System Shock: Enhanced Edition

Surprisingly amazing game. Takes awhile to get used to the controls, but stick with it. After clearing the first level you'll have a general idea how the game plays, and its a blast afterwards. Its very similar to its sequel SS2, except the level layout is a lot more maze like. Was surprised how well the atmosphere of the world (or station) was done. Went in expecting it to play like old school gallery shooter, but the storytelling is very gripping. And SHODAN is as creepy as she is in SS2. The only negative thing that comes to mind is how the game doesn't utilize audio logs enough to help you or give you hints. A lot of the audio logs repeat themselves about their problems, or they are extremely vague when they talk about certain locations. Some tips for new players: - You can turn on Online-help which automatically turns off when you get out of the starting area. It lets the game visually point at objects you can interact. Corpses you haven't looted, items on the ground, buttons (which can sometimes be hard to miss), and hidden doors. Up to you if you want the game to show you some hidden stuff that you would probably miss otherwise. - There (seems) to be no limit how much ammo you can carry. Even if you see the ammo counter very low, it might just mean its over its original visual limit. - In Cyberspace you get two weapons. Drill and Pulser. Drill is used on data blocks that are protected with an ICE blocker (its flickering blue on top of the data block). And Pulser is your main weapon against defenders you encounter there. - Any information you get from Cyberspace is added to your Data reader in a separate tab. Its sometimes easy to miss if you got something, so be sure to check your reader after logging out of Cyberspace. - Don't feel bad to check a quick guide if you're stuck. There's at least one case where the game does a poor job at explaining something important.

First time playing it, I must say I was shocked (pun intended) by how good the game is. I've always considered Bioshock as one of my favorite games ever, and since playing it in 2007 I keep hearing about how inferior it is to System Shock, I dismissed these comments as coming from fans being nostalgic and blind to the greatness that is Bioshock! I thought Ken Levine was a genius for designing the gameplay of Bioshock. However after playing System Shock, I'm convinced of the opposite, I mean how can you come up with that after having such a masterpiece, I see why fans of System Shock hate the Bioshock series, Bioshock basically dumbed down everything in System Shock. To be fair though, every game has its own unique world, Bioshock is still a great spiritual successor, but if you want to see where it all started and experience the gameplay mechanics with all its glory and realized to the fullest, this is the game to play. TL; DR If you like Bioshock, mainly the gameplay, chances are you'll like System Shock even better, if you didn't play Bioshock yet, start here.

I love it. Thanks GOG! You get both the classic ISO image of the original game and the enhanced version which runs amazing and fast. I bought this game day zero (floppy version) back in the 90s and never finished it, but now with the enhanced controls and resolution I can't wait. Running the enhanced version on an i7 laptop flawlessly in widescreen. SS1 has never looked more beautiful. 320x200 is still my favorite res in this game which was your only option on the floppy version. Nostalgia through pixellated glasses I suppose.

For those wondering, this version of the game incorporates the modifications from the fan-made System Shock Portable. While this has (understandably) caused some controversy, it is worth noting that this is an actual port for modern systems. That means no more dealing with DosBox's framerate or lower resolution. It is also mod-ready out of the box and provides options to enhance voxels, etc. Finally, the team appears to have ironed out many of the game-crashing bugs present in the original. In short, although I was initially expecting a lazy conversion of SSP, I was pleasantly surprised. As to the quality of the game, see the other reviews. The game has excellent, cyberpunk atmosphere, a fantastic, dynamic soundtrack, and fun combat, requiring use of modifications and different weapon types. If you are a fan of the immersive storyline of SS2 and don't mind somewhat dated graphics, you should try this game.

I played this first time one year ago and i was stunned. Genius level design, atmosphere, combat, logic problems, tasks.. i would buy this gem again.