System Shock

The Good
System Shock was revolutionary for its time. Few, if any FPSes had tried to tell a story within the game. The object of FPSes was simply to kill everything in sight. System Shock told a story with a beginning, middle and end, with plot twists along the way.

The audio logs give a good idea of what happened on Citadel Station and also some backstory on the station. Even though the voice acting isn't always believable, the designers do an excellent job showing how "ordinary people" would react to an apocalyptic event.

System Shock also introduced "cyberspace", where your character would find himself free-floating within wire-frame rooms and corridors. Essentially computer and programming concepts become visualized as metaphors within this electronic world. In cyberspace you search for and gather "software" and "data", fight enemy programs (visualized as malevolent faces) and avoid traps. It is a welcome change of pace from the usual strafing and dodging.

The use of a computer A.I. as the main villain was not novel at the time, but the game shows very effectively how difficult it would be to overcome such a foe. But the A.I. has a weakness, it must act through other beings (unless you are in cyberspace.) What is even better, the developers decided to give this villain a memorable personality. SHODAN is a megalomaniac, not only does it try to play god but also cheerfully refers to itself as god. Unlike a stock A.I. villain, it clearly shows emotion. I assume that the memorable voice for SHODAN was designed to show that A.I. has become partially insane or demented.

The graphics are a leap ahead of the competition. System Shock was very close to a true-3D engine. You can look up and down, crouch and crawl, and lean left or right. As with Ultima Underworld, Looking Glass once again expanded the horizons, literally, with System Shock's FPS engine. The game also looked to the future in a way by providing better quality textures when using the high resolution modes that didn't play well on the machines available at the game's release.

There are small things about System Shock that just show a welcome attention to detail. There are these little minigames to collect in cyberspace. Most levels have a distinguishing design. The Medical Level is in shades of blue, the Research level is often in red and so on. Powerups have side-effects to them. Certain elements show the banality of Tri-Optimum, the corporation that owns and operates the station.

System Shock was easily the most atmospheric game of its time. It used lighting very well, some areas are brightly lit, others with significant damage have unreliable lighting at best. The monster's sound effects are often creepy and unsettling. The final level can make your skin crawl in more ways than one. Monsters often seem to pop up unannounced around the next corner or just behind you. SHODAN itself is relentless and will often taunt you or spring a trap against the hapless hacker.

The Bad
The game delights in respawning enemies, especially in areas in which you will often traverse. While it helps keep the player on his or her toes, it also leads to many cheap deaths. It is also sobering when you waste precious ammunition on enemies that will be back again in those areas.

The interface and controls are somewhat cumbersome and do not boast the streamlining of modern FPSes. The game was unfortunately designed with the 320x200 resolution in mind. This limits the amount of screen real estate devoted to gauges and subscreens. Also, the Multi-Function Displays interfere with interacting with the viewscreen. Fourtnately, the controls can be mastered.

While the game can be played in resolutions higher than 320x200, at the time this wasn't really feasible because because the 486 processors of the day could not produce playable framerates. The 640 graphics modes look much nicer but run on a far smaller class of systems.

The Bottom Line
One of the seminal FPSes, System Shock is a true classic that no DOS Gamer should ignore.

The Good
System Shock is a proper experience, not just a excuse to shoot some guns or a complex story weighed down in an indirect interface, but a story casting you directly into the action to make you live out the experience yourself. As such it spreads itself across the genres, with elements from the action, adventure and RPG genres, all blended so you don't even think about them instead you just get on with the game.

The story really seems to do what it can with the technology available at the time, set in the future you play a hacker who is caught hacking into SHODAN, the computer controlling a space station. To avoid punishment you make a deal with the SHODAN's boss to make some 'alterations' to the system in return for some bio-upgrades for yourself, made at the station. While you're recovering from surgery something happens on the station and you awake into a living nightmare of a computer wreaking havoc, which you must stop. The story may seem generic, but it's pretty original for computer games (at the time) and succeeds in creating horror as it is you that's at the centre, it's also a story that make maximum use of what computers could handle. They couldn't handle interacting with real characters, so instead you deal with demented robots but unlike DOOM, you know why they are doing, they've been re-programmed and you can stop SHODAN from making more by shutting down sectors of the station. It's this level of though that really makes for immersion overcoming the 2.5d graphics and low resolution.

The space station also feels likes a real space, not just a collection of corridors and rooms designed for an ultimate fight arena, the levels conform to the external shape of the station, and you have to pass through the same floors of the station several times to complete the game. Though this doesn't feel so much like repetition as no doubt you'll have upgraded yourself on your return. Your hacker self is also a good chance to make use the limited draw space of the screen and also provide the chance to upgrade yourself and provide many features the game can offer but you can't do in real life, such as eyes in the back of your head.

It's not the lonely world of the average shooter though as you piece together what happened through abandoned crew entries scattered through the ship and communication outside on how to stop SHODAN, a liveliness that transcends the technological limits and finds DOOM 3 copying it nearly a decade later. This makes the whole thing feel real, like you're properly abandoned on the station and have to stop a computer which mocks you as you continue, again a computer game is the perfect vessel to display a computer enemy.

The Bad
The main gripe I had with the game is the control interface, mouse-look systems hadn't been developed at the time, leaving all movement and looking to be done with the keyboard, never much fun for looking up and down. However the mouse is used to interact with elements on the screen, such as aiming guns, done independently of moving around, which can make for some very confused action moments as you fiddle with the controls.

Of course the graphics could be better and I'm sure that's what will drive most people to check out the games sequel first, but for it's time and with the CD-ROM higher resolutions it is still worth playing.

The Bottom Line
It's been said before, but this is the game that should have had the effect of DOOM on the gaming world, if other games had used this as a role model FPS games wouldn't have become so associated with mindless violence. It's a game that whose thinking is ahead of it's technology, though it knows it's bounds and works within those to never let them deter from creating an excellent playing experience.

The Good
Everything. To put it into perspective, if this game were released tomorrow, in its current state, it would be better than 99% of the games released all year (well, 2001). Even with the archaic graphics. Even with the dated AI technology. The core gameplay is so damn good. In fact, the gameplay is more varied and detailed than today's modern classic, Half-Life.

Another way to put it into perspective: A much more well known game released about the same time as System Shock is Doom. Doom is more widely known, and is more widely praised, as shown by the accolades for Serious Sam, an evolutionary throwback of a game releases recently.

Think of Doom's graphics and gameplay: Both are very, very dated. The gameplay is simple, easy, and dumb as a post. Shoot, run, shoot, run, hit switch to end level. Ad nauseum. Exciting in its day, but modern games (some of them) have evolved past that point. The wonderful thing about System Shock was that its gameplay was already evolved, almost ten years ago.

It has a coherent, interesting story that is integral and important every moment of the game. The story is enriched by audio logs scattered about the station, e-mails, and scraps of information gleaned from the stations computer net. The logs, presented in mostly well-acted audio, do wonders in fleshing out the game world. They tell the stories of hopeless groups of survivors trying to fight the mutant and cyborg onslaught. You hear their hopes for stopping the computer SHODAN, and pick up their fight. All the while, you receive e-mails from your contact on earth, instructing you and guiding you through the station. You also receive mail from your nemesis, SHODAN, as she mocks you, threatens you, and occasionally, fears you. She is present throughout the entire game. While approaching a CPU node with mayhem on your mind, she chirps in "Enter that room, hacker, and it will be your grave. You hesitate, but continue. And indeed, when you destroy the nodes, she sends a small army of cyborgs to do you in. She repeatedly ambushes you, taunting you in her computer-psychotic voice. It's unnerving, and the effect has not been repeated in any game I've played, sequel included.

System Shock's interface is also leagues ahead of Doom's. While much more complicated and cumbersome, it allows you to do so much more. You can lean around corners, you can crouch and even crawl on you belly, you can jump across chasms, you can look up and down. Aiming is also more interesting. You use a cursor to aim your guns and fire them. It does take a while to get used to it after years of mouselook, but I do like the more realistic effect of the aiming cursor. In addition, the recoil effects of the weapons is perfect. You feel like you're firing off a powerful machine gun when you rip off a burst from the Skorpion. The view bows back, and as you swing the gun from side to side the recoil swings with it. It's an amazing effect, particularly from such an aged game. It makes using the fully automatic a more visceral experience.

Finally, the gameplay goes FAR beyond the "find key, find door" gameplay that has been so prevalent since the release of Doom. You have a specific, detailed purpose in this game. No ambiguous alien invasions, no purposeless mazes masquerading as "levels." The enemy, SHODAN, is always plotting some insidious fate for earth, and you, as the hacker, go about the various levels attempting to stop her. Never do you wonder "why am I here? What exactly am I doing?" Each level, from the medical deck to the executive deck, serves an obvious logical purpose. Even the mazes are presented within good context. To put the gameplay into perspective, only very recently have FPS games struggled to break the gameplay barriers that Doom presented, while System Shock obliterated them almost TEN years ago!

This game defines what it is to be a classic. It is nearly perfect in every way, and is the epitome of the PC gaming experience. It is my opinion that computer gaming would be much better today if System Shock had been received the same Doom was, as it's a considerably better game that would hold its own today.

The Bad
Very little. The graphics are outdated, obviously, and the sound and AI technology is lacking. Also, the level design is very blocky, by today's standards. However, those are all limitations due to age: considering it by 1994 standards, the game's technological aspects are brilliant.

The Bottom Line
Well, I did so already. I'll just add that it is a VERY good game. It's not for sale, but certain websites on the internet have the complete CD version for download. I don't think Mobygames would appreciate it if I posted the link. Sorry!

The Good
For many years, I refused to play this game. That was because I wasn't interested in games in which the player is trapped in one location and has to fight monsters without being able to talk to anyone.

I'm still not particularly interested in such games. It took me an extremely long time to get into System Shock. It's a tough game because it offers you so many possibilities and such rich gameplay from the get-go, while being confined to one location only, the space station. To be honest, I can't handle this game very well even now. It is devilishly addictive and deeply claustrophobic, and not all feelings it evokes are positive. After a session with System Shock I feel tired and overwhelmed. I can only play it in small portions and with long rests.

The greatness of System Shock lies in the fact that it blends all the main aspects of game design like no other game before and only very few after. Every part of the game - be it the meticulous interaction with objects, the ominously appealing visuals and the eerie music, or the gradual discovery of the past struggle against Shodan - is so flawlessly integrated into each other, that when you begin playing System Shock you feel as if you were swallowed by some powerful entity with rules of its own. Maybe it's a strange thought, but I find the game not entirely dissimilar to the memorable villain it portrays.

Atmosphere is a decisive factor in the game. Even with the limited technology, the designers managed to create a noticeably more sensual, immersive product than the already groundbreaking Ultima Underworld titles. System Shock draws you into its world with a force that some people might find nearly terrifying. You can read here on MobyGames another review of this work, in which the author confesses that the game has affected him mentally, causing him to have nightmares. I don't think he is exaggerating. I've played many games in my life, including some with extremely horrifying and disturbing material. But System Shock is one of the very few that forces me to mentally prepare before I begin playing it. You are pulled in with such intensity that the world of the game becomes your world.

The story here must be "felt", lived from within the game. When written down on paper or told to someone, it loses its meaning. It is basically a story with two characters, the protagonist and the antagonist, the female computer Shodan. The whole idea of the plot was to show how a regular human being (and not a particularly virtuous one - after all, the hero of the game is a hacker, a kind of burglar) single-handedly defeats a mighty artificial intelligence. You and Shodan develop a morbid kind of relationship over the course of the game. Shodan keeps intimidating and teasing you, adding even more horror and stress to your perilous exploration. She is so arrogant and so sure of herself that she doesn't get angry, she is always calm and even sounds indifferent, and that's what is so scary about her. Shodan becomes a part of your life, and there is something creepily intimate in her constant interaction with the player. The way she would suddenly send you e-mails and talk to you can get genuinely disturbing.

The game world is, in a sense, another big enemy of the protagonist. Finding your way through the ultra-complex space station, solving its riddles, finding the items you need, gathering information, struggling against the hordes of enemies Shodan sends at you - the story of the game is directly experienced by the player, and let me assure you that it is a dramatic and intense one.

But of course, the highlight of the story is the revolutionary "retroactive" storytelling. Basically, besides the story that unfolds now, in front of our eyes, there is another story in System Shock: the one that happened before we arrived. You unravel it by reading logs left by the crew members. This idea is pure genius, because this way storytelling truly becomes an integral part of the gameplay. Finding out what happened by actively searching for information is exciting. You learn about the tragic fate of the people who once inhabited the space station. You get to know them when it is already too late. The beauty of this is the purely gameplay-bound, optional nature of the plot. It is not being forced on you like in most other games, but emerges when you make full use of the gameplay mechanics offered to you. This is one of the rare instances when a plot device is truly unique to the medium: something quite different from cutscenes and more than snippets of text feedback, this mechanic gracefully escapes the influences of books and movies.

The gameplay of System Shock was not only revolutionary for its time - it is still unsurpassed by most games. The it manages to stay suspenseful and tight while at the same time allowing you to interact with everything and explore is yet another testimony to the game's genius. Following the tradition of Ultima Underworld, the interaction in the game is incredibly refined. You can pick up nearly everything you see, you can smash and throw things - almost nothing of what you see is a mere decoration, everything can be interacted with in this or another way.

The level design is another brilliant aspect of the game that contributes to its great gameplay. Despite being set in only one location, System Shock is a very non-linear game in the sense that the way through the game is not shown to the players. They have to find it by themselves, and this is perhaps the biggest challenge of the game. Each level in System Shock is absolutely huge and very complex. Since you can usually choose any path you want during your exploration, the levels turn into small "worlds" that have to be explored, learned, understood, and completed (there are usually one or more main objectives on each level, plus several secondary ones) to proceed. The exploration process is a delight in its own right.

System Shock is also quite awe-inspiring from a technological point of view. Of course, it couldn't be as fast as Doom, but it blows it out of the water when it comes to level design and interaction made possible by the engine. All the revolutionary features of Ultima Underworld games now come in full 3D. Everything you do in the game is shown as a graphical effect - tossing things on the ground you can see how they bounce, and it is simply incredible that such an effect was achieved with such an early, primitive physics system. When you smash things, it is visually displayed. The level design is not only creative - it is also technically astounding, with objects everywhere, and a huge amount of detail stuffed into every place you see.

I loved the difficulty level system. Basically, you are allowed to customize every aspect of the game. Want to solve tricky puzzles but feel inept in combat? You can choose the puzzles to be hard, and the combat easy. Satisfied with the overall challenge, but can't adapt well to the cyberspace? No problem, just leave everything on high difficulty, but put cyberspace all the way down, making it a nearly automatic journey. Like moderate challenge in everything? Be my guest. The game can fully suit your needs, whatever they might be. I really can't understand why other games haven't implemented this system.

The Bad
Like any other early 3D game, System Shock doesn't go easy on the eyes, and its graphics haven't aged very well. This is not a criticism, but rather an inevitable side effect. I know people who couldn't get into the game for this reason, even though they loved the sequel. I also played the sequel before the original, and my enjoyment was somewhat reduced because of that, especially in the beginning.

The part that really annoyed me was the cyberspace. It took me ages to figure out how to move in that place. I was constantly struggling, and in the end simply avoided it whenever I could. Fortunately, most of those trips are optional.

There is a certain monotony in the level design of System Shock. You are confined to an admittedly huge, but homogeneous location, with many architectural elements repeating themselves regardless of the floor you are currently exploring. The darkly tense atmosphere and the overbearing presence of machinery and electronic enemies at the expense of friendly organic creatures can be hard to stomach.

The Bottom Line
In retrospect, it looks like System Shock was one of the very few games in the history that managed to be a daring experiment and a perfectly crafted, balanced product at the same time. It is strikingly advanced on both technological and artistic levels, without sacrificing one for the other. Gameplay, atmosphere, and story-telling reach a remarkable unity in this game. Breaking through genre barriers, sending a powerful signal far into the future, System Shock is a masterpiece in every sense of the word.

The Good
And why wouldn't it be in the same league? Looking Glass Studios was responsible for UU1 and UU2! This game is well thought out.

There are three main things that make this game great:

1. Story - The backstory is unlike any other in RPG gaming. You start on CITADEL, and you are the only living being on board. Everyone else is dead. You find out the backstory through the journals and datacards left by the dead residents of the space station. By the time the game is over you will have pieced together, bit by bit, the events leading up to the time you awoke (the start of the game).

2. Configurability (if that isn't a word, it is now) - The fact that the player can configure the game to his or her tastes is a great feature. Combat, Missions, Puzzles, and Cyberspace could be made as easy or as tough as you want. Like hard puzzles, but don't like strong enemies? You can set it with System Shock

3. Sound - One word: Eerie. Along the same lines a Dungeon Master and Ultima Underworld, the ambient sounds are well placed, and very creepy. Not overbearing, but not so soft that you can't hear them. Just the right mix.

The Bad
The graphics are very dark, making it difficult (for me at least) to discern the end of a wall, etc.

The Bottom Line
If you like a very flexible game system, combined with the graphical feel of Ultima Underworld I and II, and sci-fi setting, grab System Shock. It's difficult to find, but you'll enjoy every minute.

The Good
IMO, System Shock is the best game ever made (Well, apart from UFO: Enemy Unknown, perhaps, but it's a really close thing). Where do I start? Shock has it all: A stunningly detailed and believable environment with awesome graphics, lovingly crafted and dripping with atmosphere ... An amazing story that unfolds with plenty of neat twists and interesting characters ... Memorable, evocative, driving music ... Horrifically scary moments lurking round any corner, helped by really frightening sound effects ... Two distinct game worlds - The real-world of a dark, terror-filled space station and the virtual world of cyberspace, with its colourful, abstract rooms and tunnels ... A vast array of weaponary and equipment to find and use ... Huge, varied levels, each with its own particular atmosphere and goals.

Basically, you're alone. You've got a vast gameworld to sneak, climb and crawl through. Equipment is scattered around, if you can find it; Search through dead bodies, desks and cupboards and break into storerooms. There are hideous mutants and twistedly reprogrammed robots lurking in the shadows, waiting to chew your face off or pulverise you or blast you. There's the whole realm of cyberspace to explore, when you can find a cyberjack and a danger-free moment to plug in. In there, you can grab information and software (including the collection of entertainment softs, each one a miniature Xmas :) and take an all-too brief respite from the hell outside. You have to stay alive, conserve ammo, upgrade your weaponary and keep a supply of medical and bio-enhancement patches handy. You'll travel through many different levels of the station, including medical, executive and leisure decks. And all the way you'll be taunted and frightened by Shodan, your nemesis and delighted tormentor.

To play System Shock is to envelop yourself in another world, another life. Terrifying, yes, but awe-inspiring and addictive, too. This is a place so detailed, so well designed, that you can almost touch it.

On another note, this game is so much better than the very overrated Half-Life. After hearing so much about HL I had to play it. At the same time, by coincidence, I was playing System Shock through, for the second time (the first time was in 1994, when I bought it). I enjoyed HL at first, but as time went on, I found that there was a lot that annoyed me, and bored me, about it and I couldn't help thinking, "System Shock is so much better than this, and so much more fun." Basically, when I played HL, I wished I was playing System Shock, and when I played System Shock, I had a genuinely amazing time, and realised how dull HL was in comparison. If you loved Half-Life, then my apologies, but this is how I feel. System Shock is 7 years old now, but still totally kicks the rear-end of so many games that have been released since.

The Bad
There's hardly anything I can criticise about this game. I don't love the door-lock puzzles, but there's nothing wrong with them, either. Hmm, can I think of anything wrong with this game? Um...No. It's damn near perfect.

The Bottom Line
System Shock is an all-time classic, a game in a million. Yeah, plenty of 1st person shooters and 1st person RPG/adventure/shooters have come out since it was released, but System Shock is just in a class of its own. Maybe better games will arrive (I've just bought Deus Ex and it's the next game I'm going to be playing) - I'm sure they will sometime - but System Shock is an individual character and a really unique, stylish game. It has so many elements and they all fit together so well that it will always stand out from the crowd. Congratulations and infinite thanks to the team who worked at Looking Glass - This game is beautiful.

The Good
The feeling of loneliness. "System Shock" captured this feeling like no other game I know of. You, as player, really get to feel the desperate situation of the Hacker, all alone in a gigantic space station, facing an omnipresent and omniscient enemy he can't even hope to defeat; feeling small, insignificant, powerless, scared. This is helped tremendously by the audio logs you keep finding, recordings of people who died on the station, and by e-mails from Shodan, the crazed computer who is easily the best-written adversary I have ever seen in a game (get the CD version with perfect full voice-acting, if you can). What is also brilliant is the way the game motivates your progress by frustrating you repeatedly. The feeling after you finish a particularly difficult task, flip the long-sought lever just to see that nothing happened and receive a mocking e-mail from Shodan is priceless. Add a huge arsenal of weapons with different ammunition against different kinds of opponents, bio-modifications, innovative and fun cyberspace, quite advanced in-game physics engine and a true 3D environment (unlike Doom from the same year that's actually cleverly masked 2D) - and you're looking at a true classic, a game that was way ahead of its time and hasn't lost any of its charm.

The Bad
From today's perspective, the interface is very clumsy, the graphics, while state-of-the-art back then (the CD version supports 640x480 resolution, even though no commercially available computer of the time could actually run the game on it!), are dated, and the sound is quite unpleasant. But the overall atmosphere is so powerful and gripping you won't really mind any of that.

The Bottom Line
A unique game back then and still unique today, "System Shock" is a perfect blend of action, exploration and puzzle-solving with an extraordinarily powerful atmosphere. The game will absorb you in a way you are not likely to forget. An absolute masterpiece.

The Good
Atmosphere... or should I say, atmos-fear... Running around alone in Citadel Station with your only contact with people being the occasional email from Earth and logs of the former inhabitants of the station, you start to feel really paranoid. I don't really like first-person shooters, but this game has everything that I like about gaming in it. It's also customizable so that you can easily get through the aspects of the game that you dislike. I think you must have the CD-Rom version of this game if you want to enjoy it. The graphics are good on the CD-Rom version, instead of fuzzy, and the sound is amazing. SHODAN's voice still echoes in my memory... The gameplay is good, with the ability to lean, jump, crouch, and run. I'm generally not a big fan of first-person shooters, but this one really gets you into the game.

The Bad
Cyberspace. It's uninspired. Luckily for me, I can turn the rating down on this. If there was a better cyberspace interface, I'd have enjoyed it, as it allows you to solve puzzles in some new ways.

The Bottom Line
When I bought this game, it was a used three-pack of games called the Origin pack, which included Wing Commander 3, Bioforge, and System Shock. I didn't know anything about System Shock and just considered it a bonus. I put the game on my computer and tried it (the non CD-enhanced version). I played for about 5 minutes and didn't even get out of the first section... I wasn't impressed. A few months later I tried the CD-Enhanced version, and after about 5 minutes with this version I was hooked. I don't know of any game that's ever gotten me so engrossed within its game world. One of the best games I've ever played.

The Good
System Shock was the first Looking Glass game I played, and it remains one of my favorite games of all time. When Night Dive Studios acquired the rights to the series a while ago, they released an enhanced edition of the game, featuring widescreen support and various game fixes. Soon after, they also launched a Kickstarter for the remastered version to be released in 2018, and this was successfully funded. The reception to this remaster was very positive, and I celebrated this piece of news by revisiting the original game from 1994.

Inside the box, you get a install guide and reference card, as well as an advertisement for the System Shock I.C.E. Breaker, Origin's own strategy guide for the game. Also, you either get nine floppy disks or the enhanced CD, and the manual (dubbed “Terminal Access”) which features information regarding the game mechanics , a guided tutorial, and some more story details. If you have the pirated version of the game at the time, it was worth buying the game at a computer store just to get a copy of these freebies; but these days, you can always purchase the Enhanced Edition from GOG or Steam.

System Shock takes place in the year 2072, where a hacker is caught trying to access the computer system at TriOptimum Corporation, a massive corporate monopoly focusing on research, defense, and commercial manufacturing. Edward Diego, the arresting officer, offers to drop all charges against him if he does a little job: hack into SHODAN, the super-computer that controls Citadel Station. After SHODAN is hacked and its ethical constraints removed, the hacker is taken to Citadel where he is put into a healing coma on the station's Medical level, to be injected with a military-grade cybernetic implant.

He wakes up six months later only to find that something horrific has happened. Crew members were either slaughtered, or converted into mutants or cyborgs, and it is believed that SHODAN was responsible. As the hacker, your job is to find out what's going on and get to the bottom of it. You can pick up a few goodies to help you get started, including a basic weapon that will deal with the first few enemies you encounter, as well as a multimedia data reader that you can use to access e-mails and logs. The data reader forms part of your hardware upgrades, and there are further upgrades you can get throughout the game.

System Shock uses an advanced 3-D engine and incorporates features that were not found in generic first-person shooters, such as the ability to look around, change your perspective, leap across gaps, and crouch. Much of the game is spent cycling between different interfaces, and the game can be controlled with the keyboard or mouse. I found it much easier to cycle between interfaces using shortcut keys and doing the rest with the mouse. There are two multi-function displays on both sides, and you can choose the type of information that you want displayed. I like to display the automap on the left MFD, so that I can keep track of where I am going, and what areas of the level that I have not explored yet.

The game is packed full of atmosphere. As you explore the station, you can hear doors opening and closing, and hear the occasional “robot chatter”. It also feels as though SHODAN is watching your every move as she blocks your access to certain areas on each floor, warns you not to enter a certain room, and sends reinforcements to your location the more cyborgs you kill. There is nothing quite like walking around in a room in total darkness, hearing robot sounds every five seconds, and possibly hearing taunts from SHODAN.

Also adding to the atmosphere are e-mails and logs that also play an important role since they tell you about SHODAN's latest plans and how you go about disrupting them. Most of the communication comes from logs made by crew members detailing what was happening on the station and what they were doing moments prior to their deaths. I enjoyed listening to the logs made by Bianca Schuler, who had plans to use the isolinear chipset to deal with SHODAN, and managed to make her way to level nine before Diego finds out and has one of his cyborgs execute her.

System Shock lets you customize the game to your own satisfaction, by modifying different settings related to certain elements such as combat, puzzles, and plot outlines. Don't like rewiring things that allow you to bypass locks and other exciting stuff? Sure, have the game do it automatically for you. Want to explore areas without the threat of enemies firing on you? Walk around Citadel Station undetected and explore at your own free will. Don't like to play games that can take days or months to complete? Impose a seven-hour time limit on yourself, and see the introduction and ending in just one sitting. You can do this configuration before the game starts, not while you're playing it. So if you just begun a new game and realize that you made a mistake, then that's too bad.

There are sixteen weapons in the game, and some of these are more effective against certain types of cyborgs. There are often two sets of ammo for each weapon, and ammo is in abundance so you can never run out of a certain type. A few weapons use up no ammo at all, instead relying on energy cells to work; and since you run out of energy every time you make use of these weapons, it is important to use an energy charge station scattered throughout the levels. Explosives can also be picked up and used if you want to save ammo, and this is ideal for killing enemies that are in a limited area.

From time to time, you have to “jack” into cyberspace, and this is where you can get software upgrades and push switches that will unlock certain areas in the real world. You can also enter data streams that lead you to different areas where you will meet enemies that become aggressive the further you progress through each level, even going so far as appearing the moment you enter cyberspace. I like the way you can see different partitions from inside the one you're in, showing you what you can expect later. And if you're lucky, you will also be able to download mini-games to your interface and play TriOp's take on Space Invaders, Pong, and Tic-Tac-Toe.

I have to say that the level design is brilliant as well. The walls and floors are unique, and each level is structured differently, but they have one thing in common: the four quadrants in the middle that you need to explore. My favorite bit of level design is the Security level, where there is this central shaft that you have to go up through to reach the Bridge, then before you go through the last door, you can look down quite a distance to where you started. I wish that most of the levels were like this.

The soundtrack for each level is brilliantly composed, and it varies depending on your actions like doing combat with an enemy or walking through an area. Because of this variation, you won't probably get to hear the full soundtrack unless you pause the game. Some of the soundtracks are creepy as well, such as the ones heard when you explore the groves on the Executive level.

The CD version of System Shock adds full speech for the e-mails and logs, delivered by Looking Glass employees. The background noises during these audio transmissions are impressive. When SHODAN speaks, for instance, you can hear sirens in the distance. This version also adds a new install program and adds more resolutions other than 320x200, so that the graphics and text will be much clearer. Since the CD version is far superior to the disk version, LG suggested that the CD version should be a separate game, but Origin wouldn't allow it.

The Bad
There are some gameplay issues that I found annoying. I found myself running out of ammo at a crucial time such as dealing with enemies. Since there is no automatic reload, I found myself going into the weapons interface and either selecting another weapon or do a manual reload, giving the enemies more of a chance to turn me into a cyborg. Also, there are a few areas that have only one door “broken beyond repair”, which is a waste of map space, in my opinion.

The Bottom Line
System Shock tells the story of a hacker trying to stop SHODAN and her plans to destroy Earth. In order to get to her, tasks must be performed to thwart her experiments which will ultimately destroy Earth. There are ten levels which the player must explore fully for any cameras or hidden passages. Cyberspace must be entered to get additional information and unlock doors in the real world.

Everything about System Shock is futuristic – the graphics, music, and sound effects. The highlight of the game has to be listening to SHODAN's voice, ordering her children around. There are two versions of the game: a disk version and an enhanced CD-ROM version. By playing the CD version of the game, I felt that its full speech gave some depth to the game. There are differences between the dialog and the spoken text, and for that reason, I wished that I had played the disk version first.

Even if you're got an pirated copy of the game, it's worth it to go grab a legit copy just to get the cool stuff inside it; and if you can't, you can purchase the Enhanced Edition from GOG with everything included. As mentioned in the introduction of this review, there is a remastered version in the works, but will it be any good?

The Good
I still find myself wishing I could play this game from my (misspent) youth. Immersive, tremendous storyline, controls, intelligent, and often truly creepy game. I've never played a better single-player game 17 years later.

The introduction to the game was incredible, the logs of (soon-to-be-dead) crew members was so well done. Atmospheric and central to the game. The sense of space and isolation was a core draw for the game as well. The sound, for the time, and music were also unprecedented and COOL. I recall the graphics being great, but I remember the sounds and music more.

And SHODAN, come on, what a super villain. That voice is STILL creepy and just evil.

The Bad
I never got all that much into the cyberspace aspects, which seemed somewhat dated even back then. Very minor complaint.

The Bottom Line
I WISH this game could somehow be re-made or something similar and as equally immersive come out on the market. In fact, I keep looking for the "next System Shock" but have yet to find it.

The Good
Warren Spector came to be known primarily because of Deus-Ex, an incredible game in its own right. However, Spector's been around for much longer than that, and has been involved in some of the greatest games ever created - System Shock being one of them.
System shock is a game alright, but stands in the spot light alone. No other hybrid has brought such perfection to the table, no other hybrid has brought gameplay to a level that even pales by comparison. System Shock is incredible right from the get-go: even the introduction sequence, with its great graphics and excellent soundtrack, gives me goosebumps every time I see it. An amazing presentation of an excellent story, which is implemented very well indeed.

By far the most spectacular thing about System Shock is its atmosphere. It doesn't take sudden Half-lifeesque explosions to creep you out; a simple e-mail by Shodan would suffice. The game induces severe claustrophobia, particularly when played late at night with high volume levels; exploring an empty space station, constantly wary of any cyborg ambushes... and Shodan's face taunting you on every monitor!

System Shock is probably the only cyberpunk adventure I've ever enjoyed (that includes books as well). The simple but effective story, the way it unfolds through e-mail messages you collect while exploring the station... the detailed surrounding: empty beverage cans and candy wrappers thrown about the place, blown lamps and panels... and of course, cyberspace itself, with all of the concepts contained therein. System Shock is magnificent.

The engine is quite good for it's time - not as crisp as Doom or as fast as Descent, but the highly detailed textures and gouraud shading all around make for an extremely convincing game world. The CD version supports high resolutions, and with a fast enough computer (a typical P166 can't handle even 640x400 well, be warned) the game looks simply beautiful. The game has a steep learning curve, but the controls are so good it's a matter of a couple of hours before one becomes fully fluent with them.

And finally, the soundtrack is one of the most important elements of the game. Though it's MIDI (which means you guys without wavetable cards are really missing out), it complements the level design so absolutely perfectly the game would be so... lesser without it.

The Bad
System Shock is impressively close to perfection: only two things bother me.

First, the ending sequence is a little disappointing. I was expecting a major cyberspace combat or chase with Shodan, but that didn't happen; neither was there a particularly impressive end animation (unlike the intro), the only impressive thing being the "neural net" System Shock logo.

The second is the game engine. It is beautiful, but it is by no means fast. In 1994, Doom was already a year old and 486s were becoming prevalent. But even at 320x200, the game does not run very well on a 486! At over 320x200, the game grinds even on a Pentium-class machine. I wish it was easier to make newer machines play older games, I bet this game would rock at 640x480 on an Athlon...

The Bottom Line
A game that beats Deus-Ex in some respects, kicked Half Life in the nads some five years before it was conceived, and gave most adventure games a serious run for their money in the storyline department. It still amazes me how little System Shock is known. Get it! Play it! I assure you, it's an experience of a lifetime.

The Good
A famously good space-bound RPG, this was the follow-up to the same team's 'Ultima Underworld'. Boasting a proper 3D engine, years before 'Quake', this came out at the same time as 'Doom' and suffered commercially. Game-wise it's top-notch - it looks and sounds fantastic, and the quest on which you embark is deep enough to keep you playing for several weeks. It's probably the only game to capture the early-90s cyberpunk fascination effectively, and it has an amazingly intense atmosphere. It's hard, too, in a good way.

It's excellent in so many ways that it makes me unhappy, and is still great fun today.

The Bad
Allowing for the age, the only thing that marks the game down is the clumsy interface. Long before 'mouselooking', it requires you to co-ordinate your movements with both the keyboard and the mouse, and can be tricky to use in a hurry.

The Bottom Line
Excellent, nostalgic, hugely atmospheric space-bound sci-fi RPG.

The Good
GAMEPLAY: Deep, complex, comfortable, interesting level design, very morbid atmosphere. Tons of variety in guns, grenades, etc. If you could think Doom or Quake but with about ten times more ideas added, much much more depth and an actual storyline, a mystery, with adventure game item collection involved. [5/5]

GRAPHICS: For their time (1994, just after Doom) out of this world. About Duke Nukem 3D level, but with a more 'there' feel, but not as sharp. Tons of variety in colours, textures, etc. Very creepy, cold and hard electronic feel. Surreal. [5/5]

AUDIO: The voiceovers are somewhere from OK to quite amateurish, and this goes two ways -- realistic and cheesy. The soundtrack is very melodic and catchy, dark and moody. I love it, I think it's one of the better game soundtracks ever. [3.5/5]

PLOTLINE: Ah yes. As games go this is intelligent and sophisticated. Essentially you wake up in hell, or something close to it, and have to find out what's going on. Which turns out to be the AI you hacked earlier has gone psycho and has killed everyone on board your space station. Except you, because you're not supposed to be there. Thus, you must slay it. Hey, it works for a game! [4.5/5]

The Bad
SHODAN (the beserk A.I.) has a realistic voice (the sort you get when you ring the bank and the computer speaks back) but some real crappy dialogue.

The Bottom Line
A mix of FPS and adventure genres, dripping with a cold, hard atmosphere. Cyber-horror is all I can call it -- your haunted house is a haunted spaceship and your zombies are cyborgs. You solve a mystery and blast anything in your way with some truly mean, nasty weapons. A very dark, cold and morbid mood prevails the entire way. [4.5/5]

TRY THIS GAME IF YOU CAN -- IT'S GREAT! [http://www.the-underdogs.org] should have it -- you need DOS, or Win95/98/ME. For WinXP I'd suggest you get a copy of Virtual PC from Microsoft and install Win98 on it, then run the game through that. Trust me, it's worth your time!

The Good
The A.I, SHODAN seems to be reading your mind, like if you go to blow something up, after picking up some plastique or stuff, it was all quiet before you left, but then when you go to blow it up, SHODAN send you a little e-mail, with an attachment you probably won't survive.

The weapons, the Railgun especially, (who doesn't like the Railgun? Quake fans love it!), and then there's the physics engine, another "before its time" thing, you can push stuff around, you can blow stuff up causing a chain reaction.

The Bad
The reactor destruct code is randomly selected everytime you start a new game. I mean, c'mon stick to STANDARDS people.

The Bottom Line
If SHODAN suddenly appears on your screen after playing System Shock...be very afraid. Heh heh

The Good
Compelling plot, strong sense of an intelligent adversary (it doesn't just wait for you to come kill it, it sets traps and ambushes), separately adjustable difficulty for combat and puzzles. Convincing 3-D world with working cameras, variable gravity, real projectiles, movable objects. Wide variety of weapons. First game with a "cyberspace" for hacking. Some of the traps were so scary that I screamed out loud. WAY ahead of its time. System Shock doesn't just rule - it rules from orbit.

Note that some of the voice features of the game were not in the original release but were appeared in a later enhancement - these add a lot to the experience and you should make sure you have them. (The Mac port includes these.)

The Bad
The monsters are not really 3-D but just 2-D projections which vary with angle, so their motion is jerky and close up they look a little low-res. You get messages from other survivors, but there is no way to rescue any of them and they always have to die. The cyberspace is rather simple visually (kind of "wire frame"). A remake of the game with better graphics and rescuable AI NPCs would be awesome.

The Bottom Line
This is on many lists of top games of all time. It's STILL more worth playing than 99% of the games written a decade later. I found this much more enjoyable, for example, than Half Life or Half Life 2.

The Good
What's not to like? Awesome atmosphere, gameplay and graphics (for its time). Each and every time I play this, and I've played it many, many times now, I find new things to marvel at - it's a classic design that has yet to be matched.

The Bad
Probably the biggest flaw in System Shock is the music. It's irritating, but thankfully it can be turned off. Also, some people have real trouble using the interface, but with some practice it's possible to adapt to.

The Bottom Line
System Shock is the ultimate game. It's an immersive RPG, with a touch of action thrown in, and it's incredibly addictive. God only knows the brilliance of games we could be playing now had Shock received more attention than its contemporary, Doom.

The Good
What did I like...? I learnt English practically for this game! A subject hated and vilified suddenly had reason to be learnt for, to read the logs and understand what happened on this doomed station! The atmosphere is simply breathtaking. It is difficult to really hook me up, but this one does it. I recently acquired GTA San Andreas and the Doom 3 expansion, but simultaneously I managed to get System Shock (more than 11 years old) working on my Windows XP. Guess which one have I played whole last week?

The Bad
SPOILER Even if I played through the game for 3 times, then skipped two years without it for technical reasons, continuously thirsting for it, then replaying it once again, I am hoping that the escape pod will blast off this time. It doesn't, and I fear going back onto the station shaking violently from the reactor set on destruct. And I still cry out loud when a security robot is around the corner firing on me totally unexpectedly. Then have nightmares about SHODAN taking over the real Internet or jettisoning me through an airlock. I wrote two games of my own totally in honor of System Shock.

This is the only game that causes me to feel real world emotions, and I don't like to be manipulated.

The Bottom Line
A RPG with a decent bit of action, with an absolutely addictive and realistic-feeling horror plot. Go over to www.the-underdogs.org to fetch it, and see www.ttlg.com forums on how to run it in a P4 box. Then prepare to experience a true masterpiece.

The Good
The 3-D RPG/Adventure genre is growing, but Looking Glass has pretty much pioneered the genre. A nice touch added in this game was the ability to squat and lean around corners.

The cyberspace part was also interesting, as its visuals broke up the game nicely.

**The Bad**
It was too slow, and I was let down by the uncreative use of "software upgrades" (i.e. now it does 2x the damage, instead of something cool.)

**The Bottom Line**
A great game if you have 80 hours to kill and like sci-fi.

The Good
System Shock produced by Game God , Warren Spector. Is one of the most chilling if unsettling game expereinces. When it's by a Game God you know a game is good. As for the likes of System Shock, the storyline and graphics. Are what make System Shock work so well. The storyline is pure genuines of Science Fiction. And the graphics have to show you the story the Game Designer is trying to convey to the gamer. From SHODAN's evil plans for the world.After taking over the Citadel space station. And isn't ironic that you caused it all. By your greed for freedom from the law. I guess Edward Diego, of the corporation, system you broke into. Was playing you for a fool.

The Bad
Well, mostly people I have talked to. Like the game , System Shock. Some as for the not so Hardcore gamers. Didn't understand if the game was FPS, CRPG or such. Basically if you have played anything from a Hardcore gamers prospective. You know the game is a challenge, that leaves you with a smile after playing it. As for some not so familiar with Game Designs and such. Well, you have to be one, a Game Designer to understand the Designers vision for a game. And yes I am a Game Designer, of a soon to be established, game studio.

The Bottom Line
Try it and the Sequel, System Shock 2. Both are classics in Game Design. It is like a good graphic novel or movie. With all the good parts. Rolled into one that takes you by the shirt. Like the bully who wants your lunch money or always has the girl. And drops you into the mud puddle hard, with never ending laughter.

The Good
The gameplay is cool, and very clasic, a fist person advernture game, you don't see many of those. This game quite frankley, is better than most new games, even the graphics have more mood and ambiance, than most games that come out now, in fact Deus Ex (another Warren Specter game) is probally one of the few games to come out in several years that can even top System Shock.

The Bad
Nothing.

The Bottom Line
The summary might seem a bet ambitious, but it is true. Half-life is a great game, but isn't better than System Shock.

The Good
The feelings of total immersion, like you were part of the crew.

The Bad
Sometimes it was difficult to calculate how far on you were on platforms, etc.

The Bottom Line
A classic everyone should try out. Will be talked about for years to come. You can still find it. Get it while you can!

The Good
.... its more like an interactive Horrortrip: The basic-idea and Design of the game are just brilliant (not very astonishing: Its a Spector game!) and the best of all is your enemy: Shodan! She/it sees you whereever you are and is setting unlimited Cyborgs on your Track. The Mapdesign is very complex. This game is just creepy!

The Bad
Graphics look of course a bit old today and the interface is quite complex.

The Bottom Line
On of the best games of all times - unique, astonishing and brilliantly designed!