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.