Downloaded System Shock 2 on steam, don't like it

[mailman187666]

so it was highly rated, and its supposedly the spiritual prequel to bioshock. I'm running around dying all the time and barely ever have enough ammo or anything to get further in the game. I've probably put 5+ hours into it and cant get past the first mission. Is there a trick to it? I'm just not finding this game fun. Is there a grinding curve to it or an item i don't have that makes it worth playing?

[JakeM]

Um, the first game is the true classic. Warren Spector was involved in that one.

[goob47]

Not sure why this game is in the Classic Gaming section... But nonetheless, don't trust the ratings. Look at trailers and see for yourself if you truly want the game before purchasing it. I know people who have like 300 games on Steam, and they probably only play like 2 of them. It's sad. This is what the digital era has done to people, and so far, I'm not liking it. :|

[8-Bit Archeology]

This is a 1999 release. Also a PC Game. Theres a section for that.

[mailman187666]

Its not an issue with steam or anything. I saw trailers for the game and knew its from '98-'99. I'm just not having fun with it, and maybe not understanding the game. Not sure if I'm the only one. Sucks I spent the $10 on it to have it be unenjoyable for me, and was hoping someone who knows the game could help me out.

[Gameguy]

It depends on the difficulty setting and other settings you're going with. At the beginning you can choose to join the Marines, the Navy, or the O.S.A. I've heard that the Marines is the easiest choice for beginners and O.S.A. is the hardest, these choices affect your skills in the game. For example with the Marines you're better with weapons and with the O.S.A. you're better with PSI abilities like hacking. As for ammo, I know in the beginning you find a wrench, you don't have to worry about ammo with it. This is more of a survival horror game than anything else.

It might be better if you had some type of a strategy guide, there was an official one available for this game.

Or just watch part of a playthrough which talks about the game so you'd have a better understanding of it. Here's a decent one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw5IbpKbROQ

[sparf]

The game is hella difficult by design. You can take a look at Yahtzee's review over at ZeroPunctuation for his thoughts on it, but yeah. Being as old as it is I really would have taken a big load of research before I jumped on it. All I can say to you is to either keep plugging at it or admit defeat. Just know that it isn't easy and that isn't a design problem. :)

[skaar]

It's a game that makes you learn by killing you a lot.

You may wish to find something more... uh...

[sparf]

The game is hella difficult by design. You can take a look at Yahtzee's review over at ZeroPunctuation for his thoughts on it, but yeah. Being as old as it is I really would have taken a big load of research before I jumped on it. All I can say to you is to either keep plugging at it or admit defeat. Just know that it isn't easy and that isn't a design problem. :)

[Edmond Dantes]

Um, the first game is the true classic. Warren Spector was involved in that one.

You, sir, are my new best friend.

@thread in general

System Shock 2 sucks. This is speaking to a guy who first played both games in the same week.

The first game was awesome. Great setting and atmosphere, SHODAN was truly a villain to fear (and in some weird way, respect), and the game was so well put-together.

System Shock 2 felt like the pet project of a bunch of kids who had more ideas than they did sense. So they put a bunch of shit in the game without thinking it through and wound up creating an irritating mess of a game that got so bad they actually had to include cheat codes with a patch.

[calthaer]

I disagree on its suckitude.

SS2 is a classic of its time. It's difficult, more difficult if you choose the magic class (or "psi" or whatever) over the others. If you need to care-bear it, play it multiplayer.

Choose the marine class and maxx out your standard weapons. Get special ammo (anti-armor or anti-personnel). Make sure you buy or find a recycler and then pick up every plant, syringe, box, and everything else that isn't nailed down and turn it into credits.

[The Adventurer]

Young wipper snappers can't handle the difficulty of important old games.

Film at 11.

[bigbacon]

this is like the best game ever made IMO. it is brutal the first time you play it. There is a pretty steep learning curve.

and no, bioshock is in no way similar to SS2. I hate that the whole spiritual successor stuff started flying around.

[The Adventurer]

and no, bioshock is in no way similar to SS2. I hate that the whole spiritual successor stuff started flying around.

Uh... Bioshock has a lot thematically in common with System Shock. Sure it doesn't have the difficulty... or the customization... or well a bunch of things. Its pretty clear it was heavily influenced by System Shock 2 in many respects. Its definitely not as IMPORTANT as SS2, but sayings its not similar at all is a serious stretch. It wears much of its influence on its sleeve (shit, its in the title!)

[Edmond Dantes]

Young wipper snappers can't handle the difficulty of important old games.

Film at 11.

As I said, I loved the first System Shock (and by the way, I'm nearly 30)

But to quote the Happy Video Game Nerd: "There's a healthy, well-balanced difficult, and then there's just ridiculous." System Shock 2, IMO, straddled the latter. Needing to reload an old game because you made bad choices of skill selection because you had no way (short of a strategy guide) of knowing what was going to come next isn't good game design. Not being able to attempt a puzzle you NEED to attempt to progress in the game because you don't have enough currency because the monsters rarely ever drop it, is not valid difficulty.

Again, when even the game designers encourage you to cheat because the game didn't turn out like they expect, that's as much as admitting that the game is badly-designed.

[fahlim003]

I never bothered with either game when they were current and only initially tried System Shock 2 in 2009.

There are two reasons behind why I looked into SS2. One was in the lead up the playing Bioshock and getting a feel for the "series" and the other was while playing Thief Deadly Shadows I happened upon a clip of some personal scariest game (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuC2VUhkxqs) moments on PC (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsJWq1uMmYw) which included both Thief and SS2.

Upon completion I was initially frustrated due to issues stemming from playing the game in a non-Win9x environment at the very end as otherwise it was an interesting and challenging FPS. The concept of upgrading weapons and ability wasn't something I had experienced much before in a FPS and while early on it seems like the player is underpowered/under-prepared it turns around progressively. I liked the change over simply getting more powerful weapons to denote an upgrade. The ability to hack was also quite good and really at the players whim as to how good they got, the game doesn't really restrict this for any class/difficulty. Pardon the dated graphics, it still had nice aesthetic and the story seemed well designed too.

I realized more credit was due when I played Bioshock which seems watered down in terms of flexibility/choice/variety. A more linear experience to be sure and pardon the isolated challenge of the Big Daddy's didn't feel quite what I was looking for coming from SS2. A System Shock 2 for beginners if you will, not that's a problem. The art, story, and overall pacing are quite good and it's also an interesting game but SS2 set the bar higher, especially given how many years had passed until Bioshock was realized.

Maybe this is similar to people who've played System Shock 1, it's a matter of it being done right from the get go. I've yet to find a suitable way to play SS1 with modern/proper mouse controls, even considering SSP. When I have played it it felt clunky and quite dated, so this is a game I'm hopeful for a re-release on GOG or Steam. It could very well put SS2 to shame, but until I do play it proper I have no issue at all with SS2, especially now with the high-resolution texture packs.

As an aside, Bioshock Infinite feels like Bioshock with slightly more back-tracking (see: back-tracking at all) and honestly not much different. Again, it's not bad just not something I see that's quite outstanding as many people hailed it.

[Edmond Dantes]

Maybe this is similar to people who've played System Shock 1, it's a matter of it being done right from the get go. I've yet to find a suitable way to play SS1 with modern/proper mouse controls, even considering SSP. When I have played it it felt clunky and quite dated, so this is a game I'm hopeful for a re-release on GOG or Steam.

System Shock 1 will feel cumbersome at first, but once I got immersed in it the controls became second nature.

In fact the simplified controls were one thing I hated about SS2.