System Shock® 2 (1999)

While I did play Deus Ex back in 2000, I somehow managed to dodge System Shock 2 until today. Accordingly, I'm rating the game as a first-time player in 2022, which isn't easy to do. On the one hand, it is clear that the game introduced several novel and innovative elements back in 1999, and laid the groundwork for many gameplay concepts taken for granted these days. On the other hand, just half a year later Deus Ex released, and beat SS2 at its own game. Unlike the protagonist in SS2, JC Denton not only can talk, he also has agency. Meanwhile, in SS2, you have no choice but to do as you're told, even well knowing that you're essentially doing the bidding of a murderous rogue AI. There is exactly a single moment in the entire game where you're allowed to disobey, and it is about the most meaningless choice one could think of. From a narrative standpoint, SS2 feels very static and dated. While the atmosphere is rich, the level design varied and believable, and the voice acting excellent throughout, the gameplay itself is very basic. Essentially, you're running through the levels for 15 hours, pick up stuff, and kill the occasional enemy. Combat is incredibly basic and, contrary to what many people suggest, the challenge isn't really there. Provided you're using the 'correct' build, you'll never run low on resources, and the enemies are way too dumb to pose any threat. I've found myself quite bored by how repetitive the game started to become after the third deck. Granted, I was only playing on normal, but the higher difficulties merely make resources scarcer, the enemies deal the same damage and don't get any brighter. Overall, SS2 is not a bad game, and surely worth playing for the history lesson alone. At the same time, I couldn't help but long for it to end more than once while playing. I'd give it a try, but don't feel bad about quitting halfway through. As for the GOG release, the latest version of NewDark is already integrated and works perfectly well.

Auch wenn ich noch nicht die Zeit gefunden habe es bis zum Ende zu spielen..... Als es raus kam, war es lange Jahre der Beste Titel in seinem Segment und selbst heute noch wenn man vlt. die Grafik ausser Acht lässt, ist es was Gameplay und Story und und und.... betrachtet einfach top.

Die Stimmung des Spiels hat mich total mitgerissen. Auch so viele Jahre nach seinem Release ist System Shock immer noch ein spielenswertes Spiel. Es gibt große Freiheiten im Gameplay und die Geschichte ist spannend und packend. Eine wahre Perle der Spielegeschichte.

Alright so this review comes after the 2023 release of the System Shock Remake by Night Dive Studios. Everybody knows System Shock 2 by now. Play it, buy it. End of Review. What I want more to say is, even though I played and finished the second installment multiple times I absolutely wished for an upgrade. So, we definitely need a System Shock 2 worthy of our times. Remastered Version? - DEFINITELY, Remake? What? like for the first game? OMG YES PLEASE just take my money already, I promise to wait patiently.

I played System Shock 2 using the "SS2 Newbie Modding Guide" It's heavily recommended, it fixes a myriad of issues and very slightly improves the visuals in a way that doesn't clash with the originals vision. As for the game itself, It's a classic! Intriguing, scary and complex. The voice acting was a mixed bag in the beginning, but it did get better as it went along, seems they saved their best voice talent for the latter half of the game. The RPG mechanics are cool, complex and unbalanced. You can get yourself into trouble, so make sure to do a little research on what stuff means while playing, It'll help a a lot for a first time player. If you haven't already, go play it!