Shadowrun dated News

"Developed by FASA Studios, Shadowrun is a multiplayer first-person shooter loosely based on the old-days SNES RPG of the same name."

Surely you mean the FASA pencil table top role-playing game? I hope you were joking...

But the game's biggest feature is the ability for Xbox Live Gold users to play against subscribers to Microsoft's new Windows Vista-only "Games for Windows - LIVE" service in 16-player battles.

Is that really the biggest feature? Doesn't bode well for the game...

The beta was fun. Release game should be even better with the Halo party system.

Im kinda sorta looking forward to this, sorta, if its good.

Im on the fence till reviews

Is FASA the same company that's making a brawler of Sense and Sensibility?

£39.99 for the 360 version of a multiplayer shooter with only 9 maps and no splitscreen?

muahahahahahahahahahahahhhaaha!

Is that really the biggest feature? Doesn't bode well for the game...

I don't care for that feature. However, I have read several handon's from pc and general gaming magazines and they seem pretty much positive about the subtle gameplay (it seems to quite a bit different from normal online fps games).

This might be a sleeper hit but then again, it could just as well be a 7/10.

Or both. :)

Good stufff... I am ready for a new online FPS. Problem is the Halo 3 beta will also be here... hmmmm....

why the hell 10 Punds more than the PC Version? Because to play with the Controller is way better than with keyboard+mouse? SUXXXS!

why the hell 10 Punds more than the PC Version? Because to play with the Controller is way better than with keyboard+mouse? SUXXXS!

PCGP (big pc games magazine in the benelux) wasn't able to tell the difference from who he was playing during the handson. But yes, the reason that console games are so much more expensive is stupid (yeah I know about the whole manufacturer cut).

Is this the game where I recently read that they had to cripple the 360-joypad players a little cos they were pwning the PC-mouse players? :)

Will a 360 version demo be available from Xbl Marketplace, at or shortly before launch? I get the inkling that what will matter most here, in how people will value the game, will be how intuitive the control is, and other stuff you can only know, from a playtest.

Anyone who got in on the beta care to post a concise account on how it plays, just in case?

"Is this the game where I recently read that they had to cripple the 360-joypad players a little cos they were pwning the PC-mouse players? :) "

Incorrect. They had to tone down the console auto-aim, because with it on their initial settings they beat PC players too much. There was also a bug where using a mouse made the recoil too hard to be accurate with rapid-fire weaponry.

To wit:

"So once we have console controls that we’re happy with, we start implementing the mouse/keyboard controls. At this point we were still paranoid that the mouse was going to “own”, so we put in all kinds of extra code to help balance the game play. Meaning that we removed all the controller assistance, and auto-aiming stuff [from the mouse]. We also added the concept of accuracy “blow out” from quick turning. Let me explain. In our game we use an accuracy model on the weapons, meaning that if you hold down the trigger or run or jump while firing a weapon you will be less accurate. This is similar to any of the Clancy games, or Counter-Strike. So for the mouse we also added the idea that if you spin around 180 degrees very quickly, your weapon will be less accurate than if you stood still and fired. We take a guess at some values and go into the lab to see how it plays.

To everyone’s surprise, the mouse players got owned. Ok, so we overdid the numbers, no big deal. We made some tweaks and tried it again. Same result. This cycle continued until we had everything (auto-aim, targeting assistance, and accuracy) turned back on for the mouse. It was a lot closer, but the mouse players were still losing. WTF? Did the mouse players just suck? No, some of our testers play semi-professional gaming, so we knew they didn’t totally suck. (In fact, they recently dominated in a shooter tournament at PAX.) Was it because our game plays so much differently than a standard shooter? Partially, but we also found a bug. The mouse players were getting slightly more recoil when shot, and this caused them to lose most of their fire fights. So we fixed that, and the mouse players finally started to win."

what do you think.........if on a joypad you had auto aim and on a mouse and keyboard you did't have auto aim, it doesn't take a genius to work out the person playing with a joypad would kick the other players arse.....

The reason why console games are always more expensive than pc games is because of the royalties they need to pay the manufacturer.
Also i heard that the console dev kits can cost a bomb

Do I get to choose who I play against? What if I only want to play with other Xboxers?

I like to blame me losing on the lag. I don't want to get pooned fair and square by mousers.

"Surely you mean the FASA pencil table top role-playing game? I hope you were joking..."

You're right, but FASA perhaps wants to reinvent itself as a video games creator, it's probably better for attracting investors. Pencil and paper RPGs haven't been big business for a while now, even TSR went bust.

"But the game's biggest feature is the ability for Xbox Live Gold users to play against subscribers to Microsoft's new Windows Vista-only "Games for Windows - LIVE" service in 16-player battles."

Wow, and you only have to pay £40 pa useless live subs on your PC for the privilege? Sign me up!

Sorry, but this isn't even a new feature. Quake 3 and UT on the dreamcast let you play against PC players... and Sega was even nice enough to let you use a keyboard and mouse, if you wanted to. Sometimes, it shocks me how far online consoles have stepped back since 1999.

This is not the Shadowrun game you are looking for.

Crozon: From what I can tell, most pc shooters also use a certain extent of autoaim. Be it more subtle.

It has been there since the day's of doom.

I find it funny that a lot of people already dismiss this game even before they had a handson while most people who did the beta say it's pretty much oke. Oh well, their loss I would say.

Can't wait to kill me some PC gamers, put a end to this Keyboard/mouse > controller crap.

Bring it on

Most people say it's pretty much OK? There's a recommendation if ever I've heard one. ;)

And there are only very few PC games that use auto-aim, and those that do tend to have a console-type feel to them.

This is multiplayer only isn't it ?

If so, isn't it going to be virtually unplayable when all its players migrate to Halo 3 in October ?

isn't it going to be virtually unplayable when all its players migrate to Halo 3 in October ?

That's one advantage of throwing PC players into the mix I suppose. Though how many of those players will be paying the subscription to play cross-platform, I'm not sure.

@ Speedjack: No, since bots of varying levels of skill will be available. Here's a url for a beta video, with bots http://www.gametrailers.com/umwatcher.ph...

Anybody that didn't get in to the beta, might also want to see a Beta Montage, to see what it was like?
http://www.gametrailers.com/umwatcher.ph...

http://www.firingsquad.com/news/newsarti... also offered their hands-on impressions.

edit: crazy coding calamities, batman!

Bots ? Really ?! - now I am interested.

To be honest I'd probably prefer bots to most Xbox live players !

Considering I imagine that more units of the 360 version will be sold, how they justify the £10 price different between the two.

Also, can PC gamers play 360 gamers without having to pay for XBL?

richardiox writes: "Also, can PC gamers play 360 gamers without having to pay for XBL?"

As I understand it, (if it's any help) your Xbox Live account from Xbox 360 will carry over to the PC. So, if you have a LIVE-Gold 360, you'd be LIVE Gold on PC, automatically.

If you've only a PC, then you must pay the forty a year for LIVE Gold to enable cross-platform play. Although, according to the article, Shadowrun's Vista only, so that's another factor to consider.

"Considering I imagine that more units of the 360 version will be sold, how they justify the £10 price different between the two. "

In theory they could claim that they lose money on the 360 hardware so they have to charge more for the games in order to make the money back.

In truth, I think MS has already announced they're breaking even on the 360 hardware, and the price difference is largely to do with the lack of competition on closed software platforms. You can't buy just any old game on 360, it has to be MS approved, so MS (like all other console makers) slaps an extra charge on top of the game's actual price.