System Shock® 2 (1999)

My first review here, and I already have a few dozen games in my GOG catalog. This says something about the quality of this game :) I have never found a working copy of this game (at least not for Windows 7) but this really works like a charm! The wide variety of supported screen resolutions alone is praiseworthy. Also, mouse and overall FPS feels smoother than any other version of the game I've got my hands on. I have only one word of warning; the game is blinking in bright and dim negative'ish hues when played with AMD Crossfire enabled. Got this fixed by disabling it, so not a big deal. 5/5 in my book. Legendary game!

System Shock 2 will forever hold a special place around where my blood is pumping. If I could wipe my memory and play it again for the first time I would. It is set onboard the gigantic science vessel, the Von Braun which has traveled 62 trillion miles from Earth. You are a nameless marine who has woken from a 6 month cryogenic sleep to find something has gone very wrong. Most of the crew lie dead in the corridors and aliens roam the ship, reanimated as your dead comrades. Essentially the game is a well refined mixture of horror and cyberpunk elements, placing strong emphasis on survival. It is not uncommon to find yourself down to your last magazine and your weapons failing on you. The game has excelled in providing an interesting upgrade system which will let the player assign attributes to areas they enjoy. Whatever you choose you're guaranteed for a gripping gameplay experience with a very engaging and terrifying story which advances as you move through the decks of the ship. Collecting audio logs just like in the first game will provide insight into the events which transpired before the tragedy. And if you're concerned about having to play System Shock 1 first, don't be. You will find that certain characters from the first game will return and fill you in on everything that happened. If you're a fan of horror games or just love a good shooter which actually requires some brainpower you will find System Shock 2 to be a delightful game.

System Shock 2 is an immersive survival horror experience of being ALONE in masterfully designed space ship infected by rogue AI and another biological life form which is superior to any life form human ever encountered on Earth. So NOT a Rambo child in a sandbox like in 90% of games these days. Understanding this you just can't expect it to be a piece of cake breeze game (but knowing the game well it could be even on the highest difficulty while being boringly easy on the easiest). It is supposed to be as challenging as it would in real life. You have to be careful, cautious, learn to hide, learn to plan, learn to understand your chances and make wise decisions. There are more dumb decisions to make than the wise ones, just like in real life unlike in some "ultra balanced" games of these days where your decisions don't matter at all. Don't expect multiplayer mode to make sense. It is there just because business management had these "recipes" for average consumers. There is a good reason for System Shock 2 to have such high rating. If you don't fit in well then consider that maybe this immersive simulation is not for you specifically because you're expecting something completely different... which is not a problem of the product to fit your casual expectations of mechanics and balance. This is a masterpiece made with extra care for detail, having real professional experts in the various fields have a say on how things should be to actually make sense like in real life. - 10/10 overall PRO quality of actual content, not just amateurish glittering surface for masses - 10/10 story with actual depth and believable realism - 10/10 challenge - made in the days when business management didn't please the comfy majority - 10/10 audio quality - something which is omitted after 2000 that people can't even tell - 10/10 believable immersive atmosphere because you know... story, audio, realism

As somebody who has never played System Shock 2, I had only heard amazing things about this game. How it was the scariest and most atmospheric game, with tons of replayability and interesting design choices. I thought this was all hype and that I would be in for a regular 90s FPS. I was completely wrong. This game is everything people say and more. It is a unique one of a kind game, one that probably will never be made again. If you played Bioshock, imagine that game but on a whole other level. Everything in this game has aged well and even the graphics aren't that bad and with some a couple mods out of the dozens that are out you can have a nice looking game. System Shock 2 combines atmosphere, disturbing enemies, an engaging RPG system, combat, story, and a genuine polish that is not seen in most games to create a masterpiece and perhaps the greatest survival horror game.

Every so often, I go back and play System Shock 2 from beginning to end, because it's an experience worth revisiting. It's a brilliant game, with some of the most atmospheric storytelling ever created in this medium. The game mechanics, level design, music, voice acting are still great – this was really the first modern story driven first-person action RPG. That it's now 22 years old, and still holds up, is a testament to the excellent design and creativity of the team that built this masterpiece. Finally, this game features the greatest villain in all of gaming: Shodan; she’s simultaneously entertaining and scary, and in your first play through, you’ll never quite know what her motives really are. This game is still worth its 22-year-old launch price; that it’s steeply discounted makes it one of the best ways to spend your gaming dollars. Just buy it.