As everybody looks forward to the next-generation of gaming in 2013, it doesn't hurt to indulge yourself in a little nostalgia to relive the days when Internet connections weren't necessary and the idea of motion-based control was something Tron-esque. Enter System Shock 2, the perfect way to warp back to the last millennium in a mist of suspense and horror.
Thanks to the folks over at Night Dive Studios and GOG.com, PC gamers can head over to GOG.com and pick up System Shock 2 today for the low price of $9.99. The game is a mere 363MB (did you know some smartphone updates are bigger than that?) and is available in English and German. The re-release is only compatible with Windows PCs running XP, Vista, or Windows 7 or 8, and allows gamers to complete the plot with up to three other co-op players.
System Shock 2, released back in August 1999, takes place in year 2114, four decades after System Shock, and places gamers on an eerily abandoned starship Von Braun. No explanation is given, and players are forced to piece together events based on some scattered audio files and paranormal visits. The first-person shooter, which many may not know, has had some very influential spiritual successors that are bound to ring some bells.
You see, System Shock 2 was the first real first-person shooter to provide an incredibly immersive atmosphere coupled with role-playing elements. While the primary way for many to dispose of evil-doers was to still pull the trigger, the game encouraged building other abilities suck as hacking and psionic tricks. Sound familiar? It should, because the creator of System Shock 2, Ken Levine, is the one responsible for its spiritual successor, the BioShock franchise that is currently going to receive a new installment in March. Other games such as Fallout 3, Mass Effect, and even Dead Space can all trace some gameplay elements to this landmark PC game.
Numerous legal entanglements (its rights were divided up everywhichway) have kept this project underground for some time, and its unlikely there will be a System Shock 3 anytime soon. Still, System Shock 2 repeatedly makes "best games of all time" lists - will you be dusting this old gem off and giving it a spin?