I think System Shock 2 is needlessly convoluted. To it's credit, I think Bioshock is needlessly simplified, not to mention the latest Call of Bioshock, Modern Infinite.

Really the only bothersome "convolutions" in the game are the weapon repairs and the billion billion psi powers you have. What does weapon condition add to the game beside needless tedium? Wouldn't maintenance or repair already be enough on our plates by themselves? And couldn't have the 50 or so psi powers have been condensed into at least a healthy 12 (which is still a lot)?

I realize this is an old game, but I really fail to see how the designers couldn't spare just one or two more polygons on the budget just to make the faces of the npcs look a tad bit normal. I feel this is a design flaw, not a technical one. The face is made up of two polygons, one on the left and right. This was hysterical to the person I tried to get play the game with me, and then I couldn't help but laugh in agreement. I think they could have utilized their polygon budget more effectively, realizing the face is probably the more important aspect of what makes an npc an npc.

I was already pretty frustrated with the game, but then I got to the end of "The Many" level. I started swearing, out loud. After about the 45th attempt I was just like "fuck it" and I turned the game to easy, where I had been playing the game on hard the whole time. The instantly respawning enemies and other shits still all killed me a couple dozen times before I could beat it. I don't suck at games, that I made it through the game on hard till that point proves that. However, after a certain point in the game I was having a really tough time. It was around the time I had attained the psi power that lets you use nanites to clone ammo and stuff. I don't know if the game just decided I didn't need ammo anymore since I had gotten this ability, but I was starving for ammo and nanites, and everything else that I was able to clone, and since I was also short on nanites, I couldn't clone stuff, so I felt pretty screwed. I don't think I made the wrong choices in leveling up, I mean I had max standard weapons and max psi, meaning I was maximizing my ammo usage and psi hypo usage through the attained damage bonus applied. I also had a few psi powers, like the one that prevents weapons from degrading, and all three offensive abilities. I didn't even beat the game since the last fight with SHODAN is an impossible clusterfuck all it's own. I opted to just watch a montage of someone clearing the boss fight and the ending scene, deciding to just be done with the game. I guess they expected you to just attain the most powerful regeneration and defense buff psi abilities and just cheaply spam those, because that's what the guy in the video did and I have no idea in hell how else it could be done.

I blame EA. Fuck those bastards. Fuck'em. EA ran Looking Glass Studios into the ground. Such a shame.

I never understood why weapon degradation in System Shock 2 bothered people so much, but I guess that's because I went through a large portion of the game whacking zombies with my wrench instead of shooting them.

Have to agree about the part with the Many though. That level was total bullshit.

Regardless, few games have managed to scare me quite like System Shock 2 did. That makes up for all of its flaws in my eyes.

edit: another thing, I kind of liked the way the NPC's looked. It gave the game a sort of unsettling and eerie feeling when you came across other humans.

You could probably build a character based on agility and strength to make an effective melee character.

I got scared shitless a few times. Engineering was one place. Playing at night with that blaring intense music, going through hallway after hallway. A couple times I would turn a corner and then "YOUR SONG IS NOT OURS" or from behind I hear "you aRE ALONE." Engineering hallways at the beginning are my favorite.
Actually, I think it was that whole engineering section alone that scared me the most.

Heh, just as I said before Night Drive even surfaced, once the people who wanted SS2 actually get it, they'd be asking "what the hell was all the hype for?".
SS2 suffers from both feature bloat (tons of worthless psy, skills that affect one item) and massive cuts (the entire endgame starting with transition between ships is a friggin hallway). And that fucking platforming section.

what i hate the most is respawning enemies. its okay if they respawn after i leave an area and come back in some time.

but they respawn every second. they come from places which are empty with no entrance.


haven't touched the game in a week because i quick saved a split second before getting one shotted by big machine which spawned in a small corridor.
It is just stupid. It does not make me feel unsecured, it makes me annoyed. really bad design.

Excessive respawns + weapon degradation is the reason why SS2 is one of the few FPS games in my collection I have not completed. I completed generally reviled games like Invisible War and Unreal 2, though...
To me it was a disappoinment after SS1, but I intend to give it another try some time.

Though I don't agree with your opinion, I have the same feelings towards Deus Ex... What a load of crap that is.

I have always thought that there is a special place in hell for developers who think constantly re-spawning mobs is a good idea.

Yup, dabbling in the config files to decrease the enemy spawning rate is recommended. Weapon degradation too, to a lesser extent.

Yeah, the psi powers are more trouble than they're worth, and the game "balance" is skewed towards the assault rifle. Seriously, once you have that monstrous thing. nothing can touch you.

Hmm, my two favorite FP games are getting ripped to pieces, but I see that the points on SS2 are valid ones. Still, I enjoyed both a lot, with Deus Ex being my favorite (who would have guessed?) game int he world. However, I also think that as I've aged and played more games I've begun to realize that part of their charm was that they were the first games to do the things they did in the way they did. It was new and exciting, and the integration of roleplaying elements in shooters was basically made popular by SS2, at least that's how I see it. Or they might not have made it popular, but they were the first to do it right in my opinion. I enjoyed Far Cry 3 immensely, the RP elements were done right and the open world feel was just right. Playing that game reminded me why I miss playing games like SS2 and Deus Ex for the first time. It has that WOW-factor that never leaves you, even after you return to that game and it's not quite as good as you remember it. Far Cry 3 had soul, just like Deus ex and SS2, but also had its flaws. That soul made it enjoyable, even when there were elements that I didn't like (like the previously mentioned The Many level).

The new generation of players is used to games being different than the ones we grew up with. I don't think this means that games like SS2 are overhyped, it's just that gamers who grew up with that game and had a chance to experience it while they were still young and free of criticism and that made it much more enjoyable for them. Being able to enjoy a game for what it is and looking past certain flaws is much more rewarding than letting one bad section of a game ruin it for you. Sometimes you just really hate a game that everyone else loves (I'm sorry Psychonauts, but I just can't...) and that's okay, it's actually really interesting to see that there's probably not a game in existence that doesn't get mixed reactions from people

I actually made an entire topic in SS2 forums. As much as I love the game, I agree it has quite a few problems. That's good, you go and tell JCD-Bionicman what you think about his favourite game because he dislikes yours, that's completely related to the topic and a mature thing to do!

You people are in luck here though, because it is possible to turn off respawn (and weapon degradation). source


Respawn and weapon degradation were two of those things that really split people. Some thought it really added to the tension of the game, other found it to be frustrating and annoying. I thought the respawn rate was set a bit to high, but I enjoyed the weapon degradation, as it made me having to think about the ways I approached combat (is it worth using my good weapon against these enemies?)

Am I the only one who likes Weapon degradation, because its realistic and adds tension to games?

It's not realistic. Weapons don't degrade nearly as fast as most games I've seen it in portray this feature. But I kinda like it too.

OK carrying an M16 Rifle in water will surely jam it, along what other earthly elements can do to a gun.

Far Cry 2 almost did it right where all guns has a different level of reliability, some guns last (AK-47) while others don't (Dart Rifle)