Template:Incomplete
Template:Infobox game
System Shock 2 is the sequel to System Shock. It was released on August 11, 1999 in North America. The sequel was originally designed as a standalone title with no relation to System Shock; story changes were made when Electronic Arts—who owned the Shock franchise rights—signed on as publisher. Like its predecessor, it did not sell well even though it received positive reviews.
Gameplay
Like its predecessor, gameplay in System Shock 2 is an amalgamation of the role-playing game (RPG) and first person shooter (FPS) genres. The player uses melee and projectile weapons to defeat enemies, while a role-playing system allows the development of useful abilities. Navigation is presented from a first-person perspective and complemented with a heads-up display that shows character and weapon information, a map, and a drag and drop inventory. Backstory is explained progressively through the acquisition of audio logs and encounters with ghostly apparitions.
The game begins with the player choosing 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 in certain skills, though he may thereafter freely develop himself as he pleases. Marines begin with bonuses to weaponry, Navy officers are trained in repairing and hacking, and OSA agents get a starting set of psionic powers.
The player can upgrade his skills by spending "cyber-modules", which are obtained as rewards for completing objectives or searching every nook and cranny of the ship. Skills are enhanced by spending cyber-modules at devices called "cyber-upgrade units". O/S units allow special one-time character upgrades to be made (e.g. permanent health enhancement), while in-game currency, called "nanites", may be spent on items at vending machines. "Quantum Bio-Reconstruction Machines" can be activated and reconstitute the player for 10 "nanites" if they die in the same area. Otherwise, the game ends and progress must be resumed from a save point.
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 begins where a grid of green nodes form; the player must connect three in a straight row to succeed. Optionally, electronic lock picks can be found and automatically hack a machine, regardless of its difficulty.
Various weapons can be procured throughout the game, 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. Different ammunition types exist which are more effective to susceptible enemies. For example, organic enemies are vulnerable to anti-personnel rounds, while mechanical foes are weak against armor-piercing rounds. Because ammunition is scarce, the player must use it sparingly and carefully search rooms for supplies. dditionally along side ammo types, software can be used to research unknown items and enemy weaknesses, by sampling their organs and combining chemicals found in storage rooms. Psionic powers can also be learned, such as invisibility, fireballs and teleportation.
Story
Main Characters
- SHODAN
- SOLDIER G65434-2
Enemies
- Main article: The Many
- XERXES
Modding
- Main article: ShockEd
There has been a modding community built up with this game. Some of the most well known mods are the SHTUP mod which sharpens the pixily environment, the Reborn mod which changes models and skins, and the Multiplayer mod which allows two players to connect over the internet and play together.[1]
See Also
- System Shock 2 Walkthrough
- System Shock