On Valentine's day talk about a game you love

Happy Valentine's day everyone! Before I get into it I am just psyched to have had the foresight to make reservations at one of the fanciest North End restaurants here in Boston for me and the loml (love of my life) at Bricco. Epic noms tonight!

So it being Valentine's day I figured I would extol a game that has always had a very warm space in my heart. That game would be the 1994 cyberpunk cult classic Shadowrun on the Sega Genesis (not the junk shovelware game for the SNES). This game was so far ahead of it's time and if any mechanics, formula, and setting deserved an update for the AAA market today it would certainly be Shadowrun. 17 years ago it featured a rather large open world, second gameplay mechanics with hacking "the matrix" (interwebs), a flawed but very unique leveling system, and many mechanics that flowed very well into each other and have warranted many playthroughs throughout the years.

The plot is serviceable, but not the highlight. You hear of your brother's death and rush to Seattle in a post modern time where corporations have more power than the government; ie every cyberpunk story ever. You meet various people, kill a lot of random mythical creatures, and perform a lot of nefarious jobs called "Shadowruns" (I see what they did there) to unravel the mystery of your brother's killer and foil the plot of some ancient demon to eat a lot of old stuff. The story always feels as a vehicle to guide the player through exploring the world and the different mechanics.

The sheer scope of this game on an 8 meg cart 17 years ago is mind blowing. With major publishers bringing back X-Com in name only, and with open world games like Red Dead Redemption and Saint's Row 2 selling the way they do, I think that a modern reboot of this franchise would be very well met. There is so much character and richness to the setting, and with simple updates of the computer hacking, combat, and job mechanics could make a great 40+ hour single player experience that would very easily find a large audience worldwide. Even if it never does this game will always have a place in my fondest memories. (Awwwwwwww)