Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown

An interesting take on what could be a Shadowrun MMORPG, but with the lack of endgame content and PVP the game loses much of its appeal.

Shadowrun Chronicles features 4 players co-op turn based combat and that's something. Unfortunately the game feels incomplete and it's actually flawed by huge latency problems.

Shadow run is a campy romp that doesn't take itself too seriously. Its fun to play through, but only mimics (and doesn't quite stack up to) the exceedingly excellent XCOM. There is better weapon class variety, character customization, and a few other points where it might exceed its muse, but it measures up just a shade below on most other occasions.

Current lag issues notwithstanding, I would recommend Shadowrun Chronicles to anyone who enjoys the Shadowrun universe and enjoys turn-based strategy games. If you liked Shadowrun Returns, you'll probably also enjoy Chronicles, although you won't find the same depth of story just yet. The developers at Cliffhanger promise much more story that will be molded by the players as time goes on.

If you're a dedicated fan of the Shadowrun setting and enjoy your games a little on the complex side, you will be disappointed in the lack of depth in Shadowrun Chronicles. If, however, you enjoy turn-based tactical action and cooperative multiplayer, you might have a blast with the game.

I'm sure Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown will eventually get itself together and grow with new features and content. Hopefully, it can overcome its server problems before they drive away its player community. Personally, I want to stay, but this town is making it really hard to.

Those who like Shadowrun or turn-based RPGs should still give Boston Lockdown a look, but anybody else need not apply.

If you don't expect too much and just take the game for what it is, you can have a lot of tun with it.

If you haven't played a game in the series since the SNES however, Boston Lockdown is a decent starting point, and a perfect way to re-acclimate yourself to the genre with friends. If you prefer to fly solo, just go with Shadowrun Returns instead.

Turn based strategy on a Sci-fi universe that manages to entertain if playing online. Otherwise, this game is another missed opportunity for the Shadowun Universe.

Boston Lockdown has a serviceable story, but its lack of branching dialogue options and its heavy emphasis on combat render it a less satisfying experience compared to its recent Shadowrun peers.

Shadowrun Chronicles Boston Lockdown is an online tactical RPG marred with quite many issues. Still its gameplay idea is solid and the multiplayer mode could be quite a joyous experience. Given enough time to devs to solve its issues it could reach unexpected heights.

In the end, the missions just aren't enough to really make this stand out too strongly.

At only $32.99, I’d say Boston Lockdown is worth the money if the lag is fixed but leaves much to be desired for any die-hard fans of the tabletop game.

Lockdown isn’t a bad game, it’s just one that already feels either dated, or incomplete.

A co-op version of XCOM in the Shadowrun universe sounds a great idea, but this lacks the depth to make the best of the concept.

If the online multiplayer had modern social features and an engaging story worthy of the IP, Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown would be as essential as other recent entries in the series. Unfortunately, the fundamental issues leave it hard to recommend. In lieu, I'd suggest replaying Shadowrun Returns and Dragonfall instead.

Even without the frequent sever issues, Shadowrun Chronicles : Boston Lockdown would be hard to recommended to anyone but the most rabid fans of the setting.

Boasts little to enthral any but the most diehard of fans. [Issue#162, p.100]