Necrotech Posted Jul 24, 2013, 8:51 pm	Finally, a *quality* old school RPG. mind-bending story, and addictive game-play. The core campaign, called The Dead Man's Switch, lasts from 15-30 hours or even longer depending on how thorough you are. The Berlin DLC is free to download in couple weeks, which promises to be an even longer campaign that ties in both the previous SNES and Genesis games to this one. (Jake Armitage is back!) The 2 downsides are the lack of a user activated save system (checkpoint based currently) and the ability to loot fallen enemies. A big positive to the game's replayability will come from user created content that will create entirely new campaigns that will rival or surpass Dead Man's Switch. Shadowrun Returns is a visual treat to behold. The game-play is VERY addicting, especially if you liked the recent XCOM. There is a lot of reading, but that's actually a very good thing since the writing is top notch quality. If you are itching for a cRPG, this is the game for you! Again, the writing is amazing, barring some miscellaneous typos. Finally, if you like games like the old Fallout series. This game is a "must buy". Especially for only $20 USD. This game proves something else however, game-play and story matter more than special effects and eye candy. I hope to see more of this kind of game. I'll be waiting for wastelands 2 and Torment, I hope they will be as at least as good at this one. This is the first hugely successful kickstarter and I'm very stoked for the developers, but more importantly the players. Get out there chummers! BUY IT NOW! and show your indie support. Check out the below trailer - F'ing Sick Shadowrun Returns (Finally) Trailer Lastly as of 6 hours ago... Buy on Steam for 10% off. Not bad. (Note: there is a WHOLE extra set of goodies if you have Backer/Deluxe Package status ---> Me) Favorite quote of the day "I'M THROWING MY MONEY AT THE SCREEN, WHY ISN'T ANYTHING HAPPENING?!"
Necrotech Posted Jul 26, 2013, 6:10 am	Review completed
Vroomhoff Posted Jul 26, 2013, 10:07 pm	Yeah, so where is it?
RudeReality Posted Jul 26, 2013, 10:19 pm	In the original post...lol
Vroomhoff Posted Jul 27, 2013, 2:38 am	Let me counter this review with one of my own.. I played it for about an hour and a half tonight and I'm not happy with it. It's basically a glorified choose-your-own adventure game. There's no "loot", there's no "strategy". You move through town (like a corridor) and things that you need to click on light up. You click and do a bunch of reading and then get shuffled to the next place. Fallout gave you a ton of freedom and this game does not. Fallout gave you inventory management. This game does not. Fallout had strategery and tactics. This game does not. What are you smoking Necro? There's very little if any depth here. Good story, maybe, but I don't play computer games to read a novel. I can read a novel for that!
*Rev. V* Posted Jul 27, 2013, 3:48 am	No inventory management?!?!? No loot?!?!? Man, even the Sega version gave you that..... Kinda bummed hearing some of this, I was looking forward to this game....
RudeReality Posted Jul 27, 2013, 4:01 am	Read- full game editor/creation tool. These lacking portions of gameplay can be added to future campaigns with the powerful included editing tools. Expect much better content by both Hare- brained and the game community soon. Also an iOS version. I feel like I should be paid for this
*Bastille* Posted Jul 27, 2013, 4:30 am	Only available through steam store  FAIL! (thats most anoying cuz this looks like lots of fun. Been waiting for this since you first posted back in april or so) Double EDIT too and a haff: Im seriously considering finally getting steam to play this after reading some real reviews on the game.
Necrotech Posted Jul 27, 2013, 1:07 pm	Vroom, While I can see your point, a couple of things to take into consideration First... it's 20 bucks! Second and far more importantly - this is the starting platform. Rumor Mill has it, there is at least 4 more "modules" in the works. And the content creation tools are part of the deal. The community itself will be bringing ALOT to the table. Various tweaks, add ons... you name it, as well as the designers will be releasing additional stuff. The surface has been barely scratched. Third - There certainly is inventory management. Even in the PnP Rpg, you traveled light. You took only what you needed to get the job done. No 50' rope, No 20 Iron spikes, No pots and Pans, nor 15 various weapons. Shadowruns were meant to be done in a day or 2. And yes, you DO get a stash. Fourth - The character customization is really far deeper than when you first glance at it. Let's face it, depending on your profession will depend on what options are available. A Physical Adept or more pointedly a Mage or Shaman is not going to have cyberware. Why? It effects their essence, the ability to them to tap into the aether, which in turn affect their abilities. Meanwhile a street samurai will not be carrying magic swords or fetishes, They are useless in the hands of somebody who is more machine than man (or Orc, or Elf) Fifth - you are talking about freedom, ok this module, pretty straight forward - however if you were to compare even a small chapter of Fallout to this module, you will start seeing similarities. Look at a more granular level. Lastly - The Best RPG's are stories, novels, epic writings. I will give just one example of this. Planscape:Torment. Semi light on action, but my god easily 50K+ lines of text buried in there. And to be honest, I ate up EVERY line with a fork, knife, and spoon. Then, and for many years after I was looking for seconds. Next year.... I will get my second helping. Bar None (Sorry Sam) Planescape:Torment was *THE* best "Role-Playing" game I have ever experienced... even better than pen and paper. You played a single character.. to the best of your abilities, and boy did it pay off. Vroomhoff said: Let me counter this review with one of my own.. I played it for about an hour and a half tonight and I'm not happy with it. It's basically a glorified choose-your-own adventure game. There's no "loot", there's no "strategy". You move through town (like a corridor) and things that you need to click on light up. You click and do a bunch of reading and then get shuffled to the next place. Fallout gave you a ton of freedom and this game does not. Fallout gave you inventory management. This game does not. Fallout had strategery and tactics. This game does not. What are you smoking Necro? There's very little if any depth here. Good story, maybe, but I don't play computer games to read a novel. I can read a novel for that!
Sarge Posted Jul 27, 2013, 2:08 pm	Necrotech said: Planscape:Torment. Semi light on action, but my god easily 50K+ lines of text buried in there. And to be honest, I ate up EVERY line with a fork, knife, and spoon. Then, and for many years after I was looking for seconds. Next year.... I will get my second helping. Bar None (Sorry Sam) Planescape:Torment was *THE* best "Role-Playing" game I have ever experienced... even better than pen and paper. You played a single character.. to the best of your abilities, and boy did it pay off. I never did get Planescape - I think I came to it too late - years after its release, and by then I found it to be taking itself a little too seriously.  So is Shadowrun a turn-based thing? Or a point-and-click adventure? It's hard to work out from comparisons to video games I haven't played (Fallout et al).
*Bastille* Posted Jul 27, 2013, 2:31 pm	It seems similar to fallout or even arcanum in combat. Turn based with a set number of action points to use each turn for each char. In the few game play vids Ive watched on Youtube, the gamers seem like absolute goofballs that either smoke too much ... or can't read.
Necrotech Posted Jul 27, 2013, 3:00 pm	Or smoked so damned much that they can't read
*Bastille* Posted Jul 27, 2013, 4:31 pm	leave me out of this
FireFly Posted Jul 28, 2013, 3:13 am	I've played quite a chunk of this to and well... You know, saying the editor is awesome and there is future content down the line is one thing but until this content actually hits what we have is what we have. And what we have is mildly disappointing in my opinion, it's not bad but it's not something super special either... At least for the time being anyway, once they said they were co-developing for mobile platforms that really did put some limiters on what they could do, and it does show (specifically in the UI). Personally, my hope is and was always on Wasteland 2... From what I've seen that game is shaping up to be more of a proper RPG than a build-it-yourself toolset. Again don't get me wrong here Shadowrun returns isn't bad by any means, but it does not live up to the somewhat high expectations a lot of people have. There really is no excuse for such a linear (and short) story, even if the quality is high there is not enough of it. The combat system is pretty rudimentary to, I mean in a lot of ways It's got the same flaws the new x-com game had but a whole lot more forgiving... I played it on Hard and well, I've yet to have a single character go into bleeding and I think I've finished a good chunk of the game so it's pretty easy on top of that. One last thing, I really, REALLY hate games that show dialogue options that you cannot pick. If my character does not have enough charisma to use the charm option then it shouldn't even be on the list, that's just teasing/a slap to the face for not picking it. Edit; If people like the fallout games that does not mean they will like this game as they are pretty different in style and scope, there is no exploring to be done nor is it as grand in scope and it's not as customization (character wise) either. A TRUE "If you really like fallout" game to wait for would again be Wasteland 2
Necrotech Posted Jul 28, 2013, 7:22 pm	Berlin is More Like Genesis Game (Far more open world) Soon to be released City     Jordan reveals that while Seattle is a tad closer to the SNES game with a somewhat more linear plot, the Berlin campaign is more like the Sega Genesis game in that it is free form with a more open world and tons of side quests/runs for different Mr. Johnsons.   Plus a very interesting bit about  to making an Astral plane adventure later.
Vroomhoff Posted Jul 29, 2013, 12:47 pm	I appreciate what you're saying, Necro, but people don't buy games for what "could" or "might" be coming down the road. This isn't a game constuction set you're buying - it's a game! With that said - here's my recommendation for a current game that is similar in design, but deeper and more fleshed-out: Underrail At $9.99, it's twice the game that Shadowrun returns currently is. I don't think it's moddable though and what you see is what you get!
*Tinker* Posted Jul 29, 2013, 9:30 pm	I've played about 5 hours in, and sad to hear the ending is so close already... My only gripes are, it's on rails, no loot, and the text options you can't have are shown grayed-out, oh and they constantly ask you to confirm many choices regarding inventory and probably some other screens. But I really like the text, some good writing for sure if you like cyberpunk But I wonder if I will bother replaying again with another class, since I know already (if I can remember) which classes will unlock which dialogue options... edit: Underrail looks great, anyone tried it wit whine on mac?
*K1500* Posted Jul 30, 2013, 12:23 am	Vroomhoff said: I appreciate what you're saying, Necro, but people don't buy games for what "could" or "might" be coming down the road. This isn't a game construction set you're buying - it's a game! Yeah many people do buy games with an understanding that more material is coming - and mod tools are becoming an incredibly important marketing tool within certain genres of gaming (hell even console games are starting to include map building functionality). Having said that I don't have a spare $20 and it's only on Steam from what I can see... Even if I did I'd be more likely to spend that $20(US) on Shadowrun 5th ed. http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/26293.html Oh and speaking of rebooted games I feel I should highlight Satellite Reign - being promoted as the spiritual successor to Syndicate Wars, just got funded on Kickstarter. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/5livesstudios/satellite-reign
*Bastille* Posted Jul 30, 2013, 5:10 am	*Tinker* said: ...anyone tried it wit whine on mac? I poured wine on my mac but it broke. About the best thing that could happen to it I guess.
*DoubleTap* Posted Jul 30, 2013, 2:41 pm	I have high hopes for some user-created content (the first one I tried seems to have crashed,) but this game actually inspired me to head back to the Awakened Worlds Shadowrun MUD. Old school and hard core.
Necrotech Posted Jul 30, 2013, 5:26 pm	I will check out underrail, seems interesting. Which actually brings me a thought. Underrail has been in development for it seems 3 years and still alpha. Dark Wind, what 7 - 8 years? True, the funding is not quite the same however. Lets put that into perspective.. Shadowrun from concept to launch... 1 year, 4 months. They received 1.8M, however for a game such as this... that's nothing, peanuts. 10% off the top, goes back to Kickstarter. Then you have to pay salaries. Love of the game/art or no, people need to eat, lights have to be turned on, physical assets, editors/script writers, admins, office workers, janitors, and much much more. Then.. onto continued development. Those salaries must continue to get paid. Oh did I mention (due to Micro$haft agreements and legal wrangling ) that Steam *HAD* to be used. And don't forget their percentage, and gods know what THAT is. In grand scheme of things, 1.8M does also nothing. Most commercially available games... 4 - 5M for a "B" title, 25 - 30M for a "AAA" title. Couple that with a development cycle that is probably 2 - 4x longer. While I see the argument of some believing they are only buying a platform to build upon, In the mid to long term you will get a developer and community supported product that keep drawing bigger and brighter things to itself. Short term.. decent game.... long term there is incredible potential. Plus the ability to use on *nix, iOS, droid , and with MacOS on launch. That's alot of resources that have been utilized. Me personally, I am glad I funded it. But I am also investing in something I believe long term, I will get plenty more enjoyment.
Juris Posted Jul 30, 2013, 6:02 pm	Bought it, like it. Has potential. Initial mission too linear, but IF additional content becomes available then it will be worth it. I do hate the inability to save; seems to me they could've just prohibited you from saving in combat. I could see people rage quitting after doing an hour long mission only to die in the last combat. Edit: It looks like they're getting an earful of complaints about the inability to save. I bet they address this in later content.
Necrotech Posted Jul 30, 2013, 8:54 pm	Yeah about the save game thing.. But I wonder, instead of going softer..... You start a run... you or your members (unless Doc Wagon'd) That's it... perma'd... be prepared, becuase you never quite know what is waiting behind that Mr. Johnson's credstick and plastic smile,,,, All in the life of a runner in the shadow. Juris said: Bought it, like it.  Has potential.  Initial mission too linear, but IF additional content becomes available then it will be worth it.  I do hate the inability to save; seems to me they could've just prohibited you from saving in combat.  I could see people rage quitting after doing an hour long mission only to die in the last combat. Edit: It looks like they're getting an earful of complaints about the inability to save.  I bet they address this in later content.
BrassFactory Posted Aug 3, 2013, 4:27 am	Thanks for the tip! I liked the story a lot and didn't mind how linear it was. It was like playing a short story. I certainly hope they come up with more stories, because I'd love to experiment with different characters, but wouldn't want to replay the story over and over. Like Car Wars, I always loved Shadowrun.
*Bastille* Posted Aug 3, 2013, 2:32 pm	yeah the art for this does look really cool. Underrail looks fun, but the art for shadowrun really grabs me. Ive never read or played anything about shadowrun (besides that fp thing that never worked on my old computer. I glided around for 20 minutes in a purple blob not being able to see anything, if thats the same game, not sure) before so it will be all new to me. Next 20 bucks, Im biting the bullet and downloading steam.
*Bastille* Posted Aug 8, 2013, 3:33 pm	This is... interesting
Vroomhoff Posted Aug 8, 2013, 4:04 pm	Maybe I misread the review I was reading yesterday, but PCGAMER online was saying that the Berlin campaign was not going to be free..
*Bastille* Posted Aug 10, 2013, 2:13 pm	well thats a bunch of drek right there getting into the first campaign, combat is a bit buggy
*Bastille* Posted Aug 11, 2013, 12:52 pm	Has anyone tried Unlimited? free roam, they say. I can roam to the bar, read a line of BASIC, push a button, go outside, and push another button. In between some moving buttons pop up, move two squares before I can push them too. Then I go back to the bar and push another button. Sometimes I can chose to walk more between pushing buttons. I can then grind that 400 times. Wiz!
Vroomhoff Posted Aug 20, 2013, 6:23 pm	Just wanted to drop the : I TOLD YOU SO. http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/08/20/shadowrun-returns-berlin-campaign-delayed-into-next-year/ Announcement indicates it will be a full blown expansion, which probably means they'll decide to charge for it..
*Bastille* Posted Aug 21, 2013, 1:20 am	as long as its as good as the original and not as lame as the Unlimited ugc, Im game. Some of the other UGCs are quite good, but stay clear of that Unlimited unless you like mindless clicking a box to see stuff get bigger with no real reason.
Necrotech Posted Aug 21, 2013, 1:00 pm	Eh... I'll have to admit... that is disappointing. At least I don't have to pay for it ! :-P
Vroomhoff Posted Aug 21, 2013, 2:04 pm	I'll have to admit, I'm disappointed with the whole thing. Shadowrun has lots of potential and it's a shame it just wasn't realized when they released it. I also feel kind of burned. I feel like when you join a Kickstarter and you pay up-front, you should be getting the best possible price on the product. Instead, they mark it down 20% on the first day of release on Steam, kicking the Kickstarter investors square in the balls. Same thing happened with Faster Than Light, although at least that game was all it was described to be.
BrassFactory Posted Aug 21, 2013, 2:11 pm	I think it rocks. The art is beautiful and the mechanics are solid. The first story is great and I'm glad to hear they are taking the time to do the second one right. I just hope they have a large enough market to keep them coming. I'm especially looking forward to the iOS version.
Necrotech Posted Aug 21, 2013, 4:18 pm	Heh... Interesting Tidbits Mr. Kluwe the Bouncer *is* Chris Kluwe, Oakland Raiders punter The BTL dealer Stevie J. *is* Steven Jackson, game designer. Both Kickstarter heavy proponents for SRR. Personally I loved hunting down Stevie and feeding him to his own hellhounds. (Yes there is a way... regarding zebra meat..)
Juris Posted Aug 21, 2013, 7:02 pm	Necrotech said: Heh... Mr. Kluwe the Bouncer *is* Chris Kluwe, Oakland Raiders punter The BTL dealer Stevie J. *is* Steven Jackson, game designer. Both Kickstarter heavy proponents for SRR. That's hilarious.  Stevie J is an evil game designer and Kluwe is a hulking bouncer who is actually incredibly wise and cool.
*Bastille* Posted Aug 22, 2013, 1:21 am	BrassFactory said: I think it rocks.  The art is beautiful and the mechanics are solid.  The first story is great and I'm glad to hear they are taking the time to do the second one right.  I just hope they have a large enough market to keep them coming.  I'm especially looking forward to the iOS version. I agree. I loved the initial story. Theres lots you can do with the game. The Unlimited ugc is actually a good example of that (might be nice once it actually gets some missions to do or some semblance of a story). Its effectively a tool to make your own stuff in the SR universe. The builder is fairly easy to use.
*StCrispin* ce.services.mh@gmail.com Posted Dec 1, 2013, 11:38 pm	Now marked down to $8.99 Latest word on expansion is that it ia no longer Berlin. Now renamed Dragonfalls. $15.00 This game is very much a click and read stuff and click some more... It tells you what to do, where to go, who to figjt. No freedom of choice other than what tone of reply you uae when talking to the required click-me stationary people. You cant go buy weapons or gear. You cant get body mods. There is no free play. No open "get a mission from a fixer" like Cyber Knights (which is lousy too). VERY dissapointed. Glad I only paid $8.99 since its so unfinished. Would rather see an MMO version with a vibrant active world other than empty walk-this-way x-com maps So much potential. But poorly executed and rushed to market.
*StCrispin* ce.services.mh@gmail.com Posted Dec 1, 2013, 11:48 pm	That said... I'll probably blow my money on the expansion tio just hoping it is close to what it was advertised to be.
*Rev. V* Posted Dec 2, 2013, 12:40 am	From what I've seen the UGC aspect is really taking off. Lots of folks doing prop and tile sets to expand it. Once I get a laptop, I'm gonna pick it up and have some fun.
*Bastille* Posted Dec 3, 2013, 2:06 pm	Ive not checked that stuff out for a while Might be time to have another look
Grimm Sykes Posted Dec 3, 2013, 3:43 pm	now DRM free and soon available on GoG. Will still accept updates and will run all third party add-ons from Nexus http://www.nexusmods.com/shadowrunreturns/? Harebrained Schemes said: We just want to send out a quick update to share some good news. Thanks to a new agreement we were able to negotiate with our partners at Microsoft, Harebrained Schemes is pleased to announce that we are now able to release fully DRM-free versions of Shadowrun Returns and future expansions such as Berlin. This was posted back on the 12th of last month
*Rev. V* Posted Dec 3, 2013, 7:48 pm	Yep, saw that!
Groovelle Posted Dec 16, 2013, 5:44 pm	I gotta jump in here. This game is Awesome. Note the capital A. It's awesome. People brought up loot and non-open story - I think I can squash that... So, you're broke, all you've got is a slick trenchcoat, a pistol, and a trusty AK-74. You cobble together a crew to go break into a corp that's holding something for a Mr. Johnson. You get contact, medium, and drop a few guards. Back to that AK - it's your life. You clean it every day - even though you don't have to. It's never failed once. Thing is, if this thing failed on you, you'd be dead. Back to the run. So, you downed a few guards, that's nice - but, they had submachine guns. Great maybe I'll just pick one up and use it - if I was braindead. Let's suppose you had enough ammunition there to use it. When's the last time this gun was cleaned. It ever been tinkered with? Is it mechanically sound? Would you trust your life on it? Loot - I guess you could swipe one or two sub machineguns and sell them to other Shadowrunners. I guess. For one, if I owned a megacorporation that just got hit and all of a sudden Tamco Submachineguns were being sported down at the local dive, I'd merc everyone there just to be safe. Open Story - The included campaign was very well written, yet linear. Thing is, this is a campaign-centric game. On Steam there are tons of highly rated campaigns already. I haven't touched the campaign editor but if you wanted to recreate Fallout2 in it, I don't see one reason why it wouldn't be possible. Anyway, the game is well worth checking out for setting and writing alone. The campaign editor is like Neverwinter Nights - with guns. Check it out!