CD Set on 25/6/2007 at 22:11
Hey everyone.
I was told this game is one of the better Sci-Fi Horror games out there, so I decided to try it to see what the fuzz was all about.
Me and my friend have just played through the beginning of the first level (we want to finish Deus Ex first) and we found it kind of creepy, and a bit scary.
Now - for me, the game is scary because of all the things I've heard about it... the dread is what keeps me on edge. Call it a terror game. The thing is, I'm kind of curious about what kind of category of scariness the game falls into (as I will probably find out sooner or later, but...)
Does it consist of jump-out scares á la Doom 3? Is it the notes left by the now undead crew (much like the PDA's of Doom 3) which makes it scary?
Or does the game focus more on psychological horror, as in Silent Hill? Are the enemies creepy? What about the overall feeling of isolation? Or is it something entirely different?
Please tell me.
/CD Set
Shevers on 25/6/2007 at 22:39
I still don't have a good idea of what it is that scared me about SS2. I guess you could say I'm a little surprised that SS2 did used to scare me more than something like Resident Evil.
I'd say it's more to do with the atmosphere, it's an ambient sort of scary, mixed with the fact that the enemies just seem inherently scary. It may be a cliche, but the spiders messed my head up the most, and different people get scared by different monsters - a lot of people don't like the midwives (you'll meet them later on) and a whole lot of people just can't stomach the hybrids, with their screams of "I'm sorry..." etc.
So, uhh, that didn't answer your question so well, huh? What I will say is that I wouldn't classify SS2 like Doom 3's jump-out scare factor. It's more of an overall thing.
Kolya on 26/6/2007 at 00:22
Let's say the horror is less scripted than in Doom3 and the logs are much better. Not just because they have audio but because of they way they are written and tell a story. Doom3 tried to copy that and failed.
Apart from this, I think it's the story that draws people in and immerses them in the System Shock universe. There are terrifying philosophical implications behind every corner and their consequences shoot you in the face with a shotgun and taunt your humanity.
Yeah, it gets kinda scary if you really get into it.
ZylonBane on 26/6/2007 at 05:49
Quote Posted by CD Set
Me and my friend have just played through the beginning of the first level
If this sentence means you're playing SS2 for the first time in multiplayer mode, you are in dire need of a cockpunch.
cosmicnut on 26/6/2007 at 09:01
Part of the creepyness of SS2 is the fact that you are alone, as the ZB said (in a rather creepy way) your going to miss a lot of the scares playing multiplayer. Plus there are numerous bugs!
The creepyness build slowly, from the feeling of isolation the game gives you. The horror of whats happened. The fear of whats to come. It all builds slowly. Doom3 works like a jack-in-a-box. Once you know the scares coming... its not a scare any more.
If you play SS2 right, the enemies re-spawn so you never know where they are. You walk through the same hallways again and again but you never know whats around the corner. Your weapons degrade very easliy, will your health 2 pistol jam at the next hybrid forcing you to equip the wrench and get up close and personal. Add to that the music, the sound effects and the clear way they've done the speech.....
Doom starts scary then ends up a dull FPS. SS2 starts creepy, gets darn scary and never lets up! The level of panic that still goes through me, even today when I here a VB security alarm go off......
Kolya on 26/6/2007 at 09:21
Quite a lot of people seem to start with multiplayer these days... Is it because they aren't used to playing alone? Or is it too scary alone? Anyway, it's odd. SS2 is first and foremost a single player experience which is not to be missed.
CD Set on 26/6/2007 at 13:06
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
If this sentence means you're playing SS2 for the first time in multiplayer mode, you are in dire need of a cockpunch.
No, of course I didn't start with multiplayer. Like with most of my other games, I prefer playing through the entire single-player campaign before going online. I was merely saying that me and my friend took turns playing through the training and first level, so that we could both get a quick feel of the gameplay.
Anyway, I think I heard somewhere that the appearance of the "monsters" are random... is this true?
Also, what is the difference between choosing Navy, Marines and OSA?
Shevers on 26/6/2007 at 13:25
It just alters the choices you can make to upgrade some of your stats before the game properly starts. With the navy the options are more geared towards improving your tech stats (eg. hacking, repair, modify...), with the OSA it's more about psi skills, and the Marines is more to do with weapons.
cosmicnut on 26/6/2007 at 13:36
Not really random but spawed (generated) over time.
You can turn it off but you loose a lot. It means that you never know that you have "cleared" a level. You have to revisit areas, which could be boring when you've killed all the enemies and have no opposition. However, with respawn on, ever turn could be a close encounter!
ZylonBane on 26/6/2007 at 14:11
Quote Posted by CD Set
No, of course I didn't start with multiplayer. Like with most of my other games, I prefer playing through the entire single-player campaign before going online.
Well in that case, have fun, and stop trying to stuff SS2 into a category. It is what it is.
