System Shock 2 should be compared to Deus Ex, what come out year later and also was acclaimed. Fact that it was not compared to something it was not, most likely did help.
The ending is also cathartic though. Because after 10 hours or so of being alone, fighting for your life, managing every resource, straining every sinew, you too are thinking 'nah' and just want it to end.
tbh, I had an entirely different experience when I went through and replayed the game again. I was running through on super speed with psionics pretty soon, stabbing everything to death with a laser sword. Having preknowledge helps a lot.
I've always found the 'nah' kind of perfect. Shodan's whole thing is that she's grandiose and prone to giving speeches which were grandiose and dismissive at the same time. She's been giving "Goggles" shit the whole game calling him an insect and the like. Even at the end, when she's at his mercy, she can't help but insult him. Having a reply, thats not even a word, is a perfect counterpoint to the verbose Shodan and also adds insult to injury.
32:40 - While Ken Levine deserves a ton of credit for the overall game design and knowing what worked about the first game enough to streamline the experience, much of the credit for the "ambient noise" aspect of the horror arguably belongs to Eric Brosius, who took the limitations of the Dark Engine and wielded them incredibly effectively, starting with Thief. To my mind, his Magnum opus is the level "Robbing The Cradle" from Thief: Deadly Shadows, which combines every nuance of using sound to create a sense of horror and fear, and turns it up to eleven without it ever becoming intrusive.
System Shock 2 is nothing like half life because of its atmosphere. It was the best Alien game until Alien Isolation in terms of capturing that utterly horrifying sense of aloneness, fears of biological, nuclear warfare, technology turning against us, corporate malfeasance and greed, and the potential that the confluence of these will lead to our utter annihilation of the species ... and you're always alone, there are no safe areas.
@@Grandmastergav86 Agreed, I don't even think it's worth comparing the two. One game pushes you through a linear gaunlet and limits everything you get. SS2 gives you most of what you need, but regardless still makes it difficult. SS2 is a mind game.
"The reason players hoard 4 different weapons is because the player knows they can't rely on any one of them." *Menacingly brandishes a very sturdy wrench*
I remember my first time playing SS2 Walking around and carefully killing the mutants in desperate shotgun to wrench combat. And out of nowhere the Manny is talking to me. I was shaking, crouching in a corner and equipped my shotgun the first time nervously checking my surroundings. I wanted to put the gun in my mouth. It was one of my favourite horror moments.
I did that exact thing too!… I’m 23. But then I realized, I can Mohammad Ali the many, and then I could run. Still hate those spiders and cyborg ninjas. I just finished the game last night, and I’m glad I did. Now a psi play though.
This has to be one of the best replies I've had from anyone on YT! ;) So I'm in the middle of a Blind Prey Playthrough right now (which I've heard is basically System Shock 3?) but will get on to SS2 very soon. You played Prey at all?
System Shock 2 is honestly at its best on "Impossible" difficulty. Early on you're so low on upgrade items that you need to think very carefully about what you'll upgrade, and even then it will leave you wanting for more. You'll also end up carrying multiple guns at almost all times, because those maintenance tools are quite rare early on and wasting upgrade items on them means you will have to wait even longer until you can access more useful things. Oh and your starting health is 10 and max health is 30, or 35 if you get that +5 hp ability. The first enemy of the game deals 10 damage if they hit you with a pipe on the head. It's rather intense.
Yes, and after finishing Impossible I tried to finish the game on Impossible without saving, just using the regeneration chambers. I died on the ladder to the Rikenbacker (there's no chamber there) and never tried again.
That's how I play Call of Chernobyl... sudden death. It really does make gun fights more intense. Given SS2 is linear, I imagine it gets old faster though.
When I found out that the elevator saves whatever is dropped in it, I started keeping all of the weapons and ammo in there. Even then it's a tough game because you only get so much ammo. It's definitely a marathon of survival even at normal difficulty.
+AesirAesthetics, After completing your examination of System shock and Bioshock, could you analyse the Deus Ex, Thief and the Vampire: The Masquerade series. As well as reviewing Warren Spector's career.
+AesirAesthetics, Also whilst considering interesting games, I would love to hear your opinion about LA. Noire (developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games in 2011).
*I hope you have enjoyed reading this essay as much as I have enjoyed writing it* lol Honestly awesome video though, just found your channel and really enjoying it.
My teachers don't consider videogames as art or a way for story telling, but videogames impact your feelings better because you are the character. Other arts make you feel for the characters, but videogames tend to make you feel what the character is feeling, and system shock 2 does a good job at making you feel the tension.
I appreciate this video man. Looking Glass Studios on of my favorite games System shock 2 and Thief. Ran into this video and understand even more of the game.
Today I found out about this channel by accident and I'm impressed by both System Shock videos. Honestly I only clicked because I saw SS content. Great job dude
I just stumbled across it myself today. I clicked for the same reason. I haven't played this in almost 20 years and it really takes you back, doesn't it? It IS a good channel! A very thorough analysis of a masterpiece!
one of the lowkey things in system shock 2 is the stealth, imagine if there were more of the stealth elements from thief, in addition to the guns and psi amps you can get in the game
I don't know if you've ever played it, but Prey, developed by arkane studios, is basically dishonoured meets system shock/BioShock. It's got stealth, "magic abilities", gunplay, open-ish world spaces, and a fairly decent story.
rpg mechanics isn't just "leveling up" or "stat progression". It's Role Playing it's not busy work for people with a dopamine starved brains, that's not what an RPG is.
“smart man’s Half-Life” I know this is wrong but my brain is only giving me comparisons. Right down to a set of final levels that HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK.
I tried this old great game on a triple screen setup playing on a res. of 7680x1600. and to my BIG surprise , it scales PERFECT, it was a MAJOR supprise for an old game ,
JUST finished system shock 2 tonight. I probably have to replay it again to get the full experience. While it does some things better then the first. I like system shock 1 better then 2 right now. Not to say ss2 is bad. It's just I was a bit overwhelmed with all the upgrades I could do. I think in terms of gameplay, sound design and story. Ss2 triumphs ss1. Ss1 has better combat and level design in my opinion. I hope ss2 will become one of my favorite games ever, once I replay ss2.
Thing about SS2 is that you need to really focus on like no more than maybe 5 skills or you'll fuck yourself. Game is no more impossible than fallout 2 though I feel, because as long as you know what your doing you'll be ok.
Are you using some sort of weapon skin mod, or does the weapons design differ between different regional versions of the game? Almost all of the weapons in your footage look different from the weapons i see in my game.
This was an excellent video. I became interested in the system shock games about 3 years ago. However the games were hard to get into and I only recently finished playin through both system shock 1 and 2. It was really interesting learning about the development this game went through, hearing your analysis of its gameplay, and learning of the content cut from the games finale(it felt rushed). It really is a damn shame you don’t have more subscribers because it is obvious you put a lot of love and work into your videos. Here’s to wishing you a great new year and finding success on UA-cam in 2018.
so there is something i have wanted to talk about but feel like i am the only one who ever noticed this. basically what the story is i think her name was rebeca in one of tommys logs he mentions rebeca was down in engeringing the same time as you. okay fine that is all fine. what bugs me about that is the following. on deck 6 she is somehow ahead of you and met up with tommy which to me makes very little sense because until you activate the transmiter she is locked out of deck 6. all fine and good but in theory rebeca would litreally have to be waiting at the elevator to deck 6 the second you activate the transmiter. and even then she has what like a 2-3 min head start to met tommy. i just feel like again unless she was for whatever reason waiting or walked to the elevator to deck 6 just as you activated the transmiter there is no way for her to be ahead of you. and maybe i am missing something but it it is something no one has ever noticed or pointed out and i want to hear what other peoples thoughts are.(other then its a video game and i am overthinking things)
To be honest, I tried to get into SS2 twice, first time I got to the second ship, second time not even there and it just didn't click with me. Yet now I am playing the first one and I do enjoy it quite a lot. Feels more like Shock game. The new Prey seemed to me much more like continuation of first Shock (though really similar to SS2- praxis kits, recycling, research, I feel like it does the formula better).
41:55 - As I understand things, it's not so much that the developers said "Nah", so much as Looking Glass almost folded several times during the development of Thief 2 (which was being developed alongside Shock 2). Ken Levine's only significant retrospective criticism of Looking Glass is that, as a studio, their business sense lagged behind their creativity - and I can well imagine that as the financial restrictions began to bite, Irrational felt forced to rush the development of the latter part of the game in order to hit the planned release date. This would have been down to a very real probability that if they didn't ship then, they might not have the opportunity to ship anything at all. In the end, it took Eidos and Sony underwriting Looking Glass just long enough for them to ship Thief 2 - pulling the plug very shortly afterwards. I think it's worth noting that Shock 2's development budget was $1.7 million - just over half of that of Thief 1. I'd argue the fact that Looking Glass/Irrational were able to produce a completely new original title on a budget only slightly higher than that of most contemporary ports of existing content to other platforms is actually pretty amazing.
I didn't know that Sony and Eidos had to underwrite Looking Glass/Irrational. I also didn't know the budget constraints. Very interesting indeed. Thanks, Man. I appreciate the info. So, when they did pull the plug, was Thief 2 ported to the PS 2? I vaguely remember it did make it onto the new hardware. Am I right about that? Or..did it come to PC first? I don't think so. If I remember right, PC was last, wasn't it?
When I was young this game was something I was unable to play due to fact than I have not been owner of the computer and all gaming in that time consist from starcraft and halflife and some others games which we played in local coffee over the LAN. After I was wanted to do so I have got the problem with new versions of windows so I did not played it. Just few time I tried it when it was possible to do so. But quality of the game speak to me to today. Imersive game for the first time then became morrowind, but even I played game very rare and never deep enough still made on me very big impression and fact that it is sort of morrowind in universe makes me thrills even today. Great review. Thanks.
This video made me subscribe, loved your insights. This is one of those evergreen games that I play through every couple years or so and it never gets old. Here is hoping System Shock 3 is at least as good as this was!
Not so sure about the stealth stuff. Most enemies just aren't aware of you, if you're not in front of them. Even if you shoot a gun next to them. Or even at them, becase they're usually dead by the time they acknowledge you. But maybe that's different on higher difficulties.
An excellent video! Very well done! Wow! This really takes me back. I remember playing this on PC when it came out. I loved it! A friend of mine introduced me to it on a high end custom rig. It was out around the same time as Serious Sam and Half Life. All three were considered state of the art at that time too - 2000/2001. We were still playing Doom then. These were new 1st person shooters with more abilities and playing it on PC was the only way to play. Consoles weren't that good yet. He'd be playing Counterstrike online while I was playing this and Serious Sam. Online was fairly new even for PC's. We played these and nothing else for a year straight..until I got a PS 2. That's when Silent Hill 2 came out and I had been waiting for it and itching to get a Sony controller back in my hands. I never really cared for keyboard and mouse..but, that was the only to play unless you had a controller for PC. Nobody really did then because it was still considered a luxury item and pretty pricey. Everything was and memory was especially expensive. A great analysis of a great game. It has become pretty hard to find now if you do want to play it. It's worth the effort though.
Well I saw your videos on SS1 and 2. I don’t agree with certain things but overall it’s a great analysis and reflection con the design decisions of these great games. I’m subscribing.
Oh wow! You said the SAME thing I did! I was just saying that I was playing this up until the PS 2 came out and Silent Hill 2. That's my all-time favorite too! The first 4 Team Silent installments just can't be beat! 2 was the height of their success! The Fatal Frame series was another great series. They don't get their due recognition. Again, the 2nd one in that series was the best too! Both Kanomi and Tecmo really pushed the hardware to it's limits and it really paid off. You and I are on the same wavelength! I couldn't agree more.
*spend wholE game chasing behind Delacroix* *finally find her location* "DON'T GO IN THAT ROOM INSECT" *goes in there anyway lol* *SHODAN takes 20 cybermodules from you while mocking you* Best 20 cybermodules I ever spent.
I think it's probably fair to include Prey 2017 in the pantheon of 'Shock' games, as it was internally called Psycho-Shock throughout development, and only got renamed as *Prey* for (slightly obscure) Bethesda marketing reasons late into it's product release phase - Also, just playing it tells you that it's a 'Shock' title through and through
"the good thing for returning players is that they are optional" - and of course enable scumming for infinite amounts of nanites and ammo. but that's beside the point ;)
Beautiful synopsis of the game. Well done sir! One question though - why didn't you use the lean keys to their full advantage? Leaning around corners for cover while shooting is priceless against turrets. Leaning forward allows you to harvest eggs without them hatching to get their healing organs (and proceed to shotgun them to bits). The laser pistol is probably the most useful next to the wrench once you memorize the charging ststion locations.
you know what i really do think system shock 2 and deus ex were both games ahead of their times. the only games i think that sort of come close to being on par with system shock 2 and deus ex are well the bioshock series and fallout 3, new vagas, 4 and yes even 76(despite what a failure that game is) i would also say the oblivion and skyrim are on par with system shock 2 and deus ex. one other game i would add is deadspace. other then the games i just mentioned i can not think of many other games that feel on par with system shock 2 or deus ex. even deus ex 2 and its prequels are not on par with what how ahead of its time system shock 2 and deus ex are. that being said i do question on if games like fallout and elder scrolls are well ahead of our time as well. as i would also say that red dead redeption 2 and gta 5 and breath of the wild are games that quite frankly meet what i now consider to be the standard of what a video game should be. I want to say the witcher 3 could also be a part of that list but there are issues with its map as it did end up feeling a bit liner with how the game had the story progress.
Huge fan of System Shock 2, I think it did so much right. Some of the failings to get into mainstream were essential for it to be a success in its own right, like the horror elements. However the meta was a bit jarring and could lead folks to find it more unfair than enjoyable in some cases.
I loved System Shock. I found this game(System Shock 2) became un playable and frustrating way to fast. There just wasn't a skill level where I could make any progress in the game. It should have had things like weapon repair in the more advanced skill levels.
Loving this video so far. Just wanted to say though that at 15:33 it sounds like you say "blent together". English being the way it is, you would actually say "blended together". I know it's a bit misleading since the past participle of bend is bent, but the past participle of blend is blended.
This game becomes grosser the further you delve in its mazes and I hate how well it gets under my skin. Very good analysis of a classic that changed video games for better!
@@AesirAesthetics i suppose i should have said "acquire and experience". Sorry for the misunderstanding in my choice of words. I definitely want to play this considered i missed out on it ( and many others) from that time frame. Excellent content,keep up the outstanding work!
One of the great elements of SS2 besides the sound design, was the cloying and stark interiors void of inessential decorative detail.. Games like Doom3 have overly busy and distracting set design.
40:55 no it actually doesn't so you didn't find her corpse? The ending is of course a different matter. edit: and yes what portal does SS2 did way earlier
@@AesirAesthetics Yeah with eggs looking similar to the ones from Aliens in the vanilla game and I saw the pulse rifle, I said: "They totally did just rip that right from Aliens." lol.
Kind of late to the thread, but I'd love to see one of these on Deus Ex, which to my "mind", is the best of this genre (sometimes called 0451 or 451 games) and hence the GOAT Game!
Wait what? BioShock is in the same lore as System Shock? How? Is System Shock just multiple decades after the events of BioShock? What happened to Plasmids? Adam? The multiple timelines from Infinite, etc
Great video, thanks! I have to disagree on one point however: the way I see it, charakter stats and upgrade points don't make a role playing game, player agenda and interaction do. So in that respect I'd even argue that SS2 is LESS of an RPG than it's predecessor which is much more open and less guided.
I was with you until you said System Shock 2 couldn't be done with a controller. That's ridiculous. Right now, System Shock is available for both the Xbox Series X and PS5. We (fiancee and I) have the game for both machines, so I can confirm there are no issues with the controller.
obv improvement over ur SS1 video, which used all still slides and big bright colorful text lol. However having watched SS1 Critique in full as a BRAND new fan? Im BEYOND impressed w your early work which ive watched ALL of, not JUST Sys SHock 1 Critique. Love the channel, keep it up forever bro! Fledgeling Vidyatuber myself, hope to collab w you someday! (Maybe sooner rather than later to boost my subs? hehehe jkjk....unless 0.0 KEK) ANYWAYS, love the content, subbed faster than i could even decide TO sub. Will keep up w every new vid day it drops. Much Love! - King Leek
btw this isnt my main YT folks, dont wanna advertise on someone elses content especially not any1 i respect and adore as much as Mr Aesthetics here! One Love
Honestly, I don't really think anyone actually played through system shock 2 without quick saving and quick loading, at least not on their first run. I could see people doing it on later runs though for extra challenge
System Shock was great...Bioshock was...ehh...O.K. Had it's moments. I like linear shooters too....but I never got into Bioshock much. You'd expect malls and stuff on a spaceship. People NEED recreation....it can't be all work. Travelling for weeks and months you're effectively living there...so yeah people are gonna play basketball.
The Portal series seems to be a remake of System Shock series. 1st Game: You awake from a coma and fight an AI 2nd Game: The same AI forms an alliance with you to defeat the other anime.
When I saw the shotgun I knew that model was from AvP 2, then I saw the pulse Rife and lost itxD I know the mod your playing is graphically upgrade one, but was the weaponry another mod?
AesirAesthetics ahh very well great video my man, the Shock series is one of my favorite and I have a passion for how video games are made and how influential they can be. To me Ken Levine is the James Cameron of video game stories and I can't wait to see what his next project is, nor can I wait for the system shock 3.
"that and i doubt that EA would let an unplayable game to release in a marklet that was still high from doom and half life" those words spoiled like milk and rotten flesh
I'm grateful for the warm response of this video AND I'm thankful that no one noticed the hack photoshop job I did for the thumbnail.
Update, found a better thumbnail.
Are you using a mod? Weapons and enemies look different.
It's a visual upgrade my footage providers used.
@yvwe 888 Father's
System Shock 2 should be compared to Deus Ex, what come out year later and also was acclaimed. Fact that it was not compared to something it was not, most likely did help.
The ending is also cathartic though. Because after 10 hours or so of being alone, fighting for your life, managing every resource, straining every sinew, you too are thinking 'nah' and just want it to end.
Wasn't quite the end though, was it...............
tbh, I had an entirely different experience when I went through and replayed the game again. I was running through on super speed with psionics pretty soon, stabbing everything to death with a laser sword. Having preknowledge helps a lot.
I've always found the 'nah' kind of perfect. Shodan's whole thing is that she's grandiose and prone to giving speeches which were grandiose and dismissive at the same time. She's been giving "Goggles" shit the whole game calling him an insect and the like. Even at the end, when she's at his mercy, she can't help but insult him. Having a reply, thats not even a word, is a perfect counterpoint to the verbose Shodan and also adds insult to injury.
Yeah she talks alot, while the player character is the perfect silent protagonist
Tbh I thought the same. I love Shodan but if she / it was gonna go down, it would be to cyberpunk levels of snark.
32:40 - While Ken Levine deserves a ton of credit for the overall game design and knowing what worked about the first game enough to streamline the experience, much of the credit for the "ambient noise" aspect of the horror arguably belongs to Eric Brosius, who took the limitations of the Dark Engine and wielded them incredibly effectively, starting with Thief. To my mind, his Magnum opus is the level "Robbing The Cradle" from Thief: Deadly Shadows, which combines every nuance of using sound to create a sense of horror and fear, and turns it up to eleven without it ever becoming intrusive.
Eric and Terri Brosius were in the band Tribe too, which released some good songs.
System Shock 2 is nothing like half life because of its atmosphere. It was the best Alien game until Alien Isolation in terms of capturing that utterly horrifying sense of aloneness, fears of biological, nuclear warfare, technology turning against us, corporate malfeasance and greed, and the potential that the confluence of these will lead to our utter annihilation of the species ... and you're always alone, there are no safe areas.
When Alien : Isolation came out I couldn't wait to play it, because when I read about the concept, I just said "It's System Shock with a Xenomorph"!
@@turricanedtc3764 it's kinda meh, Alien that is
Am i the only one who felt like a killing machine from beginning to end?
@@Grandmastergav86 Agreed, I don't even think it's worth comparing the two. One game pushes you through a linear gaunlet and limits everything you get. SS2 gives you most of what you need, but regardless still makes it difficult. SS2 is a mind game.
Dead Space 1 would be a good contender in terms of the atmosphere, horror, and technological fear!
"The reason players hoard 4 different weapons is because the player knows they can't rely on any one of them."
*Menacingly brandishes a very sturdy wrench*
Or a Crystal Shard/Laser Sword. Take your pick
@@AstralPhnx The sword returns in Prey Mooncrash, aaayyy
Hoard*
@@afrog2666 Thank you ^_^
And then it turns out your meele weapon deals no damage to Shodan, so you watch the ending on UA-cam ;_;
I remember my first time playing SS2
Walking around and carefully killing the mutants in desperate shotgun to wrench combat.
And out of nowhere the Manny is talking to me.
I was shaking, crouching in a corner and equipped my shotgun the first time nervously checking my surroundings.
I wanted to put the gun in my mouth.
It was one of my favourite horror moments.
I did that exact thing too!… I’m 23. But then I realized, I can Mohammad Ali the many, and then I could run. Still hate those spiders and cyborg ninjas. I just finished the game last night, and I’m glad I did. Now a psi play though.
Don't know this channel.. but I see System Shock, I watch.
I'm thinking of doing a System Shock 2 LP.. would you be interested?
Reqnr
Does a bear shit in the Woods?!
Absolutely, dude! I’ll enable notifications from you right now and watch for it!
This has to be one of the best replies I've had from anyone on YT! ;)
So I'm in the middle of a Blind Prey Playthrough right now (which I've heard is basically System Shock 3?) but will get on to SS2 very soon.
You played Prey at all?
Who doesn't karen, who doesn't
This is such a mood
System Shock 2 is honestly at its best on "Impossible" difficulty. Early on you're so low on upgrade items that you need to think very carefully about what you'll upgrade, and even then it will leave you wanting for more. You'll also end up carrying multiple guns at almost all times, because those maintenance tools are quite rare early on and wasting upgrade items on them means you will have to wait even longer until you can access more useful things.
Oh and your starting health is 10 and max health is 30, or 35 if you get that +5 hp ability. The first enemy of the game deals 10 damage if they hit you with a pipe on the head. It's rather intense.
Yes, and after finishing Impossible I tried to finish the game on Impossible without saving, just using the regeneration chambers. I died on the ladder to the Rikenbacker (there's no chamber there) and never tried again.
No offence, but that feels like how a masochist would play the game.
That's how I play Call of Chernobyl... sudden death. It really does make gun fights more intense. Given SS2 is linear, I imagine it gets old faster though.
This game is always on impossible mode
@@joemacdougall9205 Compared to other games, SS2 on Impossible was quite managable. Great game.
When I found out that the elevator saves whatever is dropped in it, I started keeping all of the weapons and ammo in there. Even then it's a tough game because you only get so much ammo. It's definitely a marathon of survival even at normal difficulty.
What a great game Shock 2 was, great memories!
+AesirAesthetics,
After completing your examination of System shock and Bioshock, could you analyse the Deus Ex, Thief and the Vampire: The Masquerade series. As well as reviewing Warren Spector's career.
+AesirAesthetics,
Also whilst considering interesting games, I would love to hear your opinion about LA. Noire (developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games in 2011).
+Mark Edworthy sure, can't promise to do it right after but those are games to cover down the track.
+Mark Edworthy sure, can't promise to do it right after but those are games to cover down the track.
Please all those games!!
*I hope you have enjoyed reading this essay as much as I have enjoyed writing it* lol
Honestly awesome video though, just found your channel and really enjoying it.
My teachers don't consider videogames as art or a way for story telling, but videogames impact your feelings better because you are the character. Other arts make you feel for the characters, but videogames tend to make you feel what the character is feeling, and system shock 2 does a good job at making you feel the tension.
Your teachers are outdated and ignorant, unfortunately.
System Shock 2 is my favorite horror game of all time. Just finished beating it again yesterday. :D
There was actually an audio-log that didnt make it into the game that told about the Many releasing a gas that rusted intricate machinery (guns etc)
Remember that it is my will that guided you here.
This was one of the best coop games I've ever played.
Very high quality video. Enjoyed every minute of it.
+HuloHaj:)
After your SS1 vid I was expecting this video to be made. Nice work man
Thanks :)
I appreciate this video man. Looking Glass Studios on of my favorite games System shock 2 and Thief. Ran into this video and understand even more of the game.
this gem of a work needs more views, truly up there with the great ones
Thanks
Today I found out about this channel by accident and I'm impressed by both System Shock videos. Honestly I only clicked because I saw SS content. Great job dude
I just stumbled across it myself today. I clicked for the same reason. I haven't played this in almost 20 years and it really takes you back, doesn't it? It IS a good channel! A very thorough analysis of a masterpiece!
one of the lowkey things in system shock 2 is the stealth, imagine if there were more of the stealth elements from thief, in addition to the guns and psi amps you can get in the game
I don't know if you've ever played it, but Prey, developed by arkane studios, is basically dishonoured meets system shock/BioShock. It's got stealth, "magic abilities", gunplay, open-ish world spaces, and a fairly decent story.
rpg mechanics isn't just "leveling up" or "stat progression". It's Role Playing it's not busy work for people with a dopamine starved brains, that's not what an RPG is.
Literally sat down while my coffee was brewing. Nice!
:)
“smart man’s Half-Life”
I know this is wrong but my brain is only giving me comparisons. Right down to a set of final levels that HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK.
You deserve more subs mate, truly.
Thanks.
I tried this old great game on a triple screen setup playing on a res. of 7680x1600. and to my BIG surprise , it scales PERFECT, it was a MAJOR supprise for an old game ,
JUST finished system shock 2 tonight. I probably have to replay it again to get the full experience. While it does some things better then the first. I like system shock 1 better then 2 right now. Not to say ss2 is bad. It's just I was a bit overwhelmed with all the upgrades I could do. I think in terms of gameplay, sound design and story. Ss2 triumphs ss1. Ss1 has better combat and level design in my opinion. I hope ss2 will become one of my favorite games ever, once I replay ss2.
Thing about SS2 is that you need to really focus on like no more than maybe 5 skills or you'll fuck yourself. Game is no more impossible than fallout 2 though I feel, because as long as you know what your doing you'll be ok.
Great video, I really want to replay system shock 2 now, this game used to scare me so much when I was a little girl.
Are you using some sort of weapon skin mod, or does the weapons design differ between different regional versions of the game? Almost all of the weapons in your footage look different from the weapons i see in my game.
This was an excellent video. I became interested in the system shock games about 3 years ago. However the games were hard to get into and I only recently finished playin through both system shock 1 and 2.
It was really interesting learning about the development this game went through, hearing your analysis of its gameplay, and learning of the content cut from the games finale(it felt rushed). It really is a damn shame you don’t have more subscribers because it is obvious you put a lot of love and work into your videos.
Here’s to wishing you a great new year and finding success on UA-cam in 2018.
+Heart0Darkness thanks, glad you enjoyed :D
so there is something i have wanted to talk about but feel like i am the only one who ever noticed this. basically what the story is i think her name was rebeca in one of tommys logs he mentions rebeca was down in engeringing the same time as you. okay fine that is all fine. what bugs me about that is the following. on deck 6 she is somehow ahead of you and met up with tommy which to me makes very little sense because until you activate the transmiter she is locked out of deck 6. all fine and good but in theory rebeca would litreally have to be waiting at the elevator to deck 6 the second you activate the transmiter. and even then she has what like a 2-3 min head start to met tommy. i just feel like again unless she was for whatever reason waiting or walked to the elevator to deck 6 just as you activated the transmiter there is no way for her to be ahead of you. and maybe i am missing something but it it is something no one has ever noticed or pointed out and i want to hear what other peoples thoughts are.(other then its a video game and i am overthinking things)
Dude! This video is unreal: the passion and detail. This channel is on another level! Please keep it up!
the most terrifying game of all time
To be honest, I tried to get into SS2 twice, first time I got to the second ship, second time not even there and it just didn't click with me. Yet now I am playing the first one and I do enjoy it quite a lot. Feels more like Shock game. The new Prey seemed to me much more like continuation of first Shock (though really similar to SS2- praxis kits, recycling, research, I feel like it does the formula better).
41:55 - As I understand things, it's not so much that the developers said "Nah", so much as Looking Glass almost folded several times during the development of Thief 2 (which was being developed alongside Shock 2). Ken Levine's only significant retrospective criticism of Looking Glass is that, as a studio, their business sense lagged behind their creativity - and I can well imagine that as the financial restrictions began to bite, Irrational felt forced to rush the development of the latter part of the game in order to hit the planned release date. This would have been down to a very real probability that if they didn't ship then, they might not have the opportunity to ship anything at all. In the end, it took Eidos and Sony underwriting Looking Glass just long enough for them to ship Thief 2 - pulling the plug very shortly afterwards. I think it's worth noting that Shock 2's development budget was $1.7 million - just over half of that of Thief 1. I'd argue the fact that Looking Glass/Irrational were able to produce a completely new original title on a budget only slightly higher than that of most contemporary ports of existing content to other platforms is actually pretty amazing.
I didn't know that Sony and Eidos had to underwrite Looking Glass/Irrational. I also didn't know the budget constraints. Very interesting indeed. Thanks, Man. I appreciate the info. So, when they did pull the plug, was Thief 2 ported to the PS 2? I vaguely remember it did make it onto the new hardware. Am I right about that? Or..did it come to PC first? I don't think so. If I remember right, PC was last, wasn't it?
When I was young this game was something I was unable to play due to fact than I have not been owner of the computer and all gaming in that time consist from starcraft and halflife and some others games which we played in local coffee over the LAN. After I was wanted to do so I have got the problem with new versions of windows so I did not played it. Just few time I tried it when it was possible to do so. But quality of the game speak to me to today. Imersive game for the first time then became morrowind, but even I played game very rare and never deep enough still made on me very big impression and fact that it is sort of morrowind in universe makes me thrills even today. Great review. Thanks.
This video made me subscribe, loved your insights. This is one of those evergreen games that I play through every couple years or so and it never gets old. Here is hoping System Shock 3 is at least as good as this was!
Not so sure about the stealth stuff. Most enemies just aren't aware of you, if you're not in front of them. Even if you shoot a gun next to them. Or even at them, becase they're usually dead by the time they acknowledge you.
But maybe that's different on higher difficulties.
Looking back on this game, i can't really think of an item i didn't find genuinely useful at atleast one point.
mhm, even just that items can make noise, gives them some value to you
Having not a white background, really enhances that watching experience.
An excellent video! Very well done! Wow! This really takes me back. I remember playing this on PC when it came out. I loved it! A friend of mine introduced me to it on a high end custom rig. It was out around the same time as Serious Sam and Half Life. All three were considered state of the art at that time too - 2000/2001. We were still playing Doom then. These were new 1st person shooters with more abilities and playing it on PC was the only way to play. Consoles weren't that good yet. He'd be playing Counterstrike online while I was playing this and Serious Sam. Online was fairly new even for PC's. We played these and nothing else for a year straight..until I got a PS 2. That's when Silent Hill 2 came out and I had been waiting for it and itching to get a Sony controller back in my hands. I never really cared for keyboard and mouse..but, that was the only to play unless you had a controller for PC. Nobody really did then because it was still considered a luxury item and pretty pricey. Everything was and memory was especially expensive. A great analysis of a great game. It has become pretty hard to find now if you do want to play it. It's worth the effort though.
What is a drop of rain, compared to the storm
Was Shodan's portrait inspired by H.R. Giger?
Well I saw your videos on SS1 and 2. I don’t agree with certain things but overall it’s a great analysis and reflection con the design decisions of these great games. I’m subscribing.
You did another one of my favorite games, after Silent Hill 2! Can't wait to watch this.
Oh wow! You said the SAME thing I did! I was just saying that I was playing this up until the PS 2 came out and Silent Hill 2. That's my all-time favorite too! The first 4 Team Silent installments just can't be beat! 2 was the height of their success! The Fatal Frame series was another great series. They don't get their due recognition. Again, the 2nd one in that series was the best too! Both Kanomi and Tecmo really pushed the hardware to it's limits and it really paid off. You and I are on the same wavelength! I couldn't agree more.
You do an amazing job covering these games in depth. Just an idea for a future video, twisted metal and twisted metal 2 if you haven’t done them yet!
Thank you :D
*spend wholE game chasing behind Delacroix*
*finally find her location*
"DON'T GO IN THAT ROOM INSECT"
*goes in there anyway lol*
*SHODAN takes 20 cybermodules from you while mocking you*
Best 20 cybermodules I ever spent.
If you have 0 cybermodules she has nothing take and then you can have some from Delacroix.
I think it's probably fair to include Prey 2017 in the pantheon of 'Shock' games,
as it was internally called Psycho-Shock throughout development, and only got renamed as *Prey* for (slightly obscure) Bethesda marketing reasons late into it's product release phase
- Also, just playing it tells you that it's a 'Shock' title through and through
A real ripper legend. Giving this video a thumbs up
Enjoyed the video, but I think you should had used vanilla version footage of SS2 instead of graphics mod
Excellent video dude
+Qualehdi Almedillu thanks
that wrench looks exactly the same like wrench model from Half-Life: Opposing force
Yeah....your right!
"the good thing for returning players is that they are optional" - and of course enable scumming for infinite amounts of nanites and ammo. but that's beside the point ;)
Beautiful synopsis of the game. Well done sir! One question though - why didn't you use the lean keys to their full advantage?
Leaning around corners for cover while shooting is priceless against turrets.
Leaning forward allows you to harvest eggs without them hatching to get their healing organs (and proceed to shotgun them to bits).
The laser pistol is probably the most useful next to the wrench once you memorize the charging ststion locations.
Watching this was a treat. Fantastic job!
haha the Æslandik akksent is amuSingly noticeable :)
you know what i really do think system shock 2 and deus ex were both games ahead of their times. the only games i think that sort of come close to being on par with system shock 2 and deus ex are well the bioshock series and fallout 3, new vagas, 4 and yes even 76(despite what a failure that game is) i would also say the oblivion and skyrim are on par with system shock 2 and deus ex. one other game i would add is deadspace. other then the games i just mentioned i can not think of many other games that feel on par with system shock 2 or deus ex. even deus ex 2 and its prequels are not on par with what how ahead of its time system shock 2 and deus ex are. that being said i do question on if games like fallout and elder scrolls are well ahead of our time as well. as i would also say that red dead redeption 2 and gta 5 and breath of the wild are games that quite frankly meet what i now consider to be the standard of what a video game should be. I want to say the witcher 3 could also be a part of that list but there are issues with its map as it did end up feeling a bit liner with how the game had the story progress.
Huge fan of System Shock 2, I think it did so much right. Some of the failings to get into mainstream were essential for it to be a success in its own right, like the horror elements. However the meta was a bit jarring and could lead folks to find it more unfair than enjoyable in some cases.
I loved System Shock. I found this game(System Shock 2) became un playable and frustrating way to fast. There just wasn't a skill level where I could make any progress in the game. It should have had things like weapon repair in the more advanced skill levels.
Loving this video so far. Just wanted to say though that at 15:33 it sounds like you say "blent together". English being the way it is, you would actually say "blended together". I know it's a bit misleading since the past participle of bend is bent, but the past participle of blend is blended.
+J. Soul One of these days I will make a grammar proof video.
Watching this again for the 100k. Heres to you buddy
i still rember the zombie and robot in the game，，，scared me 😅
This game becomes grosser the further you delve in its mazes and I hate how well it gets under my skin. Very good analysis of a classic that changed video games for better!
Haven't finished the video yet but you should really provide a disclaimer at the beginning about the high definition mods you're using in the footage.
SS2 video? Nice!
Great video!
What would be the best way to experience this game now? I didn't have computer games back in the day,my computer was barely functional at the time.
Same as back then.
Playing it for yourself without any spoilers
@@AesirAesthetics i suppose i should have said "acquire and experience". Sorry for the misunderstanding in my choice of words. I definitely want to play this considered i missed out on it ( and many others) from that time frame. Excellent content,keep up the outstanding work!
Still one of my favourite PC games. HD remake when?
I have headcanon that Player is on side of monkeys from easter egg.
38:35 When you're at that point and have a grenade launcher, set the grenades to bounce mode. It'll help.
Shodan: "ur mom gey"
Player: "no u"
Way better than Noah Gervais videos
One of the great elements of SS2 besides the sound design, was the cloying and stark interiors void of inessential decorative detail.. Games like Doom3 have overly busy and distracting set design.
very true
40:55 no it actually doesn't so you didn't find her corpse? The ending is of course a different matter.
edit: and yes what portal does SS2 did way earlier
I'm guessing the von braun is a reference to wernher von braun, original head of nasa and nazi.
True, and rickenbacker was a Pilot in ww1
37:26 did you mod that or does this game literally come with a pulse rifle from Alien series?
It's a mod, lol
@@AesirAesthetics Yeah with eggs looking similar to the ones from Aliens in the vanilla game and I saw the pulse rifle, I said: "They totally did just rip that right from Aliens." lol.
Kind of late to the thread, but I'd love to see one of these on Deus Ex, which to my "mind", is the best of this genre (sometimes called 0451 or 451 games) and hence the GOAT Game!
Wait what? BioShock is in the same lore as System Shock? How? Is System Shock just multiple decades after the events of BioShock? What happened to Plasmids? Adam? The multiple timelines from Infinite, etc
I don't know I liked system shock 1 more but I dident play ss2 till like 5 years after it was released I missed it somehow
Great video, thanks! I have to disagree on one point however: the way I see it, charakter stats and upgrade points don't make a role playing game, player agenda and interaction do. So in that respect I'd even argue that SS2 is LESS of an RPG than it's predecessor which is much more open and less guided.
I was with you until you said System Shock 2 couldn't be done with a controller. That's ridiculous. Right now, System Shock is available for both the Xbox Series X and PS5. We (fiancee and I) have the game for both machines, so I can confirm there are no issues with the controller.
obv improvement over ur SS1 video, which used all still slides and big bright colorful text lol. However having watched SS1 Critique in full as a BRAND new fan? Im BEYOND impressed w your early work which ive watched ALL of, not JUST Sys SHock 1 Critique. Love the channel, keep it up forever bro! Fledgeling Vidyatuber myself, hope to collab w you someday! (Maybe sooner rather than later to boost my subs? hehehe jkjk....unless 0.0 KEK)
ANYWAYS, love the content, subbed faster than i could even decide TO sub. Will keep up w every new vid day it drops. Much Love!
- King Leek
btw this isnt my main YT folks, dont wanna advertise on someone elses content especially not any1 i respect and adore as much as Mr Aesthetics here!
One Love
Why does bloom filter exist?
Honestly, I don't really think anyone actually played through system shock 2 without quick saving and quick loading, at least not on their first run.
I could see people doing it on later runs though for extra challenge
System Shock was great...Bioshock was...ehh...O.K. Had it's moments. I like linear shooters too....but I never got into Bioshock much. You'd expect malls and stuff on a spaceship. People NEED recreation....it can't be all work. Travelling for weeks and months you're effectively living there...so yeah people are gonna play basketball.
Great analysis. Thank you
:)
I played SS2 but bio reconstructrion newer coast nanit. Surgical tabbel take 10 or 5 nanit to heal player
Oh that Goddamn final gauntlet.
Do videos for Thief trilogy and Alien Isolation
What mod is this? The shotgun looks different.
The Portal series seems to be a remake of System Shock series.
1st Game: You awake from a coma and fight an AI
2nd Game: The same AI forms an alliance with you to defeat the other anime.
cfroi08 What a glorious typo.
@@UncleDeadly1031 typo? That looks perfect
Daniel Woda “defeat the other anime”
@@UncleDeadly1031 as I said that looks perfect ^^
When I saw the shotgun I knew that model was from AvP 2, then I saw the pulse Rife and lost itxD I know the mod your playing is graphically upgrade one, but was the weaponry another mod?
Can't say, the footage I used was recorded by a myriad of youtubers.
AesirAesthetics ahh very well great video my man, the Shock series is one of my favorite and I have a passion for how video games are made and how influential they can be. To me Ken Levine is the James Cameron of video game stories and I can't wait to see what his next project is, nor can I wait for the system shock 3.
idfc that ending is sick
great video, and great game too
+kaleb. :)
Subscribed!
"that and i doubt that EA would let an unplayable game to release in a marklet that was still high from doom and half life" those words spoiled like milk and rotten flesh
where did u get that wepon mod