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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)
X3F Achievements 101: The First One!
Welcome to X3F Achievements 101, a new column here at Xbox 360 Fanboy, where I get to discuss one of my favorite Xbox 360 features: Achievements, and the whoring found therein. Each week I'll be bringing you my take on the latest Achievement news, as well as my quest in both my Achievement streak, and any specific Achievements I'm working on. Not only that, but you get to participate, as I'll be giving you a means to contact me, so we can work together on getting Achievements. So read on, as I start off by taking a look at one of the coolest Achievements to come out of a personal favorite, Shadowrun.
1-800-Magic Episode 1 calls XBLM
The first episode of the Shadowrun machinima by Rooster Teeth Productions that we showed you yesterday, 1-800-Magic, is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. As you may have saw, the production values are rather high, but that's to be expected from the RvB crew. The video weighs in at 227.59 MB, which shouldn't take too long, and getting a higher resolution version to appreciate the finer details of their work is never a bad thing. If the series was regularly added to Marketplace, and continue to be free, would you follow it on XBLM?
Rooster Teeth's Shadowrun machinima: 1-800-MAGIC
Creators of the Halo machinima Red vs. Blue Rooster Teeth have debuted 1-800-MAGIC, a machinima based in the world of Shadowrun. The premiere episode, embedded after the break, highlights the problems with software-controlled assault rifles, tech support and negative reinforcement on troop morale. Oh, and you might chortle a bit too.Also mentioned is a website for the series that as of this writing is not live. Video contains some naughty language that's Not Safe For Work. I'm magical ... I'm the one.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
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.
Shadowrun demo on Xbox delayed until tomorrow
The Shadowrun demo that was supposed to be out today on the Xbox 360 has been delayed by a day. According to the Shadowrun forums the hiccup will cause the demo to release at 2AM Pacific time -- how's that for nailing down a time?The demo will include three training chapters, bot and online match, two races, a little magic, a little tech and a whole lot of weaponry. Here will be your chance to check out the not-so-well received title which released on Vista and Xbox 360 last week.[Via GamingTalkHQ, Thanks Alex]
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.
Shipping this week: BAMF! edition
It's a pretty big week for the Xbox 360. This week we see the release of two of Microsoft's major releases for the summer, Shadowrun and Forza Motorsport 2. Not only that, but also get Monster Madness and Surf's Up. You know, on second thought, maybe we should just stick to the first two. Honestly, the big question for 360 gamers this week is whether the choose Forza or Shadowrun. Given that these are two different games that appeal to two different kinds of gamers, it's not likely to be a tough choice though.So, do you plan on picking up any of these games?%Gallery-3497%
Purchase Shadowrun or Forza 2, get a free game
This week at Circuit City online or in-store, when you purchase either Shadowrun or Forza 2 you get a free Xbox 360 game valued at $19.99. It's a pretty good deal seeing that Circuit City's rival Best Buy doesn't offer any incentive to buy either game. Though, you'll be hard pressed to find a good 360 game for $20 as we only could dig up games like Cars, Rockstar's Table Tennis, The Outfit, and (shudder) Bomberman: Act Zero in that price range. But, it's a free game for purchasing a game you already wanted to purchase ... you game to purchase?Read - Buy Forza 2Read - Buy Shadowrun
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.
Shane Kim on Shadowrun's $10 PC to 360 price difference
Some men should be given a reward for giving eloquent and elongated responses to questions without ever really answering them. Take Shane Kim, for example. When asked by Newsweek's N'Gai Croal why Shadowrun on the Xbox 360 cost $10 more than the identical PC version, Microsoft Games Studios' corporate vice president could have simply said "because we can." (Remember, folks, before Gears of War, Microsoft was selling their first-party titles for the old standard of $49.99.)Nay, this wordsmith saw a canvas on which he could be poetic! "[These] price points are our standard pricing for each platform ... This pricing structure is not uncommon in the multiplayer-only first-person shooter genre, as numerous titles have seen success at this price point and gaming model." Do we have an answer as to how Microsoft can justify screwing console owners out of ten dollars? No. Have we witnessed a moment of linguistic triumph? Yes. Brilliant!
Forza 2 gone gold with May 29th release date
With the demo having been available on Xbox Live Marketplace for the last 5 hours, we've got even more good news for you. Forza 2 has gone gold and will also be hitting store shelves on May 29th for $59.99. Finally, the flagship title for the Racing Wheel accessory will be available for gamers champing at the bit. But, that leaves the obvious question, which will you be picking up, Forza Motorsport 2, or Shadowrun? After all they've got the same date and price point.
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%
