Zechs Zero on 25/12/2007 at 21:29
It took me almost ten years to pick up the damn cd and play this game. :joke: There's an inherent flaw in keeping to put new material to be done over the old one, until there's no chance whatsoever of retrieving the latter anymore.
Anyway, Bioshock made me decide for it. The first System Shock left me an aftertaste of having been cheated, when a corrupt savegame destroyed my progress and I left the game in tears. So I have never been so keen toward the sequel, even if at the time I read all and everything concerning how big it was. But now everybody and his dog comments how Bioshock looks like SS2, so I wanted to check with my own eyes.
By the way, I used all the graphical updates mods availble, plus ADaoB to make the game more balanced... or at least, all weapons but the AR less sucky. :eww: I wish they had more variety, though.
The game lasted me 21 hours on normal. I had plenty of cybermodules to waste them a little everywhere, which felt cheap but which at least made me see a bigger portion of the game possibilities. My approach to the game has been mostly melee, then laser pistol and finally standard weapons. Since I left the Von Braun, the game became truly tense, with the situation always prone to explode.
I didn't like Bioshock very much, because it was unsophisticated (too many nods to the 360 public) but still very slow paced. Nor Deus Ex, because of the paucity of items and money: why in the world should a top killer beg for additional equipment? Instead SS2 is so sophisticated that the slower pace seems natural, while the starving for items has at least a credible setting. Terribly credible: it felt like being there, something which never striked my mind in Rapture. It must be something about the game being a whole giant level, and the feeling of dread behind every corner.
And I couldn't believe how much the story of SS2 closely resembles that of Bioshock: that's more than a game in the Shock series, that's SS2 in another setting. Shodan is memorable: however, I didn't find her as scary as others say. She had her moments when it was implied that she could move and kill you with the press of a switch, but all the distorted talking made me laugh a lot of times. Far scarier were the normal enemies, in particular those short glimpses of one walking and disappearing in the dark when turning a corner. Doom 3 didn't make me rise an eyebrow with all those monsters spawning behind you, but this one was scary. The midwife hidden behind the door in the chemical room in Hydroponics was unforgettable: I killed her with the wrench before she had time to react, but I was shocked as hell.
Here, I can mimic the gesture to you!
\waves keyboard and crashes monitor
It was a pity not being there playing the game when it first came out. But the better late than never, I guess... :erg:
Zechs Zero on 26/12/2007 at 23:18
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You got the upgraded graphics and the rebalanced weapons
Updated graphics were a welcome bonus, even though I still like how the 97-99 generation of FPSes looked like. Surely I appreciated the energy weapons not being underpowered anymore: any game where I can use a lightsaber, I use only and exclusively that weapon. But I completely missed on Heavy\Exotic weapons and I used Psi only for support, never going the invisibility way i.e.
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Have you played the Thief series yet?
I enjoyed the demo of Thief 1 when it was covermounted on PC Gamer, but then I didn't make the jump to the full version. Something held me back: namely I am a big fan of stealth, but when it comes to first person view games I prefer the way of invisibility rather than hiding in the dark. Sooner or later I'll try it, it's necessary for my gaming culture after all. :rolleyes:
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And there's always mod levels by Christine and other excellent people at Strangebedfellows if your appetite for the SS persistent universe is still strong!
Thanks, I will try them. Curiously, SS2 came out at the same time with a famous mod for HL1 called "USS Darkstar". It too was featuring a starship's multiple levels, realistic in geometry and size. Right now I am meditating over the chance of modding the game for myself, in order to prepare a second playthrough of the game as an OSA agent. Even though the changes I think about are nothing concerning PSI abilities, I was thinking of setting that the monsters' melee hits are instant and neither cameras or turrets can be destroyed.
Zechs Zero on 27/12/2007 at 05:29
Sorry for the double post, but I thought it would have worse to make a new topic just for 2 little questions.
1) Does the number of cybermodules available in the game, or needed to upgrade, vary depending on the difficulty setting? If so, is there a guide which states exactly how much...
2) Does the laser rapier get damage bonuses from Energy 5 and 6?
D'Arcy on 27/12/2007 at 14:06
1) The number of CMs in the game is always the same, no matter the difficulty level you're playing. But the upgrades will cost more on higher difficulty levels.
2) Yes. It's an energy weapon, therefore your Energy skill will affect it.
Zechs Zero on 27/12/2007 at 17:57
Thank you D'Arcy!
