Shadowrun Online is a new MMORPG developed by Cliff Hanger Productions. Cliff Hanger Productions is the team behind Jagged Alliance Online game. After a successfully Kickstarted campaign, Shadowrun Online was originally slated to come out in 2013 but issues with the engine delayed the game release. Just recently Shadowrun Online popped up on Steam as an Early Access title and will be available for purchase on March 31st.
For the previously uninitiated Shadowrun is tabletop RPG set in an alternate future, where cybernetic technology and occult magic exist side by side. Megacorporations rule the world and control government leaders as if they were simple puppets. In this oppressive world there are few skilled people who live life by their own rules. These people are known as Shadow Runners. Shadowrun effectively brings Tolkien-style meta-human mythology into a cyberpunk alternate reality, bringing a fresh new game world full of corporate conspiracy and dark intrigue.
Cliff Hanger has promised to stay true the PnP rules, so the classless character creation system from the original tabletop game will be alive and well. Players will be able to create every archetype they can imagine: magic wielding orcs, elven hackers, gun-toting dwarves, and human street samurai will populate the servers at release time, in true Shadowrun fashion.
The game’s combat system will feature a variety of attacks with different damage types. You can destroy or damage the enemies armor with your attacks or even bypass it all together if you hit a weak or unprotected area of the body. The battlefields in the game will be interactive and destructible, allowing players to blow up enemies or blow holes in structures for alternate entry or escape routes. Outside of Combat characters will do “leg work,” these are RP based activities that involve information gathering, bribery, hacking, and other activities that will influence the mission at hand. Your missions will be multifaceted in Shadowrun Online, with multiple goals and multiple ways to meet those goals. Will you bribe the guard to acquire the access code, hack into a security terminal, or simply blow a man-sized hole in the wall to gain entry? In Shadowrun Online, the choice is yours.
The storyline for the Early Access campaign will act as a prequel to the release title’s story. The early access releases on March 31st and will include the core elements of gameplay: the turn based combat system and limited player versus player combat. After the Early Access release, players can expect updates every 4 to 6 weeks until the game is complete.
In Shadowrun, as well as all MMO-style games, community is just as important as the game itself. The Shadowrun I.P. has a strong following and has spawned many successful titles on SNES, Sega Genesis, Xbox and most recently Shadowrun Returns on PC. Will Cliff Hanger be able to live up to the legacy of Shadowrun? I certainly hope so. I will be keeping you guys updated on this game as it develops.
