Retro Review - System Shock 2

About a month ago, Yahtzee reviewed an old game that was both poor in sales, yet so large in concept that it actually inspired certain games we call 'Classics'.  This 'Muddy Waters' (a group that inspired the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin) of gaming is called 'System Shock 2'.  It was created by the now defunct 'Looking Glass Studios';  whose former employees sign 451 inside every game they make (either a code to enter into an in-game terminal or graffiti etc.).   This code has appeared in many major games:  Deus Ex, DEHR, Bioshock, Bioshock Infinite to name a few.  It is their way of signing their work.  Very cool! 

Though I know and like much from the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin...I find Muddy waters to be not really my thing.  This inspiring game may be full on concepts but low on execution.  So for $10 on Steam, I thought, 'What the Hell'.  I have the entire 'Shock' series...might as well get this one as well.

There are 3 things I look for in a game.  A graduated system (where you start out weak and get stronger), Several viable choices of graduated play (a progression along different routes of strength), and last; keeping the balance so that there isn't too much or too little action  (From 'Call of Duty' to 'Fallout New Vegas' respectively).

'System Shock 2' Represents the first of the horror/SciFi genre.  They did it WELL!   It is unfortunate how, looking at the original, you can see how modern games...even it's successors... have fallen short.  This game IS for gamers.   Late 90's ...and there are a ton of keys to know.   There are no quest markers to lead you around.  You have to listen to the recordings and email...and look at your notes and stumble around until you figure out what to do.  I do actually like quest markers and hot keys for my quest log.  I enjoy it when the game tells me what it wants me to do.  I'm lazy that way.  Despite having 4 difficulty settings, SS2 does what most OTHER games FAIL to do:  Make difficult settings without nerfing my f****** weapons!  For THAT ALONE it gets massive praise from me.   If you can make it to 'Impossible' ... you will never go back... it is that much fun.  That one element lacking in all the subsequent 'Shock' (Bioshock) Series.  Emptying an entire mag into someone's head only to watch them ignore 29 of those bullets and then the 30th one makes their head explode - ridiculous.  

SS2 was the thinking gamers game.   Non-gamers, the young and the Attention deficit crowd could go play something else if they lost patience.  'There were enough gamers to pull a profit from'.  Well not so much.  1999 was at a time when games HAD to be noob friendly.  They were starting to get big and costly and they had to maximize appeal to as many people as possible.  Software pirates were costing the game industry for the PC big money with ripped Torrents making the cross-platform and console only games that much more appealing.   Maximum general appeal meant minimum specific appeal (ie Games for Gamers).   ... and SS2 was succeeded by Bioshock...which did its best to accommodate options with in-game visual interfaces plasmids and tonics...but didn't quite hit the mark.  In that game you used a 'Research Camera' to get better at taking out certain opponents but those opponents got even MORE tough than your research camera could accommodate for; without even a fucking pallet swap.  Bioshock 2 did slightly better but tried to make too many people happy and the result was a game design by committee.   You could just hear the input for the conversation as follows:

Ken Levine (creator) says "So I'm making a Bioshock 2 and would like some fan input."

First fuckface:  "HOW ABOUT 'BIG DADDIES' THOSE THINGS ARE KEWL...MAYBEEE THE GUY COULD BE ONE."

Second (Sarcastic) fuckface:  SURE...Yeah and maybe we could have more escort missions and carry the little sister to 3 different bodies...defending her EACH FUCKING TIME!

Ken Levine: "Okay...you like defending the little sister...okay...I've got that noted"

First fuckface: "YEAH! AND MAYBE INSTEAD OF JUST 'BIG DADDIES' WE COULD HAVE SAY...BIG MOMMIES...WHICH COULD BE AS TUFF AS BIG DADDIES TWO!!!  BUT FAST AND AND AND"

Second (Sarcastic) fuckface:  "Yeah...and they would jump the character right after defending the little sister 3 times 'TWO'!

Ken Levine:  "Well you guys are the audience...you know what is best"

No Ken...those are the fuck faces who like to hear themselves talk.  They do not...and will not represent gamers as a whole.

Back to System Shock 2:

The first thing you need to do when playing SS2 is to reallocate your keys.  The mouse/key configuration was a relatively new concept and no one needed a key for turning left with mouse aiming on full time.  The second thing you need to do is turn down the (F******) techno music.  For one thing it distracts you from the intensity, secondly,  with excessive respawning, hearing sounds and direction is a VERY important aspect of the game.  That being said...you are almost NEVER safe.  Play it on 'Impossible'...the wrench wielding Hybrids can take you down with one swing if you have no additional Endurance...and IT IS A BLAST!   Third: The Engineering deck next to the elevator is the safest place to be...and a good place to stash all your stuff (once cleared).  Fourth:  Your notes, logs, quest objectives, email, tax records, underwear size...all your game is ever going to tell you is located on the various tabs past the CD icon of your HUD.  Lastly:  Opening your HUD does NOT make you safe...it makes you vulnerable...so do it only when you think you are safe.  (This in complete contrast to Bioshock where all interactions with inventory and hacking will cause in-game time to literally stand still). 

Though there is much searching in the game, there is suspense...an enemy could spawn from right behind you.  You absolutely need Cyber-modules to learn new things.  Scratching yourself up from the dirt as far as how much you actually know to begin with.  The game does not take pity on you... but if you make it through that first rough patch, you feel that you seriously accomplished something and become invested in playing the character.  That is the game I like to play.

Okay...so I've touched upon the good parts of the game.  What are the bad parts?  Well there is one bad aspect to the game that actually turned out to be a good part for me in a certain circumstance.  You see the graphics are pretty terrible even for a 1999 game.  The protagonist looks like he belongs on a cut scene from a TI994a (old, bad computer) game.  So how can this be a good thing?  Well I was away from my computer and had to use a laptop without any sort of graphics accelerator.  SS2 worked like a charm...even though the Laptop had a newer OS.  You can't do that with Deus Ex: It would crash so hard, you would have to phone up your insurance company.

The long and the short of it is:  System Shock 2 is a Damn good game.  Though it is not for the short of attention and the impatient.  This is a Gamer's Game.  Shut the windows...get some seclusion so you are able to focus your attention without distractions...and have at 'er.