Shadowrun
SCORE: 50
Shadowrun was well known for its D&D game that mixed high technology with fantasy. Many novels were written in this fantasy universe. A Super NES, and Genesis game (editor: that were different) were the high point for this franchise. Microsoft revived Shadowrun as an Xbox 360 home console game. This game takes the team battle of Quake Arena to a new level. Special powers like gliding, teleporting add new play mechanics. The magic element where dead players can be revived also add new dimensions. Microsoft did their best to balance out the offensive and defensive skills to make Shadowrun fair.
The blood and gore in Shadowrun is over the top. At times it can be disgusting. Want to stop a dead body from being revived? Well shoot it into pieces. This kind of encouragement is repugnant. The core “action” in Shadowrun is ultra violent. Players are killing for the sake of killing. There is little to no point to the levels. Kill more of them is the key lesson Shadowrun teaches players.
I expected the violence to be in high in Shadowrun. I was not expecting the bad language. I ask myself why? Why is this game so drenched in the bad language? The music is okay, but does not give the feel to the fantasy universe I was expecting. Shadowrun missed a real opportunity in the audio department just like it lost an opportunity in the visual department.
If you can stomach all of the wanton murder, then there are a fair amount of levels to play in Shadowrun. Much of the game, players are learning how to use all the cool features the game has. Being able to play people online, especially those with the Windows Vista version is a nice little touch. The only downside to multiplayer is only one person per Xbox 360 can play this game. So there is no split screen mode.
There are a lot of different things in Shadowrun. Most of them control well, and mixing them together can produce some amazing results. There are some that made little to no sense to me. I was at the bottom of a warehouse, and there was a metal platform above me. I did the teleport above me, and wound up on top of the building. Which of course threw me off because I file that under glitch. I did not have fun playing Shadowrun.
I really wish Microsoft
had done a different kind of a game for this franchise. Going in and
extracting people would have been a better way in my opinion. The
violence in Shadowrun gets boring very quickly. Running around and
killing characters over and over again put me to sleep. Shadowrun is an
example to the video game industry what not to release. No sequels to
this kind of a game are ever needed. I felt soiled after playing this
Xbox 360 home console video game.
- Mark
Graphics: 46%
Sound: 48%
Replay/Extras: 63%
Gameplay: 60%
Family Friendly Factor: 35%
System: Xbox 360
Publisher: Microsoft
Rating: 'M' for Mature
{Blood, Intense Violence}
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