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Welcome back, Shadowrun
This week, Kat Bailey and Rowan Kaiser have switched roles -- with Kat taking lead in this week's column focusing on the wonderful world of Western role-playing games. These are interesting times. Thanks to Kickstarter, projects that I never thought would see the light of day are getting a chance to prove themselves on their own terms. Who ever thought that Tim Schafer would get a chance to make another adventure game? Or that Shadowrun would get another shot after the mediocre cross-platform 2007 FPS?That's why I'm writing here today, rather than my usual space at the JRPG column. Long ago, I played the pen-and-paper RPG Shadowrun with a group of friends, though not always successfully. Since then, both the setting and the system have stuck with me in any number of ways. So as you can imagine, the thought of a new computer role-playing game (CRPG) based on the series is exciting.First, the setting. If you've ever played Deus Ex: Human Revolution – or watched Blade Runner, for that matter – you'll know what you're in for with Shadowrun. The big twist is that magic is suddenly a part of everyday life on this version of earth; an earth where cybernetically-enhanced dwarfs, elves, and trolls freely roam. A little silly maybe, but I've always been struck by the power Shadowrun has to unite those who enjoy both fantasy and science fiction – which is sometimes tougher to do than you might think.
HP's Rahul Sood says Microsoft killed Xbox vs PC online gaming due to keyboard-mouse superiority
Once upon a time in 2007, there was a little-known game called Shadowrun, that let gamers on both Xbox 360 and PC destroy one another for sport. Such is the environment that Microsoft facilitated, but alas, it wasn't for long, as the moment Shadowrun flopped the cross-platform feature was dropped, though it resurfaced once or twice in third-party titles as the years shot by. Outspoken HP exec Rahul Sood (of Voodoo fame) spins a slightly more complex yarn, however: he says Microsoft killed the project when it found that "mediocre" PC gamers could wipe the floors with the very best players on Xbox. Now, we're not confirming his story, and there are plenty of other possible explanations if you follow the money, of course, but we can't help but feel a hint of admiration for the longevity of gaming mouse and keyboard. Here's hoping we can all leave our predilections at the door as developers pit Android vs. iPhone.
MechWarrior 4 free release 'held up' by Microsoft
Way back in July 2009, Smith & Tinker announced that it was going to authorize MekTek to release MechWarrior 4 and all its expansions for free "soon" -- likely to drum up interest for the upcoming MechWarrior reboot. After nearly a year, the game remains unreleased. The reason for the delay, according to MekTek, lies with Microsoft. The group claims that the project is "held up at Microsoft" and it's currently "unknown" when the release will receive its "final go ahead." The studio adds the unfortunate revelation that it's now in dire financial straights thanks to the delay. "Due to the demands placed upon us by industry lawyers to release the Mechwarrior 4 Free release we were forced to insure our Studio at a premium rate to meet the Microsoft standard," reads the announcement, adding that group's server fund has "run dry" and is currently being paid directly by staff. MekTek is asking for donations from players that download its MekPak 3.1 expansion. According to the announcement, MekTek would be able to keep the servers running for an entire year if all those who downloaded the expansion were to donate $5. [Via Big Download]
Rumor: Footage of canned Shadowrun reboot
Before 2007's Shadowrun released and Microsoft subsequently closed the doors on FASA, the studio was apparently working on Shadowrun: The Awakening -- a game with a full single-player campaign and unique 3D gameplay engine developed in-house. Some footage (teleport past the break to give it a look-see) managed to make its way online over at Unseen64, showing off a few environments and some character animations. As Unseen64 would tell it, the story goes: FASA brought a new art director in which, through a series of unknown events, lead to an eventual cancellation in favor of the multiplayer-driven experience that was the 2007 game. As it stands now, Jordan Weisman managed to snag the rights to the Shadowrun IP (among others), so the possibility of seeing this resurface as an actual thing isn't entirely impossible -- though Weisman is trying to let some of the negativity surrounding the brand die down a bit before revisiting it. [Via StrategyInformer]
Microsoft 'destroyed' FASA culture, but I defended Bungie, Weisman tells all
From success story to sufferer to savior, Jordan Weisman has laid claim to a variety of positions during his journey through the harrowing halls of Microsoft. The FASA Interactive founder has blasted his former overlord -- and sculpted some self-promotion for his new venture -- during a recent chat with GamesIndustry.biz. The year was 1999 and, following what was surely a rewarding acquisition phase, things quickly soured as Weisman's studio was indoctrinated into the Microsoft way of work. "The two reasons [Microsoft] bought us was, one, they wanted the catalog of intellectual properties and, two, they felt that we had developed a really good development culture," Weisman said. "And the reality is that, pretty much from the day we moved to Redmond, that development culture was destroyed." Lucky for Bungie, a dejected Weisman was still knocking around Microsoft when the Chicago-based studio was being acquired, and, according to Weisman, he became the "lead vocal pain in the ass to get things done very different for Bungie." "I tried to convince [Microsoft] to leave Bungie in Chicago, but not winning that I did succeed in getting them to put them in a walled off room," Weisman recounted. "We were much better able to defend Bungie's culture than we were FASA's culture." And so, MechWarrior was sacrificed to secure the foundation for Halo, or something like that ... right? Weisman has already raised $29 million for his new company Smith & Tinker, but we're sure he won't turn away a few more bills pitched his way for his good deeds.
Smith & Tinker looking into homes for Crimson Skies, Shadowrun IPs
Smith & Tinker founder Jordan Weisman recently spoke about his plans for the other FASA IPs he licensed from Microsoft. In a recent interview with Gamespot, Weisman teased, "I think Crimson Skies is something we'd love to get some energy around, and we have some devious plans--we'll see if those materialize." Intriguing!Shadowrun fans, however, shouldn't expect to be nearly as intrigued -- at least not anytime soon. "Shadowrun was recently...not treated well...shall we say, so the thought was let a little time pass before approaching that one again," Weisman admitted. As for the beloved MechWarrior franchise, the series reboot is currently in development by Piranha Games for PC and Xbox 360. Smith & Tinker plans to farm out development of these old IPs to other studios over time, so if you're a fancy studio head with a clever idea for a Crimson Skies or Shadowrun revival, feel free to give Weisman a call. Like, now.[Via VideoGamer]
Gazillion Entertainment Names Stuart Moulder as VP
Gazillion Entertainment have announced that their expansion into the MMO market continues with hiring Stuart Moulder as their new Vice President of Studios, with responsibility for game development across all of their studios. Gazillion recently announced that they had purchased Netdevil, who are developing Jumpgate Evolution and LEGO Universe. They also announced that they are developing two games based on the Marvel superhero licence.Moulder has most recently worked as Senior Vice President at Screenlife where he was responsible for bringing the Scene It? license to games as helping with the sale of the company to Paramount Digital. He also spent eight years at Microsoft where he was responsible for acquiring and managing companies such as Halo developer Bungie, Age of Empires and Halo Wars developer Ensemble Studios and veteran developers FASA of Mechwarrior and Shadowrun fame, although since he has left Microsoft we have seen Ensemble Studios and FASA shut down and Bungie has become independent.
Silver Live members get free cross platform title playtime through Fall
With Microsoft's Games for Windows reveal last week, where they announced all Games for Windows titles would be allowed to access a fully functioning Xbox Live without the need for a Gold account, comes word that ALL cross-platform titles on the Xbox 360 will be allowed access multiplayer functionality as well. Though, only for a limited time.Shacknews confirmed the news with Microsoft which ultimately means that anyone who owns Universe at War, Shadowrun or Lost Planet: Colonies Edition on the Xbox 360 can play multiplayer online against 360 and PC Live members with a free Silver Xbox Live account. The catch being that this free Xbox 360 cross-platform gaming is more of a promotion and will only last until the rollout of the Fall update later this year. So, if you're part of the Silver crowd, own 360 versions of any of the games listed above and have the urge to play online, you better enjoy it while it lasts. Your freeloading time is limited.[Thanks, to everyone who sent this in]
Shadowrun forums close as franchise transitions into new hands
Ms. Kimona has dropped by the official Shadowrun forums to let everyone know (all three of you) that the boards will be nailed shut in a few weeks, and eventually Shadowrun.com will be transitioned over to new caretaker (and original creator) Jordan Weisman, who recently formed Tinker & Smith and promptly borrowed back several neglected franchises, including ill-fated Shadowrun. Kimona has urged all members to pack up their dwarves and pot up those Trees of Life for the long journey over to the Shadowrun forums on Xbox.com, or better, suggest a more fitting meet-up site – how about FASA's deserted offices?
Plug is being pulled on Shadowrun forums
Depressing news fellow Shadowrun fanboys. The official Shadowrun forums are being shut down soon due to the fact that most of the original FASA employees have moved on to other roles within' Microsoft and there isn't enough staff to keep watch. As a result, we advise quickly make your way to the forums and posting until your Shadowrun heart is content. Though, there is a semi-silver lining to the forum shutdown. Shadowrun.com and its contents will be transferred over to the new Shadowrun IP owners Smith & Tinker, so they'll have free range to do whatever they wish with the Shadowrun.com name. You had a good run fellow friend, but now it's time to move on to a brighter future.[Via Shadowrun the blog]
FASA founder buys Shadowrun and other IPs
When FASA Studios closed its doors a few months back, we thought it was the end of Shadowrun and FASA games as we knew them. But today we find it's not. FASA founder Jordan Weisman has been busy lately, he just created a new game studio called Smith & Tinker and (get this) bought up all of FASA's original IPs from Microsoft. Yup. Weisman and Smith & Tinker now own the Shadowrun IP as well as MechWarrior and Crimson Skies. What will they be doing with these oldy, but golden IPs? They're not ready to show us their hand just yet, but they do promise to "surprise and delight old fans, while welcoming new fans to these fantastic worlds". Anyone up for an Xbox 360 Crimson Skies sequel in 2010?[Via IGN]
Weisman licenses MechWarrior, Shadowrun, Crimson Skies rights back from MS (internet finally notices)
On October 15th, Smith & Tinker, Jordan Weisman's new venture-backed startup, announced the licensing of the "electronic entertainment" rights to a number of Weisman's creations back from Microsoft. The deal, apparently done quietly (and ages ago in web-time), puts franchises like MechWarrior, Shadowrun and Crimson Skies back in Weisman's hands. Previously, these properties were managed and developed by FASA, another Weisman credit, which was sold to Microsoft in 1999 and dissolved several months ago.With Microsoft suddenly short on internal development teams, the most action the FASA catalog has been seeing is a polite dusting off ever few months before being re-shelved. While Weisman and co. have yet to detail the projects, a job listing calling for online game expertise suggests MMOs could be in the works. A posting on the Smith & Tinker website assures fans that "our goal is to surprise and delight old fans, while welcoming new fans to these fantastic worlds."[Via Gamasutra]
FASA Studio is dead
FASA Studios, the company behind Shadowrun, is no more -- it has ceased to be. The announcement was made after close of business today on the Shadowrun boards. The post states that those who did not move onto other positions at Microsoft Game Studios are now out of work. A Community Manager and Tech Support Manager will still have a job to support the game, the post says they chose to wait on the announcement because they "didn't want people's attention distracted from our last product Shadowrun, a game we love."Well, at least they did. We said it before and we'll say it again: Poor Shadowrun! The game probably could not have had more things going against it. It was the perfect storm of a half-game with some peripheral Vista drama, going out to an uninterested audience, during the worst time imaginable for an online game during the Halo 3 beta. Shadowrun was just so absolutely doomed. Goodbye FASA, hopefully your splintered team will show what they're truly capable of next time.[Thanks Wes and Michael]
Shadowrun gets third title update
We had our concerns, but Shadowrun has really impressed with its continued support after launch. It seems that FASA and Microsoft are actually committed to giving the game the sort of fine-tuning it needed to become a top-notch multi-player experience. To that end, the game just received its third title update. Most of the changes are things only fans can appreciate (the "elves' regeneration ability has been tweaked," for example), but we're sure it's a big deal for people who are still gliding and porting. If you aren't among them, maybe now's the time to take Shadowrun for another spin. We've got a full list of changes after the jump.[Via X3F]
Calling 1-800-Magic episode 4
The fourth installment of 1-800-Magic is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. Strangely, the episode isn't available at Rooster Teeth yet, so, for the moment, you're stuck watching from your Xbox 360. In this episode we continue the story of Bitterman in his quest to understand his newfound magical abilities. Now that the series has been established in the first three episodes, the fourth gives it a little twist to keep things interesting. We won't spoil it for you, but suffice it to say it is both funny and intriguing. We're looking forward to future episodes. This is the last episode, so we hope you weren't too attached to the series.Update: Looks like this is the last episode of the series, so there won't be any more. So sad.
1-800-Magic #3 BAMFs onto XBLM
And the cycle of machinima continues. Even as Red Vs. Blue readies for the final curtain, another series is just beginning. The third episode of 1-800-Magic has now landed on Xbox Live Marketplace. Of course, you could always check it out on the intarwebz right now, but we find the HD widescreen view from the couch much more appealing. In case you've missed the series so far, here's a quick nonsensical recap: arguing trolls, talking trees named Frank, bacon, BAMF!, tech support, and magic. That pretty much sums it up.
1-800-Magic continues, argues with tree
The latest episode of 1-800-Magic, from the demented minds that brought you Red Vs. Blue, has hit the airwaves ... er ... internetwaves? The story continues to evolve as the characters learn to deal with magic (and tech support). Oh, and there is a rather protracted argument with a tree (whose name is Frank). And we can't forget the trolls continuing to look for the perfect attack phrase ("smoke 'em" is the new hotness this week). Rather than spoil anything else, why not have a look for yourself and tell us what you think? Be warned though, the video is NSFW on account of some salty language. Check it out after the break.
Win a copy of Shadowrun from X360A
The generous gents over at Xbox 360 Achievements are giving away a copy of Shadowrun to celebrate the 250,000th post on their forums. To enter all you need to do is post your gamertag on this thread, though registration is required. This is definitely a pretty good deal, then again, when is anything free not one? Speaking of free giveaways, we'll be announcing the winner of our The Darkness contest soon, so stay tuned.
Shadowrun reviews bother FASA
On the latest OXM podcast, Shadowrun's own Mitch Gitelman (who we had a chat with on our Fancast) talked with the guys and expressed his anger with how the game's reviews are being calculated. Gitelman's argument is that most of the Shadowrun reviews agree that the game is an innovative, fun and unique FPS experience, but deduct points due to its lack of campaign and a $59.99 price tag. He goes on to say that the game should be reviewed for what it is and not how much it costs as they never said a campaign would be included. It's an interesting argument to say the least as Shadowrun's reviews tend to lean towards what the game isn't. But what say you fellow fanboy? Should reviews take a game's price into consideration or should the content and just the content be rated? It's a difficult topic to tackle, so we're interested in hearing what you think.[Via Games Radar]
Video: Free Shadowrun tips from Gamerscore blog
Chris Paladino has kindly offered up some Shadowrun tips with video on the frees. In the video, he plays a Dwarf, and in this particular round, focuses on defense, and shows the art of Quick Casting. Quick Casting is casting magic (or throwing grenades/AMGs) without having it bound to a bumper/left trigger. To do this you hold B, select Magic or Tech, then your spell/nade, and pulling the right trigger. He uses this technique with Strangle, whilst having Tree and Resurrect assigned to his left trigger and right bumper, respectively. That's fine for the purpose of this video, but note that Tree and Res are the the easiest to Quick Cast, since, you can hold the direction for Magic (left) before hitting B. So if you are holding left and strafing, hit B, you're automatically selecting Tree of Life at that point, and can pull the right trigger and cast. Res is slightly higher on the radial menu, but on the left side. Conversely, nades are on the 3 o'clock position, so Quick Casting them is just as simple. All in all, good tips on the use of Strangle, and Quick Casting, and the price tag certainly is easier to swallow, so thank you, Chris.Do you use Quick Casting when playing Shadowrun? If so, on what Magic or Tech (noting it only works on the nades)?
