System Shock 2

Rating:
Summary: First Person Shooter RPG Perfection
Review: It's like they took the best parts of both the FPS and RPG genres, added scifi and horror, and ended up with something splendid. Its only competition for greatest PC game of all time is its predecessor, System Shock. The graphics are astounding, and the dead bodies actually look horrified. Sure in Quake you may see bodies with blood everywhere, but in Quake you have a giant rocket launcher, whereas in SS2 you're lucky to have anything beyond a wrench. The 'residual psychic emanations' (ghosts) are really freaky, and show up whenever you're starting to relax. The voice acting is incredible (they need to use guys like these when they dub anime!) and very convincing. The sound itself shines and it's quite obvious they used the Dark Engine. You can hear enemies in the distance as you creep around, wrench in hand, desperately searching for health and ammo. I couldn't play it for longer than an hour without having to give my nerves a break. It's even scarier than Aliens vs Predator! Buy this ghame now.

Rating:
Summary: Scariest game ever? Maybe...best ever...probably
Review: Half-Life? I played it...I thought it was ok but too easy, I practically never even had to circle strafe to beat the thing. Even on the hardest setting, too easy (except when it became Super Mario in an alternate dimension with the "shudder" jumping puzzles)but scary?? Nope..not once. System Shock 2 though is a totally different beast and beast it is. Extremely difficult and literally the only game that I have ever played that gave me chills (as you might have guessed by now, I am old and somewhat jaded having seen nearly every horror flick in existance). My favorite games ever have been Thief 1-2, Deus Ex, and well, this one. All of these games have been charged with the crime of being too hard by some folks. Strangely enough though, this is exactly what I love about them. Somehow, unlike many other games that I have played (and I play 'em all) when I get killed in SS2 or Thief it makes me all the more determined to get right back in there and do it right this time. Other games I just stop playing...for some reason, I just don't care if I could do better or not. So my advice to you is this...buy this game, download the newest skin meshes that are available on the web (much better graphically making for a far scarier experience) turn out the lights, put on the headphones and be prepared for the ride of your life. Truly the thinking man's horror game.

Rating:
Summary: A shock to the system
Review: When I played the first one, the story was extremely exciting. Same with this one. Yeah sure, a four star rating for a review made in the year 2003, but that wont stop this game from getting a low rating because of bad graphics compared to games nowadays, I'm comparing it to when it came out. The default controls are hard to get use to, but luckly, theres a option to Customize your Controls. The Graphics are superb, and the fun factor will leave you playing hours on end.

Now, they have a patch (download sepereately) where you can play Co-op with three other friends! The co-op mode is smooth and it works out quite well. You will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Most terrifying game ever?
Review: System Shock 2 is most likely the scariest game I have ever played, Half-life being the only close contender. As good as HL is, though, SS2 tops it with more storyline and depth and personality. I'm an RPG fan and I'd consider SS2 more of an action game than an RPG, but the game still allows you to configure your character in ways that deeply affect the gameplay. First time through I played as a psionics guy who wielded hand-to-hand weapons. Late in the game I was able to use an invisibility psi power, run up to enemies, and whack the bejeezus out of them. I didn't have to use guns much, and when I did I just used the cheesy little pistol. Next time I play I'm going to specialize in guns and be a long-distance sniper. The role-playing elements are not that deep, but I still greatly appreciate the opportunity to choose how my character develops. That's why this game is better than Half-life.

I tried to go back and play the original System Shock while I was playing this game and even though I had played and loved the original when it came out, I found the interface way too annoying now to play it. In System Shock 2, the graphics are much much better, and the interface is nice and clean -- very configurable and fairly easy to use even when I was juggling psi powers and healing hypos while backing away from an enemy.

I only have a couple complaints about the game: loading times were annoyingly long -- one and a half to two minutes. This made the difficult sections where I died a lot tough to slog through. Also, there was one place where I had to use a walkthrough because even though I had the in-game gamma correction turned up all the way, I still couldn't see a passageway I had to go through. I had to turn up the brightness on my monitor to find it. You're probably thinking "No duh, dummy", but I like to play with a low brightness level (makes the game extra scary at night) and I was able to see everything fine except for this one area. A minor point though -- in general the level design was linear but good.

I think I had a nightmare about the cyborg assassins in this game -- the sign of a truly cool and frightening enemy. If you like half-life (or first person shooters in general) but would like something a little meatier that lets you have an inventory and customizable stats, SS2 is for you.

Rating:
Summary: There are games you play...
Review: ...and games you EXPIRIENCE. System Shock 2 is an expirience. There are plenty of great reviews here so I don't want to be redundant. But I will say you can't spend a better 10-to-15 bucks. SS2 will totally transport you into its world - where it's cold, claustrophobic, and no one can hear you scream. Never have I felt so alone, uncomfortable, sometimes just plain freaked out... it was difficult, seemingly impossible at times... and I loved every minute of it!

The only downside is the load times on this game are soooo long. Even on a P4 1.4 GeForce 3 system, it took awhile (there are 'regeneration' booths on every level where you can be instantly respawned, but it costs you each time and in this game, every resource matters!), but that's a small price to pay for such an incredible gaming experience.

If being transported into another realm where you must struggle, use your brains, and have the spit scared out of you is your idea of fun, buy this game!

Rating:
Summary: System Shock 2 is Premier RPG/Shooter of the year.
Review: System Shock 2 is simply the best rpg/shooter I have ever played. It is superior to Quake 3, Half-Life, and or other RPGs including Balder's Gate. Unlike many shooters, the game has a very detailed story line which emerges the player in a nightmarish world reminiscent of Alien 2 and 2001 Space Odyssey. The graphics are very good, the game engine is very smooth, but the best feature is the sound....it will keep your adrenaline on overdrive throughout the game. The plot line is an extension of System Shock 1, with some very creative twists. I highly recommend the game, especially if you play it alone and in the dark.

Caveat: I do not recommend the game to children undr the age of 12. Although there is no nudity or sexual themes, the game is sufficiently violent, realistic and gory to keep young children (and adults) wide awake at night listening to every sound.

Rating:
Summary: Stop reading this and buy it.
Review: I can't stress the above statement more. You will never find a better horror game anywhere. A unique blend of sci-fi, first-person shooter action, and pure terror create the world of System Shock 2. You start out simply enough, heading into the Ramnsey Recruitment center on Earth to join the UNN army, getting to choose which branch you want: Marine (weapons), Navy (tech), or OSA (psionic). Then you get to choose 3 missions to take, earning skills that will aid you during the actual game.

Next, you take part in the UNN escort mission of the newly constructed Von Braun faster-than-light space voyage. 5 months into the mission, you wake up to find the ship in chaos: crewmen murdered, some transformed into horrible alien hybrids, and the ship's computer has turned down-right evil. Slowly you realize that the alien force, known as The Many, are somehow connected to the horrific events on Citadel Station and the insane AI, SHODAN. A bloody scrawl on the wall warns you, "Remember Citadel".

I enjoyed this game, but sometimes I was afraid to actually play it; I wasn't sure I wanted to see what horrors awaited me beyond the next door. That isn't to say it isn't fun as well. The audio logs you find scattered around the ship give you a glimpse of what happened here, plus some occasional laughs at what the crew thought of each other.

Have a powerful computer handy for this one, because this thing is a systems hog. Another downside is that the load times are quite tedious; I could make myself a sandwhich while waiting for the next deck of the ship to load. Still, the pros squash the cons. Heavily immersive gameplay, compelling and surprising story, and a fun ride all the way through.

Rating:
Summary: Single-player, story-driven action gaming at its best!
Review: Ever since the original System Shock appeared in 1994, I have wanted a sequel. Despite how antiquated the old game is, I still go back and play it over again to this day. And now, at last, we have System Shock 2 -- about as close to playing the lead role in a sci-fi thriller movie as most people can get.

First off, you'll need a pretty powerful system to play this game at its fullest -- I have a Pentium II 300 MHz with 128 megs of RAM, and a 16 MB Riva TNT video board...SS2 runs fine for me at 640x480, with a little choppiness here and there. My only complaint is that it seems to take a long time (20-30 seconds I guess?) to load a saved game.

But that aside, you'll never notice any choppiness. You'll forget it's even a computer game. You'll be too busy gritting your teeth in terror as you hear the footsteps of someone -- or something -- approaching you, wondering if that one last slug in your shotgun will be enough -- and praying that your badly-damaged weapon won't jam when you pull the trigger. These types of scenarios are common in SS2 -- weapons degrade and misfire, ammunition is at a premium, and the approaching footsteps of the nearby mutated monsters or security robots are ultra-realistic. The only way to play this game is with the lights off, in a quiet room, through a good surround speaker system or headphones. You will come to appreciate the suspense, the atmosphere, and the downright creepiness of the thing that much quicker.

Previous reviewers were right when they said this is a thinking person's 3D shooter. And indeed, it is almost more of an RPG than a pure action game like Quake, et al. There's a wonderful character development system, which is neither too simple nor too complex...you must build your skills and abilities, ranging from what weapons you are best with, how easily you can repair things or hack computers, etc. You CANNOT max-out everything -- so you will have to choose which skills to concentrate on. Throughout the game, there are numerous tasks you must perform, apart from killing things, to get to the bottom of the mysterious forces at work on the Von Braun, the starship you awake on at the beginning of the game. Those of you who have played the original System Shock are in for lots of wonderful tie-ins and surprises. There is one particularly horrifying revelation near the middle of the game -- during which you are reintroduced to an old friend -- that had my jaw hanging open for about half an hour. There is more atmosphere, suspense, and pure terror here than in any game I've ever played before...including the Resident Evil series.

If you or someone you know is a fan of single-player action/adventure games and likes the first-person shooter role, System Shock 2 is an absolute MUST HAVE, no doubt about it. Get this game immediately. I am certain that you will not regret it.

Rating:
Summary: Great game
Review: This was one of the best first person type games I've played. The plot, although derivative of so many in the genre, was interesting and creepy. The skill advancement system was one of the first to allow you to develop your character in a first person game with the skills YOU wanted to use most including those in technical, hacking, and repair fields. The sound effects were quite good and added immensely to the environment. This was the first game I played that regularly startled me when I'd hear a noise from somewhere off to the side of or behind me, or open a door to be immediately face to face with an enemy. The game does suck you into its world. As much as I truly enjoyed the story, the gameplay, the graphics (good for its time), and the sound, about two-thirds of the way through I kept thinking I was near the end only to find the game would continue on. It got a bit tedious, which I find common with most first perons shooters I've played. With the difficulty towards the latter part of the game, I finally looked up some cheats on the web to make it through the final segments. A little shorter would have been better in my opinion, but this game set a new standard for me.

Rating:
Summary: Realistic, innovative, challenging, and FUN Game!
Review: When I played this game, my hands were actually sweating from the SUSPENSE! The story is quite entertaining with some predictable AND surprising twists in the plot. This game allows you to play as a Marine (weapons), O.S.I.(psionics/mind power), or Navy (cybernetics/computers). Each branch has its corresponding (strengths) but having superior computer skills make the game somewhat easier to proceed through the challenging levels. There are LOTS of high tech weaponry and gadgets throughout the eerie decks of the von Braun including a "red lights" district in the crew's recreational area. It was more fun for me to solve the levels myself rather than resorting to online walkthroughs. If you enjoyed Half-Life and Thief, then you'll have a great time with System Shock 2!