#26 - Shadowrun

Before Deus Ex rocked our dicks off with its blend of first person shooting and role playing action, there was Shadowrun (not to be confused with Shadowgate, which is a horror-themed adventure game). This is based off of the tabletop game that's like a futuristic Dungeons & Dragons - only it takes place in a dystopian future instead of times of peril against the mighty dragon.

You start off as a person who had risen from his grave (or spot in the morgue - whatever), looking for the people or person who murdered you. Over time, you'll learn from various people about the situation... at least those who won't shoot you. But when it comes to people who'll *bleep* you up, well, you'll need to toughen up your body, find a decent gun and cap some bitches. This is when the levelling system comes into play - as you do certain things (completing quests and killing enemies), you'll acquire karma, which can be spent on certain attributes (body, gunmanship and hacking, for instance) when you rest somewhere you can sleep. You can gain cyberware, or cybernetic parts (I guess you could say augmentations) that can replace your skin with armor or give you better movement, etc etc. There's quite a lot of depth to this game as it opens up the further along you get, opening you up to upgrades, more fun firefights and a more interesting story. The latter is especially big when you talk to more and more people in the world, especially as you talk to more people and pick up on certain words. Honestly, this is what LA Noire wished it could be... I mean, you feel more like a detective in this game than in *bleep*ing LA Noire! But personal bias against games that squander their potential aside, Shadowrun kicks ass and is probably the best game to come from the land down under.

Summary - Deus Ex before Deus Ex while adding some detective elements LA Noire has wet dreams of being anything like.
Rating - 9/10

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