System Shock 2 (PC) review "You travel within the glory of my memories, insect. I can feel your fear as you tread the endless expanse of my mind..."

I was 12 years old when I first played System Shock 2. I had just received some spending money at Christmas, and decided to go to a local game store to pick up something to play. It was there that I ran across an unassuming box, stamped with an "EA Classics" banner (which I still own) that had what appeared to be a sinister-looking woman hovering over a ship in deep space. Thinking it could be a fun little title, I took it home expecting to be entertained.

It wasn't long until I was reloading a save, practically wetting myself in terror as my character stood outside a cargo bay, listening to ambient chatter from robots that busted out of containers and were trying to hunt me down, and getting insta-sniped by a turret when I rounded the corner.

SS2 is a game that is absolutely dripping in atmosphere and dread. It makes the very act of walking down a hallway an unnerving, terrifying experience. Yet it remains one of my favorite games of all time, and one I've returned to many times over the years. It is an action-RPG that takes everything great about horror games and applies it to the sci-fi/cyberpunk genre.



The game may seem a little dated and archaic now, but back then there was nothing like it. Everything from the interesting set-up (your four-year tour of duty is actually a class/skill selection process), the way the backstory is told through audio logs and final journals, the desolate and unnerving atmosphere and the variety of weapons/armor that could be found (and crafted) added up to a landmark experience.

I have so many fond memories of this game. Seeing my health whittled down to nothing and taking potshots at robots in a desperate attempt to stay alive. Failing to catch an escape pod and walking back through a hallway, only to have to retreat and start firing madly with a shotgun when a horde of techno-zombies appeared in front of me. Crafting a crystal sword and using it to great effect... on dangerous monkeys in a gym that were firing off bolts of energy in my direction.

I couldn't even finish the game the first time I played it, as I crafted a build that was way too reliant on tech skills. I then found myself low on ammo and medicine while trying to sprint through the Body of the Many as a horde of grotesque abominations chased me. SS2 is a game that definitely doesn't hold your hand, but rewards exploration and experimentation.



And that's not even getting into the original queen bee herself, SHODAN. Everything from Terri Brosius' masterful performance to the worst-kept secret (and simultaneous best surprise) in the game oozes villainous appeal. You can be fighting off Machine Mothers while trying to dodge security cameras, and SHODAN will still be pushing you to continue on while simultaneously telling you that you're an "insect" and that you can't comprehend what she's doing. SHODAN is a terrifying but oddly reassuring companion throughout the game and a large part of what has made it so iconic.

This is a title I've carried the torch for over the years, via its CD version, an abandonware copy I turned to because it fixed a major bug and this most recent release from Night Dive Studio, who did a stellar job negotiating the rights to publish both this and the original 1994 title.

There's a reason why this is considered part of the late-90s "holy trinity" alongside Thief 2 and Deus Ex. The innovations SS2 pioneered are still being felt in large and small ways in the gaming industry, both in its influences for franchises like Dead Space and Bioshock and narrative techniques that fully immerse the player into the world without being preachy.

I highly, highly recommend the game. It's one you should play if you haven't done so already.

Community review by alexngregory (March 28, 2017) I have only put 50 hours into KOTOR 1. My opinions are worthless.