As we have known for some time now, the next Unreal Tournament game on PS3 will support keyboard and mouse. Shadowrun is looking to take this relationship a little further, by facilitating the ultimate competition between the keyboard/mouse setup and the console controller. When Shadowrun is released later this year for the Xbox 360 and PC, players will be able to take part in online matches across both platforms. We were able to see such a demonstration at Microsoft’s event last week, where we also saw the unveiling of the Xbox 360 Elite.
Freaks and geeks ahoy!
As mentioned above, Shadowrun is a first-person shooter, but one with a couple of twists. Apart from the cross-platform multiplayer, the game itself is set in a futuristic context, some 30 years from now, and the events in particular are meant to shape the future events of the Shadowrun universe. Often the franchise has had the tag "cyberpunk" attached to it. Given this, not only will you be using conventional weaponry, but (depending on the race) you’ll be able to beef up your player with different kinds of technology and magical abilities. Quite a nifty idea on its own.
The game will be multiplayer-only, and follows the vein of a title such as Counter-Strike. That is, at the beginning of each round, you can purchase the magic and tech upgrades to enhance your character. Magic includes spells such as teleportation (controversially impossible in the original franchise setting) and healing, while tech upgrades include enhanced vision (see through walls) and wired reflexes (move around faster). While we didn’t get a chance to fully explore these aspects, we did get to see how the core game works.
Both the PC and Xbox 360 versions were sitting side by side. Possibly to give a level playing field, both were fitted with the 360 controller. Having being exposed to the dual analogue set-up for many years now, it seems that developers are quite adept at making this work quite proficiently. While it would have been good at the time to see the keyboard and mouse next to the pad, the pad itself worked quite well. As for the connection, for the most part it played flawlessly.
Dude relax, they haven't mangled the franchise that bad...
In terms of the graphics, the game looks like it’s still in the works, but it's generally impressive. The one level that we played through was nicely detailed and textured, but it felt like it was structured just like any other previous level in any other shooter. The PC version probably had a slight edge on the 360 incarnation, but some of this would have had to be put down to the fact that it ran off a massive rig and on a slightly smaller and sharper monitor.
As has been previously touted, Shadowrun is looking to be the flagship title for Windows Live, and for connectivity between the Xbox 360 and home PC. From what we have seen of the game so far, this relationship seems to be on track, but we've yet to see who really does rule the roost. Is it the keyboard and mouse set-up, or have the controllers come much further than past efforts and can accurately compete in terms of precision? There’s also the issue of whether a console game can compete with a PC game in terms of graphics. We look forward to getting the answers to these questions once the game is released later this year.
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