WizKids has announced a game using action figures as play pieces based on the FASA Shadowrun property, Shadowrun:  Duels, promising that it 'will do for action figures what Mage Knight did for collectible games.'  The figures are 6' tall, with up to 17 points of articulation.  Each comes with instructions, rulers, dice, gear, and a base with clicky dials.  The gear can be shifted from figure to figure, and each piece of gear has dice associated with it to determine for each weapon whether it hits or misses.  There are limits to the amount of gear each figure can carry, and the number of dice that can be used in each roll is limited to six.  The clicky dials are used to represent different portions of the character's body, and to track damage done by opponents' weapons. 

 

Shadowrun is set in 2063 in the Megasprawl, where Shadowrunners are guns for hire, working for mega-corporations, that battle other Shadowrunners for information.  Magic is part of the environment, and elves, dwarves, and orcs have all been re-awakened.  Shadowrunners use magic and cybertechology, as well as more mundane weapons, in their battles. 

 

WizKids is billing Shadowrun:  Duels as 'the world's first action figure game.'  Some may remember Z-G from 2001, which combined action figures with CCG play in a game designed by Mark Rein-Hagen.  A major difference in Shadowrun:  Duels is the use of dice rather than cards to determine game play, plus a number of other enhancements that appear to give Shadowrun:  Duels a much greater chance of success.

 

Beyond game play, the large player base of the Shadowrun RPG from FanPro and the many readers of the Shadowrun novels provide high recognition of the Shadowrun world, and provide an instant market for this new game.  And, of course, WizKids' reputation for exciting games will also give this game a strong launch.