Cyberpunk Review » Shadowrun Finally Coming to PC

May 9, 2006

Shadowrun Finally Coming to PC

A news article from Firing Squad is reporting from E3 that the pen and paper cyberpunk Shadowrun game (also on Genesis and Supernintendo in the early 90s) is finally coming to PC.

 

We have arrived in Los Angeles and just finished making a quickie tour of the downtown convention center as preparations are still underway for getting it ready for the exhibit halls to open for E3 this Wednesday. Just inside the lobby of the South Hall were signs attached to support beams for several games that will be on display at Microsoft’s Games for Windows exhibit and one of them was none other than for Shadowrun, the long rumored adaptation of the cyberpunk pen-and-paper RPG. Since it’s attached to the Games For Windows exhibit we have to assume it’s coming for the PC (some rumors of a Shadowrun game had it as an Xbox 360 only title). We will be posting up some pictures we took outside and inside the LA Convention Center shortly.

Comments

May 10, 2006

Rasham Zakuma said:

www.shadowrun.com

No matrix? No Seattle? No 2060-onward setting? No Orks? Resurrection and teleportation spells, forbidden from prior editions of Shadowrun? Team-based FPS(and presumably so, no shadowrunning missions)? All I can say is: “meh”.

Kana said:

Well if what Rasham just said then yeah I’m deeply disapointed…I mean that is what made Shadowrun…Shadowrun. I guess with anyluck it will atleast have a good cyberpunk hook to it…

Kana said:

I did a google…and found these as well…some have to do with the Microsoft thing and some others don’t…

http://forums.rpgchat.com/archive/index.php/t-5593.html

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/8767/Shadowrun-in-Development-for-the-Xbox-360/

http://www.firingsquad.com/news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=10102

http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/static/EEuZpAupZujUubEpZs.php

From Blues News http://www.bluesnews.com/
• “Shadowrun” (Microsoft Game Studios) brings the Microsoft vision of “Live Anywhere” to life. “Shadowrun(TM)” from FASA Studio is the first cross-platform game for Xbox 360(TM) and Windows Vista. It is a multiplayer, FPS that propels team-based combat into a new dimension with a revolutionary blend of modern weaponry and ancient magic. “Shadowrun” will be available when Windows Vista is launched.

[…] First spotted by SFAM at Cyberpunk review, it appears the “pen and paper cyberpunk Shadowrun game” will be making it’s way to the PC. I accidentaly stumbled accross the Official Shadowrun RPG site article Microsoft Shadowrun. […]

SFAM said:

This site has some nice screen captures and a few videos of Shadowrun. For the most part it didn’t look to unique, but the second video on the bottom did stand out for me:

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=139490

May 23, 2006

Kana said:

And by crossplatform they mean that Xbox 360 Live players can play against PC players on the same servers online. From the videos I’ve seen, it is FPS, but it might be fun and different.

June 16, 2006

THTremere said:

GAG…FPS. Ive never ever liked FPS except maybe the way they did bloodlines, which wasnt really an FPS. It doesnt look like any of the developers for this game have even PLAYED the Pen and paper version. No MATRIX!…Im highly disappointed. One of the developer guys brags about how he played the first Unreal.. Jeez.

July 8, 2006

mattness said:


August 9, 2006

ChromeGhost said:

Speaking of games, have any of you here heard about the HL2 conversion called dystopia? It doesn’t have magic, but it does have a cyberpunk theme with a cyberspace net incorporated into it. You can check videos on youtube

Check these out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3tbfdVUfHc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvK_c9cXFeQ&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B7hmHNuVog&mode=related&search=

mattness said:

If you interested, look for shadowrunner night(s?) NWN mod project.

Other initiative that is worth to mention is Shadowrun Online ( http://www.shadowrun-online.com/ ).

If you’re really NEED to playt good SR, there’s some MUDs&MUSHes on the net. For play-by-forum - check dumpshock.com. If you’re looking for polish one, go to my page ;) .

August 11, 2006

DannyV said:

This game looks ok, but so far the screenshots I’ve seen lean more to the fantasy elements than cyberpunk. The tabletop game itself is basically D&D in Neo Tokyo, the cyberpunk elements being more window dressing than an actual crucial element. The old SNES/Genesis Shadowrun game was VERY cyberpunk, however. The fantasy elements were kept at a minimum, and were not obtrussive at all with the extremely cool storyline(a brainfried man left for dead wakes up and tries to investigate who he is and why he was made a hit on).

Hmmm, I think a review of Shadowrun for the SNES/Genesis is upcoming… Anyone up for it? Or should I give it a shot? ;)

August 16, 2006

Rasham Zakuma said:

If you want to split them up, I would do SNES.

August 17, 2006

DannyV said:

It’s the same game, so you can have it, dude. I’m just offering dibs, cause I already called them on the Kojima games. Snatcher’s the next game I’ll be reviewing, BTW.

DannyV said:

It’s the same game, so you can have it, dude. I’m just offering dibs, cause I already called them on the Kojima games. Snatcher’s the next game I’ll be reviewing, BTW.

August 26, 2006

Rasham Zakuma said:

Shadowrun SNES and Gensis are two completely different games…

August 30, 2006

mattness said:

DannyV - please, write a review! I ended SNES (”Armitage! We meet again in Shadowrun II” lol ) and played lots in SEGA version, but my English is just hopeless :( . (Snatcher is cool game, too. But I prefer non-adventure games: Death Track, Syndicate, or Chaos Overlords. My latest discovery is Freedom Fighter. Really cool game if you want to know how it feel to be part of rebellion :) ).

As I said before there is 3 (each different) console games called “Shadowrun”:
- Sega Genesis
- Mega CD
- Supenintento (SNES)

- I found some info about project Shadowrun Assasin - if I understand it properly, that was code name of FASA Interactive project for PC (or old gen X Box). As far as I know project was abandoned.

—-
Some trivia:
- As far as I know there is Coimmodore 64 game called “Shadowrun” but this is just name-coincidence (no reference to RPG).
- Other trivia - THERE is movie called “Shadowrun” (with Michael Caine?). Again there’s no any reference to Shadowrun RPG.
- Gibson hates Shadowrun creators - in his blog he admited, that nobody, never ask him for permision, no royalties… On http://rpg.com in FAQ section there is some sort of legal note: “Shadowrun is NOT cyberpunk setting. Period”. But still, this is my favorite RPG setting. And, for me, THIS is cyberpunk :) .
- to Wachowskis fans: Shadowrun was created in 1989. Cyberspace in this pen and paper game is called… Matrix. AFAIR W brothers never admited that they’re played Shadowrun RPG. History repeats itself.

November 16, 2006

Kreuzfeuer said:

So Wachowski Brothers should pay royalities to Gibson so all that fuzz is over?

January 12, 2007

hc5z2b8KAg said:

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January 31, 2007

Dom said:

I really wish they hadn’t just used the name “shadowrun”. They did that with deus ex 2. It is one thing to be original, like adding new elements to a previous game and altering the math to it, adding some abilities and monetary systems; but it is another thing to simply use FPS resurection ability as a reason for making a game. I really don’t see anything special about it aside from that.
The gaming industry is screwed though. They can’t just make good games, they have to make popular games. I really don’t see this game being popular or even profitable.

February 8, 2007

Bo said:

Hell, no Matrix? Then what’s the bloody point? Anyway, I know there are a lot of Snes Shadowrun fans out there, but anyone who likes cyberpunk should really try the MegaDrive Shadowrun. It has the best visual interpretation of the Matrix ever seen in a game… Hell, it’s got the best visual anywhere! Not only that, but unlike so many other attempts in gaming (like the Snes vertion of said title), running the Matrix is both fun, tricky and rewarding.

March 21, 2007

umoncrfvsd said:

April 25, 2007

Green said:

Hi Sam! Photos i send on e-mail.
Green

May 3, 2007

Birdie said:

Geez does this version of Shadowrun (if you can even call it that) falls off like no other. No matrix?!? No runs?? The list of tech upgrades is laughable..I could go on forever and the game hasn’t even come out. The SNES version is still my fav. I’ve been waiting since I was a kid for SOMEONE to get it right…guess I can keep waiting, can’t believe FASA would put that out. It could be soooo smooth

May 4, 2007

caprison said:

I don’t know if anyone had followed this but the Shadowrun MMORPG that was being developed was squashed by Micro$oft. I had followed it for awhile and was really pumped about it and just recently found out they got a cease and desist from them. Hopefully it will morph itself and reappear somewhere. Just wanted to bring it to everyone’s attention if you had not heard of it.

caprison said:

Oops.. forgot to put the URL.

http://shadowrunmmo.com/

June 6, 2007

randomrob said:

It’s inappropriate to even call this game ‘Shadowrun’ IMHO… I agree w/Birdie.

(at the moment, Im loving all the budget retro games you can get on the Steam server.. Deus Ex, The Longest Journey.. hell yeah)

July 21, 2007

P0150NH34R7 said:

Sorry chum, but there are Abysmal differences between the two games. If you want, i can make the review, ever since i’m a die-hard fan of the Genesis version.

See ya later chums, i’m off to drink some soykaf!

July 25, 2007

Edidid said:

Having actually played the retail version of “Shadowrun” for 360 I think it is only fair to comment on it. To put it simply it is a fiasco.

While the basic gameplay is fast, fun and the most balanced FPS on the 360 so far that is not enough to redeem it.

By pricing it at $60 for 360 and $50 for PC 360 players have refused to buy the game ourely due to unfair pricing as well as a mandatory Live subscription to play the game online without dedicated servers. PC players get dedicated servers and can play online eith other PC players for free. Even at $50 it is rather dramatically overpriced compared to other very similar games such as Counter Strike which average $30 retail.

Searching for matches will put the game into an infinite loop a significant amount of attempts (about 1 in 5). There is no way of telling how good a connection to a server is before joining a game which leads to a lot of searching for another match. Hopefully it doesn’t get into an infinite loop of “connecting” and “searching for match” when you go in search of a stable server.

The game is supposed to be in the Shadowrun universe before the matrix according to the devs which makes absolutely no sense to me. Considering the list of features they promised and removed from thegame to push the release it seems likely that many of the core Shadowrun concepts were simply dropped to release the game faster or else out of pure laziness.

I can write a complete review if anyone is really interested, but the game is so plagued by technical issues even the most die hard fan while sonn give up on the game out of frustration.

January 16, 2008

Horked042 said:

Yeah, there’s reason it went over like a turd in a punch bowl. It was CS+metas and magic. there is no character customization or growth, no story at all. it’s an arena shooter with resses and teleport. It’s crap. I want that hour of my life back.

April 10, 2008

fabian de alwis said:

I’ve read only 3 shadwrn books, the ones by Charette and having played the SNES and GENESIS games all I can say s Shadowrun is the best game I’ve played. shame al these corps wont allow production of the game in the same callibre. i dont tink any other game will ever ever beat Shadowrun’s theme and plot, period, ness the Matrix have come to a reality. Then all of us would be, no?

November 23, 2009

shadow said:

im new to cyberpunk (though i just love sci fi), and still learning about it’s background i just cant reconnect sci fi (cybertnetics) with fantasy (teleportation,flame from air and that stuff). i thought that Cyberpunk reflects humanity in future where there will be ways to enchance yourself with bionics. Correct me if i wrong but mixing fantasy with sci fi ( avatar anyone?) just doesnt seems right.

March 14, 2010

Dirtydogg13 said:

All i have to say to the Xbox 360 FPS version of shadowrun the developers and desion makers behind it ..YOU should be dragged into a dark corner and shot …This game on Genesis and SNES was awsome ..its an RPG game you fuckin dumb ass rejected (FPS )brain dead frags ..think of how amazing this game would have been if it was set up like bethesda’s Oblivon… a free roam world with unlimited possabilties.based in a futureistic seattle .complete with deckers cabbies and gangs and orcs and elves the matrix! IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO BAD ASS!but nope we get a FPS thats smoked by (halo battle mode) and got boring with in the first few hours ..i agree with so many of you this game as orignaly based like in genesis and SNES had the best plot and theme ever.Now if we can just get some one with a brain out there to develope A new RPG version of it ,,i will retreat to my man cave suck down some coolaid and never come out again

October 10, 2010

Joyel said:

This game was no-where near as good as the original for Sega. The original Sega was the BEST cyberpunk game they ever created. I was extremely disappointed by this new version. It’s a first person shooter (which I like) but there isn’t even a backbone or story. The entire thing takes place in a battle arena. It was extremely disappointing. Mostly because I wanted a repeat of the Sega version, just better. I don’t see them ever doing that now with how long it’s been.

October 11, 2010

Sniper said:

One of the worst games I have ever played. DON’T waste your time on it. The aforementioned MegaDrive and SNES versions, on the other hand, are simply great.

June 7, 2011

la JO5 said:

there are a lot of people disapointed in shadowrun,not me.In my opinion this still is the best FPS on the 360.the thing is that fans of the original games are RPG players and those suck at FPS.There is no storyline because there is non needed.if i want a shadowrun story ill read one of the books.the reason this game isnt as popular as halo or COD is the high learning curve.anyone can play COD because it is so easy shadowrun is an other story and people only think this game is bad if they are bad at it.there are 9 maps and 4 different races wich makes a total of 36 maps with no DLC,SO IF U GOT FPS SKILLS WASTE YOUR TIME ON IN AND DONTT LISTEN TO GUYS LIKE SNIPER WHO WERENT UP TO THE LEARNING CURVE.

Sniper said:

@la JO5
I’m only bad at bad games. Right now I’m playing UT2004, and tell you what, I’m just as good as anyone. Perhaps you should switch from that “popular” CoD of yours to real classics that does not require a profile in Steam/GfW/whatever. And while you’re at it, try to play those RPG’s on Dendy and MegaDrive. At the very least you’ll have the right to judge them.


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