...yes, I played a straight sword/archery adept though the entire first arc and was able to get through very well.
Like mentioned above, discretion can go a long way, as can a bit of social grace. as well to avoid an embarrassing faux pas. If you play Meta, be prepared to be looked down upon or shunned. If you play a female character be prepared to not be given the same amount of respect as a male character in some circles. Knowledge skills in cultural aspects and the Yakuza can go a long way to helping you out.
My character Snow Lily (Human Albino) is a "classic adept" who uses a Weapon Focus Katana for spirits and a pistol crossbow with S&S Static Shaft bolts [12DV(s) -5] Unarmed with Shock Gloves for everyone else. Her primary pools are between 12 and 16 and even with just 16 armour she can pretty much make it through combats (maybe down a few boxes of stun now and then but nothing terribly serious) when they do occur. She has an reasonable Etiquette skill along with knowledge in Bushido philosophy (which has helped save the team on a couple occasions from committing an embarrassing, and one time, serious faux pas [in the latter incident she actually was awarded an extra Street cred]).
From my observations, role playing tends to be a little more prevalent as there are a lot of situation that come up which require a little more subtlety than just drawing a weapon or casting a spell.
Oh about spells, if you are going that route boffo combat and mental manipulation spells can land you in a heap of trouble just as easy as autofire or HE grenades will. Also one needs to be conscious of cleaning any spell signatures as a character can be traced through them.
This is not to say that an occasional weapons burst or powerful spell can't be used, just make sure it is done out of sight and earshot of any potential bystanders.
If you feel the need to carry a firearm like a pistol of machine pistol, make sure to have a decent palming skill as firearms (save for tasers, dart pistols, and the Narcojet One) are forbidden and can land you in hot water if you are caught with them (and there are no licences available). Firearms are also harder to obtain as well so you may not be able to start out with that internally Smartlinked Fichetti Executive Action (total availability of 14 with the +2 penalty for availability and +2 for the internal smartlink).
As to contacts, having a police and or Yakuza contact can save your soy bacon if things look like they might go south. A bribe here a small favour there, and "nothing wrong happened".
One feature I noticed is there is a a fair bit of intrigue involved, which I personally like, and it is kind of a refreshing break from having to don the FBA, grab the Raiden as well as a couple clips of ammo, and climb into the Citymaster just to do the weekly grocery run.
As to the CMPs, I haven't yet sent Snow Lily onto any of those as from what I understand of Vegas and the Caribbean League, she would be more like a street level character in comparison than a true runner, and I like her concept the way it is (she is based on the original Kyoto Kid from 1e when that character was still in Japan). Not sure she could pull off the "Kwai Chang Caine act" two centuries later.
Definitely read through the NT section in the latest FAQ.