e may never know why Microsoft thought it would be a good idea to use a classic RPG license as a tool to promote cross-platform deathmatches between Xbox 360s and PCs. When you are resurrecting one of the many franchises resting in the video game graveyard, it might be smart to go for one that’s at least in the action genre. No, Shadowrun really doesn’t have anything to do with the old games, but if you can get past that (or if you never cared in the first place), the core multiplayer gameplay brings a few interesting appetizers to the table. Too bad it’s not enough to fill you up.

The different races have various talents, with some kind of advantage and weakness present across the board. The speedy Elves take damage quickly, while trolls absorb a lot of punishment but move slowly. Dwarves are resistant to headshots, but take a while to regenerate “essence,” more commonly known as mana. In comparison, human abilities are relatively middle of the road. Most of the matches I participated in contained a decent mix of races, but at times seemed skewed towards humans and elves. The game’s focus on capture the flag means that speed is key, and these two faster races will always have that slight advantage – hence, the balance among races is a little off.

Weapons include all of the old standards like machine guns, pistols, sniper rifles, and grenades. It’s in the rock-paper-scissors dynamic of magic and tech skills that Shadowrun stands out. Blue crystals can be deployed to protect the artifact/flag, while magic-draining grenades will dispose of them quickly. A cloaking device makes players temporarily invulnerable to attacks unless a rival uses gust, a Force push-like maneuver. These are just a few of the many clever counters present in Shadowrun. The tricky thing is that you can only equip three of the twelve powers. Players have to choose just how much they want to invest in healing and resurrection, offensive and defensive skills, or mobility (teleportation and gliding). Experimenting with these powers to find the best combination for specific maps and situations is where the game shines.

Unfortunately, once players get rolling in this regard there really isn’t much else to look forward to. The nine maps available aren’t nearly enough, the lack of rankings and leaderboards provide no incentive to hone your skills to perfection, and the extremely meager offline options drag everything down. I would have loved to try out the game’s mechanics in a full-blown single-player campaign with varying objectives for all of the different races. As it stands now, Shadowrun is simply a fraction of a game hidden behind the price of a full one.