks and plays better than what i remember from the beta. the first map i got into tonight was more fun than any of my time with the beta.

why would game sites have reviews on launch day? how can they judge and post official reviews of an online only game when the game has not even been out for them to get any online play in? i'd fear a review this early.

[weeskwee]

agreed about the bots being brainless. they will kill an enemy with the flag, but then just leave it and head the other way. hello! go guard it so it doesnt get grabbed again dummy!!! 

[Jarrodhk]

I'm leaning torwards a buy on this one... keep the impressions coming while I'm in Dallas... that way I'll know whether or not to pick it up when I come back on sunday.

[EngineNo9]

Clanwolfer, you aren't the only one that can't get their PC version to work online. 

[JuniorDan]

I am leaning to feeling comfortable telling people it OK to buy this game. Their marketing strategy was horrendous,unless their plan was to use the MaryKay strategy (friend tell a friend) .

The game is fun it will difinatly change the way you play your FPS.
Here is one of my coolest oh shit moments last night. 2 Bot had me cornered and closing in fast I quickly  telaported up to the lvl above x-ray visioned down for a fix on their position. Teleported down behind them and took out one bot. The other must have did the same strategy I did because I could not find him (should have used my X-ray vision now I think about it) All of a sudden I am getting hit with bullets, so I teleported through the nearest wall to get my bearings x-rayed vision to find his position to my surprise he had already revived the other guy I first killed. I forgot you had to finish them off. The game ended with a series telaports, gliding into positions and separating the two and crossing my fingers that the guy I am going after is the one that did the reviving. Because if I took him out the other one will bleed out and die. Lucky for me I got the right guy and destroyed his body. Lots of FUN.

The maps I've been training on seems small but somehow they work out fine. The key is to learn teleporting  gliding and being able to aim on Que. My foot is in my mouth guys, the game is mad fun.

[hepcat]

how would this stack up to Battlefield 2 on the 360?  I'm using that as a benchmark simply because it's the only one i can think of that might be similar...and i've played it 

[Bullwinkle]

I am leaning to feeling comfortable telling people it OK to buy this game. Their marketing strategy was horrendous,unless their plan was to use the MaryKay strategy (friend tell a friend) .

The game is fun it will difinatly change the way you play your FPS.
Here is one of my coolest oh shit moments last night. 2 Bot had me cornered and closing in fast I quickly  telaported up to the lvl above x-ray visioned down for a fix on their position. Teleported down behind them and took out one bot. The other must have did the same strategy I did because I could not find him (should have used my X-ray vision now I think about it) All of a sudden I am getting hit with bullets, so I teleported through the nearest wall to get my bearings x-rayed vision to find his position to my surprise he had already revived the other guy I first killed. I forgot you had to finish them off. The game ended with a series telaports, gliding into positions and separating the two and crossing my fingers that the guy I am going after is the one that did the reviving. Because if I took him out the other one will bleed out and die. Lucky for me I got the right guy and destroyed his body. Lots of FUN.

The maps I've been training on seems small but somehow they work out fine. The key is to learn teleporting  gliding and being able to aim on Que. My foot is in my mouth guys, the game is mad fun.

I'm with you.  I think it's okay to say this is pretty damn cool.  I've only worked through the training (about to finish the elf training, in fact).  As you go through, it gets a little overwhelming, but it's going to be a simple matter of figuring out what I like to use best and mostly sticking to it.  Teleporting is damn cool, though, and very useful with x-ray vision.  I may choose the link tech as my third option and play as a troll.  Still deciding. 

I had a similar experience as yours, but the room was filled with enemy bots.  I was using old shooter mentality and tried to duck and shoot on the same level for a while.  That really knocked my health down.  The meter was beeping at me pretty frequently.  Then I switched tactics and began teleporting up, using x-ray, then dropping in behind a bot, taking him out, and popping back up to regroup.  It was a real nail-biter.  I had a sliver of health left when I finally took the last guy down.

[IkeVandergraaf]

Longetivity

Longetivity?

[Clanwolfer]

Clanwolfer, you aren't the only one that can't get their PC version to work online. 

This isn't a game issue, it's entirely on Time Warner's end.  It took me forever to get my Live profile downloaded, but I had no problems connecting after that.  Just wasn't getting enough bandwidth to play smoothly, so I figured I'd learn the ropes offline first.

I'm going to say, based on my experience with the BF2 demo on 360, that this blows that particular game out of the water.  There's much more depth here than in Battlefield, if only because of the customization options.

[unbreakable]

I'm not really drawn to a huge amount of levels, especially in an online FPS.  If the few levels there are really good, as is the gameplay, that's good enough for me.

Heck, I used to play Two Fort back on TFC for hours a day, all the time.

That's great, but Half Life was a full single-player product and then they released TFC for free.  Would you have paid $60 for TFC if it only had a hand full of maps?

No, but TFC was far simpler.  People have paid for the boxed version of Counterstrike, which I think is a better analogy, but I have no recollection of what it retailed for.

[hepcat]

listen, i got no spine.  it's really quite pathetic, to be honest.  could someone just ORDER me to get the darn game?   

[Bullwinkle]

listen, i got no spine.  it's really quite pathetic, to be honest.  could someone just ORDER me to get the darn game?   

Get the darn game, you maggot.  Seriously, I just played for about two hours straight and had a complete blast.  This is a very good game.  Figuring out the ins and outs of the play balancing is going to be a lot of fun.  Right now, I go in as a Troll with a mini-gun, taking the gun link as my first tech, then adding teleport, resurrect and or tree of life as situations warrant.  There are needs and uses for everyone and everything, though.  Really amazing game.

[hepcat]

Picking it up on the way home.  Thanks!

 

p.s.  oh, forgot a question i was going to ask!

from reading the official FAQ, it sounds like they've instituted some in-game techniques that actually help reduce the "twitch gameplay" factor.   is this actually the case?

[Clanwolfer]

Having just finally gotten it working on Live, I have to say I'm impressed.  The game was very smooth over standard residential cable, and the only real 'glitch' I had was being unable to hear headsets (probably because I've got two speakers and not four, or something).

Pretty impressed, overall.  After all the training and the botmatches, it took about five minutes for it to 'click' for me online, after which I went from zero kills and lots of deaths to top third of the standings.  You really have to play your character type: an Elf with a Katana has got to be hit and run, or else you'll get shredded very fast.  I finally settled for now on a human with wired reflexes, smartlink, and resurrect; it gives me the accuracy to be a decent shooter, the speed to go artifact-hunting if I need to, and resurrect is very, very appreciated by teammates.

I can't overemphasize the importance of taking out bodies when you get a chance; I've seen more than one round turn around QUICKLY because two or three guys with rez found a pile of bodies, and suddenly went from being outnumbered to swarming.

from reading the official FAQ, it sounds like they've instituted some in-game techniques that actually help reduce the "twitch gameplay" factor.   is this actually the case?

It's definitely *less* twitch than CS, but you're still going to die very quickly if you get mobbed or run up against someone with a spun-up minigun.

[Destructor]

from reading the official FAQ, it sounds like they've instituted some in-game techniques that actually help reduce the "twitch gameplay" factor.   is this actually the case?

One preview I read basically said that your vision would blur if you turned too fast. Basically keeping the mouse users from being able to turn MUCH faster and more accurately than the 360 controller.