System Shock : first impression

Some observations as I watch the playthrough - Warning, Extreme Spoilers!

I think I'm about 10% in, and so far the puzzles seem to be of the 'find the blue keycard' variety. The brief foray into cyberspace to unlock the next door is a welcome break from key collection - I hope its used more.

The sense of loneliness and fear from waking up on a space station containing only evil mutant zombies is nicely done. Various logs left by survivors add atmosphere unless they are voice logs, in which case the voice work is so bad you get knocked right out of the experience. Considering the era, this is mostly forgivable; the value of good voicework just wasn't commonly appreciated until the late 1990s / early 2000s.

There's a ton of objects lying around that sound cool, but that don't seem to be used much in the game. It probably doesn't help that the display menus are so cumbersome, items are hard to use in a fight.

I totally recognize aspects of Shodan's voice in the voices of the AIs in Deus Ex and especially Portal. And I'm not just talking about the cliche of sound stuttering that indicates AI insanity, but the slow steady malice and warped perspective that reminds me of HAL in 2001. It's old stuff in a combination that still hasn't gotten stale after all this time.

The mini-puzzles are neat. A lot of little elements in this game feel fresh, like it was invented in this game, and it probably was.

The cyborgs look too much like Star Trek TNG Borg; it takes you out of the game.

The muzak in the elevator is just the perfect ending to the first level.

System Shock : the old friend I never knew.

I missed System Shock somehow, and I'm not proud of it. This is supposed to be one the best sci-fi first-person-shooter games ever, and the ancestor of Half-Life, Deus Ex, Bioshock, Portal, etc. There's no excuse not to play it as soon as possible.

I've tried correcting this a few times now, but its too late for me. I've been using the long standardized FPS user interface of WASD keyboard controls and mouselook for so long, I can't go back (and you can't customize your way around the problem). I'm not offended by old graphics at all, but its so far out of context now that I can't get past hunt-the-pixel type exercises anymore. The spirit is strong, but my hands and eyes are weak.

Luckily, there is a mature scene of people who make playthrough videos and archive them on Youtube. This is a great boon to retrogamers who want to recall gaming memories that are hard to retrieve. And by extrapolation, after having played so many games over so many years, it feels pretty close to having played it yourself. There is no need to try to emulate old environments on the modern computer, which often can't be reproduced. Of course you lose the immersion of playing it yourself, but if you just want a quick stroll down memory lane, its fast and easy.

After all, you really can't go back again anyway. An old game, taken out of the context of what gaming was like at the time it came out, rarely provides the same experience today. Only a few special games transcend the technology of their time. Sadly I suspect System Shock might be one of these games, but I can not go back that far. I'm grateful someone else can, and took the time to share it. Hopefully it will be enough.

I'm starting with "Joey's System Shock Commentary". Hopefully it will be good enough, because once I spoil the ending, there's no do-over. After all this time, I've avoided any detailed spoilers, but I can't help but guess what happens when you pit a lone hacker against a psychotic AI. Let's watch...

We were there when it happened, when gaming went video.

We were playing pinball, and board-games, and role-playing games, but it wasn't enough. Then came arcades, and consoles and computers cheap enough to have at home.

We were the first, and now we are the last of the original video gamers, and we are still gaming.