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| Something Awful forum posters attempt SS2 love-in, encounter FABIO by Man in Gorilla Suit 06/13/2005, 1:41am PDT | ||||
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| FlightyMcWenis
I only had to read the first caption and first paragraph of that review to dismiss it as retarded. Firstly, Looking Glass had heavy involvement in System Shock 2's development (they didn't just liscence the engine, they also did a bit of content and you can bet they were consulted on design), and Irrational are ex-Looking Glass people as well, so he's retarded for not checking the credits. Then he's retarded for quipping about and chiding the game's developers for using a steam effect in their game - which is apparently one of the seven deadlies. But I'll keep reading a little more... EDIT: Further reading reveals that essentially reviewer was dissatisfied with the games inability to be an FPS like he wanted, and he has vented his frustration with poor humor and a general incompetence as a gamer. Specifically: - playing as a marine it IS possible to start using the shotgun right away, you ramp up your pistol skills with the character creation sequence and then get enough cybernetic modules within, like, the first five or ten minutes of the game to easily give yourself either a psi power or a shotgun skill or whatever you please, so nuts to that. Second SS2 does model damage in combat properly and realistically, it's not like you can walk up to an enemy, shoot at point blank range and miss or do no damage - if this was true then yeah fair enough, but it is most certainly not. And while jumping puzzles are certainly retarded and annoying, I have never met one that I found difficult to master, legs or no legs, merely tedious. Lastly he played the game well after the patch was released - which consequently fixes the admittedly harsh balancing in the game, and allows you to make your own. Voted dumb review. ---------------------------------------- NOT PAUL LAYTON It was a shitty review, but what's this about making your own? ---------------------------------------- FlightyMcWenis Oh yes? Well alright, here's something I wrote for the shackreviews feature on shacknews aaages ago, it's been edited a bit for the sake of making sense and general readability: System Shock 2 was the immediate precursor to Deus Ex in terms of the modern FPS-RPG insurrection, and the two games are closely related by the history of their respective development teams. This means that if you loved one, you’ll probably love the other. However System Shock 2 is about as far removed from Deus Ex as it possibly can be. Whereas the world of Deus Ex is richly populated by a large number of NPC's within open ended, “real world” locations - System Shock 2 takes place on two crumbling space craft, whose cold, claustrophobic nature in conjunction with the fact that, your only interaction with non enemies will be through the logs of your already deceased crew members, creates a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere, which unlike in most games, makes you profoundly aware of your isolation. However, this cool atmosphere takes some hits. The art is much plainer, and tends to be a little bad in parts. People complained about Deus Ex’s lacklustre visuals, but I thought that the game had rich-enough art to counterbalance the age of the technology. Not so with System Shock 2 (which uses Looking Glass' Dark Engine). The textures are flat and undetailed, but if you take this from a perspective that the art is heavily stylised (which it is, in a fashion) then it becomes less bothersome, but in the end this is an ugly game for 1999. The game rules certainly don't make it easy on the player. Things like weapon degradation, and the scarcity of ammo and other resources, means you really think twice before you make a move. The intent is to add tension, to make shooting your weapon and using the stealth features matter, but it also might end in frustration. Which is why the games’ patch offers the player the ability to turn these features off. Another source of that frustration might be the environments. The game does have some 'colorful' parts, and they have tried hard to mix it up a bit (with respectable results), but the game ends up suffering from Half Life syndrome – towards the end of the game you are thrust in an environment that makes a very big departure from the usual gameplay, a change is welcome of course, but this change might not be. It is quite likely that this will be another Xen for many players, and even the games’ developers commented that they probably shouldn’t have made the attempt in view of their technology and its limitations. What there is to like about the game, iis all the rest. The voice acting is very good (though patchy as it tends to be in most PC games), there are freak mutant monkeys that enjoy potato chips, and lots of stuff to 'use' such as psionic powers and a nice, plentiful arsenal of weapons. There's also a plethora of auxiliary gameplay. For example hacking in the game is far more involved then it is in some other titles (and if you’ve played Elite Force 2, you’ve met a close corruption of the system, and it will also be familiar to players of the original). To be more descriptive: hacking electronic devices in most RPG’s involves making a dice roll or clicking a button or two – System Shock 2 develops the process, making it feel more interesting and rewarding by reinventing hacking a little visual puzzle the player has to solve, with its difficulty increasing the lower the players hacking skills are. There are also small built in 2d games like a minesweeper clone, a golf game and a little Roguelikeish RPG game. There is a lot of love in the detail of this game. But so far I have only talked about the peripheral aspects of the gameplay mechanics. At the core of it is a sophisticated combat system, with a weapon for every occasion feel, and an ammo type for every enemy. For example with just a small increase in weapons skills, and the right ammo types, your shotgun becomes a cannon that can blow apart just about anything - even the big security bots - with ease. Your character’s stat’s stuff is a little strangely balanced though. You can choose your branch of the military that you wish to serve under but in the end it makes no difference except that when you start the game some stats are more boosted then others (with the Marines you’ll have a few weapons skills, with the Navy you’ll have the hacking down and with the OSA your psi abilities will be the strongest when you start). I suggest the OSA because it makes things a little easier on the beginner player, and gives you ranged fighting capabilities right at the start of the game, with no gun degradation. Though you should know, eventually you'll have to rock at all the abilities (hacking, weapons, psi) to rock the game itself. This game along with Deus Ex and Vampire: Bloodlines forms the FPRPG triumvirate of the current generation, at least in the authors’ opinion. Really, if you're a gaming enthusiast, then this is an important game to have. It's the sequel to one of the coolest games ever, and a true cult hit. And also, if you’ve been around the block playing RPG’s or have taste for more complex gameplay in general, and are looking for something new to have a go at - then you'd be well rewarded to check this out. You should be able to pick up a copy just about anywhere online, or in the bargain bin for super cheap bucks. ---------------------------------------- GamingHyena My only question is why the Hell the guy in the review was using that shitty laser sword? The jagged crystal is the best melee weapon in the game and needs only a mere 10 module investment since you can use it at level 1 alien weaponry (besides the points needed to research the thing, but you'll need those anyways. However, I do agree that everything past the command deck feels rushed and tacked on (especially The Many levels). I wished they would have kept the game on the ship. Also, the gun breaking issue isn't that much of a problem since there's guns everywhere. All you need is to invest a couple of points in either maintenance or repair and you're set for the game. My OS upgrades are the melee bonus, sharpshooter, dual implants, then whatever. Between the melee and sharpshooter bonuses you can take down anything in the game, but then I never used PSI. ---------------------------------------- VTNC The scarcity of working weapons is compounded by the fact that the monsters are cheating whores that constantly respawn all around you. What a fucking pussy. Do you also need someone to hold your hand so you don't feel scared of the monsters while your pussy-ass quick-saves every 15 seconds? Oh yeah. EVERYONE loves those games where every single level is "cleared". What a moron. ---------------------------------------- Black August Easy there, cowboy. People are allowed to dislike the game. It isn't everyone's cup of tea. Caltrops is usually abrasive on purpose, anyways. Man, I wish there was more games like this. It really nails the sci-fi Alien feel. You know, I hope they make a new Alien vs. Predator game someday. Or something similar. ---------------------------------------- VTNC VVV I just couldn't have some mouth-breather disrespect part of what makes this game scary because it doesn't conform to whatever impression he has of how FPSs should be like. Link. The "VVV" means that the original poster read something posted below his message and then -- rather than create a new reply -- edits his original post, adds "VVV" to indicate that he's posting to someone beneath him and continues on with his worthless opinion. Yes, for people who do not frequent that forum, that is actually how they sometimes communicate with each other. |
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