Man oh man, has this game got a reputation and a half: the father of Bioshock, a complete reinvention (alongside Deus Ex) of the First Person Shooter genre, one of the scariest games ever made, one of the greatest villains ever conceived in gaming history.
And you know what? In this case the reputation is justified.
Okay so I may have been using a heavily modded version of the game, that resulted in updated graphics, reworked environments and high level textures but even such modifications can;t take away that this is a game dripping in atmosphere. There is real tension with danger lurking around every corner, there is dread invoked with the sound design and there is a real sense that this is survival horror done right (ie you're all alone and no one else can jump you & nick your gear).
However whilst System Shock 2 may be pushing sixteen years, it still stands as one of the toughest games I've played. Never mind the careful selection of skill allotment (it's been well-established that this game is unforgiving to a point that if you chose the wrong skills, you may find yourself unable to complete the game), I had to contend with weapon degradation, constant threats, never having enough ammo, and dying over and over again. Even the boss fight with the Many was a real nightmare - one that somehow made the eventual confrontation with SHODAN seem tame by comparison. That being said, I think I can now understand why Bioshock was made easier - and may have contributed to greater sales. Still, beating any tough game is certainly an achievement and that certainly was the case here.
Not much else except to say that System Shock 2 is a great game. And it is finally great to play it when it was lost in the legal limbo for so long.
Now, about No One Lives Forever....
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