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The End All of Cyberpunk

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

What can I say about System Shock 2? It is the most concept-comprehensive space-faring cyberpunk computer game to date. This sort of thing only comes around every decade or so and pretty much ends up sacrifing the company that makes it due to the law of averages alone (the nature of the universe does not allow such things to be birthed very often). Cybernetics, hacking, and psionics are all used extensively in conjunction with absolutely extraordinary voice acting and a perfectly written mystery. First contact is made, FTL is achieved, genetic mutations abound, harkening back to zombie horror...did I mention this is concept-comprehensive? Better still, all the geekiness is not a compensation for lack of art or universal appeal. It's scary as hell and you could be a complete idiot or have Asperger's and still love it. If nothing else, it has sound. I used to fall asleep to the main menu drone...then I started to date and now I write reviews instead. Enjoy.

Best video game ever made

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 19, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is by far my favorite video game. It has everything I like. Horror, sci fi, a creepy storyline, all rolled into one. Since so many other people reviewed this, I'll be brief. The sounds are great, the environment is great, the story is great. The sounds create a fantastic ambience. The environment you walk around in really looks like it could be a starship.

The player plays a cyborg with very limited resources. The player has to decide how to use those resources to achieve his goals. In other words, the player can't use every single item or shoot every single weapon around him, unlike a conventional first person shooter. The player can learn a small number of skills very well, or spread his learning across multiple skills and learn several not as well.

The only flaw that this game has is the low polygon count on the foes. This will turn off anyone who is only used to modern games with incredibly high polygon counts for everything. (In other words, the game isn't as graphically advanced as Half Life 2.) However, anyone willing to play a game that has graphics that aren't as amazing as modern games will be satisfied with this game.

One of my top 10 fav games of all time.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Well System Shock 2 is simply put, amazing. The plot is probably one of the best in any game, ever, especially how it unfolds. The blend of action and RPG makes for a one-of-a-kind experience. The atmosphere of the game makes you genuinely, truly feel as if you are alone on a doomed ship full of weird violent imagery. Let's just say System Shock 2 takes the cake for scaring the hell out of you.

Making sure it stays on the radar...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 31, 2008
Author: Amazon User

System Shock 2 is, quite frankly, my favorite game. I discovered it fairly late (which would be about 5 years ago now), but it has earned a permanent place on my hard drive. The graphics and the physics are dated... but the rest of the game is in many ways still ahead of every other game out there. The level design, the storytelling, the attention to detail... this is a game where you can pick up and carry around every little item that isn't tied down, from coffee mugs to house plants, dump it in a room, come back hours later... and it will still be there. There is no forced progression; at any time right up until the last two levels of the game you can go all the way back to the very first area you visited and explore around hunting enemies which will continue to spawn.

It is that respawning combined with the atmosphere of the ships which really makes the game scary, too- unlike in games such as Doom 3 (which borrowed heavily from SS2) where if you clear a room you're safe, there are very few secure locations in SS2. You are always in danger. The first major plot twist, which I will not spoil, is a perfect setup- you see it coming, but like in any well-told story it still manages to sneak up on you and club you in the face. The sound is incredible for a game of SS2's age- much better than that of Half-Life. You will learn what each and every enemy sounds like, and those sounds will send prickles up your spine.

SS2 also features (in the patched version) online co-op for up to four players- something which very few other games can claim to have.

I could go on for pages and pages about why I love this game, but there are some things which sadly must be mentioned...

There are compatibility issues. If you have a newer system, it will take some doing to make SS2 work. The most important issue to be aware of is that SS2 is not compatible with dual-core processors- there is a very easy-to-implement workaround, but the game will not work out of the box if you have a dual-core or hyperthreading (simulated dual-core) system. Some video cards may also be incompatible, though I don't know which ones (besides the nVidia FX series, which I once had one of). I have no idea whether or not it will run in Vista.

If you have the patience to work through the issues, you will be rewarded with one of the best gaming experiences out there. The impatient may want to take a pass- but if you're looking at decade-old games to begin with, odds are you won't let a little compatibility trouble get in your way. ;)

lee732's review:

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 23, 2002
Author: Amazon User

While I will NOT delve into the obvious play/mechanics of this game; it simply must be said that NOBODY has yet made a scarier game...NOBODY!! I do agree that a good sound system really makes the "atmosphere" far more terrifying though. I even told a friend if he bought this game and it did'nt scare the living poop out of him; I would repay his money myself! Nuff said?

Just when I thought I'd seen everything...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I saw this game in a magazine long ago but didn't pay any attention. A few months back I remembered it for no apparent reason, and decided to strike out on a search for this now-hard-to-find title. Am I ever glad I did! The last time I ever jumped out of my seat while playing a game was in Half-Life, when I skittered around a corner and found myself staring down the barrel of an Abrams's cannon. My first time playing System Shock 2 had me jumpier than a ballerina on a pile of carpet tacks! This game is a real work of art; beautifully made and suspenseful. The creatures have abysmally low polygon counts and don't look as good as they could have, but believe me, you won't notice for long! This is by far the most immersive game ever, a must-have for fans of action or role-playing games!

Not an FPS or an RPG, SS2 combines the two perfectly

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 06, 2003
Author: Amazon User

My favorite thing about SSII is that it tells a coherent story that makes sense. Every action you take in SSII is motivated by a desire to accomplish a clearly-stated objective. Goals are not assigned arbitrarily, either, and are extremely well-explained by the superb voice acting. When you accomplish a mission, you are rewarded with access to more areas of the ship and new missions to accomplish.

Another great aspect of this game is the way it flows. There are no levels, other than levels/decks within the ship you are trying to escape from, and accomplishing certain objectives means traversing multiple decks.

There are times when this game is extremely scary. It's designed to frighten you, and at times it accomplishes this goal very well. The music is mostly techno, but it's scary techno. That might not make sense to you, but trust me, it can be very intimidating at times.

If you haven't played the original System Shock read up on its plot before you play this game. The background information you gain will help you out a lot.

Overall, this is on my top ten all-time.

Definately a classic

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: September 23, 2001
Author: Amazon User

a classic game.a lot of fun.it is seriously frightening.its a role playing game.you build up your skills as the story progresses.

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