SHADOWRUN from Sega

It is the year 2053. Magic has returned to the world. Elves, dwarfs, orks and trolls walk the street alongside humans. Creatures previously mentioned only in legends stalk the night. Not to be outdone, technology has also made tremendous advances. People now augment their bodies with powerful mechanical devices and biotechnology commonly referred to as cyberware. This is the world of SHADOWRUN.

The world of 2053 is run by huge conglomerates called megacorporations. They control everything--from the food eaten to the flow of information. When the megacorporations want to sidestep authority without dirtying their hands, it's a shadowrun they need and a shadowrunner that they turn to. It is here that you enter the picture...

The story begins with some general background as to the situation you presently find yourself in. A botched shadowrun becomes very personal when one of the dead runners turns out to be your brother. The main storyline revolves around his death and the parties involved. The game proper begins by choosing a character from three provided. You may play as a Gator shaman, a decker, or a street samurai. The shaman is well versed in magic and has many spells and magical artifacts available to him. The decker is a computer whiz that uses an implant in his head called a datajack and a cyberdeck to 'jack in' to computer systems and travel through cyberspace, robbing precious datastores along the way. The street samurai is the ultimate warrior in Shadowrun. He is highly skilled in combat and increases his natural skills with cyberware.

You begin the game alone, but may choose to hire additional shadowrunners (limit of 3, including yourself) to compensate for skills you lack. This is a very important part of the game. Shadowrun is based on a role playing game (RPG) published by FASA, and as such the emphasis is on character development. You may be able to complete the game alone, but you will miss out on the different traits and abilities available to the other runners. Credit must be given to the developers for allowing the player to take TOTAL control of the other shadowrunners in your party. You may start the game out as a decker, but there is nothing to stop you from hiring a combat mage and playing out that character instead. A side note on hiring runners- -they react differently according to your character's history. If you hire a runner and get him/her geeked in the process, they may not be so quick to hire on with you in the future. This is the kind of touch that makes a game exceptional.

The game starts slowly. Much effort must be expended to increase the attributes of your character. Fortunately, the shadowruns you are asked to complete are cakewalks... at first. The reward for a completed shadowrun is money (nuyen) and karma. Nuyen buys equipment and information, karma buys attribute points. Attributes are VERY important in this game. Unlike some cartridge RPG's, Shadowrun penalizes heavily for poor skill ratings. If you've got a low firearms skill, the air will be heavy with lead, but little of it will ever touch the nasties. As you increase your attributes you will find other characters with information and contacts to sell. It is through these contacts that the game progresses. It is a non-linear storyline in that certain information you gather will open up new subplots to be solved. There is no prescribed order in which these subplots must be completed. In fact, I've found myself with access to information and areas before I discovered there was a problem there.

The equipment available to a shadowrunner is formidable. Weapons range from light pistols to submachine guns; military grade armor, grenades, electronic countermeasures and magical fetishes and talismans are also available. Cybereyes, muscle replacement, wired reflexes and dermal plating are just a few of the body augmentations a shadowrunner can buy. I spent many hours just collecting nuyen so I could afford these necessities! (Believe me, they ARE necessary)

Before getting into the mechanics of the game, it's probably best that I make a passing reference to the Nintendo version of Shadowrun. The Genesis Shadowrun is a RPG, the Nintendo version is a run 'n' gun game with a RPG flavor. They are very different games. Being a person that plays the 'real' RPG, I can tell you that the Genesis version is as close as you're going to come to a RPG in a console (Genesis/SNES) game. Both were very enjoyable, but I like to be more involved in a storyline and its characters. I prefer the Genesis version for this reason. For what it's worth, I think this is the best console RPG I've ever played.

Okay, game mechanics... Graphics are good overall. The exception being the trips into cyberspace where the graphics are excellent. The visuals and attack animations while on a Matrix run are top notch. Control is excellent. If you get your character geeked on a run, it will be because you made a serious error in judgment, not poor control. Sound is good. Nothing so annoying that you have to mute the TV. The only real problem I have with Shadowrun is the ending. Abrupt is too slight a word to describe it. The average gamer will spend 50-60 hours getting to the final battle. Unfortunately, the climax is reached and concluded in the blink of an eye. Not good. Ah well, to paraphrase a wiser man than I, "The journey shall be your reward, not the destination."

Shadowrun is an excellent game. It combines a very complex RPG with an engaging storyline and interesting characters. With the exception of the hurried ending, there is very little I can point out in this game as substandard. If you like role playing games, or have even a slight interest in them, I heartily suggest you add Shadowrun to your collection.