November Modern Community Playthrough - System Shock 2

[Fleach]

The navigation is pretty confusing in this game. I think if you pay attention to the audiolog that keeps telling you where to go you should be OK. I generally have no idea where I am, but if that lady gives me more instructions I know I'm on the right track.

You're right about the Hybrids sounding scary as heck. I hate the way they moan. Sends shivers down my spine.

[bombatomba]

how do you know what deck you're on? i made it to the medical area past that bulkhead that brings up a loading screen and an autosave. it looked like maybe the science area was deck 2 and medical is deck 1 based on the numbers in the bulkhead, but i'm not really sure if that's what those mean or not.

Yep, Engineering is deck 1 and Medical is Deck 2.  I didn't really know which floor I was on until I got the power back on and stepped into an elevator.  I thought, "I'm just now getting onto Deck 3!?!?!"  It was kind of amusing, but things get moving faster from that point on.

Spot on with the hybrids. I did a lot of jumping during my first hour, and I still jump every now and then when I think I'm safe and get caught with my inventory open.  That's a useful truth: Enemies spawn in most areas, although there are safe spots where you can monkey with your stuff and check the map.

Great game.  I'm actually looking forward to playing the Ultima Underworld and the early Elder Scrolls games now.

[Disposed Hero]

First thing I noticed was that I can no longer just use my trusty wrench, as a there are too few places to hide and ambush.  Oh, well. It was too overpowered anyways.  The shotgun stinks in comparison. I found a laser rapier (or something), but I need level 4 energy weapons to use.  I think I'll save that for exotic weapons, though.  I also noticed that if you pick up an enemy's weapon you can unload the round in the chamber and keep it.  To think how many shotgun rounds I'd have if I'd noticed that earlier...

I found the shotgun to be pretty useful for most of the game.  Maybe you just need a few more points in Standard weapons (if you want to go that route, that is).  I never used the laser rapier, but I did exchange my wrench for the crystal shard (exotic weapon) a little later in the game, although by that time I was using guns pretty much exclusively.  Keep in mind that you can change ammo types for your weapons if you find you're not doing much damage.

how do you know what deck you're on? i made it to the medical area past that bulkhead that brings up a loading screen and an autosave. it looked like maybe the science area was deck 2 and medical is deck 1 based on the numbers in the bulkhead, but i'm not really sure if that's what those mean or not.

Yeah, like bombatomba said, what deck your on becomes much more apparent once you get the elevator up and running, which happens relatively early in the game.

You're right about the Hybrids sounding scary as heck. I hate the way they moan. Sends shivers down my spine.

I think it's even more disturbing if you really listen to what they're saying and don't just dismiss it as the usual zombie moaning.  Sometimes the Hybrids say things like "Run!" or "I'm sorry" or "Kill me!", which to me suggests that there is still a somewhat conscious human in there somewhere who has no control over their actions.

[samus5678]

I think it's even more disturbing if you really listen to what they're saying and don't just dismiss it as the usual zombie moaning.  Sometimes the Hybrids say things like "Run!" or "I'm sorry" or "Kill me!", which to me suggests that there is still a somewhat conscious human in there somewhere who has no control over their actions.

Along with the audio logs on deck 3 makes it even creepier knowing that only one or two people willingly joined.

[Disposed Hero]

I think it's even more disturbing if you really listen to what they're saying and don't just dismiss it as the usual zombie moaning.  Sometimes the Hybrids say things like "Run!" or "I'm sorry" or "Kill me!", which to me suggests that there is still a somewhat conscious human in there somewhere who has no control over their actions.

Along with the audio logs on deck 3 makes it even creepier knowing that only one or two people willingly joined.

Yeah, listening to the audio logs is quite chilling as well.  You can hear it in their voices when some of the crew members are being converted.  The sound design in this game is pretty great, most notably the enemy sound effects and the way the voices of The Many are distorted.

[Fleach]

I think it's even more disturbing if you really listen to what they're saying and don't just dismiss it as the usual zombie moaning.  Sometimes the Hybrids say things like "Run!" or "I'm sorry" or "Kill me!", which to me suggests that there is still a somewhat conscious human in there somewhere who has no control over their actions.

I have been listening to what the Hyrbids say. I think you're right about the possibility that they might still have a shred of human consciousness.

[techwizard]

the moaning doesn't bother me, it's what they say that i found creepy. it definitely feels like they're fully conscious of what they're doing and hate themselves for it.

[samus5678]

I just got to this week's checkpoint, and I was surprised when I found out

Spoiler (hover to show)

that you were working for SHODAN this whole time.

[Fleach]

I just got to this week's checkpoint, and I was surprised when I found out

Spoiler (hover to show)

that you were working for SHODAN this whole time.

That's such a Ken Levine style twist. Something similar happens in BioShock as well.

[Disposed Hero]

I just got to this week's checkpoint, and I was surprised when I found out

Spoiler (hover to show)

that you were working for SHODAN this whole time.

That's such a Ken Levine style twist. Something similar happens in BioShock as well.

I also noticed that similarity.  I know BioShock is the spiritual successor to System Shock 2, but I was still surprised by just how many similarities there are between the two games, both in terms of gameplay and narrative.

[bombatomba]

I just got to this week's checkpoint, and I was surprised when I found out

Spoiler (hover to show)

that you were working for SHODAN this whole time.

That blew me away too.  Totally was not expecting that at all, but it does explain quite a bit.

Finished it. Took me...  a lot of hours.  Pretty close to the average posted on Gamefaqs.  I'm now watching a playthrough of the game on Youtube.  I can't believe how inefficient I was.  I used to wrench, shotgun, and pistol for so long.  This guy was stashing stuff in the elevator for storage.  How cool is that?

[Fleach]

Has everyone else finished playing?

I know GrayGhost took a bit of a shot in the dark with this game since it's likely not for everyone, but I'm seeing some god discussion and some have completed the game which makes me happy.

[GrayGhost81]

Yeah, I guess it's time to let the mutated monkey out of the bag; I didn't play the game. Well, I didn't come close to finishing it. I played up to the first checkpoint and didn't really enjoy it all. I established further checkpoints by watching youtube videos. I didn't even put up a checkpoint for last week because those who were playing the game were already finished.

So, it sucks that I didn't gel with this game, but we still had a really good podcast and I hope you all will give it a listen.

Feel free to share your thoughts an analysis here, spoilers and all. To those who did play, I hope you liked the game more than I did.

[Disposed Hero]

As soon as I saw that System Shock 2 was going to be a community playthrough title, I knew that the reception would be lukewarm at best.  It's a difficult and complicated game, and probably an unknown for anybody who didn't play PC games back in the late '90s / early 2000s.  Despite that, I was actually really excited for this one.  It's a game that has been on my radar pretty much since it was released, but I just never got around to playing it.  Even when I did try to play it a few years ago before it was released on Steam, I ran into some compatibility issues with my PC and couldn't get the game to run.

So fast forward to November 2014, I finally had the perfect opportunity to fire up this game, and after a rocky start, I really got into it.  Despite being 15 years old now, it's still one of the scariest and most unnerving games I've ever played.  I'm actually really glad I didn't play this game when it first came out because my 12 year old self never would have made it through the first deck.  I like to think that I have pretty strong nerves now when it comes to jump scares and the like, but this game still got to me many times.  After I got acclimated to the game and its atmosphere, I was ok for the most part....

....Then came the spiders.  Damn those spiders.  I don't consider myself an arachnophobe, but.... damn those spiders!  Why does almost every horror game feel the need to have giant spiders?  I'm ashamed to admit, but I actually watched a video walkthrough in conjunction with my playthrough of the game just to see where the spawn points were for the spiders.  And then they spawn somewhat randomly on some of the decks.  The worst was when I returned to Deck 4.  I opened up a door just to find a spider directly on the other side.  I almost jumped out of my chair while screaming "SHIT!!!" and proceeded to unload on it with my shotgun.  Seriously, am I the only one who gets freaked out by those things?  I almost quit playing the game because of them.

Anyway, I'm not surprised that GrayGhost and some of the others here didn't finish the game.  As much as I loved it, I was actually really glad when it was over.  Playing it actually felt pretty stressful most of the time.  Not to mention the steep learning curve involved, although it gets a lot easier once you get about half way through the game (and of course, remember to save often!).  I'm really looking forward to the podcast segment. 

[singlebanana]

As playthrough hosts, I think we feel that we should always finish a game. But in a "real" gaming situation (at home with no commitments or other barriers), that's not how any of us game at all (well, maybe all of us except Disposed ). I think that any time you start a game, the intention is to beat or finish it. However, on multiple occasions, I've just shut off a game and been like f&*k this! At some point, your enjoyment of a game diminishes so much that you have to do yourself (and sometimes your family) a solid and just put the damn thing back on the shelf. We playthrough hosts are just like other gamers and while I think we try and finish all of these games, we just can't. Though we shouldn't, we put this expectation upon ourselves. As hosts, we should look at ourselves as mainly "organizers" in that we are getting some really cool people together to experience a game and talk about it. That's what I love about these playthroughs, the camaraderie and social dynamic that it establishes; something in my life that has been lacking since I stopped going over to peoples' houses and dorm rooms to game with them.

Not finishing a game is not a bad thing by any means, it doesn't mean we failed in our objective or devalue the experience in any way. Simply playing a game and experiencing at least some part of it adds value to our lives and helps us better understand ourselves as gamers. Sometimes really disliking a game or becoming overly frustrated with it is often a more valuable experience than beating a more lackluster title.

My take away and what I always tell the guys is, don't worry if you couldn't finish a game. There is still plenty to talk about on the podcast and even discussing why you disliked it or couldn't finish is valuable. As hosts, I know it's a tough dynamic to accept, but I feel that we are harming our gaming experience by holding ourselves to higher standards.