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''System Shock 2'' is a 1999
action role-playing An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing game genres. Definition Action role-playing games emphasize real-time combat wh ...
survival horror Survival horror is a Video game genre, subgenre of horror games. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical action games through limited ammunition or weapons, health, speed, and visio ...
video game designed by Ken Levine and co-developed by
Irrational Games Irrational Games (known as 2K Boston between 2007 and 2009) was an American video game developer founded in 1997 by three former employees of Looking Glass Studios: Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier. Take-Two Interactive acquired t ...
and
Looking Glass Studios Looking Glass Studios, Inc. (formerly Blue Sky Productions and LookingGlass Technologies, Inc.) was an American video game developer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company was founded by Paul Neurath with Ned Lerner as Blue Sky Produ ...
. Originally intended to be a standalone title, its story was changed during production into a sequel to the 1994 game ''
System Shock ''System Shock'' is a 1994 first-person action-adventure game, action-adventure video game developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published by Origin Systems. It was directed by Doug Church with Warren Spector serving as producer. The game ...
''. The alterations were made when
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
—who owned the ''System Shock'' franchise rights—signed on as publisher. The game takes place on board a
starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1 ...
in a
cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting said to focus on a combination of "low-life and high tech". It features futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyberwa ...
depiction of 2114. The player assumes the role of a soldier trying to stem the outbreak of a genetic infection that has devastated the ship. Like ''System Shock'', gameplay consists of first-person combat and exploration. It incorporates
role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing ...
elements, in which the player can develop skills and traits, such as hacking and
psionic In American science fiction of the 1950s and '60s, psionics was a proposed discipline that applied principles of engineering (especially electronics) to the study (and employment) of paranormal or psychic phenomena, such as extrasensory percept ...
abilities. ''System Shock 2'' was originally released in August 1999 for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
. The game received critical acclaim but failed to meet commercial sales expectations. Many critics later determined that the game was highly influential in subsequent game design, particularly on first-person shooters, and considered it far ahead of its time. It has been included in several greatest games of all time lists. In 2007, Irrational Games released a
spiritual successor A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous product or work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue th ...
to the ''System Shock'' series, titled ''
BioShock ''BioShock'' is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston (later Irrational Games) and 2K Australia, and published by 2K. The first game in the ''BioShock'' series, it was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 ...
'', to critical acclaim and strong sales. ''System Shock 2'' had been in
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...
limbo following the closure of Looking Glass Studios. Nightdive Studios were able to secure the rights to the game and the ''System Shock'' franchise in 2013 to release an updated version of ''System Shock 2'' for modern operating systems, including for
OS X macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
and
Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...
, and announced plans to release an Enhanced Edition of the game. OtherSide Entertainment announced in 2015 that they had acquired the rights from Nightdive Studios to produce a sequel, ''System Shock 3'', but as of 2020 the rights have since been transferred to
Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. ( zh, s=腾讯, p=Téngxùn) is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimed ...
.


Gameplay

As in its predecessor, ''
System Shock ''System Shock'' is a 1994 first-person action-adventure game, action-adventure video game developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published by Origin Systems. It was directed by Doug Church with Warren Spector serving as producer. The game ...
'', gameplay in ''System Shock 2'' is an amalgamation of the
action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and Role-playing video game, role-playing game genres. Definition Action role-playing games empha ...
and
survival horror Survival horror is a Video game genre, subgenre of horror games. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical action games through limited ammunition or weapons, health, speed, and visio ...
genres. The developers achieved this gameplay design by rendering the experience as a standard first-person shooter and adding a character customization and development system, which are considered signature role-playing elements. The player uses melee and projectile weapons to defeat enemies, while the role-playing system allows the development of useful abilities. Navigation is presented from a
first-person view First-person view may refer to: * First-person view (radio control) * First-person view (video games) * First-person view (storytelling) * First-person view (film) See also

* First person (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...
and complemented with a
heads-up display A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD () or head-up guidance system (HGS), is any see-through display, transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of t ...
that shows character and weapon information, a map, and a
drag and drop In computer graphical user interfaces, drag and drop is a pointing device gesture in which the user (computing), user selects a virtual object by "grabbing" it and dragging it to a different location or onto another virtual object. In general, i ...
inventory. The
backstory A backstory, background story, background, or legend is a set of events invented for a plot, preceding and leading up to that plot. In acting, it is the history of the character before the drama begins, and is created during the actor's prepara ...
is explained progressively through the player's acquisition of audio logs and encounters with ghostly
apparitions Apparition may refer to: Supernatural *Apparitional experience, an anomalous, quasi-perceptual experience * A vision, something seen in a dream, trance, or religious ecstasy *Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear ...
. At the beginning of the game, the player chooses a career in a branch of the Unified National Nominate, a fictional military organization. Each branch of service gives the player a set of starting bonuses composed of certain skills, though may thereafter freely develop as the player chooses. The Marine begins with bonuses to weaponry, the
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
officer is skilled in repairing and hacking, and the OSA agent gets a starting set of
psionic In American science fiction of the 1950s and '60s, psionics was a proposed discipline that applied principles of engineering (especially electronics) to the study (and employment) of paranormal or psychic phenomena, such as extrasensory percept ...
powers. The player can upgrade their skills by using "cyber-modules" given as rewards for completing objectives such as searching the ship and spend them at devices called "cyber-upgrade units" to obtain enhanced skills. Operating system (O/S) units allow one-time character upgrades to be made (e.g. permanent health enhancement). An in-game currency called "nanites" may be spent on items at vending machines, including ammunition supplies and health packs. "Quantum Bio-Reconstruction Machines" can be activated and reconstitute the player for 10 nanites if they die inside the area in which the machine resides. Otherwise, the game ends and progress must be resumed from a
save point Save, SAVE, or Saved may refer to: Places * Save (Garonne), a river in southern France * Save River (Africa), a river in Zimbabwe and Mozambique * Sava, a river in Eastern Europe also known as Save * Savè, Benin, a commune and city * Save, Rwan ...
. The player can hack devices, such as keypads to open alternate areas and vending machines to reduce prices. When a hack is attempted, a
minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements and is often smaller or more simplistic than th ...
begins that features a grid of green nodes; the player must connect three in a straight row to succeed. Optionally, electronic lock picks, called "
ICE Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...
-picks", can be found that will automatically hack a machine, regardless of its difficulty. Throughout the game, the player can procure various weapons, including melee weapons, pistols, shotguns, and alien weapons. Non-melee weapons degrade with use and will break if they are not regularly repaired with maintenance tools. There are a variety of ammunition types, each of which is most damaging to a specific enemy. For example, organic enemies are vulnerable to anti-personnel rounds, while mechanical foes are weak against armour-piercing rounds. Similarly, energy weapons cause the most damage against robots and cyborgs, and the annelid-made exotic weaponry is particularly harmful to organic targets. Because ammunition is scarce, to be effective the player must use it sparingly and carefully search rooms for supplies. The game includes a research function. When new objects are encountered in the game, especially enemies, their organs can be collected; when combined with chemicals found in storage rooms, the player can research the enemies and thus improve their damage against them. Similarly, some exotic weapons and items can only be used after being researched. OSA agents effectively have a separate weapons tree available to them. Psionic powers, such as invisibility, fireballs, and teleportation, can be learned.


Plot


Backstory

In 2072, after the Citadel Station's demise in ''
System Shock ''System Shock'' is a 1994 first-person action-adventure game, action-adventure video game developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published by Origin Systems. It was directed by Doug Church with Warren Spector serving as producer. The game ...
'', TriOptimum's attempts to cover up the incident were exposed to the media, and the corporation was brought up on charges from multiple individuals and companies for the ensuing scandal. The virus developed there killed the station's population; the ruthless malevolent AI supercomputer named
SHODAN SHODAN (), an acronym for Sentient Hyper-Optimized Data Access Network, is the main antagonist of Looking Glass Studios's cyberpunk-horror themed video game ''System Shock (series), System Shock''. An artificial intelligence originally in charg ...
controlled the Citadel Station in hopes of enslaving and destroying humanity. After a large number of trials, the company went bankrupt, and its operations were shut down. The United Nations Nominate (UNN), a successor to the UN, was established to combat the hostility and corruption of power-hungry corporations, including TriOptimum. Artificial intelligence was reduced to the most rudimentary of tasks to prevent the creation of another SHODAN-like malevolent AI, and the development of new technologies was halted. Meanwhile, the hacker (''System Shock''s main protagonist), who became the most famous person in the world, vanished from the public eye. In 2100, 28 years later, the company's failed stocks and assets were bought by a
Russian oligarch Russian oligarchs () are business oligarchs of the former Soviet republics who rapidly accumulated wealth in the 1990s via the Russian privatisation that followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The failing Soviet state left the ownership ...
named Anatoly Korenchkin, a former black market operator who sought to make money legitimately. He re-licensed and restored the company to its former status in the following decade. Along with producing healthcare and consumer products, Korenchkin signed weapons contracts with various military organizations, private and political-owned. The new UNN was virtually powerless, with Korenchkin exercising control over them. In January 2114, 42 years after the Citadel events and 14 years into rebuilding TriOptimum, the company created an experimental FTL
starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1 ...
, the ''Von Braun'', which is on its maiden voyage. The ship is followed by a UNN space vessel, the ''Rickenbacker'', controlled by Captain William Bedford Diego, son of the Citadel Station's infamous commander, Edward Diego, and public hero of the Battle of the Boston Harbor during the Eastern States Police Action. Because the ''Rickenbacker'' does not have an FTL system, the two ships are attached for the trip. However, Korenchkin was egotistical enough to make himself the captain of the ''Von Braun'' despite being inexperienced. Five months into the journey, the ships respond to a
distress signal A distress signal, also known as a distress call, is an internationally recognized means for obtaining help. Distress signals are communicated by transmitting radio signals, displaying a visually observable item or illumination, or making a sou ...
from the planet Tau Ceti V, outside the Solar System. A rescue team is sent to the planet's surface, where they discover strange eggs; these eggs, found in an old ejection pod, infect the rescue team and integrate them into an alien communion known as "the Many" - a psychic hive mind generated by parasitic worms which can infect and mutate a human host. The parasites eventually spread to both ships and take over or kill most of their crews.


Story

Owing to a computer malfunction, the remaining soldier awakens with
amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or brain diseases,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be temporarily caused by t ...
in a cryo-tube on the medical deck of the ''Von Braun'', being implanted with an illegal cyber-neural interface. Another survivor, Dr. Janice Polito, contacts and guides him to safety before the cabin depressurizes. She demands that he meets her on deck 4 of the ''Von Braun''. Along the way, the soldier battles the infected crew members. The Many telepathically communicate with him, attempting to convince him to join them. After restarting the ship's engine core, the soldier reaches deck 4 and discovers that Polito is dead and is soon confronted by SHODAN. It is revealed she has been posing as Polito to gain the soldier's trust. SHODAN mentions that she is responsible for creating the Many through her bioengineering experiments on Citadel Station. The
Hacker A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who achieves goals and solves problems by non-standard means. The term has become associated in popular culture with a security hackersomeone with knowledge of bug (computing), bugs or exp ...
, who freed her from her ethical restraints, ejected the grove that contained her experiments to prevent them from contaminating Earth, an act that allowed part of SHODAN to survive in the grove. The grove crash-landed on Tau Ceti V. While SHODAN went into forced hibernation, the Many evolved beyond her control. SHODAN tells the soldier that his only chance for survival lies in helping destroy her creations. Efforts to regain control of XERXES, the main computer on the ''Von Braun'', fail. SHODAN informs the soldier that destroying the ship is their only option, but he must transmit her program to the ''Rickenbacker'' first. While en route, the soldier briefly encounters two survivors, Thomas "Tommy" Suarez and Rebecca Siddons, who flee the ship aboard an escape pod. With the transfer complete, the soldier travels to the ''Rickenbacker'' and learns both ships have been enveloped by the infection's source, a gigantic mass of bio-organic tissue that has wrapped itself over the two ships. The soldier enters the biomass and destroys its core, stopping the infection. SHODAN congratulates him and tells of her intentions to merge real space and cyberspace through the ''Von Braun''s faster-than-light drive. The soldier confronts SHODAN in
cyberspace Cyberspace is an interconnected digital environment. It is a type of virtual world popularized with the rise of the Internet. The term entered popular culture from science fiction and the arts but is now used by technology strategists, security ...
and defeats her. The final scene shows Tommy and Rebecca receiving a message from the ''Von Braun''. Tommy responds, saying they will return and noting that Rebecca is acting strange. Rebecca speaks in a SHODAN-like voice, asking Tommy if he "likes her new look" as the screen fades to black.


History


Development

Development of ''System Shock 2'' began in 1997 when
Looking Glass Studios Looking Glass Studios, Inc. (formerly Blue Sky Productions and LookingGlass Technologies, Inc.) was an American video game developer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company was founded by Paul Neurath with Ned Lerner as Blue Sky Produ ...
approached
Irrational Games Irrational Games (known as 2K Boston between 2007 and 2009) was an American video game developer founded in 1997 by three former employees of Looking Glass Studios: Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier. Take-Two Interactive acquired t ...
with an idea to co-develop a game. The development team were fans of ''
System Shock ''System Shock'' is a 1994 first-person action-adventure game, action-adventure video game developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published by Origin Systems. It was directed by Doug Church with Warren Spector serving as producer. The game ...
'' and sought to create a similar game. Early story ideas were similar to the novella ''
Heart of Darkness ''Heart of Darkness'' is an 1899 novella by Polish-British novelist Joseph Conrad in which the sailor Charles Marlow tells his listeners the story of his assignment as steamer captain for a Belgium, Belgian company in the African interior. Th ...
''. In an early draft, the player was tasked with assassinating an insane commander on a starship. The original title, according to its pitch document, was ''Junction Point''. The philosophy of the design was to continue to develop the concept of a dungeon crawler, like '' Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss'', in a science fiction setting, the basis for ''System Shock''. However, the press mistook ''System Shock'' to be closer to a ''
Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (1934–2020), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitche ...
'' clone which was cited for its poor financial success. With ''Junction Point'', the goal was to add in significant role-playing elements and a persistent storyline as to distance the game from ''Doom''. The title took 18 months to create with a budget of $1.7 million. It was pitched to several publishers until
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
—who owned the rights to the ''System Shock'' franchise—responded by suggesting the game become a sequel to ''System Shock''. The development team agreed; Electronic Arts became the publisher and story changes were made to incorporate the franchise. The project was allotted one year to be completed and to compensate for the short time frame, the staff began working with Looking Glass Studio's unfinished Dark Engine, the same engine used to create '' Thief: The Dark Project''. The designers included role-playing elements. Similar to '' Ultima Underworld'', another Looking Glass Studios project, the environment in ''System Shock 2'' is persistent and constantly changes without the player's presence. Paper-and-pencil
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...
s were influential; the character customization system was based on '' Traveller''s methodology and was implemented in the fictional military branches which, by allowing multiple character paths, the player could receive a more open-ended gameplay experience. Horror was a key focus and four major points were identified to successfully incorporate it. Isolation was deemed primary, which resulted in the player having little physical contact with other sentient beings. Secondly, a vulnerability was created by focusing on a fragile character. Last were the inclusion of moody sound effects and "the intelligent placement of lighting and shadows". The game's lead designer, Ken Levine, oversaw the return of ''System Shock'' villain SHODAN. Part of Levine's design was to ally the player with her. Levine sought to challenge the player by having SHODAN betray the player: "Sometimes characters are betrayed, but the ''player'' never is. I wanted to violate that trust and make the player feel that ''they'', and not nlythe character, were led on and deceived". This design choice was controversial with the development team. Several problems were encountered during the project. Because the team comprised two software companies, tension emerged regarding job assignments and some developers left the project. Additionally, many employees were largely inexperienced, but in retrospect project manager Jonathan Chey felt this was advantageous, stating "inexperience also bred enthusiasm and commitment that might not have been present with a more jaded set of developers." The Dark Engine posed problems of its own. It was unfinished, forcing the programmers to fix
software bug A software bug is a design defect ( bug) in computer software. A computer program with many or serious bugs may be described as ''buggy''. The effects of a software bug range from minor (such as a misspelled word in the user interface) to sev ...
s when encountered. In contrast, working closely with the engine code allowed them to write additional features. Not all setbacks were localized; a demonstration build at E3 was hindered when it was requested all guns be removed from the presentation due to then-recent
Columbine High School massacre A school shooting and attempted bombing occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 13 students and one teach ...
.


Release

A demo for the game, featuring a tutorial and a third of the first mission, was released on August 2, 1999. Nine days later, ''System Shock 2'' was shipped to retailers in North America. The game was made available in the United Kingdom one month later on September 18. An enhancement patch was released a month later and added significant features, such as co-operative multiplayer and control over weapon degradation and enemy
respawn Spawning in video games refers to the process by which entities, such as player characters, non-player characters, enemies or items, are generated and placed into the game world. Closely related concepts include respawning, which involves reint ...
rates. A port was planned for the
Dreamcast The is the final home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1998, in North America on September 9, 1999 and in Europe on October 14, 1999. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, prec ...
but was canceled.


End-of-support

Around 2000, with the
end-of-support In industry, product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its inception through the engineering, design, and manufacture, as well as the service and disposal of manufactured products. P ...
for the game by the developer and publisher, remaining bugs and
compatibility Compatibility may refer to: Computing * Backward compatibility, in which newer systems can understand data generated by older ones * Compatibility card, an expansion card for hardware emulation of another device * Compatibility layer, componen ...
with newer
operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...
s and hardware became a growing problem. To compensate the missing support, some fans of the game became active in the
modding Modding (from "modifying") is the act of modifying hardware, software, or anything else to perform a function not originally intended by the designer, or to achieve bespoke specification or appearance. The term is often used in reference to vid ...
community to update the game. For instance, the "Rebirth" graphical enhancement mod replaced many low-polygonal
models A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided int ...
with higher quality ones, a "Shock Texture Upgrade Project" increased the resolution of textures, and an updated
level editor A level editor (also known as a map, campaign or scenario editor) is a game development tool used to design Level (video games), levels, maps, campaigns and virtual worlds for a video game. An individual involved with the development of game levels ...
was released by the
user community A virtual community is a social network of individuals who connect through specific social media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. Some of the most pervasive virtual commu ...
.


Intellectual property debacle and re-release

The
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...
(IP) rights of ''System Shock 2'' were caught for years in complications between Electronic Arts and Meadowbrook Insurance Group (the parent company of Star Insurance Company), the entity that acquired the assets of Looking Glass Studios on their closure; however, according to a lawyer for Star Insurance, they have since acquired the lingering intellectual property rights from EA. In the player community, attempts had been made to update and patch ''System Shock 2'' for known issues on newer operating systems and limitations that had been hard-coded into the game. In 2009, a complete copy of ''System Shock 2''s Dark Engine
source code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only ...
was discovered in the possession of an ex-Looking Glass Studios employee who was at the time continuing his work for
Eidos Interactive Eidos Interactive Limited (formerly Domark Limited) was a British video game publisher based in Wimbledon, London. Among its franchises were '' Championship Manager'', '' Deus Ex'', ''Hitman'', '' Thief'' and ''Tomb Raider''. Domark was founded ...
. In late April 2010, a user on the Dreamcast Talk forum disassembled the contents of a
Dreamcast The is the final home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1998, in North America on September 9, 1999 and in Europe on October 14, 1999. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, prec ...
development kit he had purchased, and among the content he received was some of the source code for Looking Glass games, including ''System Shock''. An unknown user, going only as "Le Corbeau" (The Raven), issued a patch for ''System Shock 2'' and ''Thief 2'' in 2012 that resolved several of the known issue with the Dark engine and other features. It is believed that the patches were enabled by the Dreamcast kit, using a combination of the available source code and by disassembling libraries off the development kit. The patch became known informally as the "NewDark" patch to distinguish it from other efforts to improve the game. At about the same time, Stephen Kick of Nightdive Studios had been seeking to rerelease ''System Shock 2'' on Windows, and Star Insurance provided him with the rights to do so. Shortly after getting this approval, the NewDark patch had been released, and Kick attempted to contact "Le Corbeau" to discuss the use of their patch, but the user was impossible to contact. Kick decided to approach GOG.com for a timed-exclusive release on their
digital distribution Digital distribution, also referred to as content delivery, online distribution, or electronic software distribution, among others, is the delivery or distribution of information or materials through digital platforms. The distribution of digital ...
website in February 2013, where the game was the most requested to be added to the catalog. This version, considered by GOG.com to be a " collector's edition", included the "Le Corbeau" NewDark patch. In addition, the updates allow user-made modifications to be applied more seamlessly. The release also contains additional material such as the game's soundtrack, maps of the Von Braun, and the original pitch document for the game. The update rights also allowed a Mac OS X version of ''System Shock 2'' to be subsequently released on June 18, 2013, through GOG.com. The title became available on
Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
on May 10, 2013. In April 2014, a
Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...
version was also released. Both the OS X and Linux versions run through
Wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...
. "Le Corbeau" has continued to update the game since 2012, with their patches being incorporated into the versions that Nightdive distributes through GOG.com and Steam. Since then, Nightdive has acquired the rights to ''System Shock'', releasing an enhanced version in September 2015. Kick has reported they have acquired full rights to the series since then.


Reception

''System Shock 2'' received critical acclaim. It received over a dozen awards, including seven " Game of the Year" awards. Reviews were very positive and lauded the title for its hybrid gameplay, moody sound design, and engaging story. ''System Shock 2'' is regarded by critics as highly influential, particularly on
first-person shooter A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...
s and the horror genre. In a retrospective article,
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
declared the title "well ahead of its time" and stated that it "upped the ante in dramatic and mechanical terms" by creating a horrific gameplay experience. Despite critical acclaim and being the tenth best selling PC game in the US the month of its release, the title did not perform well commercially; only 58,671 copies were sold by April 2000. Several publications praised the title for its open-ended gameplay. With regard to character customization, Trent Ward of
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
stated the best element of the role-playing system was allowing gamers to "play the game as completely different characters", and felt this made each play-through unique. Erik Reckase writing for Just Adventure agreed, saying "There are very few games that allow you oplay the way you want". Alec Norands of
Allgame RhythmOne , a subsidiary of Nexxen, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went public on the Alternative Investment Market, ...
believed that the different character classes made the game "diverse enough to demand instant replayability". Robert Mayer from ''
Computer Games Magazine ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...
'' called ''System Shock 2'' "a game that truly defies classification in a single genre", and ensured that "the action is occasionally fast-paced, it's more often tactical, placing a premium on thought rather than on reflexes." Buck DeFore reviewed the PC version of the game for '' Next Generation'', rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Bluntly put, ''System Shock 2'' is a welcome visit to the lost arts of the good old days, and an immersive experience as long as you don't mind some of the cobwebs that come along with it." A number of critics described the game as frightening. ''
Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') is a British-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot web ...
'' described the atmosphere as "gripping" and guaranteed readers they would "jump out of
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...
skin" numerous times. Allgame found the
sound design Sound design is the art and practice of creating auditory elements of media. It involves specifying, acquiring and creating audio using production techniques and equipment or software. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking ...
particularly effective, calling it "absolutely, teeth-clenchingly disturbing", while ''
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
''s William Harms christened ''System Shock 2'' as the most frightening game he had ever played. Some critics found the weapon degradation system to be irritating, and members of the development team have also expressed misgivings about the system. The role-playing system was another point of contention; GameSpot described the job system as "badly unbalanced" because the player can develop skills outside their career choice. Allgame felt similarly about the system, saying it "leaned towards a hacker character". Along with ''
Deus Ex ''Deus Ex'' is a series of cyberpunk role-playing video games, set during the mid 21st century. Focusing on the conflict between secretive factions who wish to control the world by proxy, and the effects of transhumanistic attitudes and technol ...
'', Sid Shuman of ''
GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
'' christened ''System Shock 2'' " ne of thetwin barrels of modern irst-person shooterinnovation", owing to its complex role-playing gameplay. IGN writer Cam Shea referred to the game as "another reinvention of the FPS genre", citing the story, characters, and RPG system. ''
PC Zone ''PC Zone'', founded in 1993, was the first magazine dedicated to games for IBM-compatible personal computers to be published in the United Kingdom. Earlier PC magazines such as '' PC Leisure'', '' PC Format'' and '' PC Plus'' had covered games b ...
'' lauded the game as a "fabulous example of a modern-day computer game" and named it "a sci-fi horror masterpiece". The title has been inducted into a number of features listing the greatest games ever made, including ones by
GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1999 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for Quake, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
, ''
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
'', ''
Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
'', IGN, GameSpot and ''
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
''. IGN also ranked ''System Shock 2'' as the 35th greatest first-person shooter of all time.
X-Play ''Xplay'' (previously ''GameSpot TV'', ''Extended Play'', and ''X-Play'') was a television program about video games. The program, known for its reviews and comedy skits, aired on G4 in the United States and has aired on '' G4 Canada'' in Canada ...
called it the second scariest game of all time, behind '' Silent Hill 2''. SHODAN has proven to be a popular character among most critics, including IGN, GameSpot and ''The Phoenix''. ''System Shock 2'' won ''PC Gamer US''s 1999 "Best Roleplaying Game" and "Special Achievement in Sound" awards, and was a runner-up in the magazine's overall "Game of the Year" category. The editors of ''
Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...
'' nominated it for their "Role-Playing Game of the Year" prize, which ultimately went to '' Planescape: Torment''.


Legacy


25th anniversary remaster

On a stream during the 20th anniversary of ''System Shock 2'' on August 11, 2019, Nightdive Studios announced an Enhanced Edition of the game was in development. Nightdive had been able to disassemble the original game's source code, allowing them to improve upon the original. They plan to port the game to their KEX engine, the same engine they are using for the ''System Shock'' enhanced edition, and will work to make sure that the co-operative play features are better implemented. The enhanced version will aim to support all existing mods and custom maps developed by the gaming community, though will require work with the community to help with compatibility. Kick has stated that while they would like to work with "Le Corbeau" to incorporate their patches into the Enhanced Edition, they will likely need to deviate so that Nightdive can improve upon the original title. Kick later confirmed on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
that the enhanced edition will release for all platforms. It was originally also planned that a virtual reality version of the game would release alongside the Enhanced Edition; however, it was internally scrapped midway through development, for unknown reasons. The VR version would have used gameplay features that were introduced with '' Half-Life: Alyx'', and would have also been capable of cross-platform play with players on other platforms than VR. In 2025, Nightdive renamed the Enhanced Edition "''System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster''", and currently plans to release it on June 26, 2025.


Sequel projects

''System Shock 2'' has amassed a
cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
, with fans asking for a sequel. On January 9, 2006,
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
reported that Electronic Arts had renewed its trademark protection on the ''System Shock'' name, leading to speculation that ''System Shock 3'' might be under development. Three days later, ''
Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') is a British-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot web ...
'' reported a reliable source had come forward and confirmed the title's production. Electronic Arts UK made no comment when confronted with the information. ''
PC Gamer UK ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games mag ...
'' stated the team behind ''
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...
'' (EA Redwood Shores, later Visceral, defunct 2017) was charged with its creation. Ken Levine, when asked whether he would helm the third installment, replied: "that question is completely out of my hands". He expressed optimism at the prospect of ''System Shock 3'', but revealed that EA had not shown interest in his own proposal for a sequel, and was not optimistic with regards to their abilities. Electronic Arts did not confirm a new title in the series and allowed the ''System Shock'' trademark registration to lapse. Redwood Shores' next release was 2008's ''
Dead Space ''Dead Space'' is a science fiction horror franchise created and directed by Glen Schofield. ''Dead Space'' was developed by Visceral Games and published and owned by Electronic Arts. The franchise's chronology is not presented in a linear format ...
'', a game with noted similarities in theme and presentation to the ''System Shock'' series. According to ''Dead Space'' designers Ben Wanat and Wright Bagwell, their project was originally intended to be ''System Shock 3'', before the release of ''
Resident Evil 4 ''Resident Evil 4'' is a 2005 survival horror game developed and published by Capcom for the GameCube. Players control the special agent Leon S. Kennedy on a mission to rescue the US president's daughter, Ashley Graham (Resident Evil), Ashley ...
'' inspired them to go back to the drawing board and develop it into something more along those lines, eventually becoming ''Dead Space''. In March 2015, a fan sequel mod for the game, ''System Shock Infinite'', was released, incorporating elements from spiritual successor ''
BioShock Infinite ''BioShock Infinite'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K. The third installment of the ''BioShock'' series, ''Infinite'' was released worldwide for the PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360, a ...
''. In November 2015, Nightdive Studios, after acquiring the rights to the ''System Shock'' franchise, stated they were considering developing a third title in the series. In December 2015, OtherSide Entertainment, a studio founded by former Looking Glass Studios designer Paul Neurath, announced they were developing ''System Shock 3'' with rights granted to them by Nightdive. OtherSide had acquired rights to make sequels to ''System Shock'' some years before this point but did not have the rights to the series name, which Nighdive was able to provide. The sequel will feature Terri Brosius reprising her voice for SHODAN, and will include work from original ''System Shock'' concept artist Robb Waters. Warren Spector, the producer of the first ''System Shock'', announced in February 2016 that he has joined OtherSide Entertainment and will be working on ''System Shock 3''. According to Spector, the narrative will pick up immediately from the end of ''System Shock 2'', with SHODAN having taken over Rebecca's body. ''System Shock 3'' will use the Unity (game engine), Unity game engine, with a teaser shown during Unity's press event at the 2019 Game Developers Conference. Starbreeze Studios was originally planning to provide a $12 million "publishing-only" investment in ''System Shock 3'', allowing OtherSide to retain all rights while seeking a 120% return on investment followed by equal shares of revenue splitting. Starbreeze's investment would allow the game to be developed for consoles in addition to the planned personal computer versions. However, in the wake of several financial problems in late 2018, Starbreeze has given back the publishing rights to ''System Shock 3'' to OtherSide, and separated itself from the project. OtherSide stated they had the capability to self-publish ''System Shock 3'' should they be unable to find a publishing partner but would prefer to have a publishing partner. At least twelve OtherSide employees working on ''System Shock 3'', including several in lead roles, left the studio between late 2019 and early 2020. One former employee stated that the game's development team was "no longer employed"; however, in April 2020, OtherSide's vice president of marketing and development, Walter Somol, stated that the team was "still here" and progress on the project was "coming along nicely", but they were working remotely, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After several journalists noted that the ''System Shock 3'' websites had been transferred to ownership under
Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. ( zh, s=腾讯, p=Téngxùn) is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimed ...
in May 2020, Otherside confirmed that they had been unable to continue the series as a smaller studio and transferred the licensed rights to Tencent to continue its development, though Spector affirmed that OtherSide was still involved in its development alongside Tencent. Warren Spector has since stated that OtherSide stopped working on ''System Shock 3'' in 2019, and that they are now working on an immersive simulation based on a new intellectual property developed by OtherSide. In 2022, during Gamescon, Stephen Kick, Nightdive's CEO, stated in an interview after he finished the System Shock (2023 video game), ''System Shock'' remake, that he intended to begin development on a ''System Shock 2'' remake.


Spiritual successors

In 2007,
Irrational Games Irrational Games (known as 2K Boston between 2007 and 2009) was an American video game developer founded in 1997 by three former employees of Looking Glass Studios: Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier. Take-Two Interactive acquired t ...
—briefly known as 2K Boston/2K Australia—released a
spiritual successor A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous product or work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue th ...
to the ''
System Shock ''System Shock'' is a 1994 first-person action-adventure game, action-adventure video game developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published by Origin Systems. It was directed by Doug Church with Warren Spector serving as producer. The game ...
'' series, entitled ''
BioShock ''BioShock'' is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston (later Irrational Games) and 2K Australia, and published by 2K. The first game in the ''BioShock'' series, it was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 ...
''. The game takes place in an abandoned underwater utopian community destroyed by the genetic modification of its populace and shares many gameplay elements with ''System Shock 2'': reconstitution stations can be activated, allowing the player to be resurrected when they die; hacking, ammo conservation, and exploration are integral parts of gameplay; and unique powers may be acquired via plasmids, special abilities that function similarly to
psionic In American science fiction of the 1950s and '60s, psionics was a proposed discipline that applied principles of engineering (especially electronics) to the study (and employment) of paranormal or psychic phenomena, such as extrasensory percept ...
s in ''System Shock 2''. The two titles share plot similarities and employ audio logs and encounters with ghostly
apparitions Apparition may refer to: Supernatural *Apparitional experience, an anomalous, quasi-perceptual experience * A vision, something seen in a dream, trance, or religious ecstasy *Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear ...
to reveal
backstory A backstory, background story, background, or legend is a set of events invented for a plot, preceding and leading up to that plot. In acting, it is the history of the character before the drama begins, and is created during the actor's prepara ...
. In ''
BioShock Infinite ''BioShock Infinite'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K. The third installment of the ''BioShock'' series, ''Infinite'' was released worldwide for the PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360, a ...
'', Irrational Games included a gameplay feature called "1999 Mode", specifically in reference to ''System Shock 2''s release year, designed to provide a similar game experience with a higher difficulty and long-lasting effects of choices made that would remind players of ''System Shock''s unforgiving nature. In 2017, Arkane Studios published ''Prey (2017 video game), Prey'', which takes place on a space station named ''Talos I'', similar to ''System Shock''. It, too, features psionic abilities, in the form of "Neuromods", as a fundamental gameplay feature, and uses a mixture of audio logs and pieces of text to advance the game's backstory. ''Prey'' features elements like hacking, crafting, and features a heavy emphasis on side-quest exploration and careful conservation of ammunition and "Psi Points", player stat that controls how many psi abilities can be used. The game features crew members who have become infected, though, not as the result of an AI, but instead as the result of a failure of containment around a mysterious alien species known as the Typhon. Within the game, references are made to ''System Shock''s developers, such as the "Looking Glass" technology that plays a significant role in the story's plot.


References


Notes


External links

* (archived)
''System Shock 2''
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