System Shock 2

PC

Looking Glass Studios - 1999

Before I start I would like to say I like this game, a LOT. How much? I have a pet rabbit her name is SHODAN. To this day if some one yells “Psionic Chimp!” I WILL run out of the room screaming.

This affection is not unfounded however; System Shock 2 is one of the best first person shooters ever. It also has quite a cult following. See for yourself at Sshock2.com . Never heard of System Shock? Well I am not surprised. System Shock 2 sold badly because it got almost NO marketing. Which was the down fall of the creator, Looking Glass Studios. But while they were there, they made some very good games (which I plan to review in the future). Well on to the game itself.

If there is one thing Looking Glass Studios does REALLY well it is atmosphere. The lighting, sound, music, and dialog all combine together make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. This is a very creepy game. This game is best enjoyed with headphones on in the dark. This game uses the same Dark engine that Looking Glass used for Thief, so sound is also an important factor. Enemies can hear you if you make too much noise and will check out any sound they hear. Fortunately the game comes with a walk as well as a run function is very helpful, as well as the ability to lean around corners. This game, and its predecessor, also have one of the greatest villains ever, SHODAN. She is an A.I. that was hacked into and had all her ethical restraints removed. She is evil beyond human capability.

You start the game with NO clue what is going on. All you know is the something went wrong on your ship and you need to get out of the area your are in now before you get sucked into space. You eventually end up between SHODAN and the other force in a struggle for control of the ship. I don’t want to tell to much about the plot because it is too good to spoil.

When you start the game you are given the choice of enlisting in one of three military divisions, Marines, Navy, or the O.S.A (they are basically secret service with psionic powers). After that, throughout the game you can keep upgrading your skills, which are divided into four different classes: Weapons (heavy, laser, exotic), Physical (Strength, Agility, Endurance), Tech (Hacking, Weapon repair/modification) and psi powers (which lets you do all sorts of fun stuff, from shooting ice bolts to enemy radar, to force fields). There is not way you can learn all the skills one time though without cheating. This means this game has an ENORMENUS replay value. You can go though the game one time and focus of guns, another time focus on the phi skills, or tech, or mix and match.

These abilities also effect how you can use equipment. Armor has strength requirements. You can hack into security systems and turrets if you tech levels are high enough. You can not use a weapon unless you have enough skill in its respective weapon class. Weapons also suffer from atrophy; your weapons wear down and eventually break. The higher your skill the slower the weapon wears down. You can also ‘maintain’ weapons to keep them in good shape, or repair them if they break, if you invest in those skills. Combine that with very limited Ammo, especially in the beginning, you have a totally different game type of first person shooter. You have to be smart about what you shoot.

What liked: Every thing about this game, the atmosphere, the skill system and of course, SHODAN the most evil villain ever, and I don’t mean power ranger villain, I mean universe controlling, Unnecessary human experimenting, Army of the damned, “god is such a fitting term” villain.

What disliked: Psionic Monkeys!! They are small, hard to spot, even harder to shoot, and pack a big punch.

What to expect: A creepy, involving first person shooter that will suck you in, and keep you coming back.

What not to expect: The typical ‘shoot everything that moves’ type of FPS. Duke, Sam and Gordon need not apply.

What's so different from this and other games of it's genre: See above, focusing on the creepyness and the skill parts.

Ratings on:

Control: 10 – The controls are customizable, you have different walk and run buttons as well as leaning functions.

Graphics: 7 – When the game came out the graphics weren’t bad but fans of the game have gone back and updated the graphics for the character models as well as some of the level graphics. But it is still blocky, even when it first can out.

Sound: 10 – The Dark Engine uses sound excellently. With headphones its almost like the bad guys are in the room with you.

Style: 10 – Although Deus Ex comes close, nothing has ever duplicated System Shock 2. This game will freak you out like no other.

1st hour: Man this game is creepy, my former crewmates are telling me to run from them or saying sorry before they attack me.

1st day: Ah! Suicidal droids! The cargo bays are frying my nerves!

2 weeks: ewww! The guts of the Many!

4 Months: System Shock 2 was great! Maybe this time I’ll try the Psi Corp.

1 Year: System Shock 2 is still great! Maybe this time I’ll try a little more of the tech skills.

#1 reason why I hate this game: Hey look, a Phonic Chimp! AHH!! Where?!?! KILL IT! KILL IT!!

by Banthor