Let's Play Shadowrun (Genesis) Part 2: WELCOME TO SEATTLE, THE CONCRETE JUNGLE
Hey, an intro story that makes more sense than SNES Shadowrun right out of the gate!
And it's always a good story when you start out with people being shot. Always.
Wow, the very definition of "a run gone wrong". And it made national news, no less? That's an impressive feat; especially knowing how jaded the Shadowrunning future of 2058 is.
But hey, it beats starting out on a morgue slab yourself feeling like your brains have been fried after you were gunned down in the street... Right?
The Stoker's Coffin Motel, eh? A nice Bram Stoker reference there, intentional or not.
Sounds like a reputable place where you are sure to learn lots about your brother, Michael.
"I can't make the jump myself... You'll have to toss me!"
What the hell, 250 nuyen for what is probably nothing more than a shoe box that I can only assume contains things like a half used roll of toilet paper? Gah, nice to see everybody in the future is out to make a quick buck, no matter at whose expense.
I'm not sure I trust an establishment with a name like the "Jump House". That's quite possibly a step down from "Stoker's Coffin".
Well apparently, we are stuck in this here corner of the world called the Redmond Barrens... So, I guess we ought to go meet this Gunderson fellow and see what he has to tell us.
And hey, who couldn't use some extra nuyen?
Well... The place seems rather empty. Except for this guy back in the corner booth, here.
Yeah, I have a question first... What's wrong with your face?
Okay, needless to say, I am a little new to this whole shadowrunner business... As well as the whole shadowrun to Mr. Johnson relationship.
But, that being said... I'll take the case!
Biiiiiiiiiiiiird man.
Well, hopefully the other runs aren't too difficult, but these package courier runs seem pretty easy. As long as no bad guys attack you, which keeps you from being able to enter buildings until they are incapacitated, it is fairly stress free. And you net 1 karma for each run!
Ah yes, a courier run for Ares, your local weapons emporium. These guys rock -- we should make it a point to come back here when we have some creds.
The abandoned nuclear waste containers are a nice touch for buildings. You can tell this is the dregs of humanity area. In fact, I half expected to run into those biological freaks from the Rust Stilletos gang hanging around this nuclear waste dump.
And apparently Master Chief is the doorman for Shiawase and Hollywood Correctional. Nice to see that the guards are pretty much heavily armored loud mouths with itchy trigger fingers.
That aside, we got paid for our run, and gained a karma. Kickass!
I'm sorry, but I refuse to take any gang called "The Halloweeners" seriously. Especially when they wear the matching make-up. This is the sort of gag that only works on Halloween.
Remind me to take any shadowrun that involves giving these punks an eviction and relocation notice.
Be aware of the fact that you will be randomly attacked on the street. By anywhere from one, up to three people. No more peephole fighters like before; these assholes will chase you around -- and if they're still around, you can't duck into (or get out of) a building to save yourself.
Oh, and your Beretta 101T pistol? It is, quite literally, a worthless piece of shit. Odds are trying to make heavy use of it will send you to an early grave (or chop shop, as the case may be).
This door feels very... Tetris-ish...
Ah, the hospitality of the future.
Nuyen given out with a gun pointed at your face.
Check out your inventory, there's an abundance of items and options and stuff that could drive you nuts. Definitely a lot more variable and in depth than SNES Shadowrun, just with less items and keywords, so it would seem. We'll come back to the Pocket Secretary later.
These assholes just follow you out of nowhere. Just make sure to keep buying those universal gun clips. You can hold a max of 20 and they work for any gun you own and Ares here in the Barrens sells them the cheapest for 25 nuyen a pop. So don't leave home without them.
Next to The Jump House where you meet Mr. Grunderson (aka. Mr. Johnson), is The Jackal's Lantern... And apparently there's a creepy old dude in the corner and a "rat totem" shaman who will help you out for the right price. But really, Ricky is a wannabe Shadowrunner. In my mind, Ricky is pretty much on an equal level of usefulness with Jetboy (except an even more lackluster source of information).
If anything, hire him, trade all his stuff to Joshua, and then sell it all for your own profit and dismiss him or let him fight until he quits or dies. He's got a pretty sweet firebolt spell, at least. But how chumps like this can survive in the shadows is beyond me.
Fear the wall mounted computer terminal; a sign of the future.
Let's take a look at the surrounding area, shall we?
There's quite a few locations here that we can choose from, so it would seem. Downtown Seattle is a good call, but it scares me that Renraku's Arcology is here. Our timeline puts us just a year off of the Arcology Shutdown, I do believe.
So enjoy it while it lasts, Renraku...
The wildness is only important to us later, really. We'll return to it when we can actually get to any of these places, which isn't until we get some money and level up. Time invested in making your character powerful now is time well spent, IMO.
Fear the pocket secretary. It keeps notes on your progress to finding out about your brother Michael, it keeps a log of your current run and what you need to do, as well as keeping tabs on all the Mr. Johnsons and Shadowrunners you've met. Plus, there's a section for contacts. But you'll have to buy some of them later.
See how this works? Pretty sweet, eh? Well, guess we'll go escort this loser.
Though the irony of negotiating a price to be the same price you started at is quite nice.
Matt Damon is employed.
Or is it Matt Dillon?
Eh, close enough.
"Aye, we have but one room left here in these here Mines of Moria..."
On a serious note, I do enjoy the heavy use of actual Shadowrun slang by the game. And yes, a cup of soycaf would be wiz right now, chummer. So buzz turbo and get me some, breeder. So ka?
So this is the magical karma screen (a little more involved than the SNES version, even without the ability to level up magic spells from this menu). Everything in the top half is 1 karma for the upgrade (so to go from 4 body to 5 body would be 5 karma), but on the bottom it is a two fold (so going from 4 negotiation to 5 negotiation would be 10 karma). Definitely bump up your negotiation, quickness, intelligence, and body at this point. It will help you survive and win combat, as well as increase the amount of money you will get for doing shadowruns.