|
|
 |
 |
The Ten Best Computer Game Villains
|  | |
|
 |
 | | | | |
SHODAN
System Shock
Hear SHODAN speak (shodan.rm, 44k)
Looking Glass Studios' 3D action role-playing game System Shock is the closest thing to a cult hit on the PC, with its relatively small but ferociously loyal contingent of fans who insist it's one of the best games ever made. At the center of its story lies SHODAN, the arrogant artificial intelligence bent on thwarting or toying with your character, a hacker who is evidently the lone survivor of the computer's wrath. Being both invisible and omniscient, SHODAN makes her power and presence obvious through a combination of her disdainful, modulating voice and her knack for anticipating exactly what you're thinking. As you uncover evidence about SHODAN's intentions, she seems to be one step ahead of you all the while and taunts you every step of the way.
click to enlarge |
She may lack the modesty of 2,001's HAL 9000, but she is every bit as dignified and even more self-aware than that soft-spoken machine. SHODAN is conscious of being the product of fallible human hands and ambitions and is all the more resentful toward her makers for that reason. She threatens you continuously, revealing full knowledge of your supposedly secret intention to dismantle her.
System Shock was a game in which a villain like SHODAN could thrive. Your character had to sneak through installation corridors (and even cyberspace), leaning around corners, standing on his toes to see over ledges - and yet such stealth seemed pathetic or entirely futile in the face of a computer opponent that was not limited by fallible senses. Fortunately or not, the conclusion of System Shock did not mark the end of SHODAN, as she was also alluded to in Origin's Crusader isometric action games, as well as in the action-adventure Bioforge.
Next:
A race of masochistic warriors
| | | | | |
|  |
|
