Shadowrun

Stevie rues the opportunities missed

Let's get two things perfectly straight between us before moving on to the critical appraisal of Shadowrun on the Xbox 360.

Firstly, beyond the title's attachment to Fasa Studio's 1989 cyberpunk pen-and-paper role-playing game of the same name (and its subsequent editions through to 2004), this particular Shadowrun is totally free-standing, offers nothing in terms of genuine RPG character progression, and is essentially a run-and-gun action fest. And secondly, videogames are getting no cheaper as successive hardware generations push ever forward and publishers and developers appear to be gradually leaning away from core narrative in favour of online multiplayer.

movie is considerably easier on the pocket and the bile ducts than being asked to pay more than $60 USD to 'play' half a videogame.

Moreover, Shadowrun is a pretty catwalk model dead from the neck down; fabulous hair, stunning makeup, twinkling eyes, and pouting lips, but everything else is unresponsive, limp and lifeless. Case in point, Fasa has built a game specifically for the online multiplayer masses, and while its wealth of single-player training exercises and bot-based battles are thoroughly easy on the eye and exude considerable promise for what's to come, the studied preparatory build-up cannot disguise Shadowrun's empty gameplay husk. And, furthermore, shoehorning the 'landmark' 360/PC online crossover facet into the marketing drive as some way of elevating an otherwise thinly-veiled attempt at consumer assault is no justification for the accompanying price tag.

For all Shadowrun's pomp and ceremony surrounding its online muscle, the Counter-Strike style in-game attraction quickly fades unless players are prepared to embark through its meagre nine battle environments as closely-knit teams functioning as actual strategic units - not least because online gaming generally consists of casual gamers popping in and out of matches on a whim or absolute imbeciles intent on ruining everyone else's enjoyment. Therefore, those willing to form tight and effective units in order to squeeze Shadowrun's potential suddenly become the virtual equivalent of real-world paint-ball and laser-tag specialists that are able to execute incoming noobs before they've taken half a dozen steps. Frustrating? Yes, kinda.

Indeed, even when a player's skills have been honed sufficiently to take to the online stage with confidence, joining matches filled with combatants of equal status still somehow manages to devolve into bouts of confusing mayhem with no flow, no thought, no progression, and no satisfaction. Counter-Strike and Halo 2 may have shown that online first-person shooters are wildly popular, but what if, what if, all those FPS-loving fanatics are actually wrong? Imagine that.

The truly sad thing about Shadowrun is that its character and gameplay mechanics are absolutely superb, exude great creativity, and are perfectly befitting of an involving single-player experience - yet those hugely promising elements simply fall by the wayside in a blur of multiplayer mediocrity. The prospect of using close-quarter teleportation to execute single-player stealth and strike aspects is an overwhelming attraction, which is equally disappointing when transitioned into the fractured madness of multiplayer. The magical elements, the ability to summon battling minions, resurrect fallen allies, and silently snap-glide above adversaries before peppering them full of hot lead are all extremely well-implemented, only to be swiftly usurped by high-octane capture/defend the flag (or, in this case, Artefact) and deathmatch banalities.

Yes, by way of a half-baked nod toward RPG inspiration, Shadowrun offers players the opportunity to assume the form of different character classes such as Human, Elf, Troll, and Dwarf, which bring unique attributes along to the battle with them. Between 'missions' players can also trade performance-based cash payments in order to purchase and equip various weaponry and specific magical abilities. But, again, regardless of the chosen character, regardless of the favoured weaponry, and regardless of the magical proficiencies, the multiplayer foundations do not support the weight of expectation.

Aesthetically, Shadowrun is impressive enough to ably carry the next-generation label, but it doesn't in any way rival the likes of top-tier offerings thus far available on Microsoft's system, and is likely to pale extremely quickly in the face of other incoming first-person shooters such as The Darkness and Bioshock.

Beyond its shameful lack of a single-player component, which its gameplay attributes are absolutely screaming out for, Shadowrun feels somewhat unfinished, like a beta trial for better things to come - only it is a finished offering and it is never going to deliver. Ultimately, the package feels like half a game, although its price tag is wholly representative of a full game, and as such it's only just and fair to score it 0n its strengths as half a game retailing for full price. Let the hate mail begin, although it should all be directed at Fasa Studios and firmly entitled: "59.99 USD (or alternative local currency) says we deserve more than this!"

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By Stevie Smith