I have no doubt that to some that this is the best game of all time, and I envy that, as I envy them for playing this game when it was released. What I found as someone who has never played is a fairly dull sci fi horror game that didn't scare me in any real way. Sure it had good atmosphere, but I couldn't get take the easily killed crew mates or the psychic monkeys seriously. There was no tension for me. I bundled through corridors two hitting enemies, taking no damage using the ancient technique of back pedalling. I fail to see how it could be seen as a terrifying experience when your foes are so easily overcome, but maybe the game just isn't for me. As for the antagonist, SHODAN, I found her to be more annoying that scary. A petty gripe, but her constant voice fluctuations made me want to turn the game off more than any of the horror elements did. The story was very good, and apart from the laughably predicable plot twist, the game does a stellar job of telling the story through gameplay and audio logs, keeping you immersed at all times, maintaining excellent pace. It was refreshing to see a game that manages to tell and interesting tale without resorting to constant cutscenes, but rather feeding you bits and pieces of information as you explore the ship. All in all, I would say it is a well put together RPG FPS, with a good story, and a great atmosphere, but that the other elements didn't engage me as much as I had hoped.
