Shadowrun Hong Kong - Extended Edition

Overview: People give Shadowrun HK a lot of flak for not being as strong as SR: Dragonfall. But to be frank I prefer this more than the other two games in the series. Tying to compare this to Dragonfall is futile as Hong Kong goes a different direction to its previous epic story. Shadowrun HK, gives us a more relatable story then Dragonfall. But I can see where preference would be split in two between these two stories. The Music is just flawless and the ambient sound immerses you in this universe. Pros: There was a lot of quality of life changes in the karma system for instance, the perks you can get by investing points into said skill tree have more of an impact. Like Body for instance. Upgrading it opens up more essence slots for you. So if you play as a Wizard/Decker, you can augment yourself without the fear of increasing your spell cooldowns. Decking needed a massive overhaul. This game had a more immersive hacking system. You had to be stealthy while in the matrix and hack into programs without setting off any alarms. Combat had a much needed quality of life change as well. As the User interface was much more streamlined and easer to access. Your D&D Party and Cons: Now don’t get me wrong, there are some cons in the character development. While I will admit Isobel was kind of weak in the writing department when you compare her to Blitz. Gobblet was on the cusp of being a chill character, but I felt she needed some redeeming qualities. Duncan is your voice of reason, with a huge chip on his shoulder. The best written character was by far Racter, your rigger of the group. His background and dialogue was intriguing and well worth your time doing his storyline. Gaichu as well falls into this category as well. Conclusion: With its flaws you can tell it was on the right path, and in a sense is a flawed masterpiece. Overall I give it a high score, and is worth its price.

heck yeah, more Shadowrun.

For those who have played Dragonfall before this, HK feels like a somewhat simplified version. Same structure, more linearity, some evolution in graphics and decking. There's nothing new but the package remains beautiful and enjoyable.

Not the best story when compare to Dragonfall, but, the closure you get with the DLC really worth it and any time (maybe near 10) i do a playthrough it feel so good to dive in the shadows of the Kong...feeling of bliss... Oh, don't forget the Mods, like the possibility to play "dead man switch" with SR:HK rules...and so much more ^^!

6 hours in game and I have more or less a good idea of what's like. It has all the elements that can make a good (or even great) rpg, but they're not properly mixed and developed. You never feel the environments - cities, buildings, everything - are alive. It's like someone scattered some people in various places and they're there to fill a place. Nothing more. You unlock the possibility to interact to most of characters or places only AFTER you do some things or some missions. Why's that? It's against all logic (and against all past similar rpg. It's like the game doesn't want you to lose time. But... exploring and losing time is one of the best things of RPGs. Like the environment missions are too much guided. It's a brainless following the golden arrow and . You never have the impression that you, player, are effectively doing anything (and, moreover, I've seen no map... It is me or there's no really no map?) Combat: interesting but you never feel you have, as a player, a real control on what's happening. It's thought as a tactical combat, but you never use tactics or strategies to win: only improvise and wish in luck. You can't even deploy your team, when you have the chance to take the enemy by surprise. So... the surprise attack IS NOT a surprise attack. What the hell?!? Companions are good and well characterized, with good backstories, but the interactions are frankly poor if we compare them to great rpgs without open world such as BG 1-2, Dragon Age Origins and Mass Effect. Story is just... meh. Again, is well thought - and the solid and unusual worldbuilding help to capture your attention at the beginning - but it has not the strength to stick you at the screen until 2 a.m. Some inconsistencies in the plot and in the way characters interact doesn't help to immerse you in what's happening. In the end: it has many good things, and for an rpg fan they're enough, but they doesn't fit very well and are miles away from the masterpieces of the genre.