I would like to introduce a new feature that I will be adding to this blog called, “Turn Back Time Tuesday”. This will be a segment where I reminisce about a particular game, movie, or whatever I feel like thinking about, and try and make it seem interesting to anyone who might find themselves reading this. As a starting point for this weekly recurring segment, I would like to begin with one of my all-time favorite games, Shadowrun (the 2007 game for Xbox 360 and Windows Vista).

The year 2007…to think that five years have passed by so quickly is something I would rather not do, nor is it something most people would care about, so lets not continue down that road. In 2007 I was a sophomore in high school, a time without any real responsibilities like homework that teachers actually cared about, or the need to maintain an active social life. Life was simple back then; wake up, go to school, play whatever sport I was required to be a part of, and then come home and play video games until the early hours of the morning. If there was one game I could always be seen playing on Xbox Live, it was Shadowrun. Whether by myself, or with my partner in crime, (who at the time went by the gamer tag, Renegade Bubbles, or Bubbles for short) we could play Shadowrun for hours on end without getting tired of it.

Shadowrun was great for two reasons: it allowed for a unique game play experience that combined minor RPG elements with a fast-paced FPS experience, and because it was very easy to be excellent at, as long as you know what you were doing. While the choices of weapons, magic, and tech gear were limited, when combined together they were able to produce many different unique play styles. You could opt for a hit-and-run technique as an Elf with Wired-Reflexes, a Glider, and a Katana (my favorite), or post-up as a tank while playing as a Troll with Tree of Life, Smartlink, and a Mini-Gun. Whether you chose to play as an all-out, guns blazing (or katana swinging) dealer of death, or a more team-friendly oriented healer, Shadowrun offered more than enough distinct game play experiences to keep players happy.

Unfortunately, this was not enough to attract as many players as the game truly needed to survive. Due to an original pricing of $60 for a game that only provided a multiplayer experience, many gamers turned away from purchasing Shadowrun. This sadly led to the game not being able to have the large player base that a multiplayer only game needed to thrive, let alone survive. Eventually game lobbies became full of the same players that you had been been playing against for the past week, which was good in the sense that it allowed for some minor rivalries to form, but bad in the sense that team sizes were often unequal and finding a game in general could also sometimes be a nuisance. In the end however, Shadowrun was still able to provide a gaming experience that I enjoyed very much, and that I have not experienced again to this day.

Perhaps I am alone in thinking this, but if not please feel free to share your thoughts.