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Shadowrun strategy videos will cost you
Available for purchase off the Marketplace are four brand spanking new Shadowrun video strategy guides that'll teach you sniping locations, teleporting lines and the quickest way to get to the artifact in each map. Very useful information indeed. But the negative cloud surrounding these downloads is that they cost 100 Microsoft points apiece. We're sure these Shadowrun videos showcase only the most special and uber elite strategies, what we call the metaphorical prime cut of the strategic cow, but can't bring ourselves to plop down the cash to find out. Now that we think of it, this content smells eerily similar to those COG tag location videos. Overpriced and, with a quick Googling, completely unnecessary.
Play Halo 2 Vista ... on Windows XP
What's that you say? You'd like to play Halo 2 on your PC, but you don't have/want Windows Vista? You're in luck then, as Falling Leaf Systems has announced plans to release software that will allow Windows XP users to play Halo 2. Not only that, the company is developing similar software for Shadowrun. To inspire XP users to take the plunge, Falling Leaf is promising a free copy of the compatibility software to those who order either game through their site. Falling Leaf CEO Brian Thomason concludes the press release with some fighting words: "First they claim that it was impossible to implement DirectX 10 compatibility atop Windows XP, and now they also want us to believe that they couldn't successfully launch two DirectX 9 based titles on XP either. We plan to expose both theories as patently false."Assuming this software works as advertised, would you change your mind about picking up either title?[Via HBO]
More Shadowrun Demo-lition today
The Shadowrun demo hit yesterday, and our little social experiment/mini community event was very successful. That being said, only 20 or 30 of you got to participate in the fun, so we're doing it again. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the party system found in the retail game is present in the demo, making this all the easier to accomplish. But we're upping the ante, not only do you get to play with the die-hard enthusiast of the title, but the promise maker will be living up to his word, showing up at 8:00 PM EDT. If the stars are aligned, the final piece of the X3F puzzle will arrive, but that's merely a maybe. So, if you're still on the fence about Shadowrun, and didn't get in on the action yesterday, the festivities are going to start within the next 15 to 30 minutes, and go on for a few hours to help spread the word of what a gameplay gem this is. We'll try to make room on the demo event's gamertag for newcomers, but you can still send a message to see if you can get into the party, but check to see that it's online, and in the demo first. Hope to play with you soon, and if response is high, we may continue this after the end of the Halo 3 Beta. X3F Gamertags:Richard Mitchell -- SenseiRAMDustin Burg -- SuperDunnersDavid Dreger -- noswaD selkcunK (For Shadowrun Demo)
Shadowrun demo is up ... what do you think?
Now the floodgates have opened and -- after a brief delay -- everyone's able to get their hands on (some) of FASA Studios' sci-fi/fantasy FPS, Shadowrun, via the demo on Xbox Live. The 1.1 GB freebie gives you access to three of the training chapters, bot and online matches (on one of the maps) two races and a smattering of the tech and magic abilities available in the full game.Our time with Shadowrun has proven it to be a compelling experience, but short-lived if you're not the sort who likes to really dig deep and explore how different weapon/ability/magic combos work together. It's a stance plenty of reviewers seem to share, but we're curious what you're thinking. Everything may be peaches and lemonade in the free demo, but is the sort of experience you'd spend $60 on?
Rooster Teeth Shadowrun machinima, Fan Site kit surface
In celebration of the demo for Shadowrun hitting Xbox Live Marketplace today, a Fan Site kit is available at www.shadowrun.com, which webmasters can submit at the forums for link love on the main site. On top of that, Roosterteeth Productions has launched a machinima based off the game, 1-800-Magic. We uploaded it to YouTube and embedded it above for your viewing pleasure, be warned though, the RvB guys are known for their colorful language, so it's recommended that you're of age if you plan on viewing it. It will be available on Xbox Live Marketplace "Soon"™. Overall, the production values look very high, with a hudless camera, and even lip synched (!) voiceovers. Then again, if you think that watching it is a waste of time, we have something especially for you.
Shadowrun demo IS available! You just need to look. [update 1]
Update: Whoo! That was close. Shadowrun now appears under "New Arrivals" .Silly Microsoft. The Shadowrun demo IS available for download off Marketplace right now. It weighs in at about 1.07 GB, which is similar to the beta's size, and can be found under "all Game Demos". It's got the "New" tag when selected, but for whatever reason, has been neglected to be added to the "New Arrivals" section, which has a couple more pieces of content we're in the process of reporting on. Scroll down and get it now!As such, our offer still stands: Add this gamertag to your friends list, and we'll play with you and show you why the FPS deserves the attention it's been getting from us.
Shadowrun demo coming tomorrow
It looks like promises made to Mitch Gitelman will have to wait another day, as the Shadowrun demo is going to be hitting Marketplace tomorrow at 2:00 AM PDT, instead of today, as originally planned. Kimona from the game's official forums updated her demo FAQ thread with the new date and time information, which still gives everyone the down low on what will be available in the download. Fanboys, we entreat you, please play the demo and give this unique first person shooter the chance it deserves. Heck, we'll sweeten the deal: Anyone sitting on the fence who needs proper convincing can call upon our resident Shadowrun aficionado to play with them and show the appropriate ropes. To make things even easier, we have a special gamertag available with an empty friends list, so add it to your own for some Power Station fun tomorrow.
CAD's Shadowrun comic is just silly
While some of you are left with a bitter taste in your mouth regarding our singular blind devotion to Shadowrun, that isn't going to stop us from enjoying humorous comics to feed aforementioned devotion. Today's offering is from Ctrl+Alt+Del, as they look at some of the possible downsides to various Magic or Tech in the game, namely Glider, Summon, and Teleport. The last one, though, we think you can figure out for yourself. Appearances can be deceiving, though, as that particular combination can be deadly. [Thanks, Zam]
Metareview: Shadowrun (Xbox 360, PC)
As far as weird decisions go, exhuming a popular pen-and-paper RPG franchise and transforming it into a cross-platform shooter isn't nearly as disastrous as you might expect. Indeed, most Shadowrun reviewers concur that the gameplay is enjoyable and pleasingly distinct from your space donut shootouts. As for the decisions that led to a dearth of single-player content and a comically high price tag, well, those are every bit as disastrous as you'd expect. Eurogamer (6/10) considers Shadowrun to be a "well-designed, well-conceived game," but faults its anemic features and "counter-productive" price. "There's nothing wrong with a game choosing to specialise in either offline or online experience, of course," notes Kieron Gillen. "But if you decide to completely ignore one pole of the experience, you have to offer something generally astounding and/or groundbreaking to justify yourselves." Gamespot (6.9/10) feels the game, which is "about $30 too expensive," makes poor use of the Shadowrun license and doesn't offer enough variety. Despite finding the combat unique and the customization choices to be meaningful, Jeff "8.8" Gerstmann ultimately labels Shadowrun as "a pretty shallow experience." IGN (6.8/10) loathes the game's presentation, one of many criticisms it piles atop the "well-designed nucleus of gameplay." Charles Onyett finds the whole thing to be unrewarding, explaining that, "As gamers, it's rewards we crave, be it of the narrative variety, in-game items, new options or modes, or something entirely different." It's a shame to see Shadowrun providing "something different" to a crowded genre, only to clumsily stumble its way into the retail world with a heavy price on its back. We're sure the brilliant executives at Microsoft will pin the blame for inhibited sales on the license itself: "What? Shadowrun tanked? Well, that could only be due to the fact that nobody likes the Shadowrun universe anymore! Let's put that one back in the closet, eh chaps?"Read -- Metacritic on the PC versionRead -- Metacritic on the Xbox 360 version
Win Shadowrun from Uncle Gamer
Perhaps you find yourself in the difficult position of liking Shadowrun but not liking the thought of laying down $60 bucks for its multiplayer-only antics. If so, we have the perfect solution for you: don't pay for it at all! Uncle Gamer is giving away a copy of Shadowrun for the low, low price of no dollars. That's zilch, nada, naught, and whatever other words for zero you want to throw at it. Head over to Uncle Gamer for your chance to win. Be warned though, winning will take just a teeny amount of work (and listening), but we think you can handle it. Our question to you: if you win, what will you do with all the money you save?%Gallery-3497%
Penny Arcade takes on Shadowrun's races
Penny Arcade's latest comic takes a rather humorous look at Shadowrun's races. In particular, the Troll, and the potential hazards that the RNA Corporation has to take into account when employing such a metahuman. In Tycho's post, he gives his take on the game's party system and gameplay and continues to support and recommend the title in spite of mediocre reviews. Either way, he reminds us that the demo is coming out tomorrow. Speaking of, are any of you still on the fence going to download the demo and give it a shot? We know that some of us here and Fanboy Towers made promises in regards to giving the demo the attention it deserves.
Play with the Shadowrun devs on launch day
As part of their launch party fun, the charitable devs over on the Shadowrun team are holding a few screenshot caption contests where the winners will be invited to play with the team on launch day. If your sense of humor is top notch, then they want you to create the funniest caption for the three Shadowrun screenshots that they've posted on the forums. The funniest caption from each contest will get an invite to frag with the dev team in a private Shadowrun match on launch day via Xbox Live. And all winners will also receive a rockin' Shadowrun tshirt. But you must hurry, because screenshot caption entries must be submitted by tomorrow night at 10:00PM eastern. And don't forget to be all funny and stuff.[Via Hushed Casket]
Shadowrun Demo coming June 6th
FASA has given word on when we can expect the Shadowrun demo to hit Xbox Live Marketplace. As a means to give gamers with Halo 3 Beta withdrawal a quick fix, it will go live on June 6th. It will feature Power Station, and the gametype Raid, with Humans and Elves. It also won't have a time restriction for play, so you may frag to your heart's content, and it doesn't have an announced expiration at the moment. Full breakdown of what's in the demo after the break.
Shadowrun lands on Xbox and Windows May 29th
Right on the heels of Halo 2's Games for Windows Live debut on May 22nd comes the announcement that Shadowrun, whose signature feature will be Live Anywhere support, will be pitting the keyboard / mouse combo against the gamepad this month when it hits North American retailers on May 29th. Shadowrun will be the first game to support cross-platform play between Windows Vista and the Xbox 360.The Xbox 360 version will retail for $60 while the Vista version will retail for $50. Additionally, cross-platform Live Anywhere play requires an Xbox Live Gold account for both Xbox Live and G4W Live -- Shadowrun Vista users can still enjoy online multiplayer with a Silver account, but will not be able to participate in matchmaking or Live Anywhere play. Are you WASD or gamepad? %Gallery-1774%
Shadowrun goes gold for 360 and Vista, coming 29th
Shadowrun, the absolutely inspired first person shooter that combines contemporary weapons, magic and advanced technology has gone gold. The first cross platform PC-360 FPS will be hitting retailers on May 29th, just in time for a blogger's 22nd birthday two days prior. We can't wait to get our hands on title and play against the best keyboard and mouse has to offer. Or at least play the demo first. If you want to know what all the fuss is about, check out our above linked coverage on the game, or our most recent Fancast. Finally, should you make the right decision and pick up this game, take a look at the credits, you may be pleasantly surprised.
Shadowrun Achievements pinged by Enhanced Vision
Matt Webster, better known as "fall" in the Shadowrun community, played the retail version of the game, revealing the Achievements to the world. Overall, they seem pretty balanced, actually encouraging players to give various magic, races and weapons their due play time. The cool thing is because of the lack of ranked matches, unless specified, you'll be able to get Achievements in private games with your friends. We all know how difficult the alternative can be. On top of that we've got 6 Secret Achievements, including the lone one worth 100 Gamerscore. So, Training Levels aside, what do you plan on trying to unlock first?
Reminder: FASA IRC chat and final day of Shadowrun beta today
We just wanted to remind everyone that FASA's holding an IRC Chat today at 2:00 PM PDT to 6:00 PDT to celebrate the end of the Shadowrun beta. There prizes given out, as well as the opportunity to ask the developers any questions you might have about the June bound FPS. The chat will be on the #Shadowrun.FASA chat channel, on the Gamesurge server. Will you fellow testers out there be playing to night and shooting the breeze with the devs?
Shadowrun Devs to have IRC chat with fans
Matt Webster, aka fall over at the Shadowrun Forums, has announced that since the beta is ending on the 30th (We know, it sucks), the devs at FASA Studio will be having an IRC chat that Monday, from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM PDT. There are going to be prizes available, so if the fact it's Shadowrun didn't sway you, free swag should definitely do the trick. It will take place in the #Shadowrun.FASA chat channel, on the Gamesurge server. Will you join in on the fun on IRC, or the beta itself on its last day?[Via HushedCasket]
FASA talks Shadowrun's take on teamwork
Bill Fulton, a Game Designer at FASA, put up a blog entry at IGN discussing the implementation of teamwork in Shadowrun. He goes on to discuss the interdependent dynamic of the races and how a team requires a proper balance of Elves, Trolls, Humans and Dwarves to perform well. He then touches on the communication aspect, and the measures at which FASA went in order to help keep your teammates informed on what's going on. The Situational Awareness system is really handy for those who can't verbalize that tactical information efficiently, or better yet, help those out who aren't using a headset. Finally, he touches on the money aspect of the game, going into detail about how players are rewarded and penalized for their team based actions. For his full entry, click the "Read" link below.
Want in the Shadowrun beta?
Xbox 360 Achievements is giving away two beta invites to Shadowrun. So, if you want a chance to play in the beta and either didn't sign up, or feel your chances of getting in with the weekly lump of newcomers is too slim, then this is your shot. The contest is pretty easy, shamelessly plug x360a somewhere on the interwebs before 11:59 (GMT) on Wednesday, March 28th. Sure, the free publicity is a little cheesy, but Shadowrun is Shadowrun, and the more people who get a taste of how awesome and deep this unique FPS is, the better. Full rules are available at the accompanying thread.
