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Shadowrun vs. Shadowrun
eToyChest's regular 'I roll 20s' column today looks at the different faces of Shadowrun in the world of Videogames. Before the most recent, ill-conceived, 360 title there were several other attempts to bring the rich cyberpunk-meets-Tolkien world to gamers with controllers. Some met with more success than others. From the article: "In the Genesis Shadowrun, you played an actual Shadowrunner, the sort of guy a corporation would pay to do their dirty work, and then deny the existence of after the fact should things manage to find a fan and hit it. Moreover, you were given the ability to create a character designed after whichever abilities and archetypes you found to be most savory, and as a result, a huge array of hybrid character styles were available, creating a game with a good deal more replay value than most Sega Genesis action RPGs."
Microsoft rewrote the timeline and setting for this game, so it is not in continuity with the tabletop RPG. It may be more accurately described as a game loosely based on Shadowrun.
Hmmm, take a product that somebody else produced. Modify it slightly, slap your name tag on it, and sell. Sounds familiar.
You all know when you first saw the Matrix movie trailer, and saw people in trench coats, with lots of guns, and hackers that seemed to be also experiencing almost magical phenomena, was set in the very close future, etc... that you thought a Shadowrun movie was coming out. And you went to www.whatisthematrix.com and were incredibly let down when it was an original IP, but you couldn't help thinking they still ripped a whole bunch off of Shadowrun.
Now why would I want a Shadowrun game that will, in essence, replicate that feeling I had after watching the Matrix movie trailer? It will probably look like Shadowrun in that it will be futuristic and dark, and have similar ideas or themes. But it still won't be Shadowrun, dammit!
Having played both the SNES and Genesis versions, they were at least far more passible approaches at translating the pen-and-paper game to video gaming than the crap that's showing up on 360.
The SNES version was okay, but the Genesis version was always my favorite in that it allowed more customization. Both games allowed you to hire other runners, and I'm not quite sure which one had more to select from, but Genesis gave you the options of either hiring them for a single run or hiring them as permanent companions. In relation, Genesis used a more complete stat set than SNES so that only increased the control you had in developing your characters.
Matrix combat in Genesis was more challenging than SNES, but more rewarding as well. Of course, almost nothing else gave more satisifaction than masking pass a strong IC. I would have liked to see the ability to choose your race, though, since that would bring out many more options.
The stories in both games were okay, though not as complex as some of the Shadowrun novels from the same era.
with the exception that Gibson didn't indulge himself in the insipid stoned-high-school-student philosphizing that the Matrix series was so slathered in. "Omg, what if we're just simulations inside a totally big computer!!" "whooooaaaa, duuuuude ..."
Gleh.
there is no need to sign your posts. this isn't usenet. your username is right there above your post. stop it.
I've played the pen and paper RPG through all four editions. I love the old Genesis game. When I first heard about this new game, I was so excited that I couldn't wait to get more info.
Now, I will bad mouth this game every single chance that I get. I hope that they choke on the costs and release the brand to someone who can give us a good game that actually hase something to do with Shadowrun.