Gameplay
Shadowrun offers the player an open style of gameplay, where one controls the main character, Joshua, in third person perspective during both exploration and combat. Battles are real time, and although of varying difficulty, tend to be relatively short. Initially, the player is restricted to a single area of the game, but shortly gains access to almost all other areas. Access to other areas is accomplished primarily by taxi, although various restrictions and other modes of travel also exist, such as requiring a visa or bypassing the visa check with the use of a helicopter.
As in most role-playing video games, the characters' skills and attributes can be improved. However, Shadowrun uses a unique "Karma" system, which allows full character customization. Karma, roughly equivalent to experience, is earned for successfully completing a run, killing enough enemies, or advancing the game's plot. Karma is then spent on specific stats as determined by the player. To earn money and Karma, the player must participate in shadowruns, illegal jobs provided by pseudo-anonymous contractors who are, within the legal boundaries of their work, referred to simply as Mr. Johnsons. Mr. Johnsons usually are corporate liaisons who want their bosses' dirty work done without compromising them. All Mr. Johnsons work in backroom booths in different clubs and bars through the city. Depending on the Johnson, they will randomly offer different types of jobs such as raiding gang hangouts, search & retrieval, extractions, courier missions, ghoul hunting, or Matrix runs. Each mission will vary on the specifics to meet the requirements and location such as Megacorp headquarters or even the LoneStar's main building. Different Mr. Johnsons have varying levels of difficulty and pay for their jobs, which can be influenced by the player's negotiation statistic. (Note: In this game, the term “Mr. Johnson” is used where the word “fixer” would be used in the tabletop game. In the tabletop game, the player would know the handle of his fixer but the actual client would remain anonymous, hence “Mr. Johnson.” In this video game, the fixers are known both by their handles and “Mr. Johnson,” while also revealing the clients’ names to the player.)
At the start of the game, the player can choose for Joshua to be either a samurai, a decker, or a gator shaman. These only determine Joshua's beginning statistics and equipment; samurai begin focused on combat, deckers on use of the Matrix and electronics, and shamans on the use of magic. Over the course of the game, the player may choose to continue to focus on one particular skill or set of skills or branch out into other areas; however, only characters who choose to start as a shaman (and allied mages) can use magic and getting too many "cyberware" implants can reduce its effectiveness.
To help the player make things easier during hard shadowruns, Joshua can also recruit other characters to help him in his shadowruns. These are called shadowrunners, and can also be customized as Joshua can. The price of hiring a shadowrunner depends on the duration of the contract, as well as the runner's attitude toward the player. Shadowrunners can be hired for a single run or for a lifetime for ten times the price. The player can only directly control one character at a time; other characters (including Joshua) are controlled by the computer's AI. If the player completes the mission successfully and the shadowrunner was signed on for one job, they return to their location and can be hired back cheaper than before. If the squad is wiped out, however, the runner will be upset and charge more for their services.
The primary method of combat in Shadowrun is the use of firearms, although magic plays a significant role in combat in both an offensive and defensive capacity. Shadowrun keeps track of ammunition; if a character runs out they may have to resort to melee. The use of magic, on the other hand, is kept in check by damaging the player for casting high-level spells: the player can mitigate or even eliminate this through the use of items, or by reducing the success chance and/or power of the spell.
A variety of shops exist throughout the game, providing guns and modifications, cyberware, spells and spell upgrades, cyberdecks and utilities, and other miscellaneous items. In addition to the numerous shops in the game, the player can collect a variety of contacts who provide the player with information, services, or (frequently illegal) goods. Through these contacts Joshua late in the game can join either The Mafia or Yakuza. In Seattle, there are three local racial gangs that have well-defined territories: Halloweeners (humans of Redmond Barrens), Eye-Fivers (elves of Penumbra District) and Orks (orcs of Puyallup Barrens). The player can visit each of these gangs, and pay to speak with their leaders (or be asked to do so, depending on his reputation). There, Joshua can ask for protection from the gangs' random attacks, as well as for the phone number of their allegiance bosses. After Joshua's reputation has been highly upgraded, and after he obtains the numbers of these bosses, he can contact the Yakuza and Mafia, and pledge loyalty to either one of them himself, obtaining specific benefits and exclusive items and discounts. On the other hand Lone Star, the government's police force, can not be contacted directly.
Read more about this topic: Shadowrun (Sega Genesis Video Game)