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...