Sound Design. There are many parts of this game that are dated, and perhaps unimpressive to many. But the thing is, System Shock 2 is a genuinely creepy game. Try to play it in the dark with headphones, try. I played it for the first time ever last year, and was totally consumed. By no means is it an air tight experience, in fact I recommend turning off the music until a second play-through. Nevertheless SS2 has the telltale storytelling polish of the all the old 0451 Games, and what sloppiness remains usually adds to the charm. If you like survival horror, or like distinct FPS games this is a "must play" situation.
Like most of us here I'm nostalgic about retro game experiences. I really liked the Build Engine and how things looked and felt with it, I remember how truly impressed I was that you could break objects and glass. But this sense of nostalgia is the only reason to play this game. It's a really icky game with basically every racist Asian stereotype they could think of. It's a boring, tedious, gross experience that made me feel like crap for playing. Can't recommend this to anyone.
