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/vr/ - Retro Games

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5139483 No.5139483 [Reply] [Original]

Never played System Shock 2 before, thinking of trying it out. Thoughts?

>> No.5139486

Do it, it’s one of the best games ever made imo

>> No.5139505

>>5139483
>>5139486
I second this. Very good game

>> No.5139554

>>5139483
It's a great game

>> No.5139780

Just remember to talk to any helpful protocol droid you encounter on the Von Braun to learn a valuable lesson about trust.

>> No.5139795

https://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=4447.msg50005#msg50005

>> No.5139809

>>5139795

Forgot to add this, for those who'd rather install a nice AIO mod pack and be done with it: https://neutralx2.com/2013/07/14/system-shock-2-mod-pack

Some mods in it are old now, but if you use this you likely couldn't care less. It's nice and doesn't try to fuck with the original vision. Also relatively simple to install.

>> No.5140408

>>5139483
Do it. It is worth the time ton explore some historical SciFi kino

>> No.5140489

It's pretty enjoyable, just don't play with the hud scaled down, keep them big for that nice chunky menu.

>> No.5140495

>>5139483
I think that you will have a nice time so long as you remember it's age and that it was built on top of the Thief 1/2 engine. I think that it's reputation has become a *little* over-inflated throughout the years but a lot of the praise that it has garnered has also been earned.

* You probably know about "the big reveal" and, unfortunately, you won't get to experience it firsthand for the first time.

* If you don't like spiders, you may want to consider another game (or a mod that removes the spiders).

* As with games of this age and older, there's a bit less hand-holding than what modern gamers are accustomed to.

>> No.5140512
File: 8 KB, 473x500, 1476759738879.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5140512

>>5139780

>> No.5140527

>>5139483
Depending on your character archetype, you might find the beginning fairly rough. Just push past it, you can develop your character in any direction later on and make up for deficiencies.

I played it for the first time a while ago and definitely enjoyed it. Overall, I'd say it was an 8. It had very high immersion and design creativity, but a lot of the mechanics and the replayability are stunted.

Obviously, it is fairly similar to Bioshock, so use that as a gauge for if this is in your area of interest. The character development / RPG aspects are stronger, the combat is more methodical and jankier.

>> No.5140532

The game is ok by itself. If you're interested in dark space stories it may interest you. I think it does this type of story than any other game that existed after it ex. Dark Space, Alien Isolation, Prey. It just has the right amount of claustrophobia and eeriness to make for a unique game.

>> No.5140540

In my opinion, it's an extremely mediocre game, and I sincerely don't understand the hype.

The gameplay itself is pretty terrible: the weapons barely feel like a FPS, you can melee your way through most of the game, and the skills ultimately make little difference (from what I recall). The level design is nothing impressive, so is the AI.

It had only two good parts (no spoilers), and overall I'd rate it 5/10; the first one was way more interesting, gameplay-wise.

But hey, it's just my opinion, I guess this game wasn't meant for me...

>> No.5140556

>>5139483
Its really good better than Prey or any other "shock"

>> No.5140562

>>5140495
Played it for the first time this year. Controls and feels better than some games out now. Also its difficult but not if you like to play video games

>> No.5140601

>>5140540
You know, I came on here to pretty much say what you just said. System Shock 2 was really boring in my eyes, the first one was far more interesting.

Really, I am far more of a Thief fan, System Shock just sort of comes off as another generic sci-fi game. Enemies respawning constantly results in me feeling it is almost pointless to get immersed or explore, so I just rushed through everything so I didn't have to hear another enemy yelling at me. I had similar problems and stress with Hexen, another game I feel is highly overrated.

The AI felt a lot more simplistic to Thief. They talk about stealth being in the game, but enemies always saw me even when hiding in the shadows, meaning I had no reason to do anything but hit them with my melee weapon over and over.

I used melee mostly as I was trying to conserve ammo far more than it turned out was needed, a general problem I tend to have in games. Plus chests got on my nerves since they were pretty much randomized luck if you got one that could open if you didn't devote enough points to certain skills.

It basically played like Thief, but felt more like a rip-off without the atmosphere that made the game great. I think a lot had to do with the pacing and strength of the player, you are a one-man tank rushing through levels in System Shock 2. It gave the element of being in a hectic invaded spaceship, but resulted in me also going "survival" mode and not caring about the world. I can't even remember most of the game as I was too busy trying to just fly through it, once again because I never had that breather.

Also, audio logs. Thief was notable because while conversations existed, you never needed to bear through them like in this game.

It was still a Looking Glass game and definitely less frustrating than some games I have touched. The concept was decent and the main villain is of course notable (though even that was better in the first game). I just am one of those people who never "got it".

>> No.5140607

>>5140540
>>5140601

I am this guy:
>>5140527

I want to just qualify my good review in the context that I did not play Thief or System Shock (the first game). It's possible I enjoyed it because I had no expectations of certain systems or mechanics (like stealth or in-game conversational lore-building), nor of the antagonist. It's quite possible I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I had played those games prior to SS2, but this might not be a problem for OP if he hasn't played them either. They didn't really explain how they came to the idea of playing SS2.

>> No.5140617

>>5140607
Quite fair anon, I had years of experience with the two Thief games before I bothered with System Shock 2 and held both very highly, meaning I built myself up for disappointment when it wasn't like them.

>> No.5140632

>>5140617
I hope I didn't come across as tearing down your post in any way, I just wanted to bring clarity to OP, who might think "well what is this game? A 5 or an 8? Should I bother?". Expectations are huge in media.

I still hope to play SS1 and the Thief series at some point, because their fans are quite avid! I will try to not go into them expecting strong nostalgia from SS2.

>> No.5140637

>>5139483
My current thoughts are that it is an unpleasant and intentionally derivative game with striking graphical and sound direction (both which are absolutely not the point), that is worth completing once because it makes a point through the way it is made.

The core gameplay is pretty much a pastiche of 3 major previous LGS games (Ultima Underworld 1, System Shock 1, Thief 1) without anything conceptually new to it. The twist, however, is, in that System Shock 2 is pretty heavily anti-LGS game (remember, it was created by Irrational, even if in the same building where LGS resided, as IG's debut title, meaning, there were concrete reasons that caused the split to begin with) with Body-of-Many quite obviously representing socialist-like LGS-ian ideology pretty much every former member LGS specifically mentioned in any LGS-related interview ever. The game, however, doesn't stop there first showing that in some sense it is the exact same thing as "Shodan-ism", in that both require you to embrace (meaning "substitute the goals you formed in your mind by yourself for yourself for...") external ideals with the difference being that in one case the point of origin of those ideals is unknown (they are effectively hearsay) while in the other case they have a definite and quite vocal author. This act of equation of left-wing and right-wing, both of which require you, in completely non-negotiable manner, to place SOMEONE's goals as more important for you then those formed by you, is done through the infamous Last Level and its complete linearity and primitiveness gameplay-wise. In other words, the point of the last level is that Shodan's portion of it is a reskin of BoM's, which calls in question what else common they have between them, which brings attention to both utterly uncompromisingly demanding you to follow someone's goals instead of your own personal ones, which, pretty much, is what power is in the context of this game.
(cont)

>> No.5140657

>>5140637
In other words, followers' beliefs (the act of them substituting their goals for external ideals) allows leader (regardless of whether explicit or Grey Eminence) to achieve something he/she wouldn't be able to achieve otherwise. With those who refuse to embrace the ideals being framed as enemies (the non-negotiable, uncompromising demand to believe mentioned earlier). Moreover, it is always the leader who benefits this setup the most (regardless of whether in an explicit or implicit a manner).
However, this isn't the end either. See, since the last level allows you to make statements about Powers That Be in general, it also allows you to make statements about Powers That Be (more specifically, sects in a very general sense) other than those depicted in the game. Namely, the developers of this very game, System Shock 2. For example, the game is made in such a manner, that any single build strategy you might employ, makes you miss a ton of content, which makes it apparent that SOMEONE on the team clearly wanted you to replay the game over and over and over again, and to have a cult following to it as well. I wonder who exactly that someone might've been.

So, anyway
>My current thoughts are that it is an unpleasant and intentionally derivative game with striking graphical and sound direction (both which are absolutely not the point), that is worth completing ONCE because it makes a point through the way it is made.

>> No.5140679

>>5140637
Also, the last level is infamous precisely because it works as intended, with its main goal being making you utterly uniformly disgusted with everything you see around you.

>> No.5140689

>>5140632
Not at all anon, I understood where you were coming from and wanted to confirm that I agreed with you.

I wish you luck indeed. Thief requires a particular type of mindset, if System Shock is different from the modern FPS, Thief might just be the antithesis of every other one out there.

>> No.5140719

your opinion is incorrect

>> No.5140738

>>influential game
>>derivative
what did he mean by this?

>> No.5140741

who am i talking to anyway

>> No.5140751

>>5140540
>you can melee your way through most of the game
You can melee your way through the whole game. Wrench only runs are possible. Save those speed hypos -- there are a few difficult jumps to get mandatory targets into wrench range.

>> No.5140754

still better than ss1

>> No.5140759

>>5140738
The poster who used the word
>>derivative
didn't mention the word
>>influential
in any way in his posts. You are putting words in his mouth, so to speak.

>> No.5140764

>>5140759
it was an influential game anyway

>> No.5140765
File: 2.75 MB, 1280x720, ss2.webm [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5140765

>>5139483
Play it, simple as.

>> No.5140774

i thought /vr/ loved ss2

>> No.5140778

>>5140765
Does this game take place on a disco?

>> No.5140795

>>5140778
Yes. The music is trippy and there are colors everywhere. There are many in the disco. Many love the disco. Even the little ones love the disco. Yes... enjoy the disco.

>> No.5140797

I had a nightmare I was on the Von Braun a few months ago, distinctly remember hearing the voices of cybernetic midwives in my dream. Woke up and promptly tucked my feet back under the blanket.

>> No.5140803

>>5140778
>>5140795

One robot is dancing the Macarena, though.

>> No.5140809

>>5140778
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0waX372Jms
Listen to this while playing the game. It will add to the immersion.

>> No.5140971

>>5139483
Play it, fgt.

>> No.5141139
File: 388 KB, 401x365, xerx.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5141139

>>5139483
This is XERXES. Tri-Optimum reminds you that there are only fifty-two shopping days until Christmas. An extra work cycle just twice a week will give you the spending money you need to make this holiday a very special one.

>> No.5141151

Played S2 for 7 hours before giving up, I don't like the annoying fighting mechanics and the irritating map design that feels stupidly confusing just for the sake of it.

>> No.5141285

ss2 is an objectively bad game
>>5140657
>>5140637
>>5140601
>>5140540

>> No.5141604

>>5140751
I think I played like this majorly during my second playthrough. this and cryokinesis. majority of the battles were either melee or maybe pyro depending on if it was a robot or not. it was pretty fun but sadly not much of a challenge given how easy it is to pass through majority of enemies with wrench. im trying to think of a possible way to play the game again and i cant even think of trying something different thats not too far fetched thatd be enjoyable. this game just isnt really that amazing in later playthroughs.

>> No.5141608

>>5141151
the level is actually pretty well thought out imo, i think the annoyance is always feeling unnerved and after a while it ruins playing the game. having constant enemies attack you especially while youre trying to do important tasks just makes the game slightly frustrating to play later on. especially the tougher enemies that take a lot of ammo to finish. it kind of relies in this item management thats just not as enjoyable as it could be having to constantly consider saving bullets and repairing guns. initially the game is like this as well and it works well until you run the problem of running around the ship and constantly having to deal with more enemies. i think ss1 did this slightly better by having enemies spawn in convenient spots where you're harboured from critical areas. or maybe thats just my memory

>> No.5141764
File: 589 KB, 1374x1500, 1538357602644.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5141764

Maranthon 2 is far better despite being 4 years older: good gameplay, interesting art, clever level design, moore interesting AI/player relationship (it actually manipulates you instead of going one dimensional full human hating retarded).

>> No.5141803

>>5139483
The first one is better...I feel like the second game tried adding a bunch of stuff just for the sake of more stuff and it ends up just bloating it with useless shit for no reason...it's still an okay game, but it has some real problems that bring down what could be a much better experience.

Weapon degradation is shit...no gun will become unusable after just a handful of shots when it's in perfect condition to begin with.
Enemies constantly respawning...this wouldn't be a problem outright, because the first game did this, but in SS2, you can kill all the enemies in a room, move on to the next room and enemies will spawn in the room you just came from and attack you in the new room...I got blown up by bots many times trying to read audio logs due to this bullshit.
The AI is kind dumb and once you figure that out the enemies aren't much of a threat anymore...the creepy nanny cyborgs can just be lured to come at you from around a corner where you wail on them with the wrench and they can't do a damn thing about it, removing any threat they posed.
I'm not a fan of the shift from normal music to battle music when enemies are around, the first game didn't do that so you never knew when you could be attacked.

>> No.5141860

Is there a way to turn off respawn?

>> No.5142524

Play the original first, then play SS2 to see how much worse it is compared to SS1.

>> No.5142530

>>5141803
SS1's only respawning enemies were the invisible blob monsters and remote mines in that one maze before you face Shodan.
>>5141860
Nope. Git gud and enjoy the game using narrative bullshit to justify bad game design.

>> No.5142574

Yep, its official /vr/ hates ss2 now. Fuck you faggots.

>> No.5142579

>>5142574
this place hates anything that's not doom, quake or any of the build games

>> No.5142801

>>5141764
Imagine being this contrarian. Fuck this thread.

>> No.5142852

>>5142574
>>5142579
>>5142801
Sorry you're assblasted about people articulating why they don't like something that you like.

>> No.5142862

>>5142852
Kys

>> No.5143240

>>5141860
If you want to break the game and play it how the developers didn't intend, by all means go ahead:.
https://www.systemshock.org/index.php/topic,81.0.html
https://www.systemshock.org/index.php/topic,638.msg1755.html

>> No.5143249

Has anyone played the source port of SS1 on Steam? It was released, maybe, a few months ago and I was looking forward to replaying the game but was wondering, does anybody know how to unlock the framerate so it goes beyond 60fps?

>> No.5143765

>>5141860
Yea . Stop playing

>> No.5144416

Still a great game. Keep seething /vr/.

>> No.5144424

>>5140679
Yeah lol fuck off
the disgust is more like "what the fuck these hacks are just phoning it in did they run outta their budget" kind of disgust

>> No.5144476

>>5142574
I don't think so, I just think people are critiquing it according to its status. The first is overlooked in general, so the flaws in SS1 are also being overlooked by those ITT suggesting it is a better game than the second, whereas the flaws in SS2 are being exaggerated.
I adore SS2 but I've always viewed it as a hotchpotch of a game which has no right to work as well as it does.

>> No.5144524

>>5140774
Nu /vr/ loves arguing and nothing else.

>> No.5144723

>>5139483
Fantastic game. Play it with good headphones, with the lights off while listening to dark-ambient albums.

>> No.5146393

>>5144723
Specifically this album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iBaQrDW544

>> No.5146395

>>5139483
>Thoughts?
It's a really great game. Play with headphones on. Be conservative with your ammo. And as far as what stats you level, it's the sort of game where not every build is viable. If you make the "wrong build" you WILL get fucked over. Maybe not initially, but eventually. Possibly to the point where you need to restart and reroll.

>> No.5146730

If you haven't played these types of games before and want a more simple and diluted experience in the genre, I recommend you play Prey. It came out in 2017 and is sort of a spiritual successor to the Shock games.

>> No.5147571

>>5139483
It's BioShock but less dumbed down and not consolized