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Shadowrun is a first-person shooter developed by FASA Studios for Windows Vista and the Xbox 360. It is not set in the Shadowrun Universe but an alternate continuity invented by FASA Studios. It is the first game to utilize Games for Windows - LIVE that allows for Vista users to play with Xbox 360 users.

History[]

Three video games based on the Shadowrun universe were created throughout the 1990s: one for the SNES, one for the Sega Genesis, and one other for the Mega CD which released only in Japan.

In January, 1999, Microsoft purchased FASA Interactive, acquiring the electronic rights to Shadowrun in the process. Microsoft then filed a trademark for the Shadowrun title in November, 2004.

Initial gameplay prototyping was done using the Halo: Combat Evolved|Halo engine while FASA worked on creating their own engine.

At E3 in May, 2006, Microsoft officially revealed Shadowrun for Windows Vista and the Xbox 360.360.

Storyline[]

According to the ancient Mayan calendar, magic is cyclical, leaving the world and returning every 5000 years. Magic enters the world, grows, peaks, and eventually retreats. When magic was last at its peak, a powerful ziggurat was constructed near what would be modern day Santos, Brazil. The purpose of this construct is shrouded in the mists of history. Even the Chancela family, who secretly maintained the ziggurat for thousands of years, did not know its purpose. Nor did they know the purpose of the strange artifact somehow connected to the ziggurat. In the millennia since its construction the ziggurat was eventually buried, hidden in the side of a mountain.

Then, on 24th December, 2011, magic began returning to the world, leaving change and confusion in its wake.

The years after magic’s return wrought change on a global scale. RNA Global, a powerful multinational corporation, sent a research team to Santos, Brazil. Their job was to explore and research the strange energies coming from a mountainside along one edge of Santos. Armed with an artifact from ancient times, the research team sought to channel and control the magical energies they were exploring. Instead they caused a magical accident that destroyed half the city and brought down the mountainside, revealing the ziggurat to all. Deflecting blame for the incident to an Ork paramilitary organization, RNA retreated from the city while rethinking its strategy.

After a time, RNA Global returned to Santos, this time armed with a government contract that provided them control over the city. Vowing to keep the peace and clean up Santos, RNA’s first actions were to enact martial law and declare a curfew for all citizens. The locals, still upset over the initial accident and trying to rebuild on their own, began resisting RNA’s efforts. The resistance was helped greatly by the leadership of the Chancela family. Resistance turned to conflict, conflict turned to skirmish and skirmish eventually plunged the city into all-out war.

On one side is RNA Global, a powerful multinational corporation that has been researching magic seemingly since before it returned. Driven to control magic as an economic tool, they find themselves with a powerful but precarious toehold in a city ravaged by change.

On the other side is the Lineage. Led by the Chancela family and dedicated to defending the Santos ziggurat, they struggle to keep its magic free of anyone’s control, no matter the cost.

And in the middle is the strange artifact that seems to be the key to everything.

The year is 2031. The place is Santos, Brazil. The future is up in the air. It's up to you to determine who will win, and who will lose.

Gameplay[]

Shadowrun is a first-person shooter introducing mild cyberpunk elements to the gameplay. The game takes place in Brazil, in the year 2031, before the events that shaped the Shadowrun universe.

The player chooses between two factions to play as: The megacorporation known as RNA Global, and the resistance group known as The Lineage.

Game Modes[]

The game lacks a traditional campaign mode. Instead, various match modes are available - solo play against highly-customizable bots, private matches with friends and associates, and live matches which match up players from around the world. The three play modes available are Attrition, Extraction, and Raid. However, every individual map has only two of these three game modes available.

Races[]

Playable races are Human, Elf, Dwarf, and Troll. Each race has their own unique racial traits:

Race Pros Cons
Human No essence penalty for using techs. No advantages.
No statistical disadvantages.
Starts with extra $500.
Elf Fastest race. Has least health.
Fastest essence regeneration. Has lowest defence.
Heals using essence when not being attacked. Essence regeneration ceases as they heal.
Dwarf Immune to headshots. Painfully slow essence regeneration.
Has most essence.
Can sap essence from other players and objects (i.e. strangle crystals).
Troll Strongest race. Slowest race.
Has most health. Has least essence.
Defence increases the faster they're hit. They become slower as their defence increases.

Magic, Tech, and Weapons[]

Players can purchase magic, tech, and weapons before each round of play.

Magic[]

Magic Cost Essence Info
Tree of Life $2000 3 This magical tree heals anyone standing near it, friend or foe. Trees provide some cover, but can be destroyed by weapon fire, after healing a certain amount, or after a set amount of time. Trees will drain each other if they are planted close together.
Resurrect $2000 4, Held (less with Karma) Brings all dead teamates within a 6 meter radius back to life. Multiple allies resurrected with one use does not block additional essence. If the "master" dies, those they resurrected will begin to bleed out, losing health until they are resurrected again. While the cost will never change, the essence held is less when a team is losing, min of 1 essence when down 0-5.
Strangle $2000 2, Held (3 for Dwarf) Creates magical crystals that attract and trap nearby hostiles, draining health and essence. Can be destroyed by damage or antimagic. Allies will also be blocked and damaged by friendly strangle, but will not be "pulled in" like enemies. Strangle blocks gunfire, but grenades and AM generators pass through. Useful for protecting the Artifact or covering enemy bodies.
Gust $2000 2 A magical blast of wind that can knock back enemies and reduce their accuracy. Can also be used to push back (or throw farther) grenades, AM generators, and seeds of Trees of Life. Gust pushes allies with less force, and has no push on crouching targets. Gust does slight damage, and thus will force enemies to un-zoom. If timed correctly at the ground, can also be used to negate fall damage or ascend higher with Glider. Gust passes through objects, meaning that a player can gust an enemy through a wall or floor.
Smoke $2000 1 (Drains with use) When mapped, Smoke will hide the user from Enhanced Vision and the lock-on effect of Smartlink. When activated, the player turns into a cloud of smoke and takes no weapon or fall damage, but all other skills are disabled and the player cannot attack. While active, essence will continuously drain until deactivated or essence is depleted. If hit with Gust, a smoked player will lose a huge chunk of essence. If this loss is more than the player had, the remaining loss is taken as health damage instead.
Teleport $2250 3 Enables users to instantly warp 8 meters in the direction of their movement, even through solid objects. If the player would teleport into a solid object, the teleport fails and no essence is lost. If looking straight up, it is possible to teleport twice into the air for greater height.
Summon $3000 4, Held Summons a magical minion who fights to the death. If cast while looking at the ground, the minion will guard that area and attack any hostile that approaches. If looking at an enemy, that enemy will become marked and the minion will follow them until they die. In Extraction, a minion will also clear the body before disappearing. Minions will attack any other minions, including ally summons, on sight, abandoning any previous target.

Tech[]

Tech Cost Essence (blocked) Info
Glider $2000 2 When active, this tech allows a player to soar short distances, and also prevents injury from falling. Casting Gust at the ground while activating the glider will grant quick ascension when timed correctly. If a player is hit with Gust while gliding, they will be forced to the ground.
Enhanced Vision $2000 3 Activated Enhanced Vision reveals all combatants within 60 meters. Lines will move across a player's screen letting them know when they have been spotted by Enhanced Vision.
Smartlink $2000 2 When mapped, every weapon gains an additional level of zoom even if Smartlink is deactivated. When activated, magnetic auto-aim is increased (unless target has Smoke mapped) and friendly fire from guns is not possible. A red laser sight indicates that a player has activated Smartlink.
AntiMagic Generator $1500 A grenade-like device that adheres to most surfaces and produces an antimagic field. This field destroys Trees of Life, Summons, Strangle Crystals, and any player's essence. Teleportation is disrupted as well. Players begin with 4, which will slowly replenish after use.
Wired Reflexes $2000 2 (Troll) / 3 (Dwarf) / 4 (Elf) When mapped, jump height, running speed, and reload speed are all enhanced. When facing an opponent with a Katana and not attacking, bullets can be blocked periodically. Activating Wired Reflexes enhances all these effects, but deals damage somewhat less than a single pistol shot would inflict.
Grenade Though technically a weapon, Grenade is found in the tech dial when assigning ability hotkeys, and can also be "quick-cast" from the dial. See the weapon entry below for more info.

Weapons[]

Weapon Cost (Extra Clip) Clip (Total Base/Max) Info
Pistol 12 (72) All players start with this weapon. The pistol has moderate accuracy but minimal power. Can still be very potent with headshots or against Trolls. Very accurate with Smartlink. Allies who are resurrected begin with a pistol. Though a player can have only two weapons at a time, holding the weapon switch button will cause the held weapon to be dropped and a pistol to be drawn instead. Pistol ammo cannot be bought, but on certain Attrition maps a pile of pistols will be at the Artifact which can replenish ammo.
SMG $500 ($100 per 50) 50 (200/450) Suitable for close- to medium-range, the SMG is balanced gun that can compliment any other weapon pairing. Crouching and controlled bursts of fire are effective for mid-range support. As the most common weapon in most games, it is often fairly easy to obtain spare ammo off of other dead players. SMGs are the most ineffiecient weapon against Trolls with essence, dealing little damage and building their spikes quickly which reduces future damage.
Rifle $500 ($100 per 15) 15 (60/120) A semiautomatic rifle that comes with one level of zoom for added accuracy. The rifle is a great mid- to long-range weapon. Crouching and pacing your rate of fire to control reticle bloom is of utmost importance when using this weapon. Consider using with Gust to keep enemies farther away, or Smartlink to obtain a second level of zoom. Headshots are extremely potent with the Rifle. 2 direct headshots will kill an elf, while 3 will drop a human.
Shotgun $750 ($100 per 5) 5 (15/35) Delivers high damage at close range, able to kill an elf in a single shot. Headshots grant a slight power increase which is important against Trolls. As a heavier weapon, weaker races will be slow while wielding a shotgun. Consider using with Wired Reflexes, as this will offset the speed decrease, increase reload speed, and activation can be used to quickly move into close range. Though Smartlink gives the shotgun a level of zoom, this is largely worthless since damage decreases when firing at targets more than 5 meters away. Shotguns cannot be blocked by Katanas and Wired Reflexes.
Katana $1000 A close-range weapon that switches the user to a 3rd-person view when wielded, enhancing field of view. Damage dealt by the Katana is based on a race's Strength value, where a Troll can kill other races in two hits (3 for another Troll without spikes). Sneaking behind another player will show a "?" symbol, and if cut the target will start bleeding. When paired with Wired Reflexes, the Katana is an excellent defensive weapon. Even without Wired, a Katana can block other Katanas and the Artifact.
Minigun $1250 ($100 per 150) 150 (300/1050) Extremely heavy but powerful weapon. Individual bullets are slightly weaker than the SMG, but the volume of fire gives this weapon a much higher damage output. Works wonderfully with Smartlink, enabling zoom and avoiding friendly fire. Since the barrel takes time to spin up, Enhanced Vision can also be useful to anticipate enemies.
Sniper Rifle $2500 ($100 per 4) 4 (12/24) Highly accurate and powerul long-range weapon. This weapon can instantly kill even a Troll with a single headshot. Since Dwarfs do not take extra headshot damage, they would require two shots. Being bolt-action, players need to carefully take their shots. Since the weapon already comes with two levels of zoom, Smartlink may be more of a hindrance, especially since the laser sight will give away the sniper's position. Enhanced Vision may be better to acquire targets. Summon is also a good idea as it can be used as an alert to enemies coming up behind you. If not zoomed, a character will only attempt a melee attack.
Rocket Launcher $5000 ($1000 per 1) 1 (0/4) Fires an extremely powerful, but slow-moving rocket. When fired a white tracer shows the rocket's flight path. The reload time is rather long, so it is a good idea to switch to another gun after firing if in a gunfight. If an enemy is hit directly by the rocket in a game mode where bodies can be cleared, the rocket's explosion will sometimes deal enough damage to instantly destroy the body. Smoke can be activated directly after firing to take no damage from a point-blank rocket explosion.
Grenade At the beginning of every match, each player starts with 2 grenades. The explosion is powerful, but less than that of the Rocket Launcher. Grenades can be blown around by Gust or other explosions. Grenades can be mapped or quick-cast from the Tech dial. When a player dies, they will drop a grenade if they had one. If a player still had both grenades, they will still drop only one upon death.
Artifact In Extraction, both teams attempt to deliver the artifact to their score point. In Raid, one teams defends while the other attempts to steal the artifact. In Attrition, a player holding the artifact can see the position of every enemy on the map, but everyone can see the artifact as well. While holding the artifact, all skills are disabled, including passive effects of mapped Wired Reflexes or Smoke. Functionally, the artifact acts exactly like the katana, including the ability to block katana attacks or bleed out enemies. The artifact can also damage smoked enemies, which can be very useful on attrition matches.
Bash Unlike many other FPS games, there is no melee attack button in Shadowrun. If you run out of ammunition for a gun or try to use a sniper rifle while not zoomed, however, your character will perform a melee attack. This attack does minimal damage and is rarely successful in taking down an enemy.

Differences between PC and Xbox 360 Versions[]

Shadowrun is the flagship title for the Games for Windows - LIVE service that allows Windows Vista PC users to be fully integrated into Xbox Live. Due to this integration, FASA has decided to make several changes to try and create a more balanced competition between the Xbox 360 and PC versions. Because of some of the lack of 'pixel-accuracy' with the Xbox 360 analog thumbstick, the designers have included an aim-assisting technology, which basically interpolates the player's movement and causes the reticle to stay over an enemy player like a weak magnet. In addition, FASA has implemented a feature which causes the crosshair to expand during quick movements, thus lowering the player's accuracy. PC players, who have a more sensitive control scheme, are able to turn significantly faster than their controller brethren and would have gained an unfair advantage. Many believe this defeats the purpose of having a separate version for the PC platform and that it is forcing PC players to play it like a console game. The PC has also been given extra stability when firing an automatic weapon (chaingun and SMG) due to the consoles ability to control the kick of a gun better.

Reception[]

Shadowrun was released on 29th May, 2007, for both the Xbox 360 and PC. The media reviews for the game were largely negative, with most reviews citing a dire lack of content for a multiplayer-only game (9 maps, 3 game modes) and the relatively high price point as the main criticisms. There were also complaints about online performance, stability, graphics, and art design. However, the gameplay was highly praised by almost every review. In fact, Major League Gaming called Shadowrun "the best Xbox game since Halo: Combat Evolved."

However, user reviews from various sources portray the game in a much more positive light. Many of the reviews are still mixed, but the average rating for Shadowrun based on users' scores is significantly higher.[1] [2]

Sources[]

Nohat-wiki-logo This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Shadowrun (2007 video game). The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Shadowrun Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


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