System Shock 2

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{{Infobox CVG | title = System Shock 2 | image = Image:System Shock 2 box.jpg | developer = Irrational Games, Looking Glass Studios | publisher = Electronic Arts | designer = Ken Levine | engine = Enhanced Dark Engine | released = Image:Flag of the United States.svg August 11, 1999 | genre = First-person shooter, Adventure game, RPG | modes = Single player, Cooperative multiplayer | ratings = | platforms = Microsoft Windows
Sega Dreamcast (cancelled) | media = CD-ROM | requirements = | input = Keyboard, Mouse, Joystick }} System Shock 2 is the 1999 sequel to the 1994 Looking Glass Studios computer game System Shock. It was developed by Looking Glass offshoot Irrational Games and Looking Glass and published by Electronic Arts.

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Plotline

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Template:Cleanup-date The game takes place in 2114, forty-two years after the events in System Shock. The game is mostly set onboard the Tri-Optimum starship Von Braun, the first faster-than-light starship in human history. The player is a United National Nominate (UNN) soldier, based aboard the military starship Rickenbacker. The Rickenbacker is piggy-backed onto the Von Braun, providing escort for its maiden voyage into the unknown. Five months into the voyage, the player wakes up in a cryo-tube on the medical deck of the Von Braun, with a new cybernetic interface system, and no memory of the past few weeks. Much as in the first game, the player must piece together various clues to discover what has happened and what they must do about it.

The game takes the tenets of its predecessor, namely to combine a sci-fi/horror action game with role-playing/adventure elements, one step further by relying on a version of the Dark engine used in Thief for visuals and atmosphere. The Dark engine was never delivered to the developers as a finished engine in the sense that the Quake and Unreal engines are, but was made available to both projects as it was developed. In the Gamasutra postmortem, project manager and programmer Jonathan Chey states that it should still be possible to create an executable which can run both games, which should serve to describe the close relationship between the two games.

Image:Systemshock2 ingame.jpg In System Shock 2 the player character has a number of specific skills that can come into play at various points in the game depending on how the player decides to develop the character and play the game. The character can be initially be chosen from three different professions: a gun-slinging Marine, a Navy hacker/engineer or an OSA psi-corps psionic with magic-like abilities. Through choosing three different tours of duty, the character can be further customized before the start of the game. Throughout the rest of the game, statistics and skills can be purchased and upgraded using "Cybernetic modules" at upgrade stations.

In these aspects, System Shock 2 has as much in common with computer role-playing games as with first person shooters. The gameplay requires more adaptability and alternative problem solving than most first-person shooters, mainly because combat is very challenging by comparison: many weapons in System Shock 2 require special skills, while both ammunition and skill points are hard to come by. Furthermore, guns degrade through use and can eventually break and must be maintained and/or repaired with the use of certain skills or items reliant on skill values. In a typical game, the player will only be able to use half of the weapons or psionic disciplines depending on one's choice of specialization. This provides a good amount of replayability and forces the player to think about their choices.

Items are picked up in a fashion similar to the first game, by aiming the crosshairs and right-clicking or by using drag-and-drop with the inventory window. However, the cursor is locked to the centre of the screen, as in most modern modern first person games. The Dark engine allows for very detailed placement of objects compared most first-person games. Items, weapons and upgrade modules can therefore be found hidden underneath benches, fallen into cracks in the floor or on top of piping in the ceiling. The player must look carefully to find such items, which would not be feasible in a game such as Half-Life, where the only way to collect items is by walking on top of them.

The horror element in System Shock 2 is quite pronounced; many players have found the game to be very scary. This effect is achieved by the random, mostly non-scripted movement and appearance of enemies in an environment which is often very dark and fearsome, and the vivid horror material present in many scenes. In its review of System Shock 2 as one of "The Greatest Games of All Time", GameSpot states, "The game was scary. Damn scary. And this isn't schlocky-horror-movie-style monster-closet scary, where the bogeyman jumps out at you when you least expect it. Shock 2 projected real psychological terror through the tragic grotesquery of the formerly human enemies, the urgency and grim portent of the crew members' audio logs, and the unparalleled sound design that brought the menace and forebodingness of the Von Braun to horrible life." [1]

Much as the original System Shock's commercial defeat was at the hands of the mainstream Doom, System Shock 2, despite critical acclaim [2], was essentially eclipsed by Half-Life.

The official patch updates the game from the release version (1.15) to version 2.3. Players must have the release version for the patch to work. It adds multiplayer support, a new difficulty level, the ability to modify the rate of enemy spawning and gun degradation, and several bugfixes. The patch can be applied without breaking savegames.

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Fan Modifications

A free fan-made add-on pack, called "Rebirth," is available on the Internet, which increases some of the polygon counts and provides new textures to make the most of the new models. The polygon counts had been kept relatively low in the original release to ensure high performance speed. However, the developers have stated that they underestimated their 'budget' for performance and they could have made the polygon counts higher. Rebirth, however, has received criticism from some, who believe that it changes the 'feel' of the original enemies.

The "No Spiders" patch removes the spider enemies from the game. Some people with severe arachnophobia were unable to continue after encountering these enemies.

The SHock Texture Upgrade Project (SHTUP), is a modification that aims to increase the resolution of the object textures used in the game to a more recent standard, whilst maintaining the same art-style.

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Enemies

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

There are a number of powerful enemies within System Shock 2. This is a short list of the primary leading enemies, with a small description.

SHODAN 
SHODAN returns from her apparent defeat in the first game, however this time she seeks to enlist the player as an unlikely partner in eradicating The Many.
XERXES 
An AI similar in structure to SHODAN, but not quite as intelligent, and with many more safety protocols, XERXES is the primary computer system of the starship Von Braun. He is corrupted by the infestation that takes over the ship and becomes a puppet for the will of The Many.
The Many 
A biological collective that has evolved from SHODAN's genetic experimentation on Citadel, The Many have infested the Von Braun in hopes of spreading across the galaxy. Turning against SHODAN (whom they call the "Machine Mother"), they are the primary antagonist in System Shock 2 and the only reason why SHODAN tolerates the player's presence in the second game.
Capt. Anatoly Korenchkin 
The Captain of the Von Braun and a true "company man," Korenchkin wants so much for the mission to succeed that he is willing to go to any lengths to make sure that anything bad on the ship is covered up, up to negligently ignoring the warnings of the Chief Engineer, Dr. Marie Delacroix. He is also the one responsible for bringing The Many to the Von Braun in the first place.
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Future of the System Shock series

Because of the way the rights to the System Shock series were sold after Looking Glass liquidated, the possibility of a System Shock 3 is unlikely. Many companies purchased small sections of the franchise, and many of these companies do not even know they own them. Some fans hold the view, however, that this also prevents any company from making an "unworthy" sequel. Electronic Arts does appear to own the majority of the rights, though, as they have sent cease and desist letters to groups and individuals making unofficial System Shock-based content for various games.

In 2004, Irrational Games announced a 'spiritual successor' to the System Shock series, entitled Bioshock. The game takes place in an abandoned underwater planned community that has somehow gone awry because of events involving genetics. This contradicts earlier concept art & other information that the game would take place in an abandoned WW2 lab uncovered in the 21st century, in which the genetic projects started during the war have lived on. It is not known what has caused the change in artistic direction for this game or when that change in direction occurred. Both concepts incorporate biotechnology into it's plot, though.

On January 9, 2006, Electronic Arts renewed their trademark protection on the title "System Shock" in the United States, leading to speculation that they intend to use the title to make a new game[3]. This information was announced at nearly the same time that Take-Two Interactive announced their acquisition of Irrational Games, with BioShock slated for release in early 2007[4].

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Critical Acclaim

System Shock 2 has won numorous awards and is widely considered one of the best games of all time.

http://www.irrationalgames.com/shock2/

http://top100.ign.com/2005/041-050.html

http://www.gamespot.com/features/6130956/index.html

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External links

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