reviews
90 MAXIMUMPC september 2007
W
e were skeptical when Microsoft
announced that Shadowrun would
be the first game to support full
cross-platform multiplay between PCs and
Xbox 360s. Being staunch advocates of the
keyboard and mouse in first-person shoot-
ers, we were worried that the developers at
FASA would dumb down Shadowrun to even
the playing field for our gamepad-wielding
counterparts. Luckily, after several weeks
of playing the game, we can report that it is
not only fair and balanced for all players but
also a truly innovative multiplayer experience
that’s loads of fun.
A couple memorable in-game sce-
narios highlight Shadowrun’s standout
features. On the Temple Grounds map,
the red Lineage team mounts an assault
up a massive ziggurat while the blue RNA
team tries to protect an artifact from being
captured. As an RNA defender, we chose
to be an elf, one of the four classes avail-
able to all players. With increased speed
and magic capacity, we sped around the
map, using purchased spells to teleport
through corners and surround the artifact
with deadly spikes. Other teammates chose
the heavy troll class and unleashed a bar-
rage of bullets while being protected by
their reinforced hides. Another crafty team
member played as a dwarf, sucking away
magic from enemies and flanking them with
a high-flying glider.
And that’s the beauty of Shadowrun. With
four classes, an arsenal of weapons, and
numerous magic and tech abilities to pur-
chase, every player can design a character
to match their play style. On the Favela map,where both teams rush for an artifact in the
Extraction mode, we won numerous rounds
by playing pure defense. Trolls guarded
the capture point while the rest of the team
saved money between rounds for defensive
abilities like antimagic generators and min-
ion summons. The impressive number of
class/weapon/ability combinations meant
that teams really had to work together to
counter opponent strategies.
This proved most true in the Attrition game
mode, in which a team can win only by killing
off everyone on the opposing team. In one
match on the Nerve Center map, our team
lost the first few rounds quickly because
everyone chose to buy weapons early but
failed to purchase the resurrection ability. No
matter how many times we killed an enemy,
he would be revived by one of his team-
mates. But once we learned to stick together
and make judicious purchases, we turned the
tide for a narrow victory.
Also surprising was how hard it was to
distinguish between PC and console players
in-game. The interface and menus don’t make
the distinction, and we couldn’t tell based on
skill or movements either. That’s a testament
to how seamless the cross-platform play
really is, though connecting to games with the
TruSkill matchmaking system often took sev-
eral minutes. We were also disappointed that
the developers scrapped plans for a story-
based campaign, since the game’s nine maps
were a little worn out after a week of play. The
biggest kicker is that Shadowrun also requires
Windows Vista, even though it doesn’t useDirectX 10. So although it’s a highly addic-
tive and fun multiplayer game, a few quibbles
hinder its true potential. Wait until Shadowrun
drops in price before picking it up.
—NormaN ChaNShadowrun
No, we’ve never played the pen-and-paper
RPG eitherDwarves drain the “essence” from anything near them, including players and
magical items like the Tree of Life.$50, http://www.shadowrun.com
ESRB: MshadowrunkeyboarD a ND mouse
Innovative multiplay; bal-
anced teamplay; seamless
cross-platform support.
gamepaD^8
Connection problems; limited
gameplay modes and only nine
both of these trolls are growing spikes maps; no single-player game.
as they’re hit with bullets in order to take
less damage.In any other game, a helmeted dwarf
soaring on a glider would be a joke. here,
he’s an unstoppable killing machine.Tes Ted. Reviewed. veRdic Tized