There's a New Shadowrun Game on the Block.

As I logged into Steam yesterday with the intent of causing more mayhem in Grand Theft Auto V, my eye was instead drawn to the blazing light of an advertisement on the store page.  The ad was for a new Shadowrun game called Shadowrun Chronicles:  Boston Lockdown.  Immediately, I was excited but was also quite skeptical.  How come I hadn't heard of this game before?  I had been keeping close tabs on the progress of Shadowrun:  Hong Kong as I was a backer but hadn't heard a peep about another game.

I decided to check out the store page and realized a few things.  Firstly, it is a legitimate Shadowrun game that looks to be based in the cyberpunk world that is central to the series.  Secondly, it appears to follow the turn-based, grid-style of combat from the other games. Thirdly, it is developed by Cliffhanger Productions and not Harebrained Schemes who developed Shadowun Returns and Shadowrun:  Dragonfall.  And fourthly, it is in early access and is not the full version of the game.

I scanned through the user reviews and found that most of them were favorable.  Fans of the Shadowrun series were excited because it was another Shadowrun game.  The few negative reviews were from users who had initially backed the game with the hope that it would be turned into some kind of Shadowrun MMO.  This new game is definitely not an MMO, but does seem to have some co-operative multiplayer.

The price tag for this game seems a little steep--right now it's on sale for $29.99 but it is regularly priced at $39.99.  That's a hefty price tag! I backed Shadowrun:  Hong Kong on Kickstarter and will get a full version of that game for $15.  I think I paid around $30 (or maybe less because of a big sale) for both Shadowrun Returns and Shadowrun:  Dragonfall.  Sure, Returns was kind of short, but Dragonfall had a good chunk of playtime.

For now I'm waiting to see how this new game comes along.  I will probably wait until it comes out of early access and even then for a sale.  I love anything Shadowrun, but don't want to buy a dud.

Here's a link to a Kotaku story about the new game:  "Choose your Shadowrun Games Wisely"
And here's a link to the new game on the Steam store page:  Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown