Introduction

Developer: Irrational Games
Publisher: Looking Glass and Electronic Arts
System Shock 2 official page: http://www.shock2.com

Paranoia in a box

Humans like to categorize things. "He's a thoughtful person." "That soup was delicious." You hear descriptions such as these all the time in daily conversation. But only once in a while do you come across a person or object that is truly a tangible idea. Let me give you an example: if you're ever in Berkeley, try the chips and salsa at Mario's La Fiesta on the infamous Telegraph Avenue. The salsa there is what I call "liquid spicy." There's no real taste or character to the salsa; your tongue just notices that it's incredibly spicy. It's as if every single spicy tastebud on your tongue is firing signals off to your brain while the rest (sweet, sour, bitter) are simply turned off. In the same way, I would say System Shock 2 isn't really a game. It is fear and paranoia packaged in a shrink-wrapped disc.

Swinekeeper minigame!

AAAhh! A ghost!

New Section

Further proving my point is the fact that System Shock 2 defies any conventional categorization. This game refuses to be pigeon holed. Try this on for size - it's a sci-fi, futuristic-horror game that incorporates elements from the first person shooter, role playing, action, and adventure genres. Vague? Well I suppose, but I think 'unique' hits the target closer to center. Lots of reviewers called Half-Life "the thinking man's Quake" because it incorporated some elements of puzzle solving and detective work. If that's the criteria we're working on, then I guess it's safe to say that System Shock 2 is "the thinking man's Half Life."

Yes, the shower WILL scrub radiation...

...which is in that room

Storyline

So what's this game about? You're a member of the military (one of three different divisions - Marines, Navy, or the black ops: OSA) and you find yourself aboard the starship Von Braun 67 trillion miles away from earth. You've just awoken from a cryosleep and something has gone catastrophically wrong. The ship is falling apart and you're finding just about all the crew dead. Even worse, the ship's computer, Xerxes, has turned the security system against you, and there are half human, half worm hybrids running about with pipes and shotguns trying to kill you! Your only hope is to make your way up the ship to deck 4, where a crew member named Dr. Polito is waiting to join you while feeding you information.