Before 2007's
Shadowrun released and Microsoft subsequently
closed the doors on FASA, the studio was apparently working on
Shadowrun: The Awakening -- a game with a full single-player campaign and unique 3D gameplay engine developed in-house. Some footage (teleport past the break to give it a look-see) managed to make its way online over at
Unseen64, showing off a few environments and some character animations. As Unseen64 would tell it, the story goes: FASA brought a new art director in which, through a series of unknown events, lead to an eventual cancellation in favor of the multiplayer-driven experience that was the 2007 game.
As it stands now, Jordan Weisman managed to
snag the rights to the
Shadowrun IP (among others), so the possibility of seeing this resurface as
an actual thing isn't entirely impossible -- though Weisman is trying to let some of the negativity surrounding the brand
die down a bit before revisiting it.
[Via
StrategyInformer]
{ Nov 4th 2009 at 9:45PM } 
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Cj @ Nov 4th 2009 9:52PM
The 360 game was fine but for multiplayer only it lacked so much. I would love to see this game expanded.
Granger @ Nov 4th 2009 9:54PM
What a sad month for Microsoft IP. Rumored Kameo 2 cancelation and the Shadowrun game that should have been finally surfaces in canceled form.
I'd kill for a good Shadowrun game with a deep single player campaign and role-playing mechanic. I'd also love some new content for the extremely underrated multiplayer mode focused on in the last game...
THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime) @ Nov 4th 2009 10:52PM
@Granger I would kill to make sure no new Kameo was ever released!
FASA blew it here. The game was fun but was too repetitive, and FASA was very arrogant about it. They made some great games like Crimson Skies, but the released an unfinished game. I am sure Microsoft pushed them too.
New Shadow Run RPG would be the bee's knees.
That Burning Sensation @ Nov 5th 2009 1:25AM
whats more sad is that these canned games are for the sake of Natal. Make Nate, fine, but don't screw do an Nintendo and forsake making good 1st party games.
Atleast they won't have a chance to re-desecrate the Shadownrun IP.
MyLittlePwny @ Nov 4th 2009 9:55PM
The multiplayer game did a lot do really cool things. Gliding was not one of them but like the tree of life you could throw, and using swords instead of guns, phasing through walls, summoning monsters, etc.
Granger @ Nov 4th 2009 9:58PM
I agree. A lot of great ideas, they were just shoehorned into an incomplete game. Shame we'll never see those ideas put to use again in a complete package.
eight @ Nov 5th 2009 6:01PM
I was a big fan of the 2007 Shadowrun. It is has some of the best multiplayer I've ever played. It's too bad it got so much negative press because of its price point. If more people reported on how good the game was and not that it cost 60 dollars, (or if Shadowrun only cost 40...) I think more people would have played it and enjoyed it.
Cj @ Nov 4th 2009 9:59PM
What was that song?!
Granger @ Nov 4th 2009 10:07PM
"Blaise Bailey Finnegan III" by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Dr. steve brule @ Nov 5th 2009 1:00AM
i was just about to say, 28 days later the movie!
Dr. steve brule @ Nov 5th 2009 1:01AM
... is now a game!
(fucking enter key)
AvA (ice~) @ Nov 4th 2009 10:01PM
I don't have any negative feelings towards shadownrun! In fact me and my friends had more fun playing that online than almost any other 360 game. Being the Troll and gliding/teleporting was just so dam fun.
a reboot would be welcomed by me and my friends!!
Cal @ Nov 4th 2009 10:22PM
I loved the MP Shadowrun, just couldn't get any of my friends to give it a chance beyond the demo =(
johnnynumber5 @ Nov 4th 2009 10:27PM
Shadowrun was pretty fun on the 360 but it got no support which killed it prematurely.
Alton Brown [ XBL: LordToastington] @ Nov 4th 2009 10:27PM
Shadowrun on the SNES was a masterpiece and, truth be told, I played the pen and paper Shadowrun in high school. A single player Shadowrun reboot would be awesome, provided it mostly stays in the realm of the RPG.
Geist @ Nov 4th 2009 10:38PM
Dunno if you know about it, but I hear the genesis version of Shadowrun was pretty cool. A lot more open-ended, player-driven RPG fun.
Levi @ Nov 4th 2009 11:10PM
I loooooove the SNES Shadowrun. It was so good, that when I heard the 2007 Shadowrun was a multiplayer shooter, my heart sank. I want a current gen SNES style Shadowrun :/
Jim @ Nov 5th 2009 12:10AM
I enjoyed both the genesis and the snes shadowrun games. I'd love to see HD updates to them or a new game that is similar to one of them!
Prof. Von Manifest (aka Dallas McCoy of the Cocaine Imperium) [PSN: Manifest37] @ Nov 5th 2009 12:55AM
Oh man, I found the SNES version at school, which was exciting...
BUT I couldn't do anything!!!!!!!
I think the only thing I ever figured out was how to move!!!!!
A friend of mine says he loved the game.
He was somewhat of a genius so my theory is that only geniuses can play the game.
DeboCA2000 @ Nov 5th 2009 10:14AM
I would die to have the SNES game back, or a reboot of something like that. God the hours i spent on that game. I agree LEVI, my heart sang when I realized they thought that would be shadowrun as a multiplayer shooter. At least let me play the original on the computer!
Slust @ Nov 5th 2009 3:06PM
The SNES version had a more SCUMMy adventure feel to it. Wandering around, searching for clues, shooting pursuing baddies and what have you. A lot of fun just playing through the story.
The Genesis version was way different, but excelled in areas the SNES one didn't. For example, I think I got to the Native American caves and stopped story progression there. But I had to have spent like 30 hours just hacking the Matrix and upgrading my deck to get better at hacking the Matrix.
If the SNES had the optional stuff that the Genesis had, to the degree of awesome the Genesis had, the SNES would definitely be the greatest Shadowrun video game ever made, possibly ever to be made.
...fuck, I want to go home and play Shadowrun now!
TriviumSuffocationTheBlackDahliaMurderLambOfGod @ Nov 4th 2009 10:28PM
Now this looks like it had potential, unlike the other Shadowrun FPS on 360. It was fun, but ultimately wore itself out rather quickly, and it lacked in content. A single player Shadowrun is much more appealing.
Elette @ Nov 4th 2009 10:35PM
I do hope i enjoy the actual game more than the demo this time round.
Preston @ Nov 4th 2009 10:46PM
I loved the gameplay but discovering it was multiplayer only was a huge letdown after I played the demo. An sp shadowrun campaign would have been enough to actually make me buy it.
Nineset @ Nov 4th 2009 10:58PM
I really liked Shadowrun it needed a map pack and that would have made me happy. The potential for a well thought out FPS or mission based single player would have been really cool. Imagine a chase sequence where you had to zap through walls trying to escape with artifacts etc. It could have been fun.
Alex @ Nov 4th 2009 11:04PM
the best thing about the 360 Shadowrun game was being able to get it on ebay for $30 after only a couple of months.
The worst thing was finding out they dumped it (and the supposed-upcoming maps) a few months after I bought it.
I wouldn't trust my money on another Shadowrun game this generation, glad they dumped it.
Levi @ Nov 4th 2009 11:13PM
This is a tragedy. The SNES Shadowrun was awesome, and the pen and paper RPG was the true RPG king. I want a new single player Shadowrun so bad. I honestly wish they would have done a Shadowrun 2 instead of Fallout 3.
elle @ Nov 5th 2009 12:12AM
Knowing Weisman, he'll finish a great game, sell the rights for it to Activision with a horrible contract, Activision will cancel it, and five years from now we'll be doing this all again.
brian @ Nov 5th 2009 12:33AM
in other news, shattered horizons came out today...
sweeet
Filthy Assistant @ Nov 5th 2009 2:46AM
Why didn't they just make this first?
huggy bear55 @ Nov 5th 2009 4:22AM
You're a bit late reporting this. The article from unseen64 was published on the 20 of November 2008. lol.
wwm0nkey @ Nov 5th 2009 5:52AM
This is footage of the Xbox version which was canned for the 360 version. Still happy the series will get a reboot from Smith&Tinker at some point.
protostar @ Nov 5th 2009 8:59AM
The Shadowrun on the 360 is one of my all time favorite games. No one gave it a chance when they heard it wasn't an RPG. People say it killed the franchise and blah blah blah.... It's still HEAVILY played. What game from 2007 can you log on to live and get a game whenever you want?
If you haven't played it, buy it for $10 on eBay and you can thank me later.
Thiago123 @ Nov 5th 2009 8:59AM
Shadowrun on 360 was/is one of the most underrated shooters ever. Almost all reviews heralded it as a game but only scored it low due to the pricepoint and it being shallow on modes/maps, yet it had infinitely deep replayability. Many more hours spent on it as opposed to a game with only a deep single player expereience that might get 15 hours or so.
Jenks @ Nov 5th 2009 10:45AM
It has "infinitely deep replayability" in the same way any multiplayer FPS has, only with less maps. TF2 destroys it in every way, and was released at 1/3 the cost.
Ravnos @ Nov 5th 2009 9:36AM
To everyone saying what a great shooter Shadowrun was, please stop. Seriously, I'm sure Shadowrun for the 360 was an amazing arena shooter, but the problem is it had the Shadowrun name attached. That means it had this huge world with a deep back story as well as a strong fanbase, and instead of using that to make an awesome single player game with a lot of depth, they turned it into just another multiplayer FPS. It was a complete waste of the franchise and that's why people were so disappointed. If that multiplayer had been just a mode within a bigger single player game, it probably would have sold way more and you'd hear far less bitching about the game. But it wasn't. It was nothing more than Unreal Tournament with trolls. If you don't get why Shadowrun fans were disappointed by that, you have to be retarded in some way.
KindaGamey @ Nov 5th 2009 9:55AM
what amazing music. thanks for showing us that.
p.s. i enjoyed Shadowrun 360. it may seem unfinished to some of you, but they tweaked that thing for incredible balance. it had a lot of depth in gameplay and the maps were clever and vertical.
Abi @ Nov 5th 2009 10:53AM
Good find Joystiq. That game in the video looks incredible. Highly realistic, how an environment should look. Source Engine who?
Dawg605 @ Nov 5th 2009 11:32AM
Don't know if anyone posted, but what's the name of the music in the vid? It's awesome...