The Hardcore Appeal of Shadowrun

My column here on Xbox.com typically revolves around how to take an already challenging game and ratchet up the difficulty to improbable heights. With endless hours of the Shadowrun™ beta under my belt and a recent visit to FASA Studios still fresh in mind, I'd like to buck my own convention and discuss what Shadowrun does so well to appeal to the hardcore crowd right out of the box.

The minigun eats up gliders.

Revolving Maps
It is with great pleasure I greet a feature that removes the frustration of single-map play. Joining multiplayer matches dedicated only to a single map is irritating, and speaks unfavorably of the folks unwilling to display their skills on random ground. Now, in all matches except for a Private Match, Shadowrun takes matters into its own hands by assigning the map rotation relative to the player's preset preferences, not host control.

In a radical move, FASA Studios has (rightfully in my mind)
excised the universal leaderboard.

For the true hardcore gamer, map specialization is a distasteful business. One-and-done map players prey on those who are willing to play and succeed on all the different levels. Skill and tactics should be the determining factor, not map memorization. So, well done, FASA Studios.

Built for a Purpose
Levels designed to appeal to every play style will succeed at none, and thankfully, this is a philosophy shared by the Shadowrun team. Each map is built from the ground up with either Raid (attack and defend game mode) or Extraction (one flag, capture the flag) specifically in mind. Every alleyway, courtyard, building and hallway is designed to accentuate the relative merits of its related game mode, crafting a beautifully tailor-made experience.

Meanwhile, because Attrition (essentially Team Deathmatch) provides more standard strategy, it can be played with every map.

Edge goes to the living troll.

Stick Around
It may seem a small thing, but where most games separate teams, forcing players back to the lobby to find a new Ranked match, Shadowrun keeps everyone together. Not only does this satiate the urge for revenge after having your head handed to you in a match, but it fosters a more community-minded environment. What's more, it allows players to develop a competitive history with one another, and with the hardcore crowd, there's nothing better than squashing an opponent you know and love to beat.

Sans Leaderboard
The hardcore are fiends for statistics. They want to know how many kills they've netted, how many heads they've exploded with a skillful sniper shot, and how many artifacts (flags) they've scored in their careers. You can boast about your achievements and herald your mighty statistics all day long in Shadowrun, but in a radical move, FASA Studios has (rightfully in my mind) excised the universal leaderboard.

Before the cries of rage and gnashing of teeth bellow forth from the forums though, consider the upside: griefers will no longer have any cause to utilize exploits to glitch their ranking. Those playing will do so out of sheer love for the game and the brutal but satisfying competition.

Choke point? The blood tells the truth.

Cross-Platform Fanaticism
FASA Studios has gone to great lengths in order to build a fair playing field between Xbox 360™ and PC players. By bringing in fanatical console and PC first-person-shooter (FPS) gamers (e.g., the crazy hardcore folks that join up for Quake™ 4 and Halo® 2 leagues) to go head-to-head for endless hours of gaming, they have utilized the most intense play-testing available. Now, the rest of us can breathe easy and just play.

Tiered Gameplay
While successive rounds in a typical FPS vary only slightly, the tech and magic upgrades purchased before every round in Shadowrun guarantees a radically different experience at the end of a match. For example, where you may have purchased only a shotgun in the first round, you'll be teleporting through walls, wielding a katana to block incoming bullets courtesy of Wired Reflexes, and flinging enemies off ledges with the Gust spell come round six.

Shadowrunis built with the hardcore gamer firmly in mind. The game plays fast but requires thoughtful strategy, variance in gameplay and tactics are felt in every round, and it provides the tools you require to instantly find a match of your choosing and stick with that group. When Shadowrun is released, Xbox LIVE® is in for a revolution.

Article by Hardcore