13-Aug-2001 In space no one can hear Paul Mallinson scream 'System Shock 2 is here!'
In this day and age, the average PC gaming enthusiast demands a lot from his software. Gone are the days when a game's longevity could be measured by the number of 'screens' you could explore; nowadays we expect more depth for our money, more detail, more story, brilliant graphics and amazing sound. And that's without mentioning multiplayer.
System Shock 2 is a fabulous example of a modern-day computer game. Like its prequel, System Shock (first released in 1994), System Shock 2 is an amalgamation of genres. Although the game's designers think of it as a 'hard-core' role-playing game (see our preview in issue 78), System Shock 2 is, in truth, a mixture of action and adventure, with serious RPG-related elements keeping the whole thing afloat. As a result of this effective melding of styles, it's one of the most detailed, engrossing, challenging and downright enjoyable 'serious' games ever made.
Great interface
Without beating around the bush (because there's so much to get through here), System Shock 2 is a sci-fi horror game presented in the first person. The game itself has actually been designed and built around developer Looking Glass' acclaimed Thief engine (as previously encountered in the game of the same name), and as such brings the wholesome goodness of Thief's excellent control and inventory systems to the world of System Shock.
A crosshair in the middle of the screen shows: a) where your bullets will go if you fire your current weapon by left-clicking your mouse, or b) what you'll pick up or use if you're pointing at it when you right-click your mouse. You move around using the keys, as in Quake, and other features such as weapons select/reload, maps and inventories are available through a selection of hotkeys. Instead of Thief's sacks and backpacks though, System Shock 2 is full of Multi Functional Displays (MFDs), Personal Data Assistants (PDAs) and cybernetic implants, all of which pop up on screen Heads Up Display-style when requested.
It's a simple system in practice, and incredibly easy to understand. The flexibility of the interface is actually one of the main reasons why System Shock 2 is such a joy to play, because it never gets in the way of the action and is extremely quick and stable.
Half Truth
Not that you'd realise this to begin with. The sheer depth of System Shock 2's gameplay doesn't immediately become apparent when you first begin the game. Starting out on the doorstep of the local armed forces recruitment centre four years before the main game story even takes place, you are a potential soldier of the future with nothing to your name. No money, no dignity - not even an inventory. So the only thing to do is sign up, have the necessary cybernetic surgery, then wait for the chicks to take notice.
Rather than present the initial 'character generation' sequence as a series of slick menus, Looking Glass have decided to let you enact this part of the game 'in-engine', as they're now calling it (see Train Me walkthrough below). Basically, what this is supposed to mean is that you get to do all your training yourself, to determine what kind of character you begin the game with. In actual fact, this is only partly the truth because - although after basic training you get to choose four 'tours of duty' relating to a career in either the Marines, the Navy or the OSA (Secret Service), and run down a lot of pretty corridors decked with military regalia - you don't actually get to do the missions themselves, which is a bit of a let-down so early on in the game. Despite this fault, the opening to System Shock 2 is indicative of the game's brilliant sci-fi atmosphere - a mix of 2001, Alien and Starship Troopers with heavy technology overtones - and this carries through to your eventual posting on a star cruiser called the Von Braun.
Sounds familiar
Those who remember the first System Shock will be familiar with what happens next: suddenly you're woken from cryogenic sleep to find everyone around you murdered. 'Did I do this in my sleep?!' you ask yourself. But before you have time to find out for yourself, the game bursts into alarm mode and a voice calls out with the warning: 'The compartment is depressurising. Get the hell out of there!' and suddenly you're fighting your way through falling debris and exploding pipes trying to find a way out (while simultaneously filling your pants). Recompense for the earlier false start it most certainly is, and it also sets off System Shock 2 magnificently.
Things do quieten considerably once you make the right airlock - into the Medical Science block. A quick look around unearths a few blood-soaked bodies, a PDA, some crates, some blue consoles on the wall, a door with a keypad, some wall-mounted information consoles, and a lift. The warning voice heard earlier was that of Dr Janice Polito, a Von Braun bigwig who's still alive on the ship and constantly supplies you with sporadic hints and tips via email. She suggests searching the bodies for keycode access numbers: 'Go on, don't be squeamish,' she says. You don't find any numbers, but you do find Version 1 Hacking software on one dead guy. If you're not a complete numbskull you'd have probably worked out that this means hacking the nearby door open, therefore revealing its hidden delights.
Old hack
Hacking plays an important part of System Shock 2 - after all, this is a game about technology of the future. The process itself is fairly simple, and gets easier as you find and add software implant upgrades by plugging them into your skull. To successfully hack a door, a security crate, a vending machine, or anything else for that matter, you must match four white (positive) nodes from a set selection of 14. Some of the nodes are negative (black) - hit too many of these and whatever you were attempting to hack will either break or blow up in your face (nasty). Hacking costs money each and every time you attempt it (the denomination in this game being Nanites), and if you find you're on a losing streak you can hit Reset on the hacking panel and start over.
After breaking the code, you then turn your attention to the blue panels on the side of the wall. These things, called Upgrade Stations, play a vital role in System Shock 2's role-playing system, because they enable you to upgrade your skills in any one of four different areas: Stats (strength, endurance, psionics, agility and cyber), Tech (hack, repair, modify, maintain and research), Combat (standard, heavy, energy and exotic) and Psionics (too many to go into here). To advance a level in any of these disciplines you have to collect and spend Cyber Upgrade Units (CUUs) at the nearest available upgrade station, plenty of which are dotted around the Von Braun.
Depending on your initial choice of career, you'll want to spend your hard-earned CUUs on skills that befit your style of play. Joined the Marines? You'll want to pump as many of your resources into Combat and Stats. In the Navy? Your technical skills should be 'maxed-out' as soon as is humanly possible. Signed up for the OSA? Then pick up a Psi amplifier, plug it into your arm (cool!) and buy as many of the 35 psionic disciplines (read: futuristic magic spells) as you can.
CUUs are pretty scarce initially - they're awarded for achieving difficult tasks, or found lying around in dark, hard-to-find corners - and there can often be a fair bit of soul-searching before spending them. That said, dripping CUUs to you in this way prevents you from advancing too quickly and contributes to System Shock 2's incredibly tense atmosphere - the balance between hard work and reward is, we think, close to perfect.
Evil Dead
Once you've acquainted yourself with these essential gameplay features, it's then off to explore. Up the lift, out the door, and into the face of the nearest monster... Yes, there are lots of hideous creatures patrolling the Von Braun, from mutant hybrid human beings to over-zealous robots with a penchant for combusting in front of your face.
Grunts (humans turned into zombies by a large parasitic worm buried in their heads) patrol the darkened Medical Science corridors crying out chilling one-liners such as: 'Kill me!', 'You have left us!' and 'We remain!' in a wicked Evil Dead/Exorcist, choking-on-your-own-blood kind of manner.
Just like in the original System Shock, security cameras keep watch at key locations on the map and alert nearby monsters to your presence if they catch you. These cameras can be heard when you near them, and you quickly learn that your only concern is to avoid detection. Initially, there are two ways to do this. Firstly, you can twat them with the wrench (if within reach), and this will clear the way. This can be hazardous, because if a camera spots you and sets off the alarm you'll suddenly find yourself besieged by monsters until the alarm is shut off by locating and using the nearest security computer terminal. The second (and safest) method is to successfully hack a security access computer, which will temporarily deactivate all cameras in the area, giving you time and freedom to smash them at your leisure.
THE Plot thickens
Further exploration of Medical Science reveals more of the game's wicker basket plot. Dr Polito's emails tell you that the ship's computer, Xerxes, is now in control and that all access to other decks is restricted because the elevators have been shut off. She also explains the use of Quantum Bio Reconstruction Machines (an infrequent feature of the Von Braun, capable of bringing dead humans back to life), and the presence of residual psychic emanations (ie ghosts), which sometimes give you clues as to what you're supposed to be doing. The rest you find out the hard way.
As the plot thickens you begin to fill your inventory with all kinds of techno gadgetry. It's at this point that the true scope of System Shock 2's gameplay becomes apparent. Most items can be used or combined, some even degrade in quality over time and must be periodically maintained or even repaired if broken. Every weapon in System Shock 2 is subject to these rules, and keeping them in tip-top working order is as easy as clicking on a portable maintenance tool (if you can find one) and dropping it on the relevant weapon in your inventory. Most weapons can also be upgraded to hold more ammo, fire at faster rates, use less charge (in the case of energy-based weapons), or dampen the recoil. It's a fascinating combination of features that add even more depth to an already cavernous game, and gun fetishists - not to mention tech groupies - will love it.
Upgrading costs Nanites and carries an element of risk as well. The process is similar to hacking - find four positive nodes, avoid the negative nodes - but fail and you break the weapon. To repair it you have to go through another similar process, but fail that and the weapon may even disappear forever. It's worth the risk, but you've only got yourself to blame if you mess up - which is the beauty of it.
Sound men take a bow
Talking of beauty, we haven't yet had a chance to pause for breath to mention the graphics. As you can see from the screenshots here, System Shock 2 looks shockingly good (Groan - Ed). Looking Glass have managed to squeeze the best out of the latest 3D cards - especially TNT, which looks much better than Voodoo alternatives - and the use of colour, smoke, transparency, translucency, light and dark is nothing short of inspirational.
And stand up Looking Glass' sound designers, because those guys really know how to put the icing on the cake. Not because of the music, which is sparsely implemented (by today's standards), but because of the incredible sound effects that accompany each and every step you take. And no, we're not talking about footsteps here (even though the subtle sound of boot meeting carpet has been expertly captured), we're talking about monsters that groan in the distance and get louder as they near you; the calming sound of the machine that goes 'ping' in the medical wards; the crackle of the Geiger counter; the satisfying thud of dumm dumms hitting monkey torso; the low, vibrating hum of Xerxes, the ship's computer... those kind of things. Combined, they bring the whole environment to life in a way that has never been seen for as long as this reviewer can remember.
The sum of this audio-visual conundrum equals one hell of a gaming atmosphere. System Shock 2 is hardly a 'jolly' experience, we must note, and unless you're either a) such a tit that you refuse to be scared, or b) a cabbage, it's pretty much guaranteed that you'll jump out of your skin on more than one occasion - it's that gripping. Man-eating worms leap out at you from of alien eggs (haven't we seen that somewhere before?), hideous spiders drop on your head from above, wandering lab monkeys launch psionic fireballs at you... In fact it's one big, bad, scary jungle out there, if the truth be known, and surviving all the way through to the end is not easy - even on the lower of the four available skill settings.
Tremendous
System Shock 2 is tremendous. It's what the public want - it's a massive, involving experience with one single overriding factor that makes it such an essential purchase, and that's the fact that the game is so addictive that you won't be unable to put it down until you've solved the mystery and completed the game in full. Days will become nights, and nights will become days as you move from one problem to the next, refusing to leave the game alone until you've 'cracked this one last puzzle'.
If there is a downside, it has to be that there isn't much in the way of character interaction, as was done so well in Half-Life, but that isn't the point - in System Shock 2 you're supposed to be out on your own. It's the idea behind the game: you, by yourself, against not one common enemy, but many.
There are some great surprises and plot twists too, and fans of the original System Shock will be more than satisfied with this sequel after having waited so long for its arrival.
System Shock 2 must rate as having the most suspense ever seen in a computer game. It's almost certainly one of the deepest and most enjoyable role-playing games we've ever played, requiring focus, skill and determination. It's a game you will complete, then play through again. It's nothing short of a classic of its time. Go out and buy it now.
// Overview
Verdict
A sci-fi horror masterpiece
Uppers
Hugely atmospheric Gripping storyline Fantastic graphics Big scares Mind-boggling depth
Downers
Training a bit of a let-down Some may find it a little overwhelming Not many people to talk to
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Hugely atmospheric
