I only tried playing a bit of System Shock without mouselook before this and unfortunately gave up, so the integrated mouselook was essential, but I did eventually go back and play the DOS version which I'll mention at the end.

There are some moments that can be frustrating with regards to enemies, but overall the combat is fairly well paced. Most of the weapons were neat enough, but I favor the laser rapier and flechette.
Cyberspace is kind of weird and trying to manipulate the hitbox of the avatar through the obstacles got tough in the late game. But the whole thing seems like a neat idea that could be improved with better feedback in combat and maybe a better defined player hitbox.

The methods through which the player interacts with the world and inventory is weird at first, but really pulled me into it the whole time, even at the start. The ways the complex character movement and item/weapon management connects the player to the world is so engaging that it makes it hard to stop playing. Even how the game can halt in action as you try to solve an incredibly complicated wire puzzle really makes you feel like the hacker.
Each level is intriguing and tons of fun to explore. The level theming is cool, and the environments look pretty good, though a bit samey at times which does lend some assistance to its realistic feeling, instead of feeling "video gamey", I suppose. But the level designs themselves are solid and cohesive as world elements and as mechanisms to propel the player forward. And there are lots of secrets that are a joy to discover all over the station.
The story is also excellent, with SHODAN always only one step ahead or behind the player as they try to cut off each other's plans at multiple points. The desperate search for contact with any remaining humans being consistently just out of reach is compelling as well.
Every piece of the soundtrack is nonstop quality, especially the Executive and Security themes. These compositions are so strong that even their maligned midi origins carry them and produce songs that get stuck in my head constantly.

Very few times have I been so drawn into a game and consumed by it, it's easy to see a whole here that clearly surpasses the sum of its already stellar parts. In these regards, it's the best Shock game hands down.

System Shock: Classic is a bit harder to get into, not because it's difficult to play, but just that years of modern keyboard controls meant learning a new layout. After an hour or so I started to get the hang of it and got pretty used to it, but even after 8 hours I would frequently press the wrong keys under pressure. Other than that, it has the old dynamic music and has some other minor quirks absent from Enhanced Edition. I would still recommend Enhanced Edition over Classic for ease of use, but Classic is still perfectly playable and worth seeing. The only problem is that you need to limit your CPU via the "dosbox_systemshock.conf" file in order to beat Shodan. I found 40000 cycles worked well without slowing the rest of the game down.

I only tried playing a bit of System Shock without mouselook before this and unfortunately gave up, so the integrated mouselook was essential, but I did eventually go back and play the DOS version which I'll mention at the end. There are some moments that can be frustrating with regards to enemies, but overall the combat is fairly well paced. Most of the weapons were neat enough, but I favor the laser rapier and flechette. Cyberspace is kind of weird and trying to manipulate the hitbox of the avatar through the obstacles got tough in the late game. But the whole thing seems like a neat idea that could be improved with better feedback in combat and maybe a better defined player hitbox. The methods through which the player interacts with the world and inventory is weird at first, but really pulled me into it the whole time, even at the start. The ways the complex character movement and item/weapon management connects the player to the world is so engaging that it makes it hard to stop playing. Even how the game can halt in action as you try to solve an incredibly complicated wire puzzle really makes you feel like the hacker. Each level is intriguing and tons of fun to explore. The level theming is cool, and the environments look pretty good, though a bit samey at times which does lend some assistance to its realistic feeling, instead of feeling "video gamey", I suppose. But the level designs themselves are solid and cohesive as world elements and as mechanisms to propel the player forward. And there are lots of secrets that are a joy to discover all over the station. The story is also excellent, with SHODAN always only one step ahead or behind the player as they try to cut off each other's plans at multiple points. The desperate search for contact with any remaining humans being consistently just out of reach is compelling as well. Every piece of the soundtrack is nonstop quality, especially the Executive and Security themes. These compositions are so strong that even their maligned midi origins carry them and produce songs that get stuck in my head constantly. Very few times have I been so drawn into a game and consumed by it, it's easy to see a whole here that clearly surpasses the sum of its already stellar parts. In these regards, it's the best Shock game hands down. System Shock: Classic is a bit harder to get into, not because it's difficult to play, but just that years of modern keyboard controls meant learning a new layout. After an hour or so I started to get the hang of it and got pretty used to it, but even after 8 hours I would frequently press the wrong keys under pressure. Other than that, it has the old dynamic music and has some other minor quirks absent from Enhanced Edition. I would still recommend Enhanced Edition over Classic for ease of use, but Classic is still perfectly playable and worth seeing. The only problem is that you need to limit your CPU via the "dosbox_systemshock.conf" file in order to beat Shodan. I found 40000 cycles worked well without slowing the rest of the game down.