System Shock 2 | 
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| From: Electronic Arts
Category: Video Games
Buy New: $99.95
New (1) Used (10) from $41.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  69 reviews
Sales Rank: 6469
Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 95
ESRB: Mature
Media: CD-ROM
Age: 17 - 20 years
Operating System: Windows 95
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 8.1 x 2.1
Model: 7969
UPC: 014633079692
EAN: 0014633079692
ASIN: B00000K4AX
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Sealed in the jewel case. Ships quickly.
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Amazon.com Product Description
This science fiction role-playing game returns players to the battle begun in the original, System Shock. The sequel sets you in the 22nd century, where you can use a multitude of mechanical weapons and Psionic powers to attack and confuse your monster enemies in the universe. As you play, you will discover advances that will allow you to upgrade your weapons systems, uncover alien technology secrets, and hack into critical computers. This game is based around the Dark Engine and offers surreal 3-D graphics, effects, and action.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 64 more reviews...
 Making sure it stays on the radar... July 31, 2008
System Shock 2 is, quite frankly, my favorite game. I discovered it fairly late (which would be about 5 years ago now), but it has earned a permanent place on my hard drive. The graphics and the physics are dated... but the rest of the game is in many ways still ahead of every other game out there. The level design, the storytelling, the attention to detail... this is a game where you can pick up and carry around every little item that isn't tied down, from coffee mugs to house plants, dump it in a room, come back hours later... and it will still be there. There is no forced progression; at any time right up until the last two levels of the game you can go all the way back to the very first area you visited and explore around hunting enemies which will continue to spawn.
It is that respawning combined with the atmosphere of the ships which really makes the game scary, too- unlike in games such as Doom 3 (which borrowed heavily from SS2) where if you clear a room you're safe, there are very few secure locations in SS2. You are always in danger. The first major plot twist, which I will not spoil, is a perfect setup- you see it coming, but like in any well-told story it still manages to sneak up on you and club you in the face. The sound is incredible for a game of SS2's age- much better than that of Half-Life. You will learn what each and every enemy sounds like, and those sounds will send prickles up your spine.
SS2 also features (in the patched version) online co-op for up to four players- something which very few other games can claim to have.
I could go on for pages and pages about why I love this game, but there are some things which sadly must be mentioned...
There are compatibility issues. If you have a newer system, it will take some doing to make SS2 work. The most important issue to be aware of is that SS2 is not compatible with dual-core processors- there is a very easy-to-implement workaround, but the game will not work out of the box if you have a dual-core or hyperthreading (simulated dual-core) system. Some video cards may also be incompatible, though I don't know which ones (besides the nVidia FX series, which I once had one of). I have no idea whether or not it will run in Vista.
If you have the patience to work through the issues, you will be rewarded with one of the best gaming experiences out there. The impatient may want to take a pass- but if you're looking at decade-old games to begin with, odds are you won't let a little compatibility trouble get in your way. ;)
One of my top 10 fav games of all time. October 18, 2007
Well System Shock 2 is simply put, amazing. The plot is probably one of the best in any game, ever, especially how it unfolds. The blend of action and RPG makes for a one-of-a-kind experience. The atmosphere of the game makes you genuinely, truly feel as if you are alone on a doomed ship full of weird violent imagery. Let's just say System Shock 2 takes the cake for scaring the hell out of you.
Best video game ever made February 19, 2007
This is by far my favorite video game. It has everything I like. Horror, sci fi, a creepy storyline, all rolled into one. Since so many other people reviewed this, I'll be brief. The sounds are great, the environment is great, the story is great. The sounds create a fantastic ambience. The environment you walk around in really looks like it could be a starship.
The player plays a cyborg with very limited resources. The player has to decide how to use those resources to achieve his goals. In other words, the player can't use every single item or shoot every single weapon around him, unlike a conventional first person shooter. The player can learn a small number of skills very well, or spread his learning across multiple skills and learn several not as well.
The only flaw that this game has is the low polygon count on the foes. This will turn off anyone who is only used to modern games with incredibly high polygon counts for everything. (In other words, the game isn't as graphically advanced as Half Life 2.) However, anyone willing to play a game that has graphics that aren't as amazing as modern games will be satisfied with this game.
Best. PC Game. Ever. June 23, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
The title of this says it all. This game is as ground-breaking now as it was seven years ago. Imagine Half Life, Elder Scrolls, Deus-Ex, 2001, Event Horizon and William Gibson on a spaceship. Now play it in the dark. Alone. There has never been or will be another game like this until possibly the "Bioshock" game in 2007. Even that one has a completely different setting, but I have faith it will live up to its heritage.
Well worth the money, although it's getting harder to run on modern machines, so be aware that you may need to build a retro rig to run it. 1024 x 768 @ 16 bit is the highest res it will run at. Also make sure to obtain the "rebirth" files that drastically improve the look of most of the enemies, without hurting the gameplay.
The End All of Cyberpunk June 23, 2005
What can I say about System Shock 2? It is the most concept-comprehensive space-faring cyberpunk computer game to date. This sort of thing only comes around every decade or so and pretty much ends up sacrifing the company that makes it due to the law of averages alone (the nature of the universe does not allow such things to be birthed very often). Cybernetics, hacking, and psionics are all used extensively in conjunction with absolutely extraordinary voice acting and a perfectly written mystery. First contact is made, FTL is achieved, genetic mutations abound, harkening back to zombie horror...did I mention this is concept-comprehensive? Better still, all the geekiness is not a compensation for lack of art or universal appeal. It's scary as hell and you could be a complete idiot or have Asperger's and still love it. If nothing else, it has sound. I used to fall asleep to the main menu drone...then I started to date and now I write reviews instead. Enjoy.
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