Welcome to the Modern Community Playthrough for November 2014!
As a huge Ken Levine and Irrational Games fan, I am thrilled to be hosting a playthrough of the spiritual prequel to BioShock, which is one of my all-time favorites. I'm also excited to be playing a PC game for the first time since I was a child.
[img width=582 height=304]http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/systemshock2/sshock2-logo.jpg[/img]
System Shock 2 is a PC game first released in 1999. It was developed by Irrational Games and designed by Ken Levine. Although it sold poorly initially, it is looked back on as a classic and praised for its innovative and deep blend of first person shooting, role playing, and survival-horror elements.
Although System Shock 2 is a sequel to System Shock, the first game was not designed by Levine and company. System Shock 2 was originally conceived as an Ultima styled dungeon crawler in a science fiction setting and originally called Junction Point. When Electronic Arts signed on to publish the game, they suggested using the System Shock licence, which they owned at the time.
StoryYou'll wake from a cryogenic sleep aboard the Von Braun Starship in the year 2114 (42 years after the events of the first game), very far from home. Right away you'll understand that something has gone horribly wrong and you'll need to get to the bottom of it.
GameplayWhile fans of BioShock and BioShock Infinite will recognize many of the gameplay elements and themes of this adventure, System Shock 2 is a much deeper and more complicated game than either BioShock title.
At its core, System Shock 2 is a first person shooter, but it isn't all about guns. Players can pick up Psi-Amps with which they can use a wide variety of powers to defeat enemies and overcome environmental hazards. Much like plasmids in BioShock, Psi powers add variety to combat and give the player more choice in the form of customization.
[img width=640 height=480]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f2/Systemshock2_ingame_final.jpg[/img]
There is also a strong emphasis on resource management, which earns the game its above mentioned survival horror status. The player must loot containers, desks, dead bodies, and of course garbage cans for all his supplies, and as you might guess, ammo is a little hard to come by.
Having been published in 1999 it's arguable whether this game should be considered modern or retro, and this is appropriate because the gameplay is even blend of modern shooter mechanics and old-school PC game mechanics.
Resources (All Contain Spoilers)
http://youtu.be/s7DVOw1lIcMhttp://www.gamasutra.com/...tructure_And_Spoilers.phpPlatformsPC
Mac
Sega DreamcastLinux
Participantsgrayghost81
fleach
disposed hero
bombatomba
samus5678
CheckpointsWeek One - Get to Deck
Four Three
Week Two - Get to Deck Five
Week Three
Week Four
Player TipsAs someone with a fondness for the BioShock series, the comparative complexity of System Shock 2 blindsided me and took a long time get used to. Some of these tips are things I figured out for myself while playing, some are taken from other sources but have been proven to be helpful in my time with the game. -Save often. This game rarely auto saves but gives you the ability to hard save at any time. This is one of those games where knowing when to hard save becomes part of the strategy.
-Learn about the systems. Pay attention to the tutorials and read a guide if you don't understand. There are many complex systems operating here, and it pays to understand what is going on with them to maximize your abilities evenly.
-Remember you can lower (or raise) the difficulty at any time. If all else fails, there is a cheat code command. Look it up and use it if you have to. I don't want to see people drop out of the playthrough because they had trouble with the combat.
-Toggle your mini-map on if you wish. I bring this up because it defaults to off, and I didn't realize it was an option until a few hours into the game.
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