Treit and True:

Tales from the Shadowrun Beta

Published May 2, 2007

We sit now less than a month from the release of Shadowrun™ on Xbox 360™ and Windows Vista, and now that I've had plenty of time to play through the two available levels in the beta, it's time to discuss the merits of this fascinating shooter. For a detailed account of the game's mechanics and features, I urge you to take a look at our preview. What follows is simply my own take on what makes this game both worthwhile and intriguing.

Welcome to Shadowrun, friend.

The Party System
Why more games haven't adopted Halo® 2's system for matchmaking I'll never know, but being able to gather friends outside of a match and then find a game together, is, well, priceless. Kudos to FASA Studios for implementing this system. Multiplayer ranked matches with friends is nearly impossible in most games and seeing that change with Shadowrun is something I can't be more excited about.

I unleashed a furious assault in a crowded hallway
with my submachine gun, annihilated my entire team
and killed zero enemies.

Labeled Zones
The blazing quickness of the gameplay in Shadowrun takes some getting used to, though if you're a Halo 2 veteran you'll catch on swiftly enough. Shadowrun enables better team communication by labeling each zone in every map. For example, if you're creeping along the edge of the central courtyard in the Lobby map, you'll see your location is noted in the lower left-hand corner as Walkway.

This simple tip ensures that after playing through each map a few times, you can call out enemy or allied positions and confidently expect your teammates to know what the heck you're talking about. It may seem a small detail, but its strategic effect is enormous.

Active Tactics
Despite the game's speed, the winning team is almost always the most tactical one. Initially, I was worried that all the magical and cybernetic abilities would fall by the wayside in favor of run and gun tactics, but that's just not the case.

Teamwork pays off.

In a recent play session, I found myself with a group that clearly were playing the beta every day and had a rock solid plan of attack for every round. The players made sure they weren't doubling up too much on races and special abilities and a designated leader called out strategy throughout the match. Long story short, we smoked everyone in our path. A little later, I ran into some of the same guys, but on the opposite team. It wasn't pretty.

Just Some Cool Stuff
If Shadowrun succeeds anywhere it's in creating massively unique, jaw-dropping scenarios that can simultaneously make you laugh out loud with joy or weep softly in frustration. For example:

• The Sniping Glider: While playing defense on the Power Station (very cool industrial warehouse joint by the way), I decided to hop outside and guard the flag drop-off point. Sure enough, some speedy elf snags the flag and hightails it out to the roof. On a whim, I vault into the air with my glider, spot the offending player scrambling up a nearby ladder and smoke him with a sniper shot in midair.
• Teleport and Stab: The speedy elves are perfect for melee use as you can rush up behind enemies and go to work on them with your blade. During one of my first sessions, I got ambushed by a troll with a minigun and a moody disposition. Panicking, I accidentally tapped LB, and found myself teleported right behind him. A few stabs later and I'm calling my friend Unpro to brag about my accidental victory.
• Tree of Life and a Minigun: While playing Raid on the Power Station map, I teamed up with a crew actually willing to communicate. In our over-exuberance, we decided to rush the flag as a group, only to find an enemy troll camping under a health-regenerating Tree of Life and armed with a minigun. Our charging, tightly clustered crew couldn't have offered a better target. We were quickly eviscerated. Lesson learned.
• Moment of Shame: I always, always use the Smartlink cyberware upgrade which effectively eliminates friendly fire by locking the trigger when your reticle passes over an ally. On the one occasion I forgot to pick it up, I unleashed a furious assault in a crowded hallway with my submachine gun, annihilated my entire team and killed zero enemies. I was asked politely to leave.

Furious assault unleashed.

I haven't yet seen the cross-platform functionality Shadowrun employs, but word on the street is that they've pretty well nailed down the balance so neither PC users or Xbox 360 players will have an advantage.

Shadowrunfor Xbox 360 is the fastest shooter I've ever had the pleasure of playing that still requires thoughtful strategy to succeed, and for that I love it. I've played enough of the beta to already be recommending it to folks on my Friends List and I can't wait to take advantage of the party system. If you're looking for a first-person-shooter with a personality all its own and more depth than you can shake a controller at, you're in luck this May 29th. See you online.

Article by Ryan Treit