System Shock 2 : 21st century

[synthetic]

I gave it another go recently, curious about couple elements of interest:

1) does it work on modern hardware and OS
2) is it visually pleasing, appalling, or bearable?
3) is it as good gaming experience as I remember it to be - something worth coming back to?
4) can I play it with someone else?

After a bit of tinkering, here is what I found:

1) After getting the right package I managed to get it to work on XP Pro SP3 without having to use any additional (available) tools or work-around methods. However, setting core affinity to single core was necessary to avoid crashes from start.
On other installations it may be necessary to avoid installation entirely and use a work-around by copying SHOCK folder and applying downloadable SS2Tool; there are additional ways of getting it to work on XP and W7 should you still encounter problems.
So overall, yes, it does work.

2) Visually it is more pleasing than Deus Ex, possibly due to the way the playfields are constructed. Battle mechanics are a bit funny, cute even, but you get quickly used to it. Only thing that's bound to catch your eye is the human meshes, especially the ones of ghosts that you're bound to see from upclose. Because of the immersion the game offers, you soon take it as a form of stylization, no longer bothered by the fact that they look anything but human. Couple cut scenes are a bit funny if you notice the limited geometry, but at the same time there is a lot of appreciation for how much they managed with so little, as all that you see can pass as.. suitable.

3) Haven't played a game in years that'd make me scream out loud, because some silent mutant managed to make its way behind me when I turned around. The game is incredibly simple (more enjoyable) yet appreciatively complex (enjoyable for those who enjoy some rpg elements), making you regret some skill choices and memorizing/marking places on maps where you want to come back to once you have gotten more cybarnetic modualz (remembered clix when I played it, lol). The immersion is very much there, along with its cute but effective scare element and moments of frustration when you encounter lot of enemies and realize you should've taken a more clever approach.

4) I actually wished I could play with someone else, when I gave it the first go. The way the game is built demands focus on its atmosphere so multiplayer is generally advised against, but should two players manage to keep their pace and follow the story, then having someone to hack things or take care of the weapons, or use some mindwaves to fry camera up ahead, would prove to be very useful.
Although requiring some additional tinkering, it is possible to play it online.


As a summary, it is still possible to enjoy this fantastic game in the year 2012, without going entirely mad about how old it looks. If you have never played it, give it a go.

[James]

There's faithful texture and model update mods. Along with those that are unfaithful such as the infamously sexy (non-scary) midwife re-design.

It's still a very playable experience that may be dated.

Yes co-op still works, co-op is pretty fun but rest assured it will be more of a humorous experience than a scary one. http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108972
Me and MrBlack played through a lot of mods by Christine too. Fan expansion on the events, IIRC.
http://thiefmissions.com/search.cgi?sea ... =release#m

[synthetic]

Thanks for the list there, I'll have to check up on those. I'll stick with the more or less story/lore friendly updates, leaving fun additions to when the initial interest is about depleted. Model update might address the couple issues I mentioned.

Pretty sure there was at least one-two other threads on this game, but a bump from a fresh point of view for a good game won't harm, I think.

[Psychotic]

System Shock 2 is honestly the scariest game I've ever played. Truly scary, not just some cheap parlour horror tricks. The game actually gave me chills when I first played it and I loved every minute of it.

Whilst it's definitely designed to be a solo experience I just love the idea of playing it with a couple of mates, one of which has a weak stomach to these sorts of thing, apparently.

On that note, also need to grab Sven Co-op again. That was always fun.

[synthetic]

Scariest experience for me was playing russian version of AVP1 when I was 14 or 15, as the Marine. The game is scary as it is, but I didn't understand a word of russian besides basic cursing and counting to ten. You have some commanding officer telling you vital information about the base as you start, and you just cant understand anything! Its all in russian! Have to thank my russian friend for that experience.

I am not particularly looking for scary games, but the scariness of SS2 carries an additional emotional depth that you don't find in generic zombie crawl turn-off-all-the-lights titles.
[spoiler]Took me a while to understand that some of those fuckers are moaning "Kill me--"[/spoiler]

[Psychotic]

Oh yeah, AVP1 was pretty damn scary when I played it, at around the same age as you, too. I never got very far in that game, but that was mostly because I never had my own copy or a PC that could play it at the time so had to use a friends.