Q: How many players per game will Shadowrun support?

Mitch Gitelman: Shadowrun will support a maximum of 16 players per game but you'll see a lot more that 16 players flying around the battlefield. You can summon creatures to fight for you, strangle crystals to block entrances and capture enemies, and trees of life to magically heal you. A lot of people ask me why we only support 16 players when other PC shooters can go as high as 40. My first answer is, "What would happen if you let 40 people play football? Would it be any more fun?" Shadowrun is fun for 16 players. More than that would just mean chaos, not fun. Also, take a look at what we're doing in the game. 16 players can teleport through walls, floors and ceilings. They can glide all over the map and see everything from a high vantage point. There are spells going off, creatures being summoned and bullets flying everywhere. And all of that at a smooth framerate and with next-generation graphics. When you realize what you're actually looking at, the number of players and graphic fidelity is impressive.

Though it controls like Halo and even feels like Halo, weapons in Shadowrun react more like something out of a realistic shooter such as Counter-Strike. This can be a difficult concept to grasp as a lot of Shadowrun has folks phasing through walls and using gliders to sail through the air. Having to stop and pop for accuracy gives one the feeling that it never quite commits to one or the other in terms of design. It does, however, help to support a group mentality as you're not going to get much done alone.

Once you've settled into your role, the depth of Shadowrun -- once an overly complex beast -- begins to unfurl into something more manageable with still more room to grow. With every magic and technique there is a counter and while it seems like a game of rock-paper-scissors, practically everything can be utilized in a variety of ways as to avoid that trap. Working alongside a partner that compliments your magics can turn a rock smashes scissors situation into a string of combinations and easy kills. Dealing with just weapons alone feels so under-powered that if you're not dishing out consistent head shots, you probably shouldn't even be wasting your ammo.