System Shock series of games

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Syphon Filter

2[H]4U
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Dec 19, 2003
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I have never played any of the System Shock games

/let the stoning commence!! :eek:

...are these to be considered to be great games? I hadnt even heard of them until recently...
 
System Shock is a good game but very dated and kind of hard to play.
System Shock 2 is basically a much refined version of the first game and is, without a doubt, one of the best first person shooters ever. The graphics aren't all that great (even when it was released they weren't considered great) but the dialogue and the combat and RPG elements combine to make a really great scary experience. It's definitely in my top 3 favorite games of all time.
 
They occupy my top two slots in my list of best games ever made. I still play them both today. Absolutely amazing. For a more modern gamer, I'd recommend playing the second one first, as the first game will take some getting used to. The second one will be the inspiration you need to deal with the somewhat strange controls of the first game (non-customizeable.) This was typical in the DOS era. I actually like the first game a little better in some ways, and the second in others. Get ahold of them both, allow yourself to get sucked in, and you won't be disappointed.
 
SS2 the very first game that had me hesitating before moving into new rooms. Atmosphere in game definitely one of the best. Makes Doom 3 feel like hide and go seek at night. SS2 and Deus Ex are my 2 favorite FPS's for single player games.
 
Sure the graphics are sub-par today, but to me that just adds to the overall freakiness of it. Like a disturbing painting. :D And it definitely must be played. It can seem very overbearing at first (more keys then usual, the RPG elements, etc), but if you stick with it you will come out a changed gamer. Heh, almost changed for the worse in my opinion, because so far I still think no game comes close to its level of immersion. Games after that will still be fun, but you will be forever jaded! At least until something else comes along as good. As much as I like HL2, FarCry, etc, they still don't compare story-wise. My sad opinion...
 
NowhereMan said:
I have only played SS2 and it would rank somewhere on my top 10. Must play game. Puts a lot of today's blockbusters to shame.

The graphics would be kinda crappy by today's standards but there are two high def mods that help a bit:
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/etienne.aubert/sshock/sshock_rebirth.htm
http://shtup.home.att.net/

Oh, and don't forget to have a spare set of clean underwear :D
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DUDE! That High Res upgrade pack is sweeeeeet! I'm downloading it now and will be playing co-op tonight with my roommate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

AWESOME!
 
theNoid said:
DUDE! That High Res upgrade pack is sweeeeeet! I'm downloading it now and will be playing co-op tonight with my roommate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

AWESOME!
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Which brings up a good point. Though it does have co-op support, play it first on your own. You will lose like 80% of the overall effect by playing co-op. Your buddy can trigger half the scripts without you ever seeing them, and its not as spooky... :eek:
 
OldPueblo said:
but if you stick with it you will come out a changed gamer. Heh, almost changed for the worse in my opinion, because so far I still think no game comes close to its level of immersion. Games after that will still be fun, but you will be forever jaded! At least until something else comes along as good. As much as I like HL2, FarCry, etc, they still don't compare story-wise. My sad opinion...
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And this is probably where my thread, "Where have all the good games gone?" comes from. :)
 
OldPueblo said:
Which brings up a good point. Though it does have co-op support, play it first on your own. You will lose like 80% of the overall effect by playing co-op. Your buddy can trigger half the scripts without you ever seeing them, and its not as spooky... :eek:
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Oh yes... I know :) I played through it already several times.

Great game.
 
Another rave about SS2. Great atmosphere, great gameplay. It requires thought and planning due to the RPG elements. You're always low on ammo which makes it constantly tense. The story is exposed as well as any game I've seen.
 
After all these plaudits I've been reading the SS2 review in the Gamespot archives, but have been brought short by the mention of randomly respawning enemies. This is one of my least favourite things in any sort of game. I like to kill things and to know that they aren't going to somehow reappear. Does it detract at all from the game?
 
The enemies show up very rarely and only if you've been wondering around in the same area for a long time. Plus you can change the frequency (even turn that feature off) I think if you update it to the latest patch.
 
mulpsmebeauty said:
After all these plaudits I've been reading the SS2 review in the Gamespot archives, but have been brought short by the mention of randomly respawning enemies. This is one of my least favourite things in any sort of game. I like to kill things and to know that they aren't going to somehow reappear. Does it detract at all from the game?
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Are you kidding? It adds to it big time. Throughout the entire game you back-track and explore other areas. You are always in constant danger, there is no "I cleared the level" wimpiness! The fear is forever upon you!
 
I must admit, the game scared the hell out of me. Im installing the hi res pack tonight and playing all over again. Can't wait.
 
Isn't System Shock 2 now freeware? Have they made thouse updated skin packs finally work for the freeware version?
 
Xenomaniac said:
Isn't System Shock 2 now freeware? Have they made thouse updated skin packs finally work for the freeware version?
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Negative, its still "buyware."
 
You must play SS2. It is one of the greatest games of all time.

Some of the scariest things in Doom 3 were ripped straight from System Shock. It has the creepiest atmosphere and an incredible story. The story is a little better if you play part 1 first, but it is so old, I'll forgive you if you don't.
 
For some reason I was never a fan of either. SS2 was ok, but I lost interest after an hour of gameplay and just quit. Maybe I'll revisit (reinstall) them and see if my tastes have changed, if I can find the cds! :p
 
ThreeDee said:
sweet deal ...downloading now ..will apply the super uber high rez pack ..then time for some retro gaming :)
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Point-COUNTERPOINT!

http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=65259 (technically the official forums though the company has gone under and the property is owned by EA.)

That site, though very cool, is one of the reasons that so many people think it is. I'm not saying anything about you getting it, in fact I say go for it. It must be played! Lets just not perpetuate the myth. I think Underdogs just considers anything from a company that went under is abandonware, and even the term "abandonware" has no official meaning/support anywhere other then people like us like to use it. Don't worry, you were wrong with many others... :p

http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89662&page=1&pp=25
http://www.the-underdogs.org/faq.php#a5
 
saturnine2 said:
For some reason I was never a fan of either. SS2 was ok, but I lost interest after an hour of gameplay and just quit. Maybe I'll revisit (reinstall) them and see if my tastes have changed, if I can find the cds! :p
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I did the same, thought it was too annoying. Thankfully I went back and gave it another shot. Oh the depression I felt when I finished the game and realized it was over... No more beating bags of chips out of monkeys, no more polite exploding robots, the pain is almost unbearable! Wait, I can play it again as another character class!!
 
SS2 is one of the best ever. One thing you will derfinately want to do is a small adjustment to one of the cfg files. You will need to google for this since it has been a couple of years for me, but here is an explanation

The guns wear out too damn fast, and you need to collect & use disposable maintenance tools on them. Problem is, the gun can be worn out & useless after only 50 bullets fired. Maintenance tools cost money (nanites in the game) and you have to decide between spending nanites on ammo or maintenance tools. I for one found it highly unrealistic that in the future setting where we have the capability of traveling the cosmos & using laser weapons that 19th century technology would wear out as fast as the original game out-of-the-box modelled.

I actually quit playing after a few hours due to this frustration. I later found out you can change a setting in one of the cfg files that slows down the rate of degeneration of ballistic weapons, making it more realistic while still keeping weapon maintenance as a part of the game.

Once i got this done, the game opened up to me. i was able to concentrate on gameplay not weapon maintenance. Definately worth the time, but definately find that weapon degeneration setting & downgrade it a bit.

Oh yeah, SS2 has the crowbar too . . . . or was it a pipe wrench?
 
OldPueblo said:
Point-COUNTERPOINT!

http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=65259 (technically the official forums though the company has gone under and the property is owned by EA.)

That site, though very cool, is one of the reasons that so many people think it is. I'm not saying anything about you getting it, in fact I say go for it. It must be played! Lets just not perpetuate the myth. I think Underdogs just considers anything from a company that went under is abandonware, and even the term "abandonware" has no official meaning/support anywhere other then people like us like to use it. Don't worry, you were wrong with many others... :p

http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89662&page=1&pp=25
http://www.the-underdogs.org/faq.php#a5
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was going to post that thread on not being free whether its abandon ware or not .... dare I break intellectual property rights ....dare I ....?



darn
 
I only played the second one incompletely. Part of the reason is that it was damn scary haha

Everyone always raves about it though so yeah i guess it is awesome...
 
abandonware is traditionally a title that is 3-5yrs of age and is no longer being supported by said company.


gosh i love HOTU {home of the underdogs}
 
Great game but why does it not work in Win XP for me? I've heard there are known bugs with it.

EDIT: SS2 and I-War 2 are probably my two favourite games of all time.
 
dgb said:
Great game but why does it not work in Win XP for me? I've heard there are known bugs with it.

EDIT: SS2 and I-War 2 are probably my two favourite games of all time.
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Some people have trouble while others don't. If you go to the site with the Hi-Res Mod, it does explain it to you. I don't have time right now cause I'm late for work, thanks alarm clock.
 
If you like Deus-Ex (1 not 2) you will love SS2. Same type of game, FPS/RPG. If you haven't played either you have so far missed out on 2 of the best games ever made. Sure the graphics suck now, but these games aren't like Doom3 (Cover up shitty gameplay and no story line with flashy graphics). These games are just fun to play, and honestly, the bad graphics really don't take much away from the overall experience.

Über-quick plot info of SS2.

You are a new recruit to a space station. You get to pick your class, soldier, telekenetic guy, and some other class (I forget). Anyway, when you get to the station you were assigned to, you find yourself alone with a ton of zombies, and a hostile computer system.

Not revealing anything else, you must figure out what the hell happened and get your ass outta there!

It's spookey running around a space station all by your lonesome self. AWESOME game!!

Damnit, guess I'll be installing that game tonight. :D
 
Xenomaniac said:
Some people have trouble while others don't. If you go to the site with the Hi-Res Mod, it does explain it to you. I don't have time right now cause I'm late for work, thanks alarm clock.
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I've tried what it said, no luck. Will keep trying other things.
 
I tried to do the hi-res pack thingy , but it says you need to change the INSTALL.CFG .. and with the underdog version ...I dont see that particular file to be able to edit it....


Havnt gotten the patch for the game to work either


hopefully talking about the underdog SSH2 game isnt under the "Warez" category .. :confused:
 
While everyone is rightfully singing the praises of SS2, please don't forget the first installment which I feel has a better storyline. It is worth the trouble going through DOS to play. I can't stress that enough.

Going against Shodan in the first game is something never to be forgotten. Shodan by far is THE best villian in any game I've ever encountered. That's high praise considering that I almost make studing game history and trivia my second job. Terri Brosius is perfect in her voiceover for the game. (And she was kind enough to reprise the role in the sequel.)

Beyond that, the first game designed by Warren Spector had such an original way of playing that few games today can equal it.
 
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