System Shock 2 PC Adventure Game

PC Gaming seems to have entered a lukewarm phase recently. The same concepts and ideas have been used time and time again, ranging from mindless blow-everything-up action games, to RPGs with nothing but fighting enemies and building characters, to standard platform jumping puzzle/adventure titles. It is a rare moment when a single game shatters the boundaries of this monotony, and System Shock 2 is that game.

System Shock 2 takes place during the year 2114. Mankind has colonized certain areas of space, but has yet to travel to distant star systems, until the brilliant Dr. Marie Delacroix invents warp drive technology that enables starships to travel at speeds faster than light. Using this technology, the TriOptimum corporation constructs a massive starship, the Von Braun, to travel towards distant worlds. Problems with the ship arise during the voyage, and tension between the civilian crew of the Von Braun and the military of the UNN Rickenbacker increases. Suddenly, the ship receives a distress signal from the planet Tau Ceti V, and the captain decides to investigate. Ever since then, strange things happen aboard. Crew members behave oddly and start disappearing. The ship's computer malfunctions and seems to have turned against the crew. Worm-like parasites are crawling around, and a strange, massive collection of bio flesh grows and begins to engulf the ship. Then, something terrible happens, and you suddenly wake up from a cryogenic sleep tube to find everyone dead, with no recollection of what happened. Something has gone very, very wrong on this ship.

System Shock 2 is truly a genre-bending game. It mixes the best elements from role-playing, action and adventure titles all into one package. In addition, it is one of the most frightening games I have ever played. It is not so much the "shock" factor, (such as enemies suddenly jumping out at you unexpectedly) as it is "creepy". The adventure is filled with spine-chilling moments, including the horrible noises of the enemies to the ghosts of dead crew members. Wandering the hallways of the Von Braun fills you with dread, pure dread of what could be hiding around the corner or in the next room. Dread that you will be faced with a monster, only to have your pistol jam before you plug one last bullet into it. The enemies are active, they know you are there, and they are hunting you down. They make terrifying noises, calling as they seek you, their prey. You must sneak past security cameras, hack into systems, collect clues and audio logs of crew members, find weapons and ammunition, build your character and most importantly: keep yourself alive. Exploration is key. You must scour every desk, crate, box, and corner to find items and money. Only by exploring will you succeed. Luckily, you are prepared for the situation. Before starting the game, you can choose from three branches of the military to train in. The Marines are fighters who specialize in all grades of weaponry. The Navy soldiers are skilled technicians and hackers; they can hack, repair, or modify just about any machine. The OSA agents are a group of black-ops psychics who use mental powers. The various methods of approach are dramatically different among the classes. For example, in order to sneak past a security camera, a Marine would shoot it down, a Navy soldier would hack into the security system and disable it, and an OSA agent would turn himself invisible in order to sneak past the camera undetected. These three distinct playing styles contribute a great deal of replayability to System Shock 2: You may wish to play the game again using a different character. As you progress through the game, you will pick up cybernetic modules which enable you to upgrade your character in terms of physical strength, agility, psionic powers and technical skills. If you wish to be a weapons expert Marine who dabbles a bit in psionics and technical stuff, the option is open. It is really best to devote your resources to a particular skill, as a jack of all trades is a master at none.

The interactivity in the game is very impressive. Don't like the prices on that Value-Rep machine? Hack into it and lower the cost of the items. Want to be able to load more bullets into that pistol? Modify it and attach a larger clip. Need to be able to attack your enemies for maximal damage? Search an enemy's corpse, pluck out a vital organ, and then research it to discover the most vulnerable areas. Is that gun turret shooting at you? Use your psychic powers to become invisible, walk up to it, hack it, and set it to shoot at your enemies instead of you. These opportunities and more are possible in System Shock 2.

System Shock 2 is a good audio and visual experience. The audio is simply amazing, especially if you have a 4-speaker sound card such as the Sound Blaster Live. Everything, from the low humming noises of the ship to the grotesque cries of the enemies, is presented in glorious surround sound. In fact, the excellent directional sound can help you detect the location of enemies, if you carefully listen for their positions. Plot development is handled by logs and e-mails from crew members, where the excellent voice acting provides a compelling story to follow. As a visual experience, the graphics in System Shock 2 are a mixed bag. The architecture and texture design of the ship is superb: very convincing and authentic looking. The 3D models of the characters however, leave much to be desired. They are very blocky and unrealistic looking, showing a great deal of straight lines and ugly, sharp points. I suspect that this is a limit of the game's engine and not of artistic talent, as Thief: The Dark Project (based on the same engine) had similar problems with low-polygon character models.

Play control is responsive and goes a step further. Your character's movement feels very human and natural, unlike most first-person perspective games, in which movement feels like you are driving a fast moving vehicle with a gun. The game interface is laid out in an organized, intuitive manner. You can access items, weapons, notes, and research with a hit of the Tab key. Goals and missions are clearly stated by certain characters who are guiding you, so there is never a question of what to do next. The plot thickens as you explore the inner depths of the Von Braun and learn what happened to the ship after the discovery on Tau Ceti V. It becomes an escalating war between the machines and the biomass of the Many, with you stuck in the middle, surrounded by enemies on both sides. Be prepared for betrayals, surprises and sudden plot twists. You are the only person you can trust, and you are alone against an army of nightmarish biotic creatures and cyborgs.

System Shock 2 is one of the most immersive, compelling games I have played. It has been available for quite some time now, so you should be able to find it at your local software store for $20 or less. If you find it, I recommend that you give it a try. It will leave you with a fresh perspective on games and a craving for a sequel. Hats off to Irrational Games for making a fantastic adventure game.

Summary: System Shock II
Good: Highly immersive, excellent audio, compelling plot, original gameplay, scary.

Bad: Blocky character models, weapons tend to break quickly.

Developed by Irrational Games
Published by Electronic Arts

by Davis Lentz