Shadowrun

Shadowrun - (Xbox 360)
Developer: FASA Interactive
Format: Xbox 360
Genre: Action

The classic shooter format gets a hell of a power-up!

If the last time you got your hands on a sniper's rifle was Quake Arena, than welcome back to the retina-burn that is multiplayer arena deathmatches. Shadowrun ports its main characters and traits from the RPG series into shooter nirvana. Don't tut, hardcore RPG fans; this is actually very good indeed. Stunningly fast, explosive fun combined with inventive arenas and some nifty combos of hand-to-hand scrapping, long distance headshots and sneaky magic capabilities make it stand out. And did we mention it's one of the first games to work with the Live Anywhere Xbox function, allowing you to play and shout over the ether with PC owners wired up to the Vista operating system. PC and consoles fighting alongside each other - who'd have ever thought it!

Four races, four difficulty levels and a wealth of tech and magic options pit you into three multiplayer scenarios involving the tried and tested capture the flag and deathmatch kind of set-ups. Choose a troll - slow and sluggish but able to withstand direct attacks and carry any weapon with no speed reduction. Opt for the dwarf - able to take a direct headshot but slow moving. Or stick with what you know and become a Human, all round and balanced but with the requisite lust for blood needed to achieve victories in the Shadowrun matches.

Along with this (and the option to be an elf with more magic essence-based abilities) you'll have a glider option from the tech RNA corporation side and the regenerating tree of life from the magic of the Lineage side. Along with teleportation and a nifty (and unnerving) minion-summoning spell, there's also the stealthy and sneaky backstabbing move that let's your opponent 'bleed out' - slow and painful but very rewarding from the attacker's angle.

Levels are multiplatform and are modeled on the usual variety: claustrophobic building interior, high-tech facility and rambling stone archaeological site in look and feel. With the glider move thrown in and with all of the above, Shadowrun gives the shooter genre a fresh dash for addiction. Highly recommended.