InsetUpperLevel on 6/8/2002 at 01:17

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Yes, this is my first post. I've been lurking in these forums for a while now, though. I believe I know most of the rules (hopefully), so don't worry too much.

So I've recently finished System Shock 2, and there's one thing that really stood out for me, after reading everyone else's opinions. The teeth in the Body of the Many. The universally-hated puzzle.

To be honest, I never had much trouble with it. I peeked at some spoilerish threads here before I got to the teeth-jumping part, and the image that came up in my mind was some giant, nightmarish ladder of platforms, all moving at different speeds and directions, spiraling up the sides of some huge bottomless pit. And you would have to climb up these platforms while avoiding, say, a dozen of some sort of fast-moving, flying enemies trying to knock you off. Seemed appropriate for the second to last level, really.

Then I got to the corresponding part, and found TWO teeth, in a relatively small room, moving up and down at the same speed. With that, it was easy to predict when they would grind together, and then just step on like so, hop over, and be on your way. I thought this was some sort of preparation for the real thing.

Then I had to do it again when I reloaded the game, and once more when I went back for the Replicators and Upgrade Units. Took a couple of minutes at most.

And it's not because I'm good at jumping puzzles, because I'm not. I cheated my way through Super Mario Bros. Other games have made me give up altogether. I hated the earlier parts in SS2 where you jumped over that force field thing, or that really deep pit with the ladder in the upside-down part. (THAT one always takes me a few tries - doesn't anyone have problems there?) But at least those were instant death if you missed. With the teeth, you've got only a short distance to fall.

I'm not trying to bag on anyone. But for the sake of comparison, would anyone like to relate just what they experienced that made it so hard?

SNAFU on 6/8/2002 at 05:48

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Well, more or less, I would venture to guess that most people would find this jumping puzzle uninspired. It's like you're playing this REALLY great game, which has original and open-ended gameplay, an inspirational setting, and creativity plotline, when all of a sudden, you find a jumping puzzle sitting in the middle of nowhere. One minute, you're fighting for your life, and the next, you need to navigate what is obviously some sort of platform game rip-off. Whether you're a heavily armed marine, techno-wiz sailor, or telepathic black box operative, you are SOL at that point. You HAVE to do the puzzle, which, on easy, IS a minor annoyance as you say. But try it on Hard, where the fall can about kill you, or you still only have 1 or 2 points in Agility, you still don't have the reflexes to time the jumps right. Add to that the atrocious lag in a Multiplayer game, and the fact that if you die, you start ALL the way back at the escape pod...

DC, you remember THAT don't ya?;)

D'Arcy on 6/8/2002 at 08:44

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Yes, Mighty Mouse always has a terrible time trying to pass the teeth ;)
To be honest, I never found that part very difficult. I normally manage to go past it on my first attempt. I just jump on the tooth right in front of the opening, go up to destroy the nerve cluster, go back on the tooth, and jump to the exit. And when on MP with Mighty Mouse, then I just hang around at the next room for a VERY long time killing all the enemies and waiting for him to arrive ;)

The teeth puzzle always seemed to me like it didn't belong in the game, but it never annoyed me too much.

Oh, and SNAFU, even on Hard, I never get to the BOTM with less than Agility 5 (then I use the SwiftBoost implant to get it up to 6).

SNAFU on 6/8/2002 at 15:55

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But not everyone else does...:o

I don't think I need to release THAT story quite yet.

consumer on 7/8/2002 at 02:28

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the teeth puzzle did suck. but it's nothing compared to the jumping puzzles in the last levels of half life. they made my whole body shiver and deducted a substansial amount of awe from my overall impression of the game. much like botm did from my ss2 experience.