The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Renraku Arcology: Shutdown is the first release for FASA's Shadowrun 3rd edition, and it is a success.

Without trying to reveal too much, basically the premise is this: Renraku corporation crown jewel, the SCIRE arcology, has taken taken over by a artifical intelligence. The entire building is under its control, except for the Resistance, a group of citizens that managed to escape the AI's wrath.

The book does an excellent job of explaining the layout of the arcology, what has happened to it, and what did it. Its a horrific setting, quite similiar to 1994's Bug City sorcebook. With a floor-by-floor description of the situation and a more imaginative setting, Shutdown is a superior book, despite its smaller size.

I have two major complaints with the book, however. First, magic (one half of Shadowrun's unique approach - the blending of magic and technology) is treated as if it were superfluous. I feel like this book, with few adjustments, could go into any future roleplaying game world. Considering the importance FASA has placed on the uniqueness of its setting in the past, it seems like a wasted opportunity. This could have been (and still can, if you make a few creative adjustments) a perfect "magic versus technology" campaign.

My second complaint is that while the book is labeled as a "Shadowrun Adventure," it has only about one page of short adventure ideas. It would have been useful to include maybe a half-dozen page long scenerios, giving new and/or unimaginative GMs some clear ideas on how to use the book effectively. After all, isn't this 3rd edition supposed to attract new players? This isn't the way to do it.

These are relatively minor gripes compared to the overall quality of the book. It's detailed enough that the experienced Shadowrun GM will have something to work with, but open-ended enough to allow for many varied adventures and role playing to occur. Shadowrun has shown the horror (excuse the pun, SR veterans) of magic; now its showing how terrifying technology can be.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Renraku Arcology: Shutdown
Author: Brian Schoner and David Hyatt Category: game Company/Publisher: FASA Corp. Cost: 15.00$ Page count: 88 ISBN: 1-55560-347-5 Capsule Review by Alex Knapik on 11/29/98. Genre tags: Science_fiction Horror Espionage	Renraku Arcology: Shutdown is the first release for FASA's Shadowrun 3rd edition, and it is a success. Without trying to reveal too much, basically the premise is this: Renraku corporation crown jewel, the SCIRE arcology, has taken taken over by a artifical intelligence. The entire building is under its control, except for the Resistance, a group of citizens that managed to escape the AI's wrath. The book does an excellent job of explaining the layout of the arcology, what has happened to it, and what did it. Its a horrific setting, quite similiar to 1994's Bug City sorcebook. With a floor-by-floor description of the situation and a more imaginative setting, Shutdown is a superior book, despite its smaller size. I have two major complaints with the book, however. First, magic (one half of Shadowrun's unique approach - the blending of magic and technology) is treated as if it were superfluous. I feel like this book, with few adjustments, could go into any future roleplaying game world. Considering the importance FASA has placed on the uniqueness of its setting in the past, it seems like a wasted opportunity. This could have been (and still can, if you make a few creative adjustments) a perfect "magic versus technology" campaign. My second complaint is that while the book is labeled as a "Shadowrun Adventure," it has only about one page of short adventure ideas. It would have been useful to include maybe a half-dozen page long scenerios, giving new and/or unimaginative GMs some clear ideas on how to use the book effectively. After all, isn't this 3rd edition supposed to attract new players? This isn't the way to do it. These are relatively minor gripes compared to the overall quality of the book. It's detailed enough that the experienced Shadowrun GM will have something to work with, but open-ended enough to allow for many varied adventures and role playing to occur. Shadowrun has shown the horror (excuse the pun, SR veterans) of magic; now its showing how terrifying technology can be. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)