System Shock vs System Shock 2

[NeoZeedeater]

These are two of my favourite games and I feel they're pretty close to each other in quality. Which do you think is the better game?

For me it's the first game. The graphics and controls are obviously much worse but I feel the game has better design overall.

[Rugal]

What are they about? I haven't seen these games before but i have seen them on a few list i have come to check over the years. What style of play is it?

[NeoZeedeater]

What are they about? I haven't seen these games before but i have seen them on a few list i have come to check over the years. What style of play is it?
They're sci-fi FPS/RPG/Adventure games. If you have played the Deus Ex games, they're similar.

[-hellvin-]

I haven't played much of the first game but I plan on picking it up soon and running through it in Dosbox. My vote goes to the second game. So many memorable moments. I love the freaky zombie ship crew that come out of NOWHERE most of the time and of course, the genius psychic monkeys. Nothing is better than blasting a monkey in the head with a pistol and hearing it yelp before it dies. LoL.

One thing I'll never forget in the 2nd game is right at the beginning where you take the little lift up in the main hallway. I was looking through a room and turned around to leave and all I saw was a zombie take a swing at my FACE and groan. Never even heard the bastard, he was just there. Man that zombie got wrenched to death horribly....

[SoulBlazer]

GREAT games. If you've never played them, GET THEM NOW!

(Waits for Ed to show up :P ;) )

Yes, they are PC only. SS 2 had a Dreamcast port in the works but it was never finsihed.

I really can't say which one I like more. Both of them are very good games.

[Ed Oscuro]

I've never played the original, but if I find that blasted Mac version one of these days...

I think the sequel is probably better, though there are many must-see moments (from what I've read) in the original...the original's crew portraits are better, and the log entries also all have voice (if you've got the CD-ROM version), which was pretty much a totally new thing at the time, especially for an FPS. System Shock 2 certainly has voice acting that no game (well, unless the original is as good...) has yet matched - hillarious but oftentimes believable (the recycled sound effects in various crew logs add to the humor).

I think the game Calthaer and SoulBlazer nearly finished with me in multiplayer is going down as a classic. I don't even know how to spawn all the various hidden Game Pig games anymore, but that was awesome (Eeeed...where did you get these?!). We also tried unsuccessfully for at least a quarter/half hour to trigger the hidden monkey email in the basketball court (which I had gotten within four tries earlier, playing by myself...sigh). I had lots of fun kamikaze-rushing cyborg ninjas with the laser sword, too :)

Recently I started a netplay game with some friends from [BTFz0r]...it's hillarious; one guy is invincible and so me and the other guy end up going on murderous rampages trying to shoot each other and set traps LOL I cheat-spawned myself an assault rifle, modified it, and spawned tons of HE ammo (anti-personnel). The rest of the time we work together, or run around like crazy trying to avoid protocol droids...

Actually, some friends of mine (one was the invincible guy from said netplay game) made a bunch of SS2 YTMNDs, that was fun. Some of them are absolutely hillarious, such as the "'The Many Sings' featuring the hit single 'What is a thought compared to a mind?'" one. I've got a list on another PC...will have to copy those in.

[maxlords]

I'd say the first one was way better for overall story, but both were very VERY good. I have both mint complete in the original boxes still... 3.5 disk edition of the first and the spiffy shiny box edition of the second. Also have the CD-ROM edition of the first one but the "Classics" printing. Ah well :) One of my all time favorite series...and one that deserves more done with it!

[Humanoid]

Voted 2. So many memories of me and my brother beating over LAN. If I remeber correctly, I was a Marine and he was OSS. I love that game so much.

[shopkins]

I have both, but I can't get the first one to run in Windows ME, except for the intro.

I love the second one, though. It has a great atmosphere and story, told mostly through the voicemails and logs, and I really like the ability to customize your character. The only game I've played that compares is Deus Ex. The ending is awesome, too.

[calthaer]

I think the game Calthaer and SoulBlazer nearly finished with me in multiplayer is going down as a classic.

And this is probably the primary reason I voted #2. Multiplayer coop is probably the greatest feature ever added to this classic. That, along with the streamlined controls / interface and the skills system, makes this better than the sequel.

HOWEVER: I do believe there are good reasons for going with #1. Namely:

-Flying through cyberspace in a Neuromancer-esque sort of way was just plain cool.

-The levels were larger and far more expansive. I remember that TOWERING next-to-last level, and the mazes strewn around the place, and those cool puzzles like those energy-platforms you had to control in the hangar bay. Too bad SS2 didn't have huge levels like that...the crowded corridors didn't have the same sort of feel.

-The original was completely groundbreaking and highly original for its time. SS2 was a little less so.

They're both great games.