Shadowrun: Dragonfall is my first foray into Shadowrun. And I don't expect much out of a $6 Steam Sale game after having a Xmas gaming drought.
No, I didn' play the Sega version, nor does the setting appeal to me. Street Samurais? Elf Deckers? Trolls toting Heavy Machineguns? Cyberpunk? Sounds like too much ideas.
I kinda like the art. It's clear and the convo gave a clear picture of the person you're interacting with - without going overkill on the bland convo lines (Wastelands 2, fuck you.)
The music was good at setting the mood, sound was average, but I found the cyber-decking chirps and buzz kill my eardrums, I find it mandatory to lower the volume during the decking segments.
Anyways, the combat wasn't as bad as I first thought, aside from minor pixel hunts and movements UI quirks(point your cursor carefully). Once I learned that I can only customize and control myself outside combat, I adapted and started to like the game more. I didn't even think very hard on it, I picked Troll Street Samurai template - cause I'm at a loss when they describe the magic and other combat disciplines.
Challenge dropped around mid-point after I realized I shouldn't spread the points at all on the Troll Samurai. Not even the synergy of STR > Thrown Weapon as a secondary was worth considering. There's no point if you're making a pure fighter - stick to a single weapon and kill freely. Street Samurai template even diluted several points into Ranged and such, which is pointless. And the funniest part of the game was tossing Sniper & Assault Rifle into the same skill. Eiger just destroys everything at all range when drugged and buffed.
As for my troll Samurai:
Kept body at 6. Karma on Strength/Close Combat/Melee Weapon - Katana is all you need to dominate. Slap all the +Hit% Eye & ST+ Arm Cybers to enhance hit rate more. Crippling your Essence is okay. With the amount of consumables you get, you got heal and buffs covered... Jazz & Cram if you want to go all out in a round. Highest point was entering a room full of baddies and just straight up Pommel Striking all of them to sleep.
Go to Sleep, Kids. Mama Eiger will then kiss you good night with her shotgun.
I kinda want to replay but I don't really like repeating the decking segments.
My fucking eyes.
Although some scenario setups are really, really good and showed how creative the dev studio is at putting interesting encounters with simple character system. It puts me in several uncomfortable moments where I am on a time-based objective and the pressure was just enough so that I don't get bored. Its exploration however, is kinda bland - but I guess it's either 'talk to everyone, open every door, hack every terminal' - or you find 49 nuyen in a plasteel container.
Much better game than Wasteland 2 to be sure with minor flaws like no battle formations, or direct control of party outside combat (c'mon Baldur's Gate can do it!)
I was also baffled when the game needs me to talk / interact with mission critical items personally. At least they let the party skill interact with the object during convos. Overall, decent C&C and sub-20 hours of entertainment was well worth the $6 price. I just need to be more patient and not be so overly negative. There's also a decent amount of choices and consequences you can make during missions and some of them affect the endings.
Verdict: recommended.
Author
