System Shock 2

The Good
First of all, I would just like to say that the graphics, especially the ultra-realistic-looking blood splatters (not including the character models) are great and it runs smoothly even on ancient computers. The ambience sounds and the creepy voices from both Xerxes and SHODAN all add so much to the atmosphere. The first time I played it, I entered a room full of dead bodies and such realistic blood and flickering lights. All was silent (except for the humming of the machinery). Suddenly I hear a grunting noise from behind me and I turned around and literally jumped out of my seat as a Hybrid monster began attacking me with his wrench. The game will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end. Excellent story and there are also many plot twists. Also, the many ways that you can play the game (such as hacking the security console so that cameras and turrets won't do anything to you, sneak past them or just blow them apart) gives the game a lot of replayability values. The level design is also really excellent. It looks as if people actually lived on the ship. There are some minute details that is in the game that just makes it seem so much more realistic. There are magazines sitting on people's desks and art panels (electronic pictures hanging on walls) that just adds so much to this awesome game.

The Bad
One really bad thing (for me) about this game is the amount of backtracking that is involved. Often if you wish to do something you have to go somewhere, go back, then go somewhere else, then come back again. This also means you have to be patient when you play the game since there is so much to do and so many places to go. The best thing is to review your PDF when you're stuck. There are serious bugs, like sometimes if you do a certain thing, the game will prevent you from moving further, although it doesn't tell you, no error messages, nothing. So sometimes you could be wondering for hours not knowing that you cannot advance anymore. However, you can get walkthroughs that tell you exactly where these bugs are so you will know what not to do during the game. This only happens once or twice so it's not that bad. Another thing that could be improved is the character models, although it is not that important since you don't see many humans in the game anyway.

The Bottom Line
If you like adventures or RPGs, this is a must get for you, just be sure to get a walkthrough that describes the bugs so you can avoid being stuck in the game. It is such a good game with an excellent story and I highly recommend this game.