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System Shock 2

Release Date: Aug. 11, 1999 Genres: RPG, Action

System Shock 2 Review

This is a user submitted review by Denhonator on Feb. 18, 2014, 9:32 a.m.

System Shock 2 may be a little old already, but it holds to today's standards surprisingly well on most parts. Thus, I recommend looking into this.

9.0Graphics

    I gave this score not because it has as good graphics as a modern game with the same grade, but because the graphics were top notch at that time.
    If you're looking into playing this game now, I recommend looking for graphics enhancing mods; they are easy to locate, and they really do their job.
    With some tools, you will run this game full HD, with sharp textures and models.

    • 8.53D

        Again, this game is old, and you can't expect very round shapes, but these are good for their age. Characters look edgy, but it's very bearable. Similar to what it is in Morrowind.

      9.5Gameplay

        Gameplay is really where this game excels. Combat feels solid, the game is balanced, movement works fluently, and there are lots of exploring to be done.

        • 7.5Boss Fights

            If you're hunting down games with the most epic boss fights, you are up for a let down. There are 2 proper bosses (some bigger enemies could be taken as mini-bosses). They both catch you off-guard, if you haven't looked up a guide or a walkthrough, which you may need to understand how the fight goes.
            There isn't any special music for the bosses, so your heart rate will not go through the roof. The fights instead feel a little scientific, so to say.

          • 10.0Difficulty

              There are 4 difficulty levels by default, starting from easy, which really is easy. Normal suits for players that are new to FPS games, or for those whose eyes aren't accurate enough to find the useful items.
              I played it on hard, which was quite a challenge. Impossible, however, I am even afraid to test; I'd go nuts.
              There are mods for this, too, so you can make the game even harder, or at least harder in different manner.
              There is a respawn system in-game that comes with a small currency penalty, so dying often does not punish much, but can crack your nerves, if you keep dying over and over again.
              You can save your game at any given point through the menu to different save slots, or with the quick save function. Loading screens autosave your game as well.

            • 10.0Free Rein/High Mobility

                This was one of the parts that surprised me most. There is a climbing mechanic, that can sometimes even be used to trick jump, and you might accidentally find secret supply stashes.
                There aren't many doors that cannot be opened. In the very beginning, before tutorials, it feels otherwise, but this game will not leave you looking at a door, thinking why you can't get there. There may be another door, it might be locked, you may need to hack it, break a window nearby or progress the story first
                Psi powers (or magic like in many RPG's) allow you to do some teleportation and quicker movement. These are well demonstrated in speedruns videos, where they manage to exploit the game mechanics with those, allowing to skip some sections.

              • 9.5Loot

                  If you skip the looting part and go straight ahead, you'll miss a lot. All the enemies have a chance (or some always) to drop items. Every area seems to have secret places with loot. Lots of loot can only be accessed if you have developed your character that way, that helps you to get to those items, or get them to you.
                  When new items are introduced first, it's usually in some optional places you don't have to visit, where you find a broken weapon. If you can repair it and have sufficient skills to use it, you just found a valuable piece of loot! I always get this satisfying feeling when this occurs!

                • 9.5Open World

                    There is a storyline to follow, that is pretty straight forward, but it leaves some chances to go your own way. Aside from that, you can always get sidetracked just to find stuff and you won't be disappointed. At almost any time, you can go anywhere, and you usually get rewarded by doing so.

                  • 9.5Shooter

                      There are a few different types of weapons. Melee, laser guns, bullet weapons and explosives (don't forget, you can always use Psi powers!).
                      Melee is simple. Go swing your weapon! You can get better melee weapons when you make progress, and you can upgrade strength or select a special upgrade to make the enemies feel those hits better.
                      Laser guns don't have recoil, and don't use ammunition. They use electricity. They deal notably more damage to certain enemies over the others.
                      Bullet weapons have different ammunition options; standard, those focused on killing people, and those focused on destroying armored things. You will have to conserve some ammunition early on. You will not be shooting at the enemies like in Call of Duty games. You plan your shooting.
                      Explosives are slightly hard to use, because you need to specialize on them to use, while giving less priority to other, possibly more useful stats. You can, however, use them efficiently against groups of enemies, taking them all out at once. Just don't shoot too much, or you'll run out of ammo or you'll kill yourself.

                    • —Sneaking

                        I'm just mentioning, that sneaking can be done. You can either crouch behind their backs, or use a Psi power to become invisible. Some parts of the game are quite suggestive. A big mech around the corner, while you're low on armor piercing bullets? Sneak!

                      10.0Soundtrack

                        One of the catchiest and action packed soundtracks ever made! Give it a listen at: http://www.robotkid.com/systemshock2/

                        • 10.0Voice Acting

                            No complaints here. All voice acting sounds realistic, and some cool effects are also used here to simulate a robotic voice, which works flawlessly.

                          8.0Cinematics

                            There were hardly any cinematics, but they were alright. They did not look especially cool and exciting, but they fit in well.

                            7.5Multiplayer

                              • 7.5Co-Op

                                  Co-op, unfortunately, is not what they have focused on. It was added after release, with a maximum of 4 players.
                                  The co-op itself is a lot of fun. Each can build their character their own way, giving a cool RPG feel to it. Friendly fire is enabled, so you will have to coordinate together!
                                  The difficulty is set on hard, which cannot be changed for co-op, excluding a mod, that makes it match impossible difficulty. One factor here is sharing items. You can't find a proper pistol for everyone early on, or sufficient amounts of bullets.
                                  The technical side is that the game tends to crash sometimes while playing multiplayer, which is frustrating. After you get it all working and so on, excluding a few restarts because of crashes, you can, most certainly play it through, and it'll be fun for most, especially if you play with a close friend.
                                  There are a few co-op fan made missions available as well.

                                9.5Story/Setting

                                  I don't always follow the plot, but all the audio logs and other voice messages I got easily got me into it. There will be excitement on story side!

                                  • 9.0Horror

                                      This part is where the game suffers from the age. It does not scare you, but there is a scary mood from the very beginning to the very end. It adds some extra taste to the game.

                                    • —Sci-Fi

                                        Exciting Sci-Fi included, for those interested in it.

                                      —Perspective

                                        8.0Replay Value

                                          All of the replay value comes from the difficulty and the character development system, which are well made. Of course, co-op too. Not being able to make decisions during the game causes replaying the game to be left for those who really, really liked the game, like I did. Instead of just playing it all through again normally, I decided to play it through with my friend, which proved to be fun.
                                          One valid point is that there are dozens of mods that either rebalance the game, or add in more stuff, which will increase the replay value.

                                          10.0Bang For Your Buck

                                            The game is currently 10$ on GOG.com, which is a fair deal. I bought it on sale for about 8$, and played the game for 10 hours, just to beat the vanilla game alone. Then I have been playing it more lately, with mods and co-op, with a total of 19 hours at the moment, still counting.

                                            —Miscellaneous

                                              • 9.5Moddable

                                                  There are dozens of mods, and viable tools for making the mods. From what I've heard, it's not difficult to mod this game, if you keep it simple enough.

                                                —Building, Crafting & Item Customization

                                                  • —Upgrade/Customize Items

                                                      There is this small addition to the game; you can upgrade your weapons, if you choose to develop that skill. It doesn't serve a big role, but it exists, and it's a nice addition.

                                                    9.0Character Customization

                                                      • 9.0Stat Distribution

                                                          There is a big RPG feel to this game because of this. You have your traditional strength, agility, endurance and so on, and you have hacking, modifying, repairing and so on and you have standard-, energy-, heavy- and exotic weapons. You can't level them all up. You will decide on what is important!
                                                          Some of the skills are a bit pointless, however. You can usually make use of anything, but for the optimal character for a specific purpose, you might have to follow a guide.

                                                        Conclusion

                                                        Overall I really recommend this game. It's a classic. It manages at least alright with today's harsh standards.

                                                        Pros:
                                                        - FPS with RPG elements works as a combination well in this game
                                                        - Exciting and interesting story
                                                        - Decent graphics after modding
                                                        - Long storyline -- fun for easily over 10 hours
                                                        - Soundtrack
                                                        Cons:
                                                        - Co-op unstable
                                                        - Less intensive boss fights

                                                        9.5 Overall Score

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