Game:

System Shock (1994)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 7:37:31

499 views

14

I love the original Dead Space and this game is like its grand daddy. I never heard about it at the time in the mid-90s, but it has been on my radar and backlog for a long time so I avoided all spoilers. The game is getting a well deserved remaster so it's time to finally commit to playing it.

For my playthroughs, I like to experience the most original version possible that is also the most "complete". It's arbitrary and some tradeoffs are often necessary. I bought the "Enhanced Edition" which runs in the KEX Engine. It didn't look right, I hated the graphics. The textures are blurry and look smeared and it ran badly on my pc. At least opengl worked without screen flickering. Then I opened the classic version of the game that you get too. It's... magnificent! It looks so beautiful! Beautiful pixels! The lighting is made with the pixelation in mind and it looks awesome.

However, and that's where "arbitrary" comes into play with the "original" vs. "most complete" question. The original game has no mouse look. It's not an action game, but actually a simulation of Citadel Station. You have complex positioning options such as leaning around corners and it's all done with the keyboard. Mouse look was a thing at the time, they just did not add it. There is a patch to add mouse look, but I read it does not work with the enhanced edition, so I didn't try. For this playthrough, I used Shockolate. It's a source port of the original engine that tries to be as faithful to the original, but also has mouse look. So, not entirely "vanilla", but still plain like chocolate. It's not fully stable, though. I crashed a few times, but it beats the awful KEX engine.

You are a hacker who gets caught trying to hack the systems of the TriOptimum Corporation. You get offered a deal to help one of their directors with whatever they are up to. True to his word, you get the reward and the record of your crime gets scrubbed. You wake up on Citadel Station, a space station in orbit of Saturn, from a healing coma after getting your implant installed. Then it's up to you to find out what happened and how to stop what is going on.

Some of the mechanics sure are dated compared to modern action games, but it's not comparable. It's full of environmental storytelling and while the levels scream 90s map design, the levels do make some sense and you need to move between levels frequently to access new areas and get certain items to be used elsewhere. Since it's the spiritual successor to "Ultima Underworld" and based on the same engine, it's a bit of a dungeon crawler with first person action and a few roleplaying elements with gear upgrades.

The story is really interesting and while I have played many difficult and elaborate games, this is certainly among the very few that I would call "oppressive". The atmosphere is dense, every moment is dangerous and initially you are quite underpowered. At the middle of the game, it turns around and becomes much easier. You can also enter "cyberspace" and accomplish certain side objectives there. It's certainly the worst aspect of the game. The idea is interesting, especially for its time, but the execution is really bad.

The graphics hold up well, I think, especially in the classic engine. As said, I don't like the KEX engine at all and I can't make it look like the true original in that port. However, KEX is a good and easy way to experience the original game so give it a shot. You need the game asset files anyway for Shockolate. The audio is also well done, but there is no "3d" audio in such an early 3d game so you hear enemies through walls at full volume just because you are physically close to them. The voices though... The voice acting and recording is so good! It adds so much to the game.

It's an excellent game from the to-the-point intro that shows some really efficient storytelling to the very end. If I had to criticize one thing it would be the AI. The enemies are extremely dumb and have trouble dealing with corners. Anyway, I hope the remake will be good!

00:00 - Intro

Laser Mission
02:28 - Level 1 (Medical)
59:40 - Level 2 (Research)
1:45:37 - Level R (Reactor)
2:00:44 - Level 2

Virus Mission
2:06:40 - Level 2
2:08:03 - Level 3 (Maintenance)
2:13:30 - Level 4 (Storage)
2:56:37 - Level 3
2:57:10 - Level 6 (Executive)
4:04:04 - Level 3
4:31:45 - Level 6

Antenna Mission
4:39:48 - Level 6
4:41:58 - Level 7 (Engineering)

Reactor Mission
5:25:55 - Level 7
5:29:13 - Level 6
5:30:03 - Level 3
5:30:36 - Level 5 (Flight Deck)
5:59:12 - Level 3
5:59:54 - Level R
6:12:45 - Level 3
6:15:29 - Level 5

Bridge Mission
6:25:24 - Level 5
6:27:37 - Level 3
6:27:57 - Level 6
6:28:25 - Level 7
6:30:59 - Level 8 (Security)
7:04:22 - Level 9 (Bridge)

7:34:03 - Ending
7:35:10 - Credits
7:37:02 - Laser Mission Fail

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