Well Dragonfall will take a while so I'll write down my thoughts on the original campaign of SRR.
Shadowrun Returns: Dead Man's Switch (1.2.5)
Running the shadows, pressing for some nuyen, destabilizing megacorps and hacking into the matrix. What more could you ask for? Well, perhaps a little more variability and choice.
SRR - DMS is the first Shadowrun videogame in a long time (pretending that one shooter never existed) and I have to say: I do like it. It does a fine job at bringing the science fantasy tabletop to life if we overlook a few rough edges. Let's get it over with: apart from creating our own character, there isn't much to choose from. This shouldn't really detract any potential players. As I said in a different post, Japanese "RPG's" have done this for ages and still are called that. Well, at least SRR gives you dialogue choices.
The setting
Shadowrun is usually known as the
other major cyberpunk RPG setting (the first being CyberPunk). After reading a bunch in the wiki, however, I have come to the conclusion that SR is, more than cyberpunk, a projection of a high fantasy setting into the future. In other words, a
futurization of a fantasy setting very much like Dungeons and Dragons. That is, if said future includes the usual cyberpunk tropes: oppressive megacorporations, advanced electronics, semi police state operations, cybernetic augmentations and transhumanism. To that, already complex layer, add some typical fantasy tropes: elves, dwarves and dragons, mages and shamans, racial segregation, etc. But now put it all together and you can create characters like a katana wielding dwarf with cybernetic arms or a nimble, smart "thief" who disables traps and security system by hacking computer systems. All in all, pretty interesting.
Shadowrun is extremely similar to Gibson's Neuromancer. In fact, many elements are "borrowed" from it: new yens, street samurais, the matrix, decks, and even the name Armitage. Gibson doesn't exactly like Shadowrun, but I think it's fun. It can be a little over the top, and a little bloated, but the plethora of elements could simply mean a good game master can create a unique adventure, not necessarily focusing on all the cliches (just a few).
SRR is set around the year 2054, which is equivalent to Shadowrun version 4 i think. This means that there are still traditional
deckers who jack into the matrix using good ol'
decks, while in subsequent versions the matrix is wireless and deckers have become hackers. However
technomancers are mentioned in Dead Man's Switch, which I believe is a newer element in the recent versions of the standard. Oh well.
One thing I don't fully agree with in both Shadowrun and Neuromancer and pretty much every other cyberpunk thing out there (here's hoping CP77 is different) is the Tron-like conception of a global computer network. Assuming brain computer interfaces are sufficiently developed and a person can interact electrically with digital devices, why waste bandwidth on 3D graphics? Currently a major problem with measuring live brain activity is that data generated by neuron populations is so massive that it cannot be captured by electronic devices on real time. If I were to establish a bridge between a device and the brain, I would optimize my data usage for the important stuff, not 3D renditions of programs. However, according to Neuromancer, the matrix was also heavily used for other purposes, including education. I can also imagine a person who literally plugs himself into the computer would need some sort of interface, and a 3D-like world is already familiar to us. This might help reduce the cognitive dissonance or however you want to call it. What I think we should improve is the 1980's arcade mentality. Essentially,
cyberpunk is retro futurism. I would like to see an updated or revised futuristic setting, guided by people with knowledge of how things work. Gibson himself barely knew anything about computers when he wrote his seminal work.
Game system
Character creation is simplistic and straight forward: gender, race, archetype (or no archetype), portrait, basic appearance and skill point distribution. The character creation system is classless: archetypes (decker, street samurai, mage, shaman, rigger, ...) distribute points for you initially, but you can also assign them however you want. I for instance made a guy with high quickness and ranged combat, specializing in assault rifles, and lots of intelligence and decking. Third skill was charisma, which opens up more conversation options. I also assigned a few points in "body" (general constitution), biotech (benefit from medkits).
Charisma is needed for shamans to summon spirits but it's also useful to any character who likes deeper conversation control. Every two points you can choose an
etiquette (shadowrunner, security, corporate, academic, etc.) which opens up new conversation options, meaning you might be able to solve things through dialogue if you have such options (i.e. knowledge) available. A good shadowrunner might realize the real risk of a run and demand compensation, and someone who is knowledgeable of the corporate world might speculate on how much this stolen information will cost tomorrow, and get a better price. A security etiquette might help you bluff past a guarded entrance, and so on.
Gameplay
SRR is a typical top-down cRPG, where you click around and your character follows. You have a character sheet, a screen to distribute skill points, a sort of journal, and so on. Combat is standard modern turn-based, very similar to XCOM EU. No attacks of opportunity, all your guys move in the same turn (no initiative checks), and so on. It is all a lot of fun actually. I played DMS in normal difficulty and combat was pretty straight forward... almost too easy.
Combat is party based, and sometimes you will have preassigned companions. Other times, you will be able to hire shadowrunners, for a price of course.
You interact with the world via hotspots that show up when you get close to them with your character or mouse pointer. It's really not very different from mouse surfing on Infinity games, but there aren't nearly as many interactions.
There are some cool elements in the final areas however. You get multiple approaches to infiltrate some organization, including wearing their clothes and granting yourself a pass card by using a restricted computer. This one place felt very much like playing the original Fallout, and that's a GOOD thing.
Story & Narrative
This is one of the high points of the game. The writing in general is quite good, except for a few cliches here and there and a few embarrassing nerdgasmic lines, in the vein of "he's the most powerful of his kind" or "I was destined for great things since I was in diapers". The wording and the narrative approach are very well done, it's a good read and it will keep you hooked. The story will also take you across Seattle and some nearby suburbs, including Redmond and Snohomish county. i was excited about visiting Pike Place Market but you can only see the entrance and the recognizable sign, that's it.
The story is overall a typical cyberpunkish tale of corporate infiltration and so on, with a few magical elements and a bit of mysticism towards the end. I felt the campaign might as well have existed without the need for elves, dwarves or any other fantasy cliche, just pure old corporate wars in the dark, oppressive human future. I think the twist of having multiple races and the general balance of technology vs magic was underused. But in such an overloaded setting, it's hard to use it all. I liked the campaign very much, but I don't think anything would have been different if i had chosen a different race or skill set. One thing is clear though: there is lots of
decking, and I sure was happy i went for a decker-type.
It seems to me the writing decayed a bit towards the end, but the inclusion of some Shadowrun lore and characters certainly spiced things up.
Graphics and sound
Nice 2.5D look, very slick and clean looking. Very clean interface. Dialogue boxes could be larger. The music is kind of good actually, especially during matrix runs. The game is text intensive, and there is no voice acting whatsoever. I didn't mind this at all, but be warned.
Final thoughts
Some reviewers complained about the modular feel of the game: the game obviously looks like it was built using a campaign editor, and perhaps that is one of its strong suits. Very much like what NWN was to D&D, SRR is an implementation of Shadowrun and there might be a bunch of user made adventures coming up soon.
I got this for $14.99 plus another $14.99 for the first expansion, Dragonfall from the Humble Store (DRM-free Win/Mac/Linux). Normally the base game is $19.99, but if you can wait there should be a campaign pack coming out soon which includes both Dead Man's Switch and Dragonfall for $24.99. Honestly, I didn't mind paying 5 dollars more. I think it's great Harebrained Schemes made this cool cRPG and managed to resolve that whole M$ bullshit, when we thought there would be no DRM free or Linux versions.
I've been playing a few hours of Dragonfall and... hell yeah. Everything DMS needed is here
Lots of choices, a little more mysticism and relevance of fantasy elements, lots of sidequests, and in general more Shadowrun lore. I'll comment on Dragonfall when I'm finished, if anyone's interested.
