Cyberpunk Video Game Review (ShadowRun!) by phlux for www.Nettwerked.net According to Tony Van(the producer/designer of Shadowrun); "Sega sub-licenced the Shadowrun IP from Data East. Due to a number of factors, the Genesis version was completely different from Data East's SNES version." This review is for the Genesis version only.(my friend says its better) Genesis version release date: Nov, 1, 1993 by DATAEAST ___________________________________________________________________________ Back of box description: "The year is 2050 and the megacorps rule by the power of information. Everyone is on file in the global main-frame... everyone but you and a handful of 'invisible' outlaws called ShadowRunners. Move through the grim and magical realities of futuristic Seattle and uncover a diabolical plot that could destroy the world. -Team up with spell casting mages, wire-headed deckers, or mythic orcs and trolls of the distant past. -Take on a variety of ShadowRuns including: Cleaning up the streets, jacking into the Matrix for a big tiem cyber-heist, or pulling off a risky 'Corporate Extraction'. -Stalk cities in real time combat and glide through the virtual battlefield of the Matrix, where an encounter with Black ICE may be your last!" (see shadow.jpg and shadowback.jpg for a scan of the box art &screenshots) __________________________________________________________________________ This game is ALOT better then i thought it could be! It is based largely from the book Neuromancer. It is a pretty complicated RPG, and as such, it is easy to get into tight spots if you don't think things through. It has taken alot of my time, and i still ended up using the cheat codes! When you start the game you must choose from a Mage, Samurai, or a decker. Magic is useless, because the real money is in the matrix, and you will be wasting yen in the short and long run with magic when you need to be buying wares. Magic will only help in the longterm. So choose; -Samurai for easy difficulty.(start with hand razors, get datajack later.) -Decker will be easier(and more fun) in the midgame. -Mage is easier for the end game. Keep in mind you can hire upto 2 runners to join you. ___________________________________________________________________________ In between doing runs for Mr Johnsons(usually playing mule, intercepting packages, or escorting) you really don't make any credits. Yet you will get fucked up by the authorities.(put karma points in reputation/charisma and negotiation skills early in the game) Combine things like the NEED for good weapons, armor, wares, which is really expensive. The money system is kind of fucked up. You will get rolled trying to walk the streets, so keep your prioritied straight! It is easy to waste nuyen(credits). So when a Lonestar(5-0) catches you with an illegal gun, it will be confiscated. So you need a duster(light armor) to conceal it. You might be able to pay off the 5-0, or even fight them off. Or if you have the right contacts and creds, you might be able to get a doctored permit. :) It is very difficult, even before you get to jack into cyberspace, but well worth playing if you have the time, or use the cheat codes. The game is built around a poor story, but the interesting gameplay makes up for this and the old school graphics. I know it is like 10 years old, but some of the repition can get annoying. However, usually just when you think you have memorized all the preprogrammed responses something cool happens. ___________________________________________________________________________ The vast amount of variables involved in staying alive, and making money is what makes this game fun. Where graphics cannot set the proper tone for a situation, words do. So it is pretty easy to get into this game... if you can find a way of making credits! From One gang, i was able to buy affiliation for 1000 yen, after paying 750 just to see the boss. Then he wanted 500 to skool me on getting free taxi rides. He social engineered me and laughed. It seems when this gang does not get free taxi rides, the cabbie will not have a car in the morning. :) There is always loopholes, new contacts(making friends is expensive), and different ways of making money. One Johnson wanted me to do a shadowrun on this gang(he did not appreciate their graffitti), so i ended up shooting them in their turf for 380 Yen. Then i hired some people to join my possee, took everything from their inventory, and dismissed them, just to hawk their shit. (then i needed them later, and had to buy them guns to stay alive) To get anywhere, you need to get into cyberspace... __________ Cyberspace Shadowruns involving hacking the in the matrix are by far the coolest, and seem to make the most money. If you want to be a thug, you need a possee(and supplies to take care of them), big guns, armor, cybernetics, contacts, a good reputation, all which costs $$. If you put all your efforts into getting a datajack, deck, wares, in the mid game you should be allright, but... Then you need to worry about your deck, memory, storage, etc. With the money cheat, my deck was FILLED with the best offensive/defensive programs that i couldn't download the prisons hardware permits, security audits/procedure, or anything! "No Storage!" (i did however turn off the node that controls the cameras, and disable the alarms) I randomly hacked some bank account numbers, and this warez kiddy wouldn't give me shit for them! Yet he paid for some log files... The incoherencey is what makes this game fun to play. The cyberspace interface is very well done, the graphics are trippy, almost hypnotizing. When you hack some Black ICE and crash some systems, it feels pretty good. Erasing files is cool too. Or breaking into the police department, and jacking their ICE from the inside out, quite a bout. I never completed the game, it gets either too boring or complex. Im sure theres lots of shit i have yet to see. Find this game if you think you are a cyberpunk! ________ The Good LOTS of cool little things to get to keep you interested. -In Little Chiba if your taking the decker path, there's cool cyberware (hand razors, etc) -If you go thug, theres alot of cool guns and bombs, lots of shit to stir. -Lots of software that makes the cyberspace cool to fuck with for abit. -Always new people to talk to, places to go, and credits to make. The map is pretty big, i have yet to explore it all. -Battery backup with 2 save game slots! -CHEAT CODE! Hit ABBACAB when the ShadowRun title rolls across the screen. _______ The BAD -Kind of old school.(good or bad depending on your attention span) -The music/sound FX can get real annoying. -Trying to play legit is either near impossible, or will leave sores on your ass. -Multiplayer would have been cool. ___________________________________________________________________________ Very good game for its time! Go rent it now.