Shevers on 26/6/2007 at 15:29

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...and what it is needs no excuses.

Hemebond on 27/6/2007 at 11:32

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This is something I've been thinking about lately too. What is it exactly that makes System Shock 2 such an immersive and frightening game (for some of us, at least). I'm just brainstorming now...* As someone has already mentioned, the sound plays a very large role in this. The hums. The silence. I play with music off, so I don't think music plays a large role in atmosphere (at least not when it's fast techno, like in engineering).* Being alone of course, and quite vulnerable. Weapon degradation and monster respawns reinforce this.

Bjossi on 27/6/2007 at 20:35

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What makes the game frightening for me are the spiders; their sounds, movement and look make me feel very uncomfy when facing one.

Astro on 28/6/2007 at 13:55

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There were a variety of feelings that went through me the first time I played: fear, panic, curiosity, confusion, despair, compassion, dread, terror, horror, disgust, and intense rage. You have to get really involved with the people through the logs to get the full experience. The ghosts add a lot too. I like to find nice quiet places to listen to the logs.

It was really disconcerting to hear that sound of the wrench hitting hybrid flesh, knowing that it used to be a crew member; I could almost feel the impact of the wrench.

You will know despair in the cargo bays.

Anti-Social FatMan on 30/6/2007 at 12:30

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the fear effect of ss2 for me is a combination of a few things

the sound is amazing, from the your flesh welcomes us of the hybrids to the i can't help you if you hide sir of the robots, all the sounds seem so completely wrong, it's as if they sat around trying out different sounds find the wrongest sounds they could get, it really assails the senses - and the way the hybrids tell you to run when they see you... it's powerful

plus, enemy respawns mean you can almost never really stop and take a breather, organise your inventory or check your skills while feeling genuinely safe, attacks could come at any time

plus, those enemies are dangerous - and feeling vulnerable is a perfect way to evoke fear, it taps directly into your own personal sense of self preservation - you want to stay alive, and that's why fear exists

plus, the environment is very oppressive, from the narrow, constricting corridors and maze-like design to heavy, automatic doors with unknown dangers lying beyond

and also (unless you are particularly thorough or a veteran of several plays) you will almost constantly have low resources, and you need them to live, every bullet you spend, watching that number dwindling, it feels like you're one step closer to death, to helplessness, with every shot, like you're watching your own blood pumping out of your body

and then there is the constant concern that you perhaps aren't building your character right, that you don't have the skills you need, that you missed cybernetic modules, that you won't have enough nanites when you need them

that's why ss2 is so genius, it's no one thing, it's shock, panic, full blown fear, worry, an oppressive, wrongness - the game doesn't rely on zombies bursting out of wardrobes, but neither does it just try to screw with your head - it does everything, all at once

i rarely feel frightened when i play SS2 now, but i still remember that first time through - i'd say it's easily the most frightening game the PC has ever produced - and i think overall, only silent hill 1 tops it