System Shock 2 (pc: 1999): Reviews

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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.

System Shock 2


9.2

based on 20 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 65 votes
Read user comments
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GAMES:

BioShock

Cheat Code Central

Like System Shock 1, there will be persistent levels (i.e., drop an item on one level, and you could go back later to retrieve it), gameplay elements like logs, inventory, skills, persistent world, leaning, hacking, rpg elements, multiple weapons and enemies, and a compelling storyline. Unlike most other first person shooters, the purpose of System Shock was not to kill everything in sight; nor was it a "find the key to move onto the next level" game. The plot was always present, but not so confining as in traditional shooters - there was almost always more than one task to accomplish. Levels were realistically designed and had logical reasons behind them. It is the principle of System Shock 2 to continue this game design. [sshock2.com]

PUBLISHER:	Electronic Arts
DEVELOPER:	Looking Glass Studios - Irrational Games
GENRE(S):	Role-Playing Game, Action
PLAYERS:	1
ESRB RATING:	M (Mature)
RELEASE DATE:	July 31, 1999

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Hot Games

The first game was an undeniable classic that could easily be ruined in the wrong hands. We're here to tell you to pack those fears away in a box because this is the dream sequel.

100

Game Revolution

Bar none, the best FPS game to come down the pipe in quite awhile...By successfully blending the RPG and action elements, System Shock 2 has assured its place in gaming history.

100

Adrenaline Vault

If playing games is more of a religion than a hobby to you, meet your new bible...System Shock 2 will scare the hell right out of you -- and you'll like it for that reason.

100

Yahoo! Games

Even with the amazing achievements in other areas of the game, one of the most under-appreciated, but ultimately useful, components of SS2 is its interface.

100

Just Adventure

Irrational Games and Looking Glass have produced one of the best games I've ever played. System Shock 2 is truly scary, smart, challenging, fascinating, and disturbing. I recommend it to any adventurous adventure player.

100

GamePro

Never has a game gripped my attention so completely, it was able to throw me from my chair while trying to dodge an attack, lean forward to be one inch from the screen, or throw my mouse off the table in an effort to get away from an enemy.

100

Computer Games Magazine

It's scary, it's atmospheric, it has a great plot, and it rewards the thinking player more than the fragaholic.

PC Gamer

One of the most immersive, emotive, addictive, and just plain fun computer games we've ever played. [Oct 1999, p.122]

PC Gameworld

Like RPGs? Like to be scared? System Shock 2 shows that a game can please you on a multitude of levels: visual, auditory, and emotional.

Gamer's Pulse

The creators of the game must have had an affinity for the art of suspense because this game was a thriller all the way through. Top it all off with absolutely wonderful gameplay, be it puzzles or action, and you have the masterpiece that is System Shock 2.

FiringSquad

A gaming triumph...More astonishingly, they've created a system of classes and abilities that are so varied that there's a compelling reason to actually play through the game more than once.

IGN

An amazingly well crafted example of the genre that combines raw action with horror and suspense to deliver a gameplay experience that is very different from anything else on the shelves.

Thunderbolt

Simply put, the creepy atmosphere is incredible. Forget those survival horror games full of cheap scares and dark alleys. System Shock 2 manages to frighten without succumbing to horror contrivances. Considering this game is six years old, it truly is an achievement. [Aug 2005]

Gamezilla!

Boy, did System Shock 2 suck me in and not let me go. It’s been two weeks since I got this game and I look forward to playing it every day.

Electric Playground

A frightening game to the point that I found myself having to take breaks from playing just to ease the tension in my shoulders.

GameSpot

A hybrid game that effectively blends elements from a variety of genres into a thoroughly enjoyable and accessible package.

GameZone

Despite my grumbling about the artificial intelligence,...what I enjoy about System Shock 2 is the high degree of freedom you have in deciding what directions to develop your character.

Game Over Online

While not as incredibly rich and engrossing as "Half Life" (though, frankly, I got bored of that faster than I got bored with SS2), it is nonetheless a very solid game.

All Game Guide

Utterly immersive in its use of character attachment and amnesiac story-telling, it is a game that will honestly give you the sweats...It's all about replacing your shorts every half-hour or so.

Happy Puppy

There is only one major criterion System Shock 2 fails to hit. Graphically, it isn't so special.

The average user rating for this game is 9.2 (out of 10) based on 65 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Brett M. gave it a10:
Playing this for the first time 10 years after its release, it still impressed me enough with the gameplay, story and atmosphere to rank it in my top five games of all time. Wanting to see how good a modern remake of it could be, I tried playing Bioshock, and now I weep for modern video gaming. Seriously, if we've digressed this much, I pity our future generations. SS2>>>>bioshock (and most other games for that matter).

Cynewulf gave it a10:
Simply one of the finest games ever created. One of very few games that reduced me to cowering in a corner listening intently for any signs of movement. The graphics may not be up to standard these days but there's no way this game should be marked down for that. Perfection! Rest in peace Looking Glass.

Giygas gave it a10:
Possibly the greatest game I have ever played. Great music, great gameplay, and even greater story.

GRAZZA gave it a9:
Not quite as good as Deus Ex or Half Life for me but still a great game. Scary, atmospheric, great storyline and acting. Graphics are good but not brilliant but what do you expect from a game made in the 90's. Only grime is unlike Deus Ex the game is finished in around 15 hours.

James C. gave it a9:
This is the best game in the world ever! Well, at least that’s what I tell people. You know what it’s like: you get into one of those discussions about why such and such is a large pile of toss, then without fail you start spouting pristine examples of the genre. Undoubtedly, you will mention Okami, Perfect Dark, Mario 64, perhaps even Silent Hill. These regurgitations are so well oiled by now that you’ll hear the same few examples spouted again and again (perhaps because there are so few good examples) until they reverberate around your own sub-consciousness and you recite them without a second thought. I’m as guilty as the rest of them I’m afraid. My own personal favourite knee-jerk reaction to such situations is System Shock 2. I’m not trying to say that those titles are totally without merit or that we’re only repeating others' opinions, just that maybe most echoes going around might be the result of a little Danger Mouse effect. You know about the Danger Mouse effect, surely? From your childhood it’s your most loved early Saturday morning cartoon, equally cherished and adored by others you mention it to (who remember those days). However, upon watching Danger Mouse again today you will no doubt quickly realise it’s the most nonsensical pile of piffle you’ve ever laid your eyes on. A secret agent mouse with an eye patch who lives in a post box? Come on, really. So I worry from time to time that my unchallenged devotion to System Shock 2 might also be on shaky foundations. I was, of course, much younger and much less wise to the intricacies that go into making a truly first class video game. More then this though, I’m sure the graphics would be laughable by today’s standards, the game play dynamics would have been studied thoroughly and improved upon since then and I’m sure I’ve heard more chilling moans from the dimly lit distance of abandoned space ships. I’d best take another look, just to be sure. CRICKEY!!! This still scares 7 shades of top soil out of me. After about 10 minutes in I’d saved the game about 20 times and managed to walk about 4 meters through the ship. Progress was going to take some time unless I grew some stones fairly quickly. Aside from dimly lit corridors and the sense of isolation (occasionally interrupted by your back seat driver friend who drip feeds you cyber modules when you’ve been good), I believe it’s the level design that’s most responsible for the new colour scheme decorating your pants. It’s claustrophobic, features many corpses that have been discarded in the most uncomfortable of circumstances and some very disconcerting noises coming from almost every area of the ship. Also, a significant portion of the terror can be put down to your character being about as hard as a lattice of rice paper. He is, essentially, a copy of your average IT admin: great technical and hacking skills, likes hanging out in dark rooms with only the odd little flashing light for comfort and immediately pisses himself and dies at the slightest inkling of confrontation. Oh, he also likes to fiddle with himself due to a fetish for the latest upgrades. What was it Tyler Durden said about self-improvement? Anyway, the sense of feebleness is only further increased by your only reliable weapon being a wrench, the fact he manages to break every gun after a few shots and his main special ability is shooting snow flakes from his hands. Interesting how they swapped snow flakes for bees in Bio Shock. To begin with this was all fine and marvellous, and I thought to myself: “Well done chaps, this environment has certainly given me the willies.” As time pressed on, though, other thoughts started to creep in, like “What the feck have they made this gun out of, potatoes?”, and, “How the hell did anyone actually live on this ship without some bread crumbs and a months supply freeze dried SAS rations”. By having a gun that jams while a bunch of hybrids (zombies to everyone else) chew on your arse, the game immediately dampens the fear factor a little (further reduced by you dying all the time), replacing it with a bit of pure rage. Even if this might seem to some to be excellent game dynamic, where’s the explanation? If I’d been told from the start that all the weapons you’ll find are going to be made from Styrofoam, then, at least the game world would have remained a little more intact for me. This is balanced out by letting you upgrade your repair skills which will allow you to fix various weapons. All perfectly reasonable, and I’m sure I’d need a few night classes before I could do the same but I fail to see why he needs an upgrade to actually use these guns. What’s he upgrading? The length of his index finger? This brings me onto the level design. The layout of most the decks are superbly considered from a gameplay perspective. You have to be as carefull when you tackle enemies as you do with the rest of the ship. Almost every room is a small puzzle that can be engaged in in many different ways depending on your skills at the time. In creating these labyrinths full of fear and puzzles, however, what seems to be lost is the sense that this is a layout of a real ship because it looks more like a mangled submarine. Other games have pulled this off by starting out with a convincing layout only to introduce an abundance of locked doors that not even a shotgun can get through (you know what game I’m talking about). At least here they could have just been welded up, perhaps as the crew tried the seal themselves off from the body snatching invasion. This would have fitted in nicely with all the other ripped off elements from Aliens – of which there are many. At the end of the day it’s all too easy to grumble about inconsistencies between the realities video games create and their gameplay - not to mention futile. Very few games seem to care about this sort of thing and - if you believe in sales figures - very few players do either. I suppose as long as the game play is solid and the environment is engaging then it does not really matter. In System Shock 2’s case it certainly excels on both these counts and many more. So I guess it’s safe for me to continue holding up SS2 with such unwavering praise then? Well, if you consider that its failures continue to plague very many games today whereas its successes are only bettered by very few, then yes, I guess I still can. I’ll just have to keep in mind that it’s not perfect, to be wary of the Danger Mouse effect and to make sure I never sit down to watch Thunder Cats (ho).

Andrew G. gave it a10:
Probably inferior to Half-Life in its scenic variety and execution - but a far more compelling story, with intelligent and very well balanced rpg elements - Story and depth - this is as games should be. Better than BioShock, by a country mile. We need a System Shock 3.

SHODAN gave it a10:
Very intelligent game design with near flawless execution. The art and sound direction contructs a thoroughly believable, atmospheric setting laden heavily with tension. It really does seem that you are 6.5 billion miles from Earth, utterly on your own, and that the ships were once well lived in. The nature of the antagonist as all-pervasive is brilliant in instilling a sense of futility. There are just so many design decisions here that seem so well thought out, even insightful. Brilliant.