Well, what can I say... this game is simply **incredible**. I am reviewing this game 4.5 years after it was released and still I think that this game is a natural born winner. Bravo to ION Storm for developing a polished gem such as this. I only recently started playing this game, and I can tell you that it really grabs you. I really did not know what I was missing... In this game you choose 1 from 3 careers, a navy officer, an OSA agent or a marines soldier. Each career makes you actually a different character, and that is where the role playing enters. Once you choose your main career, you start specializing in the various skills, traits and perks of that career, such as melee combat specialist, tech specialist and on and on... Once you do that the game begins, no turning back. This gives the games a high replayability value, which is great because this is the immediate thing I would do when I finish it. You start off waking up in a shuttle that is about to get airlocked, so immediately you are on the double, no time to relax. As you move through the corridors of the spaceship you start living the sounds you hear, it really gets you, really...! Something that reminds me of the movie "Event Horizon". Also, the hybrids, which are the main foes "on-board" have this taunting speech, they are actually trying to despair you in your quest. And their voice sounds like a devilishly destorted voice, like in The Exorcist. You soon find yourself peeking out of every corner, just to get a hint of what is in the next room/ corridor. This is not a game where you just run arond with your weapons blazing, you gotta think here, think of concealment, when you read your e-mails and hear you audio logs, and be ready with the specific ammunition for your next foe/s. Armor piercing ammo will not be good on a living foe the same as Anti Person ammo will not do well on reinforced metal objects. The foes here are not dumb, you can get them from behind if you sneak good enough and down them with 1 blow, or face to face them and empty 4 bullets, your call... When you look at them, they really look like they are looking for you, moving their head from side to side with their weapon ready. When they make eye contact with, you better run boy, you better run...! This game is rather hard. I have played Deus Ex (another game from this developer) on "hard" and finished it (no cheats of course). So I tried this game too, on Hard setting and it was hellishly difficult, nothing to comare to Desu Ex. I am now playing on Easy and it is still challenging. Ammo is scarce, and also good weaponry. Most items you find are either in bad shape or simply unusable by you until you can repair them which requires sometimes an upgrade in that skill...So you gotta be careful how much you shoot. Learn to use you melee weapon well... That is it, I am off to continue playing the game. I hope that you will enjoy this game as much as I am enjoying it now...! All the best!
If I were to write a one-sentence review of System Shock 2, that sentence would be: "No other game has made my in-game avatar cower in fear of the enemy, or run away shamelessly from threat." It's simply the... Read Full Review
System Shock 2 is one of a select group of games that transcend the traditional "gameplay-graphics-sound" rating system to become a truly unique experience. The gripping storyline, the haunting sound effects, the immers... Read Full Review
