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System Shock 2

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System Shock 2
The cover art of System Shock 2.
The cover art of System Shock 2.
Developer(s)Irrational Games, Looking Glass Studios
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
EngineEnhanced Dark Engine
Platform(s)PC (Windows),
Dreamcast (Cancelled)
ReleaseAugust 11, 1999
Genre(s)First-person shooter, Adventure game, RPG
Mode(s)Single player, Cooperative multiplayer

System Shock 2 is the 1999 sequel to the 1994 Looking Glass Studios computer game System Shock. It was developed by Looking Glass offshoot Irrational Games and Looking Glass and published by Electronic Arts.

Plotline

Template:Spoiler The game takes place in 2114, forty-two years after the events in System Shock. The game is mostly set onboard the Tri-Optimum starship Von Braun, the first faster-than-light starship in human history. The player is a United National Nominate (UNN) soldier, based aboard the military starship Rickenbacker. The Rickenbacker is piggy-backed onto the Von Braun, providing escort for its maiden voyage into the unknown. Five months into the voyage, the player wakes up in a cryo-tube on the medical deck of the Von Braun, with a new cybernetic interface system, and no memory of the past few weeks. Much as in the first game, the player must piece together various clues to discover what has happened and what they must do about it.

The game takes the tenets of its predecessor, namely to combine a sci-fi/horror action game with role-playing/adventure elements, one step further by relying on a version of the Dark engine used in Thief for visuals and atmosphere. The Dark engine was never delivered to the developers as a finished engine in the sense that the Quake and Unreal engines are, but was made available to both projects as it was developed. In the Gamasutra postmortem, project manager and programmer Jonathan Chey states that it should still be possible to create an executable which can run both games, which should serve to describe the close relationship between the two games.

File:Systemshock2 ingame.jpg
System Shock 2 beta screenshot.

In System Shock 2 the player character has a number of specific skills that can come into play at various points in the game depending on how the player decides to develop the character and play the game. The character can be initially be chosen from three different professions: a gun-slinging Marine, a Navy hacker/engineer or an OSA psi-corps psionic with magic-like abilities. Through choosing three different tours of duty, the character can be further customized before the start of the game. Throughout the rest of the game, statistics and skills can be purchased and upgraded using "Cybernetic modules" at upgrade stations.

In these aspects, System Shock 2 has as much in common with computer role-playing games as with first person shooters. The gameplay requires more adaptability and alternative problem solving than most first-person shooters, mainly because combat is very challenging by comparison: many weapons in System Shock 2 require special skills, while both ammunition and skill points are hard to come by. Furthermore, guns degrade through use and can eventually break and must be maintained and/or repaired with the use of certain skills or items reliant on skill values. In a typical game the player will only be able to use half of the weapons or psionic disciplines depending on one's choice of specialization. This provides a good amount of replayability and forces the player to think about their choices.

Items are picked up in a fashion similar to the first game, by aiming the crosshairs and right-clicking or by using drag-and-drop with the inventory window. However, the cursor is locked to the centre of the screen, as in most modern modern first person games. The Dark engine allows for very detailed placement of objects compared most first-person games. Items, weapons and upgrade modules can therefore be found hidden underneath benches, fallen into cracks in the floor or on top of piping in the ceiling. The player must look carefully to find such items, which would not be feasible in a game such as Half-Life, where the only way to collect items is by walking on top of them.

The horror element in System Shock 2 is quite pronounced; many players have found the game to be very scary. This effect is achieved by the random, mostly non-scripted movement and appearance of enemies in an environment which is often very dark and fearsome, and the vivid horror material present in many scenes. In its review of System Shock 2 as one of "The Greatest Games of All Time", Gamespot states, "The game was scary. Damn scary. And this isn't schlocky-horror-movie-style monster-closet scary, where the bogeyman jumps out at you when you least expect it. Shock 2 projected real psychological terror through the tragic grotesquery of the formerly human enemies, the urgency and grim portent of the crew members' audio logs, and the unparalleled sound design that brought the menace and forebodingness of the Von Braun to horrible life." [1]

Much as the original System Shock's commercial defeat was at the hands of the mainstream Doom, System Shock 2, despite critical acclaim [2], was essentially eclipsed by Half-Life.

The official patch updates the game from the release version (1.15) to version 2.3. Players must have the release version for the patch to work. It adds multiplayer support, a new difficulty level, the ability to modify the rate of enemy spawning and gun degradation, and several bugfixes. It is best to get the patch before playing. However, the patch can be applied without breaking savegames.

Fan Modifications

A free fan-made add-on pack, called "Rebirth," is available on the Internet, which increases some of the polygon counts and provides new textures to make the most of the new models. The polygon counts had been kept relatively low in the original release to ensure high performance speed. However, the developers have stated that they underestimated their 'budget' for performance and they could have made the polygon counts higher. Rebirth, however, has received criticism from some, who believe that it changes the 'feel' of the original enemies. These fans recommended playing through the unmodified game (but still using the official patch) at least once, before deciding whether or not to use Rebirth.

The "No Spiders" patch removes the spider enemies from the game. Some people with severe arachnophobia were unable to continue after encountering these enemies.

The SHock Texture Upgrade Project (SHTUP), is a modification that aims to increase the resolution of the object textures used in the game, while maintaining the same art-style.

Criticisms

While lauded as excellent by devoted fans, some have criticised certain aspects of System Shock 2.

Most of the complaints take issue with the gun degradation system. Designed to add tension to the game, many feel that the guns degrade too quickly and too often. Also, ammunition is scarce, compared to most games. However, most complaints about ammunition come from players attempting to play the game like a 'standard' first person shooter.

Another issue is spawning. Unlike most current games, System Shock 2 frequently spawns enemies in areas that have been cleared. These enemies then come looking for the player. Some criticize the spawning as a flaw, but many believe that the respawning element adds to the realism and atmosphere of the game. These fans maintain that the omnipresence of enemies in the game helps to create a pervading atmosphere of fear and tension. Astute players may also reap benefits, such as extra ammunition and health items, from efficiently dispatching respawning enemies. There are also some areas where players are safe from enemies, giving them time to collect their thoughts and plan their next actions.

In light of these complaints, the patched version of System Shock 2 allows players to tone down (or remove) some of these aspects of the game. This can also allow these aspects to be increased (some experimentation is required though), for players wanting an extra challenge.

It also appears that Irrational Games was running out of time on System Shock 2, due to the interior design of the Rickenbacker, the second ship in the game. The areas appear hastily constructed, disjointed, and a lot of the Von Braun textures are reused (even though the ships are supposed to be different). This section of the game is also very short, which left some players wondering if there was supposed to be more.

Finally, System Shock 2 has been given a very small amount of criticism (by a few experienced players who have played both games) as holding the player's hand very slightly at certain points, in regard to how problems in the game are solved, in comparison to the first game.

Enemies

Template:Spoiler There are a number of powerful enemies within System Shock 2. This is a short list of the primary leading enemies, with a small description.

SHODAN
SHODAN returns from her apparent defeat in the first game, however this time she seeks to enlist the player as an unlikely partner in eradicating The Many.
XERXES
An AI similar in structure to SHODAN, but not quite as intelligent, and with many more safety protocols, XERXES is the primary computer system of the starship Von Braun. He is corrupted by the infestation that takes over the ship and becomes a puppet for the will of The Many.
The Many
A biological collective that has evolved from SHODAN's genetic experimentation on Citadel, The Many have infested the Von Braun in hopes of spreading across the galaxy. Turning against SHODAN (whom they call the "Machine Mother"), they are the primary antagonist in System Shock 2 and the only reason why SHODAN tolerates the player's presence in the second game.
Capt. Anatoly Korenchkin
The Captain of the Von Braun and a true "company man," Korenchkin wants so much for the mission to succeed that he is willing to go to any lengths to make sure that anything bad on the ship is covered up, up to negligently ignoring the warnings of the Chief Engineer, Dr. Marie Delacroix. He is also the one responsible for bringing the The Many to the Von Braun in the first place.

Future of the System Shock series

Because of the way the rights to the System Shock series were sold after Looking Glass liquidated, the possibility of a System Shock 3 is unlikely. Many companies purchased small sections of the franchise, and many of these companies do not even know they own them. Some fans hold the view, however, that this also prevents any company from making an "unworthy" sequel. Electronic Arts does appear to own the majority of the rights, though, as they have sent cease and desist letters to groups and individuals making unofficial System Shock-based content for various games.

In 2004, Irrational Games announced a 'spiritual successor' to the System Shock series, entitled BioShock. The game takes place in an abandoned WW2 lab uncovered in the 21st century, in which the genetic projects started during the war have lived on. Whereas System Shock 1 and 2 are considered "a convergence of technology and commercialism", BioShock will instead represent "a convergence of technology and biological life."

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