SS2=3 in 1: FPS, RPG & Survival Horror in a cyber-punk universe. Truly revolutionary.
SS2 is set in the distant future, 42 years after the events of the first game.In the first game, from what i've heard, a hacker(our protagonist) was forced by his superior from the TriOptimum corporation to remove the ethical restrictions of an Artificial Inteligence known as Sentient Hyper Optimized Data Acces Network in exchange for some military upgrade, stuff.This makes SHODAN a fatal threat for the human race, she becomes something like Skynet from the Terminator or SETH from Universal Soldier lol.SHODAN was created on Earth with the purpose to serve well the Citadel Station.now in SS2, the space craft named Von Braun was in a space voyage & it was escorted by the vessel Rickenbacker.Along the way they receive a distress signal from the planet Tau Ceti V where they descend & find Alien lifeforms later known as The Many that surprinsingly were created by SHODAN.The crew members that were investigating are infected & soon all the colony on the ship will get infected.Well well...now what do you know!James Cameron...an absolute legend.His influence is a major factor in both Movies & Video Games(just think about Starcraft, AvP, Metroid & others:)
The begining of SS2 is very similar with the begining of HL-you arrive at an underground train station & then enter the UNN Facility.Then you begin basic training followed by advanced training where are 3 sections:Psy, Tech & Skills; the cyber-punk visuals are at their best in these training rooms-a futuristic "rave-like" environment where all the walls are black & there are multi-coloured lines everywhere.Sci-fi environment at it's best lol, these visuals will be repeated only at the end of the game unfortunately.Then you begin the real game & choose your military career between Navy, O.S.A. & Marines sections.Then our player wakes up from a cryo-tube where he was sleeping(Halo anyone?:)He's aboard the Von Braun where SHODAN was also brought after the trip to Tau Ceti V.Our player is quickly guided by Dr. Janice Polito to a safer place as the zone was depressurizing.He is helped & guided by radio transmissions by her untill our hero finds out that she was dead & that all the time SHODAN was actually disguised.The inteligence, the computer whatever known as Xerxes that runs the Von Braun is blocking their path & blocks a lot of entries & doors so they colaborate.SHODAN seeks out revenge over the lifeforms that she has created-she is not pleased anymore so she requires the help of our geneticaly modified protagonist to eradicate this threat that she created so he keeps him alive & they oppose Xerxes & The Many(her creation).A chain of events:he hacked her, then she created Alien lifeforms, then she guids him to help her destroy her creation & ultimately they will fight against each other...that saying:You make the devil your brother untill you cross the bridge, something similar.The moment when she reveals herself to our hero(i don't know how to call him) represents one of the scariest moments in video game history.It's simply breathtaking-you have to live that moment once in a lifetime!The Many has infected & infested all the crew members-our hero is alone in the dark, cooperating with the "devil" himself.Bioshock...i consider it System Shock 3 & Bioshock as System Shock 4 as both franchises were created by the same company or the same people from the company that made SS.They are very similar, Bioshock simply exists because of System Shock 2 there is no major difference...only about the graphics maybe.
SHODAN terrorises you psychologicaly all the time & only at the end of the game when she manifests, can harm you directly.She sends you Email Logs warning you about potential threats & awards you when you succed in what she tells you to do.
There are 6 Decks or section on the Von Braun:Engineering, Med/Sci, Hydroponics, Operations, Recreational & Command.& on the Rickenbacker 2 or 3 more parts.You are rewarded with Cyber Modules by SHODAN when you succed on what she tells you to do.They are very hard to find.You spend them at the upgrade units, 4 of them:Psy, Weapon, Tech & Stats.Psy stands for Psyonics.It upgrades your psyonic powers that you were "rigged with".you use them with the Psy Amplifier.4 types of psyonics available.Same thing is in Bioshock.The other stuff that you spend are Nanites-you use them in hacking vending machines & opening crates & other stuff.There are security cameras that are green.When they see you they turn yellow & when they detect you they turn red, informing Xerxes that sends out legions of monsters after you.Only after the timer ends they will stop coming after you.You can prevent this by hacking the control panels that deactivate the cameras for a period of time or by simply shooting them.You have a lot of weapons with a wide range of ammo type:pistols, shotguns, rifles, grenade launchers, fusion cannons, dual circuit emp rifles etc.They degrade & they eventualy broke, gets jammed.You can repair them by hacking them by using nanites.In perfect condition, a weapon is rated with 10 ; 9-very good; 7-good; 5-average; 3-shoddy & 1 terrible.They broke very often so it's kinda annoying.You also have an alternative by repairing them by finding a specific kind of object & to drag it over it to repair it.To improve the condition of a weapon, you can drag a maintenance tool over it.The psy hypos are for psy points & med patches for life-you begin the game with 55 life points & end the game having over 100.The enemies cyborg assasins & shamblers are sightings that look very familiar-they have "brothers" in Half-Life1.The cyborg-widwifes are the scariest though.There are also droids that sound like 3PO & they self destruct when they get near you.All the game you must search bodies for contents & you will find all the way audio logs in which you hear creepy messages from deceased crew members.Very familiar sightings in Doom3 & Bioshock.On board the ship there are also...monkeys.Bad monkeys!That have powerful psyonic powers which can kill you in a very short matter of time.After you kill a monkey you take her brain & have the possibility to research it to find out valuable information.You can do that with all the parts that you find after you kill an enemy but most of them you will need a chemical solution to research it.When you die, you are ressurected at a Bio-Quatum-Reconstruct Unit, the equivalent of the Vita-Chamber.When you encounter the most common enemy it will beg you to kill him & that is kinda both scary & funny.
The graphics are badly outdated but the music is fascinating cyber-punk stuff that builds up the tension.The gameplay is also somehow rusty & out of the range sometimes but this lacking features are compensated by all the revolutionary features of the game itself.& as you can see, there are tons of them.SS2 was nighmarishly hard when i first played it but the 2nd time through was much easier.My first tought when i first played it was:"OMG, this game is complete crap, i don't like it".Now i think it's a nearly masterpiece, not quite, but close.Now i have to find out if SS2 was inspired after HL1 or if HL1 was inspired after SS1, lol.
So in SS2 you have 3 in 1: FPS, RPG & Survival Horror in a cyber-punk universe where SHODAN(as evil as it gets) tries to convert the reality into her own cybernetic universe.You are without your will her ally throughout the whole game...
"Look at you, hacker. A pathetic creature of meat and bone, panting and sweating as you run through my corridors. How can you challenge a perfect, immortal machine?"