Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown

 PC
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 54 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 54
  3. Negative: 12 out of 54

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  1. orog218
    May 15, 2015
    3
    I backed SRC for 1000 on Kickstarter when what they planned was a very different game. When they were in alpha the game was so brutal it was unplayable for me for several months of the over 2 years of development time for this game. Eventually they came out with a beta where it seemed they were trying to keep their promises of fun character creation and the ability to not be locked intoI backed SRC for 1000 on Kickstarter when what they planned was a very different game. When they were in alpha the game was so brutal it was unplayable for me for several months of the over 2 years of development time for this game. Eventually they came out with a beta where it seemed they were trying to keep their promises of fun character creation and the ability to not be locked into choices to be able to play anyway you wanted and experiment with everything. A month before release they removed it because reasons. Its not that they didn't have a winning formula they just did not like letting you play the game the way you wanted to. Then their was the lag that required server restarts all the time. They haven't fixed that completely but ti is much better, With the last update they decided to for the most part remove your ability to gain Karma because players who beat the game could not play the game without playing coop and still cant, which increased coop play and the ability to find groups, but without real Karma the gain the Devs kicked the player base in the balls once to often. Without reward their Iis no reason to play coop anymore to grind 1-3 karma for skills that keep costing more and currently cap at 26 Karma ie tier 10 which only works if you have that weapon equipped if its a passive ability. They've padded the game to such extent that the grind is too brutal again. These devs obviously do not know what makes a successful shadowrun game fun for players. They know they can do anything they want they have my money and have reneged on their promises which you can see on kickstarter , unfortunately their actions are ruining the game they created and killing the online component which is necessary for the mid to high level missions, npcs wont cut it in high level solo play.... So until they release more storyline content their is no reason to play this game anymore. You just cant trust their decision making ability.… Expand
  2. Lazerus101
    May 31, 2015
    4
    Backed this game on kickstarter as a fan of Shadowrun. The game that was originally promised is a far cry from what now exists. The dev team had some serious hiccups along the way and the game has been the victim.

    From the start you create your character. Let me say the diversity on offer is pretty weak. Those familiar with the setting will recognise the metatypes on offer but they make    Backed this game on kickstarter as a fan of Shadowrun. The game that was originally promised is a far cry from what now exists. The dev team had some serious hiccups along the way and the game has been the victim.

    From the start you create your character. Let me say the diversity on offer is pretty weak. Those familiar with the setting will recognise the metatypes on offer but they make very little difference to your character barring a few stat ups and downs. What Cliffhanger have created rather than a vibrant array of characters is a "Choose your own brown simulator" all classes feel the same whether you are slinging spells or firing a gun it all feels the same.
    For experienced tabletop Shadowrun players those of you that love the build up to a job, the meat and potatoes of what makes the universe immersive and interesting, you will be sorely disappointed. There is nothing in the way of legwork, no stealth options, no casing. You go in; shoot, punch or blast anyone that gets in your way and that's about it.
    Voice acting is emotionless and inconsistent. Character advancement is a boring affair with linear trees and little variety.

    The mission variety is lacklustre and you will be grinding the same missions over and over to get the required XP to level up your (as previous mentioned, boring) skill trees.

    Server problems and lag have been an issue from the start.

    You may see a lot of positive reviews crop up, let it be known that Cliffhanger has filed for bankruptcy and their team has put out a request to fanboys to "Go out and recruit anyone you can to support us"

    I am of the personal belief that there are a lot of people here defending mediocrity simply because they have dropped a not insignificant amount of money on it and hate the idea that they may have bought a lemon.

    Suffice to say chummers, give this one a wide berth. If you haven't bought Shadowrun Returns, or Dragonfall yet I highly recommend you try them.    … Expand
  3. Battleunit
    May 9, 2015
    0
    (1) This is not a Shadowrun MMO. It is a turn based linear combat game with a Shadowrun skin.
    (2) The game is linear - there is no way off the treadmill, and the treadmill can be exciting but it can also be puzzling.
    (3) Characters are soft shooters, no reason to love you character. (4) Lag and login problems make the game unplayable at many cases. Lag is not solved except on    (1) This is not a Shadowrun MMO. It is a turn based linear combat game with a Shadowrun skin.
    (2) The game is linear - there is no way off the treadmill, and the treadmill can be exciting but it can also be puzzling.
    (3) Characters are soft shooters, no reason to love you character.
    (4) Lag and login problems make the game unplayable at many cases.

    Lag is not solved except on Developer's thread. Deserves a 4, I have to give it a 0 to counteract 10s given without logical merit.    … Expand
  4. Checksum
    May 15, 2015
    2
    First off, a buggy release with a developer team working very hard and professionally to fix things. Second, do not expect a great game experience, here is why:

    You will get a limited character skill set, a limited story line that is completely linear (and woe to you if one proves impossible to complete, because you are done), and a world experience that consists of five or six vendors    First off, a buggy release with a developer team working very hard and professionally to fix things. Second, do not expect a great game experience, here is why:

    You will get a limited character skill set, a limited story line that is completely linear (and woe to you if one proves impossible to complete, because you are done), and a world experience that consists of five or six vendors and four quest givers.

    The online feature allows you to group but since it is unlikely your group members will be able to stay logged on that long, it is more a frustration than a useful feature.

    The entire game reminds one of a noob area rather than a finished game. You get near the end (unless you have one of two builds you will not complete the series) and you think - this is it, I can now explore the world. Only there is no rest of the world. The one thing that keeps you away from this is that the final adventure is impossible - again unless you have one of two builds.

    Crashed mid game make you start to have many scenarios.

    The universe wants a Shadowrun MMO, but this is not it. It is a turn based replay of the old Microsoft Shadowrun team shooter.

    Ignore the comments by others about lag and unreliability, except for crashes that knock your modem off line and take an hour to recover from, you won;t have lag and the game started reliable, and will be again. The issue is the developers did not have the resources to make a compelling story or an interactive world. In an age of sandboxes, handing someone two grains of sand for the price of Ipanema beach and then declaring that is the nature of beta is a poor market strategy.    … Expand
  5. TheJayKay
    May 2, 2015
    3
    The game has some great potential but I can't give it a positive score with how bad the lag is right now. It is literally worse than anything I've ever played in terms of lag.
  6. Arkterus
    May 1, 2015
    0
    Great setting, **** game. Lag makes it unplayable. Less overall character development choices than in Returns/Dragonfall. Voice over work is dreadful. Did I mention the lag? Camera during attacks likes to give you a face full of a random wall. Hired help can get killed during mission but can be hired next mission. Uninspired cover system. Can't even tell if a character has cover orGreat setting, **** game. Lag makes it unplayable. Less overall character development choices than in Returns/Dragonfall. Voice over work is dreadful. Did I mention the lag? Camera during attacks likes to give you a face full of a random wall. Hired help can get killed during mission but can be hired next mission. Uninspired cover system. Can't even tell if a character has cover or not unless I move them away from one spot, then mouse over the vacated spot to see the shield. Turbo-clicking to skip horri-bad dialogue causes you to move. Also, lag.

    No this isn't a beta, either. Good job, guys.    … Expand
  7. Longrod
    May 15, 2015
    0
    Unfinished, unpolished. A true beta and stress test were never done. They pushed this game to meat deadlines and empty budget with hopes that enough people would buy on the name alone to hopefully clean it up. To me that is not how sales and the seller/buyer relationship is supposed to be.

    Like many online games this one has a tremendous amount of bugs and lag. Again a beta could have    Unfinished, unpolished. A true beta and stress test were never done. They pushed this game to meat deadlines and empty budget with hopes that enough people would buy on the name alone to hopefully clean it up. To me that is not how sales and the seller/buyer relationship is supposed to be.

    Like many online games this one has a tremendous amount of bugs and lag. Again a beta could have helped smooth the launch.

    Lets assume you white knights have come to expect that. Accepting unpolished turds on release day. Ok.

    The game is very simplistic and limits are being put on classes because the devs cannot work around the abilities. For balance issues some classes get to be 1/2 what they are supposed to be depending on a group setup.

    The chat and UI are abyssmal.

    There is a certain amount of simplistic fun to the game. However, it should be a $3.99 app on tablets and phones. If I remember correctly the devs even stated they were designing it to be multiplatform and at the time many players were indeed upset as they knew without a doubt that would indeed dummy it down. Well the game is dummied and would easily be played on a tablet.

    In no world should this game be $40+. Such a price grab it is scary. $14.99 basic and $19.99 is more realistic for this release and even that is being most favourable. TO be honest, after playing this, if I could change things I would do without it at all. I am pretty sure they would have to pay me $12 an hour to play it and beta it for them as it is.

    These rating of 8+ REALLY are fanbois of the Shadowrun franchise and white knights hoping to take your money and advance this drek because the fell for it already.

    I can fault them for that in a way. As Shadowrun is AWESOME! It is hard for anything with Shadowrun in its name to be bad. But these guys did it. In that, they succeeded!    … Expand
  8. Telamoont
    Oct 25, 2015
    4
    The game actually still in the body building phase. The developers are adding stuff and even against all odds they are making it happen.
    The game is not any true to Shadowrun PnP, let's be honest, its very generic.
    The good is, at least the developers hear the community and looks like they pretend to convert the current game into a more true to 5th edition pnp product. We hope so.
  9. Ringlerum
    May 28, 2016
    0
    GAME SUCKS. Turned based, Really? What where they thinking. Who approved some idiots idea to do this? With skill tree to instead of stats? OMG enough with the retarded people creating games. This is why STEAM owns it now, they always buy up FAILED GAMES. They took Shadowrun and crapped all over it.
  10. Phelan
    Jun 27, 2017
    2
    Imagine if someone made a new Patrician game. You've got a "base" screen where you can buy various ships, equip them with armaments, buy cargo - and then click on a "Start" button, which gets you into the battle with some pirates, and depending on how many of your ships and how much cargo survives that battle, you'll have more money to buy some new ships and get better equipment and cargoImagine if someone made a new Patrician game. You've got a "base" screen where you can buy various ships, equip them with armaments, buy cargo - and then click on a "Start" button, which gets you into the battle with some pirates, and depending on how many of your ships and how much cargo survives that battle, you'll have more money to buy some new ships and get better equipment and cargo for them.

    Sure, it could be a fun little tactical game, but what would it actually have to do with the Patrician series? Where would the setting up of trade routes be, the politics, the complex economy - the actual depth of the game that people have come to expect?
    It's the same with SR Chronicles. This game format is okay - not good, but okay - for Jagged Alliance, but it's deeply disappointing for Shadowrun.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

85
#85 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
61

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 21
  3. Negative: 2 out of 21
  1. GameCritics
    Nov 6, 2015
    50
    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.
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  2. PLAY! Zine
    Jun 29, 2015
    75
    Might not offer something particularly new and exciting to the genre, but fans of Shadowrun universe will find enough here to enjoy. It’s a good tactical turn-based game, especially if you play together with other players.
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  3. games(TM)
    Jun 27, 2015
    40
    Boasts little to enthral any but the most diehard of fans. [Issue#162, p.100]
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