Gameplay

Choose your destiny

The first part of this game puts you in a training area where you get a brief overview all three military branches: Marines, Navy, and OSA. The Marines are obviously the rough and tumble type - relying mainly on brute force and guns to get them through tough situations. You'll get training in one or more different types of weapons (there are 4: standard, energy, high explosive, and exotic), and also possibly the ability to repair broken weapons, maintain a weapon in good condition, or modify weapons to hold bigger clips, etc. The Navy mainly consists of electronics experts who are familiar with computer systems. You'll learn how to hack them, but also get a taste of weapons training and other critical skills like research possibly. Finally there's the black ops group - the OSA. OSA are trained to use their minds to alter their environment. Here you'll pick up your first couple of "spells," and maybe a couple other abilities like research.

High or low?

Pull that distant can to you like Luke would

Throughout the game you'll be picking up modules that allow you to upgrade your abilities. You'll be able to use more powerful weapons, spells, or hack more sophisticated computers. Remember that just because you picked one specialty at the beginning, that doesn't mean you can't dabble in other traits. Surely an OSA member will have to use a weapon at some point, just as a Marine might find it handy to learn some hacking skills. Be careful about being a jack of all trades. You can't possibly learn it all, so specialization in a few complementary areas will be the key to an easier game.

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Overview

System Shock 2 is about navigating the treacherous halls of the Von Braun starship, killing or otherwise dodging hostile life forms and the automated ship security systems that are set to destroy you. Many of the ship's systems are knocked out, but thankfully you've got a helpful Dr. Polito guiding you every step of the way as you gather clues, fix the systems you need, and unravel the mystery of what is going on and who is behind all of this. Along the way you'll pick up dozens of cool items that can help you, and some that have entirely no use at all (like the gamepig handheld video game system - each cartridge is a minigame).

Another dead crewman

Game Pig entertainment system