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System Shock 2

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System Shock 2
The cover art of System Shock 2
Developer(s)Irrational Games, Looking Glass Studios
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Designer(s)Ken Levine
EngineEnhanced Dark Engine
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Sega Dreamcast (cancelled)
Release
Genre(s)First-person shooter, RPG, Survival horror
Mode(s)Single player, Cooperative multiplayer

System Shock 2 (commonly abbreviated SS2) is a science fiction horror-themed first-person shooter which incorporates a number of elements commonly seen in computer role-playing games. It was developed by Looking Glass Studios and Looking Glass offshoot Irrational Games, and was released on August 11, 1999 by publisher Electronic Arts. It is a direct sequel to the seminal 1994 Looking Glass Studios computer game System Shock, with which it shares the same hybrid gameplay style. The game appears on a number of "Best Games of All Time" lists and has a strong fan base.

Taking place on an experimental starship in the far future, System Shock 2 has the player take control of a recent military recruit trying to survive a deadly and mysterious alien infestation. Horror is a prominent element of System Shock 2, and it has been frequently described as being quite scary.

System Shock 2 was not a great success commercially, and because of this and copyright issues the status of the franchise is somewhat in doubt. However, Irrational have announced they are developing a spiritual successor to SS2 entitled Bioshock,[1] and rumors of a System Shock 3 have also come to light.[2]

Storyline

Template:Spoilers

Setting

System Shock 2 takes place in the year 2114, forty-two years after the events in System Shock, with the TriOptimum starship Von Braun serving as its main setting. The Von Braun is on its maiden voyage as the first faster-than-light starship in human history, and is joined by a Unified National Nominate (UNN) military starship, the Rickenbacker, an armed escort for the journey into the unknown.

Synopsis

File:SS201.jpg
The player encounters a Hybrid on the Medical deck of the Von Braun.

The game begins with the unnamed player character — listed in a cutscene as Soldier G65434-2 — arriving at a UNN recruitment facility on Earth. After completing the training regimen, the player must choose which branch of the military to join: The Marines (who focus on weapons systems), the Navy (specializing in technical skills including hacking), or the OSA (which is devoted to mastering psionic powers such as Telekinesis and Cryokinesis). After this, the player is transferred to a UNN space station where, over the course of a three year career path, he acquires a number of skills in his respective field. At the end of this period, the player character applies to be assigned to the UNN Rickenbacker for its history making voyage with the Von Braun, and is accepted.

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 (Multi Functional Display/MFD), and no memory of the past few weeks. Despite this amnesia, it immediately becomes apparent that both the Von Braun and the adjoining Rickenbacker have been taken over by a mysterious alien force, one that has already killed or absorbed into its ranks the majority of the former crew.

The player is immediately contacted by one of the few remaining survivors, Dr. Janice Polito. She explains the situation, and demands that the player make his way up to Operations on Deck 4 in order that they may take the next course of action against the unknown invaders. After escaping through the cryonics airlock before the atmosphere of that failing section is vented into space, the player learns from Polito that the ship elevator is off-line as the main engine core on the Engineering deck is down.

With Polito as a guide, the player sets out, all the while piecing together various clues to discover what has really happened. From the audio logs of slaughtered crewmembers, and occasional transmissions from Polito herself, the true nature of the alien infestation – and its source – is gradually revealed. Template:Spoilerend

Presentation

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. [3]

Gameplay

The inventory screen and HUD

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 a hybrid executable which can run both games, which should serve to describe the close relationship between the two games.

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 initially be chosen from three different professions: a gun-slinging Marine, a Navy hacker/engineer or an OSA psi-corps psionic with psychic 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 very fast while being used in the artificial entropy field encompassing the ship 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 of the MFD. However, the cursor is locked to the centre of the screen, as in most modern first person games. The Dark engine allows for very detailed placement of objects compared to 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 to walk on top of them.

Enemies

Template:Spoiler 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[4]
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
Named after a Persian king, XERXES is 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, including negligently ignoring the warnings of the Chief Engineer, Dr. Marie Delacroix. He is also the one responsible for bringing The Many on to the Von Braun in the first place. He eventually becomes a PSI Reaver.
XERXES' Forces
A series of protective Turrets, Cyborg Assassins and Security Bots controlled by XERXES which are onboard both the Rickenbacker and the Von Braun also act as puppets of The Many. In addition to this, XERXES also uses Security Cameras on each deck to alert The Many of any disturbance in their harmony.

Template:Spoilerend

Development

Development on System Shock 2 began in 1997 when Looking Glass Studios approached new upstart Irrational Games with the idea of co-developing a new game using the Dark engine, which had recently been used to create Thief: The Dark Project. Ken Levine and the other members of Irrational unanimously decided on a follow up to Looking Glasses' seminal 1993 production System Shock, of which they were all fans.

It was decided that System Shock 2 should incorporate elements of role-playing games such as Ultima Underworld into a real-time action game. Other elements that were to be implemented included that the game environment would be persistent, and that the interface would be more user-friendly compared to the original.

A preliminary mock-up of an endlevel taking place in a Japanese dojo designed by SS2 developer Michael Ryan [5], as well as SHODAN wearing a kimono in the final version of the game [6] suggest that the developers of the game were aware of SHODAN's name matching the 1st Dan in Japanese martial arts.

In March of 1999, Looking Glass announced a contest entitled "Get Killed By SHODAN". [7] The eventual winner of the contest was a Brian Norris of St. Louis, Missouri. [8] He lent his name and appearance to a character killed on the command deck level of the game. [9]

Reception

Much as the original System Shock's commercial defeat was at the hands of the mainstream Doom, System Shock 2, despite critical acclaim [1], was essentially eclipsed by Half-Life [citation needed].

Awards

System Shock 2 has won numerous awards, including Game of the Year awards for 1999. It is also included on several Best Games of All Time lists. Some of the awards it has won include:

  • 41st Best Game of All Time - IGN [2] (review)
  • 13th Best PC Game of All Time - IGN [3]
  • Greatest Games of All Time - GameSpot [4]
  • 5th Best Game of All Time, Best RPG of the Year - PC Gamer
  • PC Game of the Year - USA Today
  • Game of the Year - Computer Games Online
  • Game of the Year, Action Game of the Year - CNET
  • Game of the Year - Evil Avatar
  • Game of the Year - Intelligamer
  • RPG of the Year, Best Genre Bender - GameSpy
  • Game of the Year - Loony
  • RPG of the Year - GamesDomain
  • Adventure Game of the Year - Gone Gold
  • Game of the Year - Game Revolution
  • Game of the Year - Glide Underground
  • Single Player Game of the Year - PC Accelerator
  • 5th Place First Person Shooter Quantum Leap Award [5] - Gamasutra
  • 2nd most frightening game of all time - X-Play, G4TV

Criticism

While lauded as one of the best games of its era by both its devoted fans[10] and its many reviewers, gamers of the more casual persuasion have criticised certain aspects of System Shock 2.

One of the most common complaints centers on the weapon "degradation" system, which makes weapons wear out and eventually break through use. Designed to add tension to the game by forcing the user to consider every shot, many feel that the quality of any gun drops far too quickly. For instance, it is not uncommon for a newly acquired weapon, such as the pistol, to break after firing as few as a dozen rounds, coupled with strange errors such as the laser pistol being able to suffer jamming. Adding to the annoyance was the fact that the enemy's weapons did not suffer from these problems, and when picked up would often be in an unworking condition or empty of ammunition, which could only partly be attributed to the misuse of it by the hybrids. Coupled with the relatively low ammunition stores found in the game, it is commonly joked that the number one weapon used by most players is the wrench. Even the developers appear to have misgivings about the system[11]. In response to the criticism of this feature, the developers released a patch which allows players to optionally tone down (or remove) some of these aspects of the game.

Another complaint, although less prevalent, is that the level designs of later stages of the game appear to have been rushed. In the early stages the player interacts with the storyline almost constantly through various crewmembers or their audio logs, adding to the immersion. After the early levels are cleared, however, these story-building events disappear and the development continues as a limited one-sided conversation with the protagonist. A later scripted event is built up in advance, but by that point it is so isolated it seems out of place. Another sign of this apparent rush to ship the game is that the interior design of the Rickenbacker appears hastily constructed and re-uses a lot of the Von Braun textures (even though the ships are supposed to be different)[12].

Future of the Series

System Shock rights issues

[original research?]

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.[6]

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[7]. This information was announced at nearly the same time that Take-Two Interactive announced their acquisition of Irrational Games, with their new title Bioshock slated for release in early 2007[8]. Such rumors have been further enhanced since then by the July 2006 issue of Game Informer and the September 2006 issue of PC Gamer UK, which both mention the possibility that EA has just put the team behind the recent Godfather game in charge of a System Shock 3 project.[9]

Bioshock

Main article: Bioshock

In 2004, Irrational Games announced a spiritual successor to the System Shock series, entitled Bioshock. The game takes place in an abandoned underwater utopian community that has somehow gone awry through events involving the genetic modification of its populace.

Patches and Fan Modifications

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 game saves.

A free fan-made add-on pack, called "Rebirth", increases the visual quality of various non-player character models. The original models kept polygon counts relatively low to ensure adequate performance on the hardware available at the game's release. A second version of Rebirth, known as "Rebirth: Complemented Version", makes further alterations to the enemy models in order to give a closer approximation of their original appearance. It also adds several models made by the original Rebirth author that were unavailable in the first release.

The SHock Texture Upgrade Project (SHTUP) is a modification that increases the resolution of the object and environment textures used in the game to a more recent standard, whilst maintaining the same graphic-style. Most base textures in the game were only of 64x64 or 128x128 pixel resolution, while the SHTUP's are mostly 256x256. Perhaps the most obvious improvement is the enhanced readability and sharpness of decals and computer terminals.

The fan-made "No Spiders" patch(JockeNoSpiderPatchV2) removes the spider enemies from the game. Some people with severe arachnophobia were unable to continue after encountering these enemies.

Trivia

  • There is a basketball hidden in the first level of the game before you start the training section. If it is dropped through the basketball hoop on the recreation deck later in the game, a message will be received.[10]
  • The character Erin Bloome was visually based on silent film star Louise Brooks.[11] [12]
  • An audio log by Norris found on the Command deck mentions the names Vogel, Boynton and Swiderek. These are the last names of three members of the development team of System Shock 2 — Ian Vogel: Level designer (Looking Glass), Matt Boynton: Level designer (Irrational Games) and Michael Swiderek: 2D artist (Irrational Games).
  • As no person named "von Braun" appears within the game universe it's highly probable that the starship Von Braun was named after pioneering German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun.
  • For similar reasons, it appears that the starship Rickenbacker was named for World War I ace Eddie Rickenbacker.
  • The code to the first locked door in the game is "45100" - "451" was also used as the code to the first locked door in the original System Shock and again in Deus Ex. This was also the door code to Looking Glass' offices and is a reference to the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.[13]
  • On the Von Braun's Hydroponics deck, the number "1138" appears. This number appears very often in science fiction and is a reference to the film THX 1138.
  • The cigarette cartons in the game are labeled "Laramie". This is a fictional cigarette brand on The Simpsons.
  • A poster for the feature film The Brain Eaters (1958) appears in several locations on the Von Braun.
  • One of the playable games of the portable videogame is homage to the first ULTIMA games, and does have the same speech "Name? Job? End." and similar graphics.
  • In the third year of training at the start of the game through the window on your left, you can see a protocol droid dancing the Macarena.

References

  1. ^ pc.gamespy.com
  2. ^ kotaku.com
  3. ^ Brad Shoemaker. "The Greatest Games of All Time: System Shock 2". GameSpot. Retrieved 2006-08-22.
  4. ^ 'Sentient Hyper-Optimised Data Access Network'.
  5. ^ "SS2 LGS Dojo Level". Strange Bedfellows:A Shock Mod Forum. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "System Shock 2 Design Portfolio". Somethingstrange.com. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "1999 Archive". SShock2.com. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Did you win?". IGN.com. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Screenshot of Brian Norris". SShock2.com. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Amazon Reviews
  11. ^ Rob "Xemu" Fermier. "SS2: When Not Enough is Too Much". Retrieved 2006-08-23.
  12. ^ Jonathan Chey. "Postmortem: Irrational Games' System Shock 2". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2006-08-23.
Wikiquote has quotations related to System Shock 2.

Timeline of Events SS1->SS2 Timeline

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