System Shock 2 Review

Your pathetic individuality pales in comparison to the power of The Many!

Navy Officer’s Log
Time: 0838
Date: Unknown, year 2112
Location: Aboard the Von Braun

Log#13824 – I’ve hacked into a local laser turret and taken control of it. That
should give me some time to sit down and sort out my thoughts. I don’t know how
long I’ve been on this damned ship. The last thing I remember is signing on to
the escort mission for Earth’s first Faster-Than-Light starship, the Von Braun.
Next thing I know, I’m stepping out of a cryo-tube and into chaos. Though this
is my fourth year in the Navy, nothing could prepare me for this madness.

No one is alive. Most of the ship’s crew has been taken
over by a worm-like parasite that seems to be controlled by some sort of hive-mind.
Those who were lucky, and I use that term loosely, to survive the first onslaught
committed suicide soon after for fear of the alien things their co-workers have
become. My cyber-rig, augmented for this mission, is able to pick up remnant
psychic emissions, enabling me to occasionally see “ghosts” of the crew in their
final moments.

Needless to say, I’m scared. As bad as the onslaught
of the alien organisms is, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something
more . . . evil behind all of this. My only guide is a mysterious voice over
my Comm system. While she claims to be a crewmember still alive in Ops, I’m
not quite so sure. She is occasionally providing me with cyber-modules to further
alter my cybernetics, which is helpful, to say the least. All I can do is follow
her instructions and hope she’s on the level. Damn, the laser turret is firing!
They’ve used the ship’s own security system to track me! I can’t stay here any
lon. . .

Log#13824 – v.75 – @End Transmission@

First-Person Shooters (FPS) are
a dime-a-dozen today. Ever since the phenomenal success of Doom, FPS
games have followed a simple formula: strafe and shoot. With few exceptions,
this formula still stands.

Unbeknownst to many gamers, there is another form of FPS that has been around
for quite a while. Released at about the same time as Doom 2, System
Shock quietly entered the gaming world. With RPG elements fused into the
action, System Shock was arguably one of the best PC games ever. Though
never very popular, it was not forgotten by hardcore gamers. Now, with System
Shock 2, the traditional formula is challenged once again. And, once again,
gamers are given a fantastic game. A coincidence? I think not.

Plot, though rare in FPS games, has been seen before. In great games like
Half-Life
and the Marathon series, designers have proved that you don’t sacrifice
the action by adding a plot. If anything, it enhances the gameplay experience
and gives you a reason to strafe and shoot. Since the plot development is such
an amazing part of System Shock 2, I can’t bring myself to ruin the surprise.
You’ll have to discover the horror for yourself.

Speaking of which, the game is brimming with horror. With neat
sound effects and occasional spurts of music, System Shock 2 rivals the
spooky factor of such console favorites as Resident
Evil 2 and Silent
Hill. The voices of your pursuers echo down the hallways, sending chills
down your spine.

The graphics just compound the horror. Nothing unnerves you quite like entering
a room with a body dangling on a noose from the ceiling. Running on a refined
version of the engine used in Thief:
The Dark Project, there is full light-sourcing and object interaction. This
means you can pick up that magazine lying on the table. It won’t do you any
good, but you can pick it up.

For the most part, the enemy AI is also taken from Thief, meaning that
the enemies can not only see you, but hear you as well. Light plays a big role
on whether or not the enemies spot you, and you better watch where you step
. . .

Though all of these features are good, there is one thing that raises System
Shock 2 over all the rest – the character generation. Unlike most other
FPS games, you are not just some generic marine who already knows all the skills
he needs to destroy the aliens. System Shock 2 takes more of a role-playing
game approach.

You start by choosing which branch of the armed forces you wish to join: the
Marines (all guns, few brains), the OSI (Psychic powers are your friends), or
the Navy (Computer and Mechanical systems). Of course, you’re not limited to
fields specific to your career choice, but it does affect your characters starting
stats.

Once in the game, your character
continues to improve. Besides having 14 different weapons, numerous weapon augmentations
and ammo, 35 different Psi Powers, and several different armor types, your character
has stats and skills which can be improved at certain consoles in the game by
using the “cyber-modules” you have found or gained. Stats are your basic Strength,
Agility, Endurance, Psionics, and Cyber Affinity. Skills include your proficiency
with the different weapon types (Standard, Energy, Heavy, and Exotic), various
OS upgrades to your cyber rig (no, not Win2000), Hacking, Maintenance, Repair,
Modifications, and Research. With this much detail, you can uniquely tailor
your gameplay experience.

In most FPS games, you just run into and area and shoot everything that moves.
While that still can be true in System Shock 2 (especially if you’re
the marine), there are always several ways around an obstacle. Perhaps by hacking
into the security system, you can turn off that area’s defenses. Or, you might
be able to use your psychic powers to distract and confuse the enemy as you
slip right on by. Definitely not your run-of-the-mill frag fest.

For those having too much trouble defeating the game by themselves, the developers
are working on a Multiplayer patch that will allow you to play cooperatively.
Deathmatch is not an option . . . it just wouldn’t fit the plot. In an era where
FPS games are becoming entirely multiplayer experiences (ie Quake 3 Arena,
Team Fortress 2), it’s good to see a developer keep the plot and single-player
gameplay as the focus.

So that’s the good . . . Is there any bad? Sure. Since no game is perfect,
there are always little details that bug gamers. Dropping an item, for example
is done poorly. Instead of dropping it at your feet, you throw the item in the
direction you’re facing. This also happens when your inventory is full and you
attempt to pick up an item. Though annoying, it’s not that big of a deal.

Also, the hacking should be a little more involved. The first System Shock
had a more detailed, albeit more annoying, hack setup. System Shock 2
kept reminding me of Shadowrun for the Genesis, which had an excellent
cyberspace component. In System Shock 2, the hacking is mostly luck,
with stat modifiers simply improving your odds.

System Shock 2 is, bar none, the best FPS game to come down the pipe
in quite awhile. This game proves that there is more to this genre than most
developers are willing to give it, and first person games can have more than
just constant action. By successfully blending the RPG and action elements,
System Shock 2 has assured its place in gaming history. Don’t believe
me? You can see for yourself with the Demo.
Of course, after playing the demo, you’re just going to have to go out and buy
the game. You won’t be sorry.