System Shock 2

The Good
An intelligent plot, several character types with a wide variety of skill development choices, and multiple ways to solve problems make for a rich game with more replay value than the original System Shock.

For example, there are very nasty spider monsters late in the game. As a soldier trained up in heavy weapons, you can blast away at them. As a hacker trained up in cyber security, you can temporarily shut down the automatic defense systems and hack into gun turrets, making them your allies, then lure the spiders to where the turrets can shoot them for you. In some areas, you can run away from the spiders and climb a ladder, then shoot them safely from out of reach.

Graphics are quite good (and user patches are available to make them even better; I played with the patched installed). There is a LAN multiplayer mode, but I have not tried it.

NOTE: At the beginning of the game, outside just before the training area, there is a hidden basketball. If you pick it up, and then later in the game shoot it through a basket, there is an "easter egg" bonus.

The Bad
I found the system for training up in skills a little cumbersome and artificial; it detracted from the plot, although the skills themselves significantly enriched game play. Also the plot wasn't quite as good as SS1.

Cut-scene movies are a bit low-res by modern standards.

No matter what path you choose, there's only one ending. This seemed odd since there is a real choice to be made near the end.

Playing the game on higher difficulty settings can be quite grueling.

IMPORTANT: If you have a multi-CPU computer, then IMMEDIATELY after starting the program (before making any menu choices), you MUST open the task manager and bind the game to run on only one CPU. If you do not, it will crash.

The Bottom Line
A rich, complex, intelligent game that makes most other FPSs look moronic.

The Good
I love the story, the plot and the way it is presented. Finding all those small hints like audio-files, etc. keeps the experience very intense. The atmosphere created in this game is beyond description. I screamed and jumped up several times in my chair in front of the screen, because the way the enemies were presented and placed "scared the hell out of me". The level design and the tasks you have to fulfill are great, never boring and always an interesting challenge.

The Bad
It's extremely tough even at the easy level for a casual FPS-gamer like me. I really had a lot of troubles because of the sparse number of ammo. Sometimes the advices given by the advisor were a bit difficult to follow, especially because they changed all the time. But I suppose that's mostly a problem for beginner like me. The main problem with this game is: it's a time thief, it steels almost all my after work time.

The Bottom Line
System Shock is a wonderful experience for every gamer who loves to be sucked in into a virtual world. The immersion in this game is quite unreached and there are only a few games which give you such an intense experience of being in a virtual world.

The Good
When I completed System Shock 1, many years ago, I knew I wanted more; more of the same highly detailed game world, wonderful plot, and clever game devices (the minigames and cyberspace, to name two).

Shock 2 was worth the wait.

The environment was wonderfully done - at times, there was a feeling of anxiety and terror that I had not felt since playing the Thief series. It's rare for a game to have that effect - I approve. The email messages, voice logs, and other communications you would receive only added to the haunting atmosphere. The attention to detail the designers paid to their product was exceptional.

Shock2 had three career paths you could undertake, and as the game progressed, you could begin to blur the boundaries between character types. There was (usually) more than one solution to any given problem, and any given character type can successfully complete the game using his native skill set.

The two villians (Shodan, and The Many) fighting against each other, with you in the middle, was an excellent plot setting. Especially so on a derelict starship; there is a sense of lonliness, and at times helplessness in this environment, just as in shock1.

The Bad
There are only a few things things that I didn't really like:

While a nice touch, and a nod to the original, the minigames weren't as innovative as they were in the previous game (I mean, it's the same concept, reused). The game was sadly lacking in the large number of innovations that shock1 had, but that is only a minor gripe. I mean, one can only stretch limits so far.

My major gripe was with the endgame - it quickly turns into a Quake-like fragfest, completely ruining the stealthy, Thief-like feel to all of the previous areas of the game.

Oh, and one more minor point - while there are numerous plot twists, they are, alas, easily predictable and no longer surprises by the time they happen.

The Bottom Line
Well worth the price of admission, for such a detailed, haunting experience.