Microsoft took a hardcore role-playing game and turned it into an uninspired first person online shooter with no single player component, very few maps, and removed every ounce of its RPG heart. For diehard Shadowrun fans, this game will be nothing short of a dismal failure. Those who come into it without any preconceived notions, don't have the same horrific installation woes that we encountered, may enjoy it for the "gimmick" of Games for Windows LIVE and duking it out with Xbox 360 gamers in the battle for platform supremacy.

Each of the game's four races (Human, Troll, Dwarf or Elf) have their own advantages and disadvantages. Humans are better at tech gadgets, Trolls are slow meat shields that absorb damage but don't have much essence (required for using magic), Elves are faster and can regenerate health but can't take much punishment and dwarves can drain essence from items to compensate for their lack of inherent essence. Magic, which has suddenly reappeared within the high-tech universe, comprises the core of the "storyline" with Lineage forces battling RNA Global for control of it.

Six tutorial levels are essential to understanding how everything works, and are as close to a single player experience as gamers get. Narrated by a "gruff" drill sergeant, each training sequence teaches players how to use conventional weapons (miniguns, sniper rifles, SMGs, shotguns, etc.), technological abilities (gliders, wired reflexes, enhanced vision, etc.) and magic (resurrect, teleport, summon, gust, etc.). All of these items can be bought before each round begins. Multiple weapons (other than grenades for some odd reason) can be carried simultaneously, but only three abilities can be slotted and utilized at any one time. Not a bad game mechanic per say, but it forces players to juggle powers and assign abilities on the fly (via the Quick Casting feature), which can be difficult.

Shadowrun was designed to be played online. It comes with only nine maps (and no map editor) which only support up to sixteen players and the available three game modes don't offer much in the way of variety. Extraction gives both teams the opportunity to capture the flag (magical artifact) and return it to an extraction point. Raid puts Lineage on the offensive while RNA defenders must prevent them from snagging the artifact. Attrition boils down to last man standing. However, wiping out an entire team in the other two modes also wins the round, so it adds little to the mix. Furthermore, the three Attrition maps are downsized versions of the larger Extraction and Raid maps that give the shady feeling of being ripped off.

Graphics for this flagship game are hit and miss. Environments, particle effects, textures, and explosions look gorgeous, but player animations look dreadful. Aside from being stiff and jerky, no actual animation occurs when players climb ladders, get blown back or knocked off a roof -- despite the presence of a Havok physics logo at the start of the game. They all use the same locked-into-one-position-with-knee-raised stance (imitating a poor Captain Morgan) that looks incredibly cheesy. While basic character models are well done, every character still looks exactly the same.