Recent reviews by Vilgefortz

A masterpiece. Having played games like BioShock, Dead Space and Prey previously, the influence of System Shock 2 over all those games is very apparent. I used to think that most of the acclaim for this game was based on nostalgia and rose-tinted glasses.

I was wrong. I finished it once in 2016 and I finished it again in 2020. I think it holds up incredibly well, even today. A 10/10 recommendation.

Pros:

• The atmosphere. System Shock 2 was universally acclaimed for the sense of horror and dread that the level design of the Von Braun evoked. You constantly get the feeling that you're vulnerable, and no place ever feels safe aboard the numerous decks of the cursed spaceship.
  
  
• The number of ways in which you can play. Despite coming out in 1999, System Shock 2 has an incredibly sophisticated system for its skill trees. You have to specialise between the choice of weaponry (standard/energy/heavy/exotic), the attributes for shaping your character (strength/endurance/agility/cyber affinity/psionics), tech abilities (hacking/repair/modification/maintenance/research), and a number of psionic abilities. It's a testament to the skill tree system that you can have completely different builds that change up the entire gameplay. I've played the game twice, once as a Navy Hacker with emphasis on gunplay, and the other as an OSA Agent fully focusing on psionic powers and melee attacks with the wrench.
  
  
• The survival horror. System Shock 2, despite not strictly being a survival horror, manages to convey the same to the player by raising the intensity of the gameplay and perpetually keeping the player on their toes. Resources are incredibly scarce, every single bullet counts, and a single mistake could often be the last mistake you'll make. The game never lulls you into a sense of comfort, and always maintains the panic by giving you access to just enough resources and ammo that you're able to fulfil your objectives and make it to the next stage, if you play conservatively and carefully. The atmosphere is able to convey this foreboding sense of loneliness and tension by placing you in blood-spattered surroundings with dead bodies of crew members around you, evoking imagery of the horror that took place. Moreover, the game does not hold your hand at any stage, and you'll often have to figure out the objectives by yourself while you fend for your life and precious resources.
  
  
• The story (or rather, the story behind the story). System Shock 2 is probably one of the earliest examples of storytelling through audiologs. There is no exposition dump upon you once the game begins, and this is how it continues to be till the game ends. You're never fed the story through a cutscene or through an exposition-laden dialogue. Instead, you find audio logs of long-dead crew members scattered throughout the ship decks, listening to which helps you piece together the story of the horrors aboard the Von Braun bit-by-bit. BioShock made it popular but remember, System Shock 2 had it first, and did it incredibly well at that.
  
  
• Fun. This is obviously subjective, but I had a lot of fun playing System Shock 2. The mix between resource management, freedom of exploration, a decent variety of usable weaponry and the numerous types of enemies that can be encountered was a really good one. You can explore each deck of the ship at any time at your discretion, most weapons are usable and effective provided you invest in the correct skills, and there's a good variety of enemies, all of which have different attributes, strengths and weaknesses that you can discover through audio logs or research. All in all, it was an incredibly satisfactory experience to play through the game.
  
  
• The techno (rave/energetic?) soundtrack. People usually encourage first time players to disable the soundtrack for maintaining the creepiness of the atmosphere, but I disagree. The soundtrack mechanism is designed in a way where the energetic parts play at moments and in areas where you can run and gun and generally take more risks in combat. The music otherwise stops or becomes sombre when you leave such areas. This is a pretty cool system and it worked exceedingly well, in my opinion (the tracks themselves are pretty enjoyable to listen to outside the game).

Cons:

• The last two levels of the game are really tedious to finish, and the pace is quite different from the rest of the game. It's not bad or unplayable by any means, but it definitely feels a bit off when compared to the rest of the game, which is fantastic.
  
  
• A piece of chewed-up cardboard is more durable than the guns you find in this game, and the rate at which they degrade is ridiculous. I've seen players recommend changing config files to reduce the degradation level, which may be worth a look if the degradation mechanics interfere with your enjoyment of the game. I personally played the game as-is to retain the sense of difficulty as envisaged by the developers, but I'd wholly recommend looking into this if you find the repair/maintenance mechanics tedious, because the rate at which weapons degrade is incredibly aggravating.

These are just nitpicks for the most part. Overall, I'd recommend anybody playing this masterpiece to not be daunted by the release date and definitely give this a go - it's a classic for a reason (other than being an incredibly influential game, and arguably there on the list of the greatest video games of all time)

- 30 FPS Lock
- Can't pause the game at all (if you press escape, the game doesn't stop)
- Needs Origin to play

Can't recommend it in this state.

The gameplay itself was okay. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good enough to make me overlook the points mentioned above. But most importantly, there not being a pause button even if you're playing offline just reeks of bad decision-making on the developer's part.

As a game, it's arguably a better sequel altogether to Dead Space. Just about everything in the first game was taken and improved in some form or the other, with the result that this game feels more entertaining to play. The problem lies in the "horror" department. Dead Space is one of the most brilliant horror games ever, and it's due to its usage of the USG Ishimura as a location to instill 'dread' rather than general frights from jumpscares. Hearing voices whispering, necromorphs scraping above you on vents, the fact that you can walk into a room and be sure to expect a fight, but all that greets you is silence. And as you gradually begin to lower your guard and gain confidence that it was just a feeling, the necromorphs strike. This sort of feeling and atmospheric tension is deeply missing in Dead Space 2. The combat is more fun than ever with new guns and a much better utilization of stasis and force; the plot can be said to be more engaging and thrilling, with a protagonist who is finally voiced and likable; and in general Titan Station seems to be much more... refined and polished, with the result that it feels fun to play aboard it. But the end result is, it slips up from the 'horror' department. When you enter a room with the sureshot feeling that necromorphs will strike, you'll find yourself right just about immediately. You can always be sure when battles will occur, and it just becomes a job of checking every vent and opening unlike Dead Space, where you never knew what would happen next.

9/10

Brilliant, brilliant game. One of the better (if not the best) horror games out there. There's complete immersion in the world and environment of the USG Ishimura, and everything, be it inventory management or objective screen, is handled in real time - including health and ammo count - via a fantastic system of holographic displays on your RIG suit. This game is well crafted enough in the horror genre to keep you enthralled (and scared) through a mix of jump scares, and natural dread settling in as you explore the various areas of the ship, all alone and most of the times, armed with less ammo than you'd have liked. And would you believe it, the story is actually decent and makes you care for the characters and the endgame.

There are also collectibles to be found like data tapes and text logs, which aren't a chore to collect and supplement the story very well. The entire ship is not open for exploration in terms of free-roam, yet you will traverse the same areas time and again as the need of the hour is. It's done very well and no part feels tedious.

10/10

I supported the creators of my all-time favorite game, Payday: The Heist, by purchasing the Career Criminal edition when it was up for pre-order.


Now, I feel like the people who Hoxton calls wan(k)ers.

It's a classic. Even though it has been years since its release, it is still an engrossing games, and also tends to leave you nostalgic for the good old days of PS2, Intel Chipset graphics, and other games of that time. The combat is fluidic, and has a certain theatrical look to it due to the Prince''s finesse, and the story is solid enough for what would otherwise be a weak premise. The game has its own problems of camera misalignment at times and the occassional glitch, but it's nothing game breaking and definitely worth the buy.