[Tugsy]

I download quite a few demo's from Xbox Live when I can, I always like to get a taste of new game before I commit to purchasing them. Most end up being a massive disappointment and after being played once are deleted never to be seen again - see Aliens versus Predator, Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Bionic Commando. Then there are titles like Shadowrun that come about, a game demo that literally came out of no where that had a limited map set and yet had me hooked. You could tell instantly that this game had something going for it, a certain charm. A must buy.

Developed by Fasa Interactive, Shadowrun is one of the few games I can honestly say I went out and purchased in person on release day. I hit the game pretty hard and I was more than happy with the full release, playing customs and matchmaking a like. In terms of a single player game there was nothing on offer bar a handful of training missions, the games core element was in the multiplayer. Don't have Xbox Live? Tough luck we're all about multiplayer gaming here.

Bungie Interview prior to the release of Shadowrun:

What were some of the inspirations behind Shadowrun? Sage - We wanted to make a shooter that gave players more options during combat. We spend a lot of time brainstorming and testing ideas so that players would have more "verbs" to use. Some of the most successful ideas come from looking at cheats players use in other shooters. Abilities we initially thought would break the game, ended up being the most successful. For example - if everyone can use the Vision tech to "wall hack", and there are counters built into the game, it just adds to the list of possible tactics.

I should probably explain how the game works at this point. You can pick any of four classes - the all round human, the nimble elf, the annoying as hell dwarf and the meat shield troll. All of whom had their own strength and weaknesses. There were three game types on offer which were - Attrition a slayer gametype - execution style; Extraction, which was basically capture the flag with a neutral flag and Raid which was your standard one flag attack and defend.

Team work did indeed make the dream work, there was a lot of strategy here as you had to purchase various abilities and weapons between rounds (yes, like counterstrike) - with and added extra level of depth as you could send money to your team mates - known as 'clicks'. Some fruity teams for example would send all their money in the first round to their troll character, meaning a team would be hit by a katana wielding, teleporting, speed burst monstrosity. Weapons ranged from your standard pistol, to your single shot sniper - which you could only fire whilst scoped - all the way up to your Rocket Launcher which you would have to save your pennies for. It was vital when playing that your team all took on certain roles, but at the same time remained flexible. Traditionally for example, the elf players would be the ones who run and gun, who would rush in deal a bit of damage and then retreat, whilst at the same time being the team healer and resurrecting fallen comrades. Balance was clearly given a lot of consideration in development of this title as every weapon and ability had its own counter, the trick was knowing exactly what you needed to in order to defeat your opposition, plus the skill to do this.

Additional depth in ShadowRun came with experience, if I was to say to you 'quick casting' most of you would look at me with a blank expression. But if you were to play high level Shadowrun you would have to be able to do this competently in order to compete. Quick casting was the ability to instantly cast a purchased ability or spell from your set without having it selected as one of your three hot-mapped abilities, this also came in the form of 'quick grenading'. Sound simple enough? Well not really, seeing as you would also have to be aiming for most of the abilities at the same time, attempting to teleport through a wall, resurrect a team mate and then throw a perfect grenade at your opposition was extremely hard to do, though players who clawed had an easier time - sans arthritis. The game was fun and rewarding, offering a challenge if you wanted it, or just a bit of casual fun if that was your thing.

Interview continued:

Can you tell us a little about how Shadowrun differs from Halo 2 multiplayer? Sage - Shadowrun combat its less about perfect aiming, and more about superior position. You choose when you enter and when you leave combat. It is a constant chess match to maneuver into situations where you have the advantage. In Halo 2, you win the fight, or you die. Halo 2 is all about your aiming skill, and it’s difficult to disengage once a fight starts.

This is not to say Shadowrun was without faults, it certainly had them. Like all online titles it suffered from the usual lag and latency issues, plus things like being able to escape maps, turn invisible and the artefact glitch which let you grab it through walls to name but a few. However, these were not the major fault with the game, the main problem with the title was the release date. Shadow run was released in the Summer of 2007, two months before Halo 3 and three months before Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Talk about bad timing, the game was more or less instantly over shadowed by these two giants. It only sold a pitiful 400,000 copies, somewhere around 'abysmal' in sales terms.

Now, imagine if Shadowrun was to be released now? When Halo 3 is coming to an end, Reach is still a good six months to a year away and Modern Warfare 2 has been a pretty big disappointment. I would place my kingdom on the game being a bigger success, in fact if anyone from the original Shadowrun team happens to read this, re-release it. Call it the 'Ultimate Edition' or something, include say half a dozen new maps, perhaps a couple of new weapons and abilities to freshen it up and warrant the re-release. I guarantee you with some clever marketing the game would be a colossal success.

This isn't some kind of inspiring revival attempt either, I know it might sound like one, but after MLG gave up on supporting the title I accepted that this game is long dead - though if anyone ever wants to play you can always invite me. But is all hope lost? Is Shadow run but a forgotten memory? Perhaps not, as it turns out Sage Merrill who worked for Fasa Studios, is now working at Bungie. What is his role you ask? As 'Sandbox Design Lead for Halo Reach', so lets hope Sage has brought his common sense to the Halo multiplayer department. Could we perhaps we see a ShadowRun influenced Halo Reach in the future? Well I certainly hope we do.

I'll leave you with this - Walshy playing ShadowRun at Chicago

[Bungie Interview]