The original System Shock came out in 1994. Since it was released it has sold over 140,000 units worldwide. However, when it first came out it was considered a commercial failure. Sales were dismal for the first six months, even after most game reviewers had lauded it as one of the most innovative games ever created. Now, Looking Glass Studios and Irrational Games have teamed up to make the much-anticipated sequel. Unlike most sequels, System Shock 2 feels like a totally new game, fresh and innovative, while at the same time keeping to the same formula that made the original a classic. It challenges your gaming abilities, appeals to your senses (even taste), pushes the proverbial envelope, and kicks more ass than Catherine Zeta-Jones in a thong. Who says originality has gone the way of the dodo?

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The train station there is named Citadel Station; and I got a grin out of the sign you pass as the train rolls in:

"Welcome to Citadel Station".

It's probably impossible to review System Shock 2 without making reference to the its illustrious predecessor, so let's get that out of the way. Released by Looking Glass in 1994, System Shock was a ground-breaking first-person 3D title that deservedly gained tremendous critical acclaim. A moody blend of action, adventure, role-playing and horror elements, it made tremendous use of light, sound, level design and the unusual device of setting the game in a space station devoid of friendly life to create an unnerving feeling of isolation and even desperation unmatched by any earlier game, and seldom if ever since. System Shock effectively defined immersion at a time when that word was not yet in common use to describe computer games.

Here's the part of the game that most people will be interested in, the multiplayer aspect. In order to gain access to co-op, a patch is required, only a small 4 meg download though. Once downloaded and applied, simply arrange a game with a friend and discuss who you'll be, go into the game and run as a host or client, and play away. As a host you are able to either start a new game or load a saved one.

The path to creating System Shock 2 was both a very long and very short. System Shock was the game that drew me to Looking Glass nearly four years ago. There was something so special about it. Sure, there was the traditional immersive world simulation, sure there was a cool storyline, sure there was the excellent physics. But what really sucked me in was SHODAN. In most games, you saw the villain in a few key cutscenes, and then you faced him or her at the end, dispatching the cad with a rocket launcher or two or a few well placed jumps on the head. But SHODAN was different. She taunted you, she threatened you, and sometimes, she even seemed to fear you.

At least it isn't in System Shock 2. Rather than having to reload a saved game each time you die, Looking Glass has included Quantum Bio-Reconstruction Machines in the game. These devices will take a quick genetic sample and then every time you die you will be resurrected at the last station you visited. Not only does this reduce the number of times you have to load a game (which isn't exactly quick in System Shock 2), but it makes things a little easier for you in an otherwise very hard game. Another point to Looking Glass for a great idea done well. And that isn't the only nice touch.

RPG: Oh, I've had enough of your whining. Would you have been happier if I'd hacked into an enemy turret and then lured them towards a killing zone? Or just avoided him entirely by using an invisibility psionic power? Or went somewhere else, exploring for a continuing thread of the epic plot? Would you?
FPS: You finished?
RPG: Nope. But you can have a go now.

This is what they have to say for themselves:

GX System Shock 2 is now complete! Head over to find guides to the classes, skills, items, and more. Don't forget the complete level walkthroughs as well - if you're stuck somehwere along the way, they're a great help. And, of course, you can find the cheats there as well, if you are so inclined.

Hi there at sshock2.com,

Half a year ago I stumbled over a free voice-over-net-application. It was first intentioned as an in-simflight communication tool, so I used it extensively with Falcon 4.0. But I actually found out that it is also able to deal with SS2 in multiplayer mode.I got it up running on the following two-computer-network:

Pentium 200 MMX / Pentium II 350
2 x full duplex soundcard / 2 x headset
2 x NE2000 compatible card / TCP/IP protocol
patched SS2 version

So because it's free I think it might be interesting to all the other SS2 fans and worth to be listed on your page. Source of this application is the Flight Comms Homepage at

www.brand.dircon.co.uk/fltcomms/

The Community section is a hub from which our visitors can access the forums, chatroom, links, press information, etc. All of the areas in this section are not yet operational. The strategy page has yet to be constructed, but it's there for when it gets built, which we will need a bit of help doing. At the very bottom is Shock-ED, which will soon point to a petition for the release of Dromed (The Dark Engine Level Editor) for System Shock 2, and then an area of the site specifically dedicated to Shock 2 level design.