Post by Tig on Sept 26, 2016 10:08:53 GMT -5
I just finished the main campaign on this and I don't see what everyone is enjoying. This is a simple short story found in the back of a sci-fi magazine that wants badly to be a role playing game. The entire story is on rails; nothing you do influences anything except maybe pick up a loot item or combat option along the way. The "loot" itself is a medic pack or grenade. No combat enhancers, no cool clothes, no fun +5 underpants of incontinence protection or anything like that. I realize this is a TBS tactical combat game but if you're going to look and feel like an RPG, you may want to have better RPG elements or divorce your game from it altogether. The combat is a sterile turn-based fare. The "hacker" aspect runs on the same combat system as the magic powers, just with the graphics suddenly turning to wire frame as you navigate "the matrix" (seriously?). Even then, hackers are rarely needed yet they seem like they should be a primary function in this cyberpunk game. There's a skill leveling system that lets you focus on all or one combat aspect but what you lack in your character you can make up for by hiring mercs to help you out. I went straight ballistic the whole way through and can't think of any aspect of the game I may have missed thanks to hirelings. There are no real side missions except for one run-n-gun to pick up extra cash, and no true dialogue trees you'll miss out on except maybe at the end to pick up one extra sentence. Even the main story is sorely lacking. It captured a good noire feel and tried to copy Blade Runner but the anti-climax sort of killed anything it was trying to build. The game itself is beautiful with an oil painting feel but it's quickly dismissed when I realized there are a multitude of repeated textures and items. I'm glad I picked this up on sale because I would have been disappointed if I paid more than a few dollars for it. I hope Harebrained Schemes continues to develop story games as they certainly have a knack for it. I appreciate the fan base they have and I'm thrilled to see this type of game becoming popular again, but I just can't recommend Shadowrun Returns.