I remember system shock…Man that game had some seriously chilling moments!

I remember system shock…Man that game had some seriously chilling moments!

I’ve been wanting to try system shock since i played bioshock, but I have vista so I doubt it’d run it, but this little series of horror classics is sweet dude, can’t wait to see the next spoony!

The combat in the first was pretty tortuous, but the second game was incredible. The plot twists were incredible, the development of the story including The Mass, and above all, that fucking rec dec level. God, I hate it so much, it was just nerve wracking.

The combat in the first was pretty tortuous, but the second game was incredible. The plot twists were incredible, the development of the story including The Mass, and above all, that fucking rec dec level. God, I hate it so much, it was just nerve wracking.

L-L-L-LL-LL-LOOK AT YOU,HACKER
A P-P-P-PATHETIC CREATURE OF MEAT AND BONE
PANTING AND SWEATING AS YOU RUN THROUGH MY CORRIDORS

chills man chills that was creepy

chills man chills that was creepy

Incidentally, whilst I think of it, I did miss Cyberspace from the second game.

Also, I wasn’t aware that Shodan was creating the midwives, I thought that The Many, already sentient at that point, had taken over the minds of the doctors to create these people (as you get in the logs of the doctor who says “you’ll be the mother of them all!” – Shodan instead was trying to kill her “wayward children”.

Oh Looking Glass studios where have you gone?

Oh Looking Glass studios where have you gone?

They should remake and port these games..

I looked for the first System Shock for a while but could never really find a copy. I did find a copy of System Shock 2 a few years back though, and it instantly became a favorite for me.

I looked for the first System Shock for a while but could never really find a copy. I did find a copy of System Shock 2 a few years back though, and it instantly became a favorite for me.

Dead Space is a ripoff of a psycho computer formula? I don’t remember much of a psycho computer in that game, there are aliens, but no psycho computers, How is it a ripoff of Dead Space!?

Used to play this in a pitch dark basement with my friends. Oh… my… god…

Used to play this in a pitch dark basement with my friends. Oh… my… god…

Amen brother! Screw Pyramid Head! Screw Nemesis!

Horror, thy name is SHODAN!

Technically, SHODAN spent most of System Shock 2 playing you against her rogue progreny, the organic mass-mind known as the many. And yes, the nannies were creepy as Hell. Though the normal Annielid Hybrids- the basic zombies of the game- take the cake for High Octane Nightmare Fuel for me. Particularly when they beg for you to kill them…

Though, if you really want to creep yourself out, go look for a document that details the logs from Shock 2. Knowning what’s going on is almost as bad as not knowing.

Technically, SHODAN spent most of System Shock 2 playing you against her rogue progreny, the organic mass-mind known as the many. And yes, the nannies were creepy as Hell. Though the normal Annielid Hybrids- the basic zombies of the game- take the cake for High Octane Nightmare Fuel for me. Particularly when they beg for you to kill them…

Though, if you really want to creep yourself out, go look for a document that details the logs from Shock 2. Knowning what’s going on is almost as bad as not knowing.

Ah, you’ve got taste, Spoony.

Heck yasssssss!

Took me years to get up the nerve to play through System Shock 2; the first deck alone scared me so much I was incapable of progressing past it up until around. And it was around then that I found a copy of the first SS to play. I played it entirely while watching Dinosaurs DVDs in the background. (Oh Dinosaurs…I love you.) Immersive as the dickens game, yass yassss. I could never beat SHODAN the traditional way (in Cyberspace)…I had to cheat and throw a bunch of grenades at the main computer until it just like defaulted back to the main menu.

Need to replay it, for sure.

Heck yasssssss!

Took me years to get up the nerve to play through System Shock 2; the first deck alone scared me so much I was incapable of progressing past it up until around. And it was around then that I found a copy of the first SS to play. I played it entirely while watching Dinosaurs DVDs in the background. (Oh Dinosaurs…I love you.) Immersive as the dickens game, yass yassss. I could never beat SHODAN the traditional way (in Cyberspace)…I had to cheat and throw a bunch of grenades at the main computer until it just like defaulted back to the main menu.

Need to replay it, for sure.

Love what you’re doing Spoony!
A well-thought-out and comprehensive list of classic,quality,scary games is SO what I needed right now…(I’ve been making my own scary-gaming wish-list too). I hope you add CLOCK TOWER and FATAL FRAME to this group.

Never played system shock but always wanted to. She’s very reminiscent of The Master from fallout.

Never played system shock but always wanted to. She’s very reminiscent of The Master from fallout.

The Funny thing about this famous “Look at you Hacker” quote is that I never heard it in the first game only in the intro of the second one. I went trough the whole game hoping I would hear it one point but I didn’t.

Also the most terrifying thing in the first game for me was the final battle in cyberspace. At first I thought it was a bug and pretty anticlimactic that there were no music during the battle. During the fight your screen will be slowly filled with Shodan’s face (A really scary face, nothing like the face she has in 2) and if your slow, it takes over the whole screen seeing nothing but this creepy face in the silence. I pressed everything maybe the game is still on but nothing happened it was just that face. I was just about to ALT+F4 out of the game when it showed mercy to me and sent me back to the main menu.
That face… THAT FACE

man, that computer has one sexy voice. hey Shodan, wanna go out?

man, that computer has one sexy voice. hey Shodan, wanna go out?

It’s funny that you say Dead Space rips this game off because Dead Space (according to EA) actually started out as System Shock 3. But they decided it was too risky to do that because it would never live up to the standards of that series so they instead made Dead Space.

Hmmm. Psychotic female AIs are hot. Hooray for GLaDOS!

Hmmm. Psychotic female AIs are hot. Hooray for GLaDOS!

I’ve yet to try SS2, but I hear BioShock is essentially a steampunk remake of it, y/n?

The e-e-e-end of your trivial existenencssssssssssssssssssssse?

You are lucky you got to play System Shock 1. I played 2 and it took hours just to get it to run. When I got my hands on a friends copy of 1, I spent several hours and only ever managed to get the intro to run. I kinda wish they would remake it for newer systems.

You are lucky you got to play System Shock 1. I played 2 and it took hours just to get it to run. When I got my hands on a friends copy of 1, I spent several hours and only ever managed to get the intro to run. I kinda wish they would remake it for newer systems.

I’m playing System Shock 1, but I have no voices. Where did you get a copy that has voices? Or is that from the second game?

I remember trying System Shock 2 and giving up – It was damn hard!

Bioshock I played to the end though: Damn that game was good, and scary. Another good example of a game where the story makes up for any shortcomings in gameplay.

I remember trying System Shock 2 and giving up – It was damn hard!

Bioshock I played to the end though: Damn that game was good, and scary. Another good example of a game where the story makes up for any shortcomings in gameplay.

Excellent series!

I remember reading somewhere that the final clip “Look at you, hacker” is actually a separate sound file and wasn’t actually in SS1, which is why there’s no in-game clips of it anywhere.

IMO the most creepy SHODAN clip is after you defeat The Many in SS2, she whispers “Thank you for running my errands, puppet”. Every other time she’s talking in that scornful voice, as if to an insect, but here she hisses at you and she actually sounds malicious.

I remember reading somewhere that the final clip “Look at you, hacker” is actually a separate sound file and wasn’t actually in SS1, which is why there’s no in-game clips of it anywhere.

IMO the most creepy SHODAN clip is after you defeat The Many in SS2, she whispers “Thank you for running my errands, puppet”. Every other time she’s talking in that scornful voice, as if to an insect, but here she hisses at you and she actually sounds malicious.

Dude, Spoony, did you even PLAY System Shock 2?

The cyborg midwives only tended to the annelid eggs. They weren’t ever PREGNANT. WTF?

And SHODAN was against the annelids (her created life form). A lifepod containing the basic original organisms that SHODAN created on Citadel was launched into deep space (along with part of SHODAN… it’s how she survived the first game!) and crashed on Tau Ceti V. They grew and evolved there… and they rejected all things machine, including their creator. That’s why YOU do SHODAN’s bidding and she supports you along the way.

How could you miss this? It’s the plot of the game!

If you want a REALLY excellent PC horror game, look no further than Alien Vs Predator 2 from way back in 2001. It STILL tops my list as the scariest game of all time. The marine’s motion tracker is the best devise for suspence ever conceived. Imagine walking down a ramshackled, dark industriously futuristic hallway and all of a sudden you hear a faint “wee-wee-wee…” and a little white dot in the bottom corner of your screen that slowly gets closer to you… the very definition of horror.

If you want a REALLY excellent PC horror game, look no further than Alien Vs Predator 2 from way back in 2001. It STILL tops my list as the scariest game of all time. The marine’s motion tracker is the best devise for suspence ever conceived. Imagine walking down a ramshackled, dark industriously futuristic hallway and all of a sudden you hear a faint “wee-wee-wee…” and a little white dot in the bottom corner of your screen that slowly gets closer to you… the very definition of horror.

I do 2nd that Beaker. AVP2 Human Campaign was one of the best horror games i’ve played on PC. System Shock 1 and 2 were good – fairly recently just before bioshock so i may have had a dimished effect from them.

As far as spoony Missing stuff from the plot he did say he hasnt played it in a while so im sure it was not intentional he got the plot wrong.
None-the-less, I cant say much, I never could get the game to run so I’ve never played either one. I remember when SS2 came out and the rave reviews and seeing other people play it but ive never played either one myself. Ive always wanted to, though, and of my knowledge of it yes there is alot of plot that is used these days (Some of the best games of late really have used the system shock model, such as Bioshock and Dead Space). Its not so much the enemy, but rather the twist that we refer to, btw, when we say they are ripping off System Shock. Although imho its not a ripoff its just using the ideal and making it its own because neither one was at all the same in premise as SS only very similar in twist and plotline point (Just in my experience it seems to be the Cronenberg of Game Design plot, very social commentary in nature which is probably why they are my favorites cus i love social commentary horror).

I really wish i couldve gotten SS2 to run when i had it, and I can only wish theyd somehow rerelease it with the ability to play on modern computers cus this is another one Id love to play, always wanted to but never got the chance.
On a related note: since this is horror classics I know you wont be doing Penumbra (while that series is indeed the greatest horror game ive played this year its not a classic yet, it just came out vey recently and I can only hope time wont forget it, its a superb series) assuming you want to stick to true classics.

I dont know how many more your going to do of these but technically there really is ALOT more for PC (you suggested there wasnt many, which I’m majorily a PC gamer and I have alot of horror games for PC). Undying is a classic PC horror game, fairly decent one at that, Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines had some horrific moments, Half Life 2s Ravenholm Map was scary when it first came out, and a little bit newer but not recent classic Condemned is also worth a mention. There’s alot i could mention (The Suffering for Xbox, F.E.A.R, Sanitarium, Shivers, and Blood to name a few more: sorry like i said I’m mainly a PC gamer and most scary games I know of are on PC).

Theres alot of classics so I cant wait to see which else you choose to look back on. These are fun =)

love the idea behind this series, and great picks so far.

for a similarly impressive list of horror game, check this out:
http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-top-7-scariest-games-youve-never-played/a-20091022154518850027/p-3

also, Direct2Drive.com has an impressive sale on horror games which lasts until the end of the month. i HIGHLY recommend picking up The Path before the sale ends.

As far as spoony Missing stuff from the plot he did say he hasnt played it in a while so im sure it was not intentional he got the plot wrong.
None-the-less, I cant say much, I never could get the game to run so I’ve never played either one. I remember when SS2 came out and the rave reviews and seeing other people play it but ive never played either one myself. Ive always wanted to, though, and of my knowledge of it yes there is alot of plot that is used these days (Some of the best games of late really have used the system shock model, such as Bioshock and Dead Space). Its not so much the enemy, but rather the twist that we refer to, btw, when we say they are ripping off System Shock. Although imho its not a ripoff its just using the ideal and making it its own because neither one was at all the same in premise as SS only very similar in twist and plotline point (Just in my experience it seems to be the Cronenberg of Game Design plot, very social commentary in nature which is probably why they are my favorites cus i love social commentary horror).

I really wish i couldve gotten SS2 to run when i had it, and I can only wish theyd somehow rerelease it with the ability to play on modern computers cus this is another one Id love to play, always wanted to but never got the chance.
On a related note: since this is horror classics I know you wont be doing Penumbra (while that series is indeed the greatest horror game ive played this year its not a classic yet, it just came out vey recently and I can only hope time wont forget it, its a superb series) assuming you want to stick to true classics.

I dont know how many more your going to do of these but technically there really is ALOT more for PC (you suggested there wasnt many, which I’m majorily a PC gamer and I have alot of horror games for PC). Undying is a classic PC horror game, fairly decent one at that, Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines had some horrific moments, Half Life 2s Ravenholm Map was scary when it first came out, and a little bit newer but not recent classic Condemned is also worth a mention. There’s alot i could mention (The Suffering for Xbox, F.E.A.R, Sanitarium, Shivers, and Blood to name a few more: sorry like i said I’m mainly a PC gamer and most scary games I know of are on PC).

Theres alot of classics so I cant wait to see which else you choose to look back on. These are fun =)

I find myself replaying SS2 from time to time. Even though the chills have worn off, it’s still a well-crafted FPS roleplaying game with two great villians (I find the Many to be as terrifying as SHODAN, but then the Many is a chip off the ol’ SHODAN block). If you’re trying to play SS2 on XP this days, you need to get a special driver for the 3D engine compatibility. I don’t have the website on me where it lies, but Google “System Shock 2″ fix and you might find it. If you like Thief and Thief 2 (also by Looking Glass Studios), the same fix will work for those games as well. Haven’t tried it on Vista.

I actually got SS1 from a freeware site, but even with DOSBOX I couldn’t get it to play for more than a couple of minutes before crashing. Rather disappointing. The site’s gone now, but I think you can still find SS1 on the net if you look hard enough.

I hope for a SS3 some day, but I hope it’s done with care. Bio-Shock was fun, but I really miss SHODAN as the principle villian.

I find myself replaying SS2 from time to time. Even though the chills have worn off, it’s still a well-crafted FPS roleplaying game with two great villians (I find the Many to be as terrifying as SHODAN, but then the Many is a chip off the ol’ SHODAN block). If you’re trying to play SS2 on XP this days, you need to get a special driver for the 3D engine compatibility. I don’t have the website on me where it lies, but Google “System Shock 2″ fix and you might find it. If you like Thief and Thief 2 (also by Looking Glass Studios), the same fix will work for those games as well. Haven’t tried it on Vista.

I actually got SS1 from a freeware site, but even with DOSBOX I couldn’t get it to play for more than a couple of minutes before crashing. Rather disappointing. The site’s gone now, but I think you can still find SS1 on the net if you look hard enough.

I hope for a SS3 some day, but I hope it’s done with care. Bio-Shock was fun, but I really miss SHODAN as the principle villian.

Aaand for anyone who was wonder, Shodan was voiced by Teri Brosius, sister of Eric Brosius who is the audio mastermind behind SShock2, Thief + Thief 2 (and assisted with Thief 3) and so on. Teri also voice acted Viktoria from Thief, and Stephen Russell, aka Garrett, was one of The Many’s voices (given the many speaks with multiple voices at once). Yay trivia!

I love this list!
Keep ‘em coming Spoony.

I love this list!
Keep ‘em coming Spoony.

Hahaha! I love you Spoony. System Shock was amazing and I’m glad you love those games.

i have heard a lot about this game, but after watching that i really want to play it. seems like it has a good atmosphere and soundtrack

i have heard a lot about this game, but after watching that i really want to play it. seems like it has a good atmosphere and soundtrack

I only played a little bit of System Shock; it’s hard when you have to click the HUD to look up and down. I should try it again. I remember that the animation that plays when you die freaked me out quite a bit.

System Shock 2 is a true work of art. Xerxes was just about as creepy as SHODAN herself.

Cant wait for what you say about the Fatal Frame series. :3

Cant wait for what you say about the Fatal Frame series. :3

Ah, System Shock series… The creepiest moment in SS2 was perhaps the moment you meet this doctor that has been sending you messages through the early parts of the game, giving you advice and telling you what to do. I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t played it, but it is awesome.

I’ve never played the first one, but I do have the second one. I remember as I was playing it, the further I got into the game, the more I got scared. Eventually, I stopped playing it. I should play the game again, except this time with a trusted friend who won’t try to scare me.

I’ve never played the first one, but I do have the second one. I remember as I was playing it, the further I got into the game, the more I got scared. Eventually, I stopped playing it. I should play the game again, except this time with a trusted friend who won’t try to scare me.

Story corrections:

1. You don’t design the AI. You are contracted by Diego to remove a security barrier from SHODAN’s system because Diego was facing an Trioptimum auditor and wanted to remove traces of … I think embezzlement from the station’s systems. This has the unforeseen consequence that SHODAN is capable to evolve beyond the specified parameters and is no longer bound by the Aasimov-esque ethics programmed into her.

2. You have to differentiate between SHODAN and The Many in the second game. They are not on the same side.

Also on top of Anaphyis’s corrections:

3. Xerxes vs Shodan Vs The Many

Also on top of Anaphyis’s corrections:

3. Xerxes vs Shodan Vs The Many

Aaargghh please please SystemShock 2 go away go away go away………
It’s not fair i cant play anything even remotely scary now because i played it ;/ i cant even play bioshock or left for dead……. AAAERRRGGGHHHHH Bad memories bad memories….

To get SS1 running: http://www.m3fe.com/content/sshock/

There is a patched executable which runs the game on Windows XP. Also on that site is a link to the System Shock Hack Project which is trying to reverse engineer and recreate the original executable to run it on modern systems. Dunno how far that is along.

You have to keep in mind that SS1 had two releases: One on floppy, another on CD. You want the latter even if it is just for the audio clips of SHODAN that aren’t in the floppy release.

As for SS2: Check out the Rebirth mod. It’s a must have if you want to play that game.

To get SS1 running: http://www.m3fe.com/content/sshock/

There is a patched executable which runs the game on Windows XP. Also on that site is a link to the System Shock Hack Project which is trying to reverse engineer and recreate the original executable to run it on modern systems. Dunno how far that is along.

You have to keep in mind that SS1 had two releases: One on floppy, another on CD. You want the latter even if it is just for the audio clips of SHODAN that aren’t in the floppy release.

As for SS2: Check out the Rebirth mod. It’s a must have if you want to play that game.

Another way of getting SS1 to play, is to try the portable version. Methinks that it was created by modding the extended CD version. You can google it or try here: http://www.strangebedfellows.de/index.php/topic,211.0.html

I’d like to see a “let’s play” on this series in classic spoony style.

If anyone is interested, the first game can be found right here for free:
http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/24684/System+Shock.html

If anyone is interested, the first game can be found right here for free:
http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/24684/System+Shock.html

Have to disagree a bit on the AvP 2 comments as the first one was better and scarier. Yeah, Monoliths version got more polish and better production values but Rebellions version had darker and scarier atmosphere, hands down. Fighting the aliens as a marine was damn nerve-wrecking, not only they came from every possible angle in unnatural speeds, but shooting off their legs didn’t stop them as they still came at you, crawling on their arms, hissing. Shudder.

A few of the plot mistakes could be Spoony not wanting to give spoilers, and some due to not having played them in a long time. I kind of want to check those games out, they sound really good.

A few of the plot mistakes could be Spoony not wanting to give spoilers, and some due to not having played them in a long time. I kind of want to check those games out, they sound really good.

Getting System Shock 2 to run on Windows XP and Vista is a really big challenge.

Getting System Shock 2 to run on Windows XP and Vista is a really big challenge.

@ Artimus
Perhaps you have the inferior floppy version of the game, the one without any voices. If so, look for the cd-rom version.

@ Artimus
Perhaps you have the inferior floppy version of the game, the one without any voices. If so, look for the cd-rom version.

The scariest 90′s PC game for me was definitely Alone in the Dark.

First of all, it had synthesized sounds on the beeper, which was really rare (the only ones who had that as I remember were Star Control 2 and Another World, both terrific games btw). Playing Alone in the Dark while you were alone, and yes, in the dark was terrifying. You move around the house, the floorboards creak, then you hear a slow moan and a zombie suddenly enters the scene. Nothing up to that point has offered that kind of experience to home gaming, and boy, was it scary.

Btw, I was a BIG fan of SS, and I think I vastly preferred the first one. Never found it “scary” though, but overall it’s one of the best games on the system and elements of it are readily apparent in many of the modern titles.

Of course, nowadays you cannot look at all those blocky models and understand what was so bloody great and scary about it, but back then this was the sh*t.

The scariest 90′s PC game for me was definitely Alone in the Dark.

First of all, it had synthesized sounds on the beeper, which was really rare (the only ones who had that as I remember were Star Control 2 and Another World, both terrific games btw). Playing Alone in the Dark while you were alone, and yes, in the dark was terrifying. You move around the house, the floorboards creak, then you hear a slow moan and a zombie suddenly enters the scene. Nothing up to that point has offered that kind of experience to home gaming, and boy, was it scary.

Btw, I was a BIG fan of SS, and I think I vastly preferred the first one. Never found it “scary” though, but overall it’s one of the best games on the system and elements of it are readily apparent in many of the modern titles.

Of course, nowadays you cannot look at all those blocky models and understand what was so bloody great and scary about it, but back then this was the sh*t.

Oh I see some people mentioning AvP.

Yes, the first AvP is a vastly underrated PC game. No FPS ever came close to true Aliens atmosphere. The only reason why it flopped was because it was relentlessly difficult, but darn it.. a single human against an aliens-infested spaceship, and a predator thrown into the mix, how can you NOT make it hard and still keep it thematic? The fact that you couldn’t save between the levels and that aliens were randomized each time you restarted was a really brave design decision. Too bad most of the AvP critics were spoiled quicksave junkies who couldn’t handle even a smidgeon of challenge.

AvP2 was a nice, quality product but it didn’t even come remotely close to the original experience. It was your average run-of-the-mill FPS with a good story and a solid gameplay, but when there’s no feeling of danger, it’s not really scare nor engaging anymore.

Oh I see some people mentioning AvP.

Yes, the first AvP is a vastly underrated PC game. No FPS ever came close to true Aliens atmosphere. The only reason why it flopped was because it was relentlessly difficult, but darn it.. a single human against an aliens-infested spaceship, and a predator thrown into the mix, how can you NOT make it hard and still keep it thematic? The fact that you couldn’t save between the levels and that aliens were randomized each time you restarted was a really brave design decision. Too bad most of the AvP critics were spoiled quicksave junkies who couldn’t handle even a smidgeon of challenge.

AvP2 was a nice, quality product but it didn’t even come remotely close to the original experience. It was your average run-of-the-mill FPS with a good story and a solid gameplay, but when there’s no feeling of danger, it’s not really scare nor engaging anymore.

I’ve been curious for a while now how you feel about Deus Ex, Spoony.

I’ve been curious for a while now how you feel about Deus Ex, Spoony.

I hope you do X-Com now!

That game can get so very tense and scary when you get into it (and don’t cheat), which is really odd for its genre.

Nothing quite compares to your first terror mission at night against snakemen, and turning your rookie squad round a corner to find a Cryssalid (or two).

Its not a direct fear.. but with the limited sound effects and that constant throbbing beat, plus all the sounds in the silence on the enemies turns.. its something else.

I hope you do X-Com now!

That game can get so very tense and scary when you get into it (and don’t cheat), which is really odd for its genre.

Nothing quite compares to your first terror mission at night against snakemen, and turning your rookie squad round a corner to find a Cryssalid (or two).

Its not a direct fear.. but with the limited sound effects and that constant throbbing beat, plus all the sounds in the silence on the enemies turns.. its something else.

If you want to try it follow this link-> http://www.strangebedfellows.de/index.php/topic,211.0.html
Its the cd versin with working emulator.
BTW did you guys now that the director of this game alos directed Deus Ex?

If you want to try it follow this link-> http://www.strangebedfellows.de/index.php/topic,211.0.html
Its the cd versin with working emulator.
BTW did you guys now that the director of this game alos directed Deus Ex?

I remember back then when I would get up in the morning and instantly get on my computer and play System Shock 2 for hours and hours, I was THAT into it.

I remember back then when I would get up in the morning and instantly get on my computer and play System Shock 2 for hours and hours, I was THAT into it.

Hahaha “God: the title suits me well” haha you’re insane! xD

those tecno robots things you mentioned reminded me of gyo a manga by ito (uzumaki) read it and scream!

The opening sequence really reminds me of the game: ‘Descent’.

The opening sequence really reminds me of the game: ‘Descent’.

System shock 1 works pretty well on dosbox, at least it runs and you can even run it in high-res mode (enhanced cd version does that iirc), you need a really good machine to do it though. and not “oh i have five cores” because thats not gonna work, as much mhz as possible

*so* worth it though

System shock 1 works pretty well on dosbox, at least it runs and you can even run it in high-res mode (enhanced cd version does that iirc), you need a really good machine to do it though. and not “oh i have five cores” because thats not gonna work, as much mhz as possible

*so* worth it though

I don’t see the point of you reviewing an old game without showing any videos of the game itself.

I don’t see the point of you reviewing an old game without showing any videos of the game itself.

Shamus Young from Twentysided, and The Escapist, wrote a novel based on this game, and it is AWESOME. Available for free here:

http://www.shamusyoung.com/shocked/

Have fun.

Shamus Young from Twentysided, and The Escapist, wrote a novel based on this game, and it is AWESOME. Available for free here:

http://www.shamusyoung.com/shocked/

Have fun.

Probably most of you have not heard about this game, but “Project Firestart” for the C64 is the first scary sci-fi game that I remember where you could find logs of other people in the ship. This game came way before system shock, so Spoony is wrong when he said that SS was the first one to implement logs :-P

Probably most of you have not heard about this game, but “Project Firestart” for the C64 is the first scary sci-fi game that I remember where you could find logs of other people in the ship. This game came way before system shock, so Spoony is wrong when he said that SS was the first one to implement logs :-P

Yes, “Project Firestart” was cool. Did you ever manage to save the woman?

I wish they made a system shock 3 instead of bioshock.

I wish they made a system shock 3 instead of bioshock.

Thanks for showing me what the fist game looked like! I just started SS2 a few days ago, and I’ve always wondered why the first game never gets mentioned. It looks pretty cool. I may try it once I’m done with the second.

Thanks for showing me what the fist game looked like! I just started SS2 a few days ago, and I’ve always wondered why the first game never gets mentioned. It looks pretty cool. I may try it once I’m done with the second.

I love System Shock 2 but System Shock 1 has such bad controls I can’t play it.

I love System Shock 2 but System Shock 1 has such bad controls I can’t play it.

At last someone actually remembers these games! Great job Spoony.
You didn’t mention the fact that System Shock 2 had 4 player co-op. Something that modern games might rip off as well. Just look at Borderlands and Left 4 Dead.

At last someone actually remembers these games! Great job Spoony.
You didn’t mention the fact that System Shock 2 had 4 player co-op. Something that modern games might rip off as well. Just look at Borderlands and Left 4 Dead.

Oh, and forgot to mention that send me an email if you ever get the game running and wanna play some
ss2 co-op.

I agree with KaylaKaze. What turned me away from the game was the controls. It was so hard to do anything.

I agree with KaylaKaze. What turned me away from the game was the controls. It was so hard to do anything.

SS2 its one of my all time favourites fps, that game its just perfect. But I never played SS1, I just looks too old.

Make a System Shock 2 video. Easily one of the best FPS every made for the PC.

Make a System Shock 2 video. Easily one of the best FPS every made for the PC.

Best Horror Game IN THE WORLD!

Best Horror Game IN THE WORLD!

the computer reminds me of portal……

i was going to give you cake!

the computer reminds me of portal……

i was going to give you cake!

Ah, System Shock. Awesome game, and atmosphere so thick you can cut it with a wrench. Shame it’s such a huge ordeal to get the games to run on modern PCs or they’d get much more of the respect they deserve today. For about a month or two now, I’ve actually been beating my head against getting SS2 to run on a Dual-Core XP Machine – both huge problems that I’m amazed talented fans haven’t addressed yet.

Ah, well, keep on gaming!

- Toko

Ah, System Shock. Awesome game, and atmosphere so thick you can cut it with a wrench. Shame it’s such a huge ordeal to get the games to run on modern PCs or they’d get much more of the respect they deserve today. For about a month or two now, I’ve actually been beating my head against getting SS2 to run on a Dual-Core XP Machine – both huge problems that I’m amazed talented fans haven’t addressed yet.

Ah, well, keep on gaming!

- Toko

System Shock 2… for me it is the best game ever! I haven’t found any game which was so scary and well-designed. It’s very innovative for it’s time, but even now it’s surprisingly good game, which can suck you in for a long, long hours (it took me about 36 hours to beat it) – I’m completely addicted to Shodan’s voice!

Btw. I recommend trying ddfix for System Shock 2 – I couldn’t run the game without it :P

And yes, I’m playing SS2 on Windows XP: AMD DualCore x2 @2,0GHz, 2GB RAM and GF8600GT – so it’s much faster PC then the game requires :P

The hit-detection on those MOTHERFUCKING MONKEYS on System Shock 2 makes me cry tears of blood.

The hit-detection on those MOTHERFUCKING MONKEYS on System Shock 2 makes me cry tears of blood.

I wanted to play this but could never get it to run on my PC sadly.

I wanted to play this but could never get it to run on my PC sadly.

I played System Shock 2 for the first time during this summer and it was awesome. I had to get a No-Spider-Patch though because those things are despite old graphics goddamn creepy, hell sometimes when facing them i actually closed my eyes and simply kept clicking in the hope to kill them fast. (Didn’t really work though.)

Another way to run System Shock 2 on a dual- or other wise multi-core processor is to:
1. Start the Game
2. Alt+tab out of it
3. Bring up the Task Manager
4. Search for the System Shock 2 Process, right click on it and untick all except one of the CPU’s under “Affinity”

Then it should run fine.

I played System Shock 2 for the first time during this summer and it was awesome. I had to get a No-Spider-Patch though because those things are despite old graphics goddamn creepy, hell sometimes when facing them i actually closed my eyes and simply kept clicking in the hope to kill them fast. (Didn’t really work though.)

Another way to run System Shock 2 on a dual- or other wise multi-core processor is to:
1. Start the Game
2. Alt+tab out of it
3. Bring up the Task Manager
4. Search for the System Shock 2 Process, right click on it and untick all except one of the CPU’s under “Affinity”

Then it should run fine.

Glad to see that someone has the same taste in horror as I do.
BTW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGJtYfWGbmE&feature=related is a collection of quotes from System Shock, starting with the one you used as quote below your video. Just incase you wanted to use that one…

Glad to see that someone has the same taste in horror as I do.
BTW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGJtYfWGbmE&feature=related is a collection of quotes from System Shock, starting with the one you used as quote below your video. Just incase you wanted to use that one…

The single best thing in System Shock 2, better than the hybrids beating you to death, better than the psychic monkeys, (Hated those) Better than the “Helpful” robots that that would “Helpfully” find you and then blow up next to you. Better even than “The Many,” Better than the crazy vile permutations of same, and better than the sinking feeling in your stomach when you are finally led to the room of the person you thought had been puling your strings only to find her dead in her chair and that you had been a plaything of an AI with a God complex. Better than ANYTHING ELSE. The best thing was when you finally beat “The Many,” and you beat down Shodan, and you hear her miserable attempt to bribe you into letting her continue her wretched existence, her offer to make you her “Avatar.” To give you nearly godlike power in a scene that, after going through the trials of this game, makes Vader’s offer to Luke in Empire sound like chump change, After all of that, you FINALLY get to see your own face. Your answer to all of this wondrous offer is “Naaah.” And then you blast that bitch to electron heaven. (Or do you…. Watch the credits.)
I have never enjoyed a game so much that was so difficult. It was, in a word, Epic.

If you haven’t played this game, and bother to do so…
Conserve ammo. It is not impossible to come by, but a minimalist approach is best. Toward the end, (Particularly at the last couple of stages) you will find yourself having to spend ammo like it was water.
LISTEN. Most things that kill you make noise. This was one of the first games I remember to TRULY take advantage of sound to the degree that it does.
ALL the tech/skill trees are good, but for the current generation of run and gunners, may I recommend staying true to your roots the first time through? Hacking and Psyche are wonderful tools, but they won’t get you as far as a good gun skill later in the game.
This game is TREACHEROUSLY difficult. Save early, save often, and keep a few saves that are HOURS and HOURS of game play old around just to be on the safe side. More than once playing this I had to go back to a ridiculously old save because I had managed to fritter away too much ammo and advancing became impossible.

On a final note, to any young pups that want to run out and find a copy. There is a point in the game when you can either A: Follow up on a lead and find another survivor, or B: Be Shodan’s willing little bitch and ignore the plight of a fellow human being. There is nothing good for you there. Shodan will punish you for going. I still say that not doing so makes you a pussy. I did, and I still beat the game. :P

The single best thing in System Shock 2, better than the hybrids beating you to death, better than the psychic monkeys, (Hated those) Better than the “Helpful” robots that that would “Helpfully” find you and then blow up next to you. Better even than “The Many,” Better than the crazy vile permutations of same, and better than the sinking feeling in your stomach when you are finally led to the room of the person you thought had been puling your strings only to find her dead in her chair and that you had been a plaything of an AI with a God complex. Better than ANYTHING ELSE. The best thing was when you finally beat “The Many,” and you beat down Shodan, and you hear her miserable attempt to bribe you into letting her continue her wretched existence, her offer to make you her “Avatar.” To give you nearly godlike power in a scene that, after going through the trials of this game, makes Vader’s offer to Luke in Empire sound like chump change, After all of that, you FINALLY get to see your own face. Your answer to all of this wondrous offer is “Naaah.” And then you blast that bitch to electron heaven. (Or do you…. Watch the credits.)
I have never enjoyed a game so much that was so difficult. It was, in a word, Epic.

If you haven’t played this game, and bother to do so…
Conserve ammo. It is not impossible to come by, but a minimalist approach is best. Toward the end, (Particularly at the last couple of stages) you will find yourself having to spend ammo like it was water.
LISTEN. Most things that kill you make noise. This was one of the first games I remember to TRULY take advantage of sound to the degree that it does.
ALL the tech/skill trees are good, but for the current generation of run and gunners, may I recommend staying true to your roots the first time through? Hacking and Psyche are wonderful tools, but they won’t get you as far as a good gun skill later in the game.
This game is TREACHEROUSLY difficult. Save early, save often, and keep a few saves that are HOURS and HOURS of game play old around just to be on the safe side. More than once playing this I had to go back to a ridiculously old save because I had managed to fritter away too much ammo and advancing became impossible.

On a final note, to any young pups that want to run out and find a copy. There is a point in the game when you can either A: Follow up on a lead and find another survivor, or B: Be Shodan’s willing little bitch and ignore the plight of a fellow human being. There is nothing good for you there. Shodan will punish you for going. I still say that not doing so makes you a pussy. I did, and I still beat the game. :P

Getting System Shock to run natively under XP is possible, but certainly not easy. Running it under dosbox is fairly simple, if you get the CD version off the pirate bay or something. Don’t bother with the regular version which you can get from home of the underdogs. If you can manage to get it working, and you can manage to configure the sound correctly, it’s still the original version with no voice acting and it really takes a lot away from the atmosphere of the game.

Getting System Shock to run natively under XP is possible, but certainly not easy. Running it under dosbox is fairly simple, if you get the CD version off the pirate bay or something. Don’t bother with the regular version which you can get from home of the underdogs. If you can manage to get it working, and you can manage to configure the sound correctly, it’s still the original version with no voice acting and it really takes a lot away from the atmosphere of the game.

@Kåre
Actually it’s not that hard. Just install SS2 then use ss2 tool 2.7 to patch it and fix bugs and make it mod friendly if you want to install high resolution textures and models. If the game runs too fast go to your GFX Card’s control panel and enable vsync and put antialiasing and anistropic filtering as high as possible.

If that is too hard for you I don’t really know what to say.

@Kåre
Actually it’s not that hard. Just install SS2 then use ss2 tool 2.7 to patch it and fix bugs and make it mod friendly if you want to install high resolution textures and models. If the game runs too fast go to your GFX Card’s control panel and enable vsync and put antialiasing and anistropic filtering as high as possible.

If that is too hard for you I don’t really know what to say.

Want to play System Shock 1 easily? Search for “portable system shock.” It’s old, but it’s a properly configured DOSBox along with SS1. Ethical warning: re-re-re-reexamine your personal d-d-d-definition of abandonware.

Want to play System Shock 1 easily? Search for “portable system shock.” It’s old, but it’s a properly configured DOSBox along with SS1. Ethical warning: re-re-re-reexamine your personal d-d-d-definition of abandonware.

System Shock Runs on Windows vista so easily just set compatibility to run as windows 2000

System Shock Runs on Windows vista so easily just set compatibility to run as windows 2000

System Shock 2 is the scariest game I’ve ever played. I had actual nightmares about those cyber-nannies. And then the constant worry of inventorizing, conserving ammo, fixing your guns.

System Shock 2 is the scariest game I’ve ever played. I had actual nightmares about those cyber-nannies. And then the constant worry of inventorizing, conserving ammo, fixing your guns.

System Shock 2 was the dogs bollocks, the scariness is really well laced together and IMHO it stands up well to later games trying to do something in a similar vein. For example, Doom 3 tried to be scary by using light/darkness and monsters popping [cheaply] out of nowhere to bite your arse or mug you in some confusing pitch black corridor – this is all pretty superficial one-trick pony stuff. In SS2, the multilayered creepiness and tension is subtler but stronger.

I’m an arachnophobe but I kept them spiders in. I really *hate* them, but that’s the kind of reaction that’s too rare to get from a game to waste, hehe.

System Shock 2 was the dogs bollocks, the scariness is really well laced together and IMHO it stands up well to later games trying to do something in a similar vein. For example, Doom 3 tried to be scary by using light/darkness and monsters popping [cheaply] out of nowhere to bite your arse or mug you in some confusing pitch black corridor – this is all pretty superficial one-trick pony stuff. In SS2, the multilayered creepiness and tension is subtler but stronger.

I’m an arachnophobe but I kept them spiders in. I really *hate* them, but that’s the kind of reaction that’s too rare to get from a game to waste, hehe.

It’s funny how Spoony gets the plot wrong. The hacker is brought in secret to the space station to remove the ethical programming on Shodon so the exec in charge of the station could do illegal actions without his company being aware of it.

It’s funny how Spoony gets the plot wrong. The hacker is brought in secret to the space station to remove the ethical programming on Shodon so the exec in charge of the station could do illegal actions without his company being aware of it.

Thanks a bundle for making this video!
The System Shock series were pretty unknown to me, but i gave it a look.
Managed to get my hands on System Shock 2, after getting it to work i was hooked after 10 minutes xD
I’m sure to have tons of fun with this game, ii didnt get very far playing it yesterday so i still have a whole game ahead of me.

Again thanks a bundle, love your work,
and i hope you review more games like this.

Wow spoony, lots of plot mistakes:

System shock 1:
You do not create shodan, you merely remove her ethical constraints as per Diego’s request.

SS2
They are not techno organisms, they are organic life that shodan created, that have built the cyber nurses their self and transform humans into human alien hybrids.

But nice that you recognize the series spoony.

Wow spoony, lots of plot mistakes:

System shock 1:
You do not create shodan, you merely remove her ethical constraints as per Diego’s request.

SS2
They are not techno organisms, they are organic life that shodan created, that have built the cyber nurses their self and transform humans into human alien hybrids.

But nice that you recognize the series spoony.

I also love the way it explains how everything works in a realistic way, the weapons, systems, everything.

I also love it’s explanation of soda, especially the part where it talks about Coke and pepsi destroying bottling plants

I also love the way it explains how everything works in a realistic way, the weapons, systems, everything.

I also love it’s explanation of soda, especially the part where it talks about Coke and pepsi destroying bottling plants

SS1 was released as freeware on eve on SS2′s release back in 1999 or something like that.

Grab SS-Portable from here:-
http://www.strangebedfellows.de/index.php/topic,211.0.html
It’s a pre-packaged CD version (the version with the speech pack) with the high resolution mod, playable under Windows XP and at least Vista (dunno bout Win7, but highly likely will work).

If you have a dual core CPU, I’d run under DOSbox instead of using VDMSound. The latter is an ancient solution and was superseded by DOSbox long ago. VDMSound only works under XP anyway.

DOSbox is the only way to get a lot of DOS games playable on 64-bit OSes, since they removed 16-bit support from 64-bit Windows.

From Wikipedia:-
“As opposed to DOSBox, which emulates an entire x86 personal computer with DOS, VDMSound emulates only the sound hardware. All other aspects of DOS emulation are managed natively by the Windows operating system’s 16-bit subsystem (NTVDM) through virtualization. This results in reduced system load (and thus games will run faster than under DOSBox on the same hardware specifications), at the expense of reduced compatibility (see limitations below.)”

SS1 was released as freeware on eve on SS2′s release back in 1999 or something like that.

Grab SS-Portable from here:-
http://www.strangebedfellows.de/index.php/topic,211.0.html
It’s a pre-packaged CD version (the version with the speech pack) with the high resolution mod, playable under Windows XP and at least Vista (dunno bout Win7, but highly likely will work).

If you have a dual core CPU, I’d run under DOSbox instead of using VDMSound. The latter is an ancient solution and was superseded by DOSbox long ago. VDMSound only works under XP anyway.

DOSbox is the only way to get a lot of DOS games playable on 64-bit OSes, since they removed 16-bit support from 64-bit Windows.

From Wikipedia:-
“As opposed to DOSBox, which emulates an entire x86 personal computer with DOS, VDMSound emulates only the sound hardware. All other aspects of DOS emulation are managed natively by the Windows operating system’s 16-bit subsystem (NTVDM) through virtualization. This results in reduced system load (and thus games will run faster than under DOSBox on the same hardware specifications), at the expense of reduced compatibility (see limitations below.)”

Spoony played X-com? Nice. That's still one of my favorite strategy/tactical games of all time. The game was pretty scary too, especially when stuff like Crystlids showed up and started eating soldiers and civilians and they'd spawn more and more of them, till you're just fighting to survive to make it back to the ship alive. I hope he does a review of the game at some point.

hey r u going 2 do resident evil 4 your horror game classics

I'm on my third play through of Dead Space and it still scares the utter hell out of me. Now I wanna play System Shock, to see how similar the two games are.

I have dead space for PS3, about half way through it, but stopped playing it about 6 months ago and havent picked it back up since. Will do eventually though as i was really enjoying it. Will probably just start again as i cant remember any of the story really, but i thought it was really good, I especially liked the way health is displayed and the way messages appear on screen

Um… yeah. Resident Evil isn't scary. It's more of a here's-a-gun-go-pwn-that-zombie-over-there kind of thing. Don't get me wrong, Resident Evil is a really good game, it's just not the scary, freakish, let's-mess-with-your-sanity kind of game that Spoony is referring to.

Wow, Spoony still hasn't fixed this video?

SS2 is only matched by Silent Hill 1 as being the pair of games in all of 25 years of playing where I reached a corner, heard something beyond it, and proceeded to TURN AROUND, and walk my ass RIGHT back the way I came, fervently pleading with the delusion to take hold that I had manufactured to contain the last vestiges of anything approximating my fading courage, that being there had to be some other way.

Some where. Some how.

There had to be.

I hate bioshock so much, it’s like a stupider dumbed down version of SS2.