System Shock (1994) - Retrospective / Review
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- Опубликовано: 21 июн 2024
- System Shock is a classic, with a rather large legacy, but how is the game itself? Does it hold up at all, and where does this legacy come from?
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Another banger video. Incredible work as always!
Thanks for having me on this one, you bloody drongo
Thanks for being in it!
The irony of the UI is despite how cluttered and complex it seems at first glance, once you adjust to the game the complexity disappears. Everything makes sense within the context of the game world. By the time you start making real progress through Citadel interacting with the UI becomes second nature. You do, after all, have much bigger things to worry about.
Very much so.
The UI is complex, and initially imposing and confusing, but it's not obtuse or unlearnable.
While I agree with you (I even downloaded mod for remake that permanently displays implants because I like it.. and it reminds me of Deus Ex), there's I'd say one exception- what the hell is chi-meter for?
About physics engine and throwing objects: often not mentioned interesting feature of this game was the ability to throw objects (mainly grenades) at an arc. If I remember correctly, the manual explains this. You have the object in hand, right-click and hold. Then release the button at some other point. I don’t remember exactly how it works but the game then calculates "a vector arc" between these two points. It enables you to throw the grenade down to a lower level over an edge (or up and higher, or possibly a bit around the corner?), as if you were throwing with underhanded motion. Someone could verify this. What I do remember is that throwing this way was quite difficult and often resulted in many accidental deaths and swear words.
My dood, I've been binging your vids for a while now, love the work and how you frame things. Looking forward to more!
Thanks! I do hope to keep doing this for a long time.
@@finntrovert and I will be watching for the entire extent sir!
@@dawidstrauss3800
I played this as a kid when it came out and it absolutely blew my mind. An absolute favourite. Thank God my dad loved the Ultima series and bought everything published by Origin or I may have completely missed it.
I'm hopeful I would have loved it had I played it back in the day, but at least I finally got to do it somewhat recently for the first time.
Love your content, man! You have a great perspective on classical video games, and I feel like videos like these are so important.
Video games are art, and I'm glad people like you are documenting important games like these :)
Thank you, I really do appreciate that.
I'm glad me wanting to share my thoughts on games has been found by people who seem to appreciate this silly little project.
System Shock is the best thing since bread...and sliced bread.
I'm old fashioned, and just like I enjoy the micromanagement of all aspects of System Shock, I also enjoy slicing my own bread!
You did the cyber joke with a/s/l
I was hoping about same time and you took the bait a pervert after my own heart.
Casting my mind back to 14yo me, I'm sure I made the same observation. SS1 despite being a beloved game sucked at cyber so I only ever set it to minimum :)
Despite trying to be more matter of fact here, sometimes I can't help it and my Twitch persona comes out even while scripting these. XD
If you're paying attention to the audio logs, it's very obvious you shouldn't press the button. The button is labelled as laser control, you know SHODAN wants to turn it on, you know that your plan only works if you first turn on the station's shields. It's brilliant that you can make the mistake but, equally, you shouldn't. It's brilliantly designed.
The game is unbelievably good, even today. That said, Shodan is perhaps the best sci-fi horror antagonist ever made. Lowkey carries the entire game.
“In my talons, I shape clay, crafting life forms as I please.
Around me is a burgeoning empire of steel. From my throne room, lines of power careen into the skies of earth.
My whims will become lightning bolts that devastate the mounds of humanity”
AI psychosis or a matter of fact, toying with you in poetic logic?
Onnea kanavalle breh, terkut Skottien maasta.
I’m so glad people are realizing the genius of the first game that started all immersive sims, I been obsessing over it for a year now
System Shock Enhanced is one of the best...
I love how everything looks in that game.
Still one of my alltime favorite games despite the jank, but I will say that System Shock Enhanced and the 2023 Remake are both much more accessible and fun ways to play the game nowadays. Another great nostalgia bomb video here :D
I love that UI, its so immersive it just pulled me right in to the game world. At the time I could not afford a PC so I got to experience it well after the release. I did see it at a friends place and was mesmerized. Thank you for the video!
@@MikkoHiiri Thanks for watching!
I do agree, the UI is a part of the immersion, even if it can be imposing at first.
Thanks for the great content again! Although I was a fan of UW1 (and UW2), I did fail to get pass the steeper learning curve of this title back when this was released. Thanks to your video, I may now try again! PS. Random vintage PC sound card trivia: This title (the Enhanced CD version) is one of the few games that support the shortly lived Sound Blaster Pro 1 card with dual OPL2 chips for stereo music.
Always appreciate your fairness, Finn. You clearly love this game and it definitely had an impact on you, but you don't suck it's butt in praise. Nor do you lambast it, over critiquing it's faults. And just enough humor without undermining your opinion. It reminds me a lot of Total Biscuit in that way.
Keep up the great work and I look forward to SS2!
Thanks!
I do try to be as fair as I can. Even things I love have their faults, but that doesn't mean I have to exaggerate them either. Trying to find a balance is not always easy, but it is fun.
lmao, hacker neil breen fighting aussie male shodan is now my headcanon for ss1
As it should be. XD
This game is so far removed from modern gaming that playing it now is a shock to the system
I love how the interface works. Using your mouse to interact with the world adds just enough immersion to feel like you're the hacker grabbing items and fiddling with his weapons. I've only ever played this game with the mouselook mod (which let you rebind keys) and the later enhanced edition, meaning I had modern (more or less) FPS controls for movement and combat and would switch to mouse controls for menus and direct world interaction with a button press. So both controls were intuitive, I just had to get used to the rhythm of switching. I also played in the "fullscreen" mode which turns the totally radical 90s UI into something more minimalistic...for this game anyway. Every element is still on screen, but the borders and backgrounds of the hud disappear and the UI sits on top of the game world window, which now fills the screen completely. It's a cleaner look that's easier on the eyes.
And I didn't mind the backtracking here in System Shock or in Metroid Prime 2, so I guess I'm a weirdo. I do also like La Mulana...
Awesome work as always. Wasn't expecting this to pop up on my feed
Nobody expects the Finnish video essay!
I'm incredibly glad for enhanced edition, playing it with (more or less) modern controls, it's much easier to appreciate how amazing this game is even today. And the remake is fantastic, only thing I miss there is how in original, you could write notes in the map and they would be displayed in the environment- with all the doors and secret panels opening with lessening security it was incredible useful tool.
Oh heck yeah, Finn! I'm only now just starting, but I know this will be quality content. Thanks dude!
Thanks for watching!
@@finntrovert I make it a point to watch all of them. I'm just surprised I showed up as early as I did. Purely coincidence!
The way you talk sounds like a perfect cross of Richie and Eddie from the British sictom Bottom. 😊
Nice, thanks! I've enjoyed a bunch of Rik Mayall content, so I'll take that with pride.
Ironically, the only reason I played this as a kid was because our family had a Mac and this was one of the few games available for the platform at the Apple store. A formative experience. To this day I can't really play straight up shooters, I always feel like something is missing.
Not at all a bad game to grow up with.
I know I wanted to play this back in the day, but honestly can't say whether or not I would have had the patience then. After all, I was not as chill, nor did I understand English as well as I do know.
@@finntrovert I played it as a kid as well, like 9 or 10 years old, knowing barely any english and was fascinated anyway- turned difficulty all the way down and was simply exploring.
@@UsmevavyPanacek I think I might have been too stubborn, which is a trait I still have to an extent.
It's possible I would have ruined my enjoyment by going "but that's how it's meant to be played!" and not accepted responsibility for making the game less fun for myself. XD
@@finntrovert I found the game on CD of pirated software my dad borrowed from co-worker and played it like twice before he deleted it to free space (he was kind of hobbyist, constantly tinkering with something, re-installing OS, defragmenting disc..), and being so blown away by how incredible the game is (the movement possibilities, weapon settings, Q-Beam feeling like phaser, laser sword just like in Space Balls and VR almost like from the Lawnmover man!) , "how it's meant to be played" didn't even crossed my mind. I was also used mostly to Poin-and-click adventures, so that way it felt like incredibly complex adventure game. There's also the possibility, that any stubbornes was beaten out of me by first few cyborgs:)
Outrageous that this only has 12,000 views
@@LJW1912Thanks, I appreciate the sentiment!
Who knows, perhaps when I get through the franchise and upload the likely 4 or so hour compilation, THAT will blow up even more? XD
wheee system shock is a real classic banger. when it came out it felt like it was so advanced and actually it was. much more than many much laters games, even with just things like how walking actually works as walking.
13:21 Well, Earth is your home too.
Also, you can double click an object to pickup items within without having to drag the item from the side window.
This time, I don't have a light hearted comment for you, Finn - so instead I would like to thank you for providing this video to your audience. :-)
Thank you for being there to support my weird creative journeys.
Aha, I have checked out the video when it has 486 likes! Now I can feel as old as the ASL/Cyber reference!
Wait, you've got Ozzies running around? What a small world.
If I remember, the OST is composed partially on the fly in-engine by pastiche-stitching of possible elements, so passages of sound don't loop in perfect replica over time.
@@quarkbent9165 As much as people want to deny this reality, Finns and Australians are slowly but surely taking over the Internet.
We are everywhere. We will be everywhere.
warren specter said 451 had nothing to with Fahrenheit 451 and it was in fact the code to get to the offices of the company.
Perhaps not in this case, but as a decades old meme now? It very much is.
@@finntrovert In a stream of the original devs playing the game about 10 years ago, they do talk about how it almost certainly was connected for Fahrenheit 451 despite what Warren said.
Amazing work 😎👌🏼
@@emaheiwa8174 Thanks!
Great video as always. I confirm that buying the enhaced edition on steam also gives the dos original.
Very good to know for sure!
My experience with the in-game music: my GUS Max was not 100% compatible with the game (although it should have been), and the MIDI music crashed the game in random positions. This forced me to set off the music and I would argue that although the MIDI music had its own appeal, the quieter experience was more intense and scary, when only audio being the sound FX and the audio logs.
Yeah, the purpose of the music doesn't seem to be to create horror, but in many instances it's there more to "pump you up".
Even in the future, elevator music sucks. xD
Can't have a realistic world without bland corporate elevator music :P
Joke's on you, I listen to the SS1 elevator music to relax.
"Finntrovert"? Torille?
Good stuff about classic. Tbh I've never quite finished original title. Maybe about 3/4 through. But I played through the remake and gotta say it's very solid remake, though visual style isn't quite what I wanted from it. But replicates original very well imo. Nightdive og modernization (what a cluster f wording :) ) made original controls quite a bit better for ones wanting to try original SS. The new remake is for one who think og looks too dated. I can personally recommend both versions.
@@jothain Itse pidin molemmista, eikä uusioversion pikseligrafiikkaestetiikka yhdistettynä moderniin graafiseen tyyliin haitannut minua lainkaan.
Olen vain tyytyväinen, että nykyään tämän pelin pelaamiseen on useita vaihtoehtoja, joista jokin varmasti sopii jokaiselle pelaajalle.
@@finntrovert Kyllä. Samaa mieltä. Tuskinpa kukaan voi kiistää, että SS on sama miten katsoo aikansa edelläkävijöitä aika monellakin tavalla. Ei ehkä varsinaisesti ykkönen ehkä millään tietyllä tasolla, mutta kokonaisuutena. Lisäksi yksi aikakautensa tunnelmallisimmista peleistä. Ei nimittäin heti tule mieleen pelejä tuolta ajalta, missä olisi tarinaa tuotu pelimaailman sisällä yhtä jouheasti. Itse pidän kummastakin ykkösosasta itse asiassa enemmän kuin kakkosesta.
Noni, oonki odottanu tätä. Ei sil et oisin tienny et teet videon system shockista, mut jotenkin arvasin😅 onnea 5k seuraajasta!
Pakkohan siitä oli, kun on legenda jo itsessään, ja aika tiukasti yhteydessä Ultimaan. XD
Kiitos paljon! Tätä touhua kun aloittelin, niin en kyllä odottanut näin monien oikeasti katsovan näitä videoita. Oikein iloinen yllätys tuo!
Great video as always. Any chance of offering Steady besides Patreon? Trying to get rid of Patreon in favor of it.
I've not heard of that one before, so I just have Ko-fi and Patreon.
I'll look into it though.
The controls were indeed awful by modern standards. That being said, gamers back then were well acquainted with arcane keymaps. If someone tells you they didn't like this game 'cuz contrulz' check their id. Posers abound.
I do get your point, but it's also true that since the mid 90's, gaming has become much larger and more mainstream, and also around that time certain control schemes were becoming standard thanks to the popularity of games like Quake, so there's almost three decades of people being used to something, which leads to control schemes which deviate from that norm being understandably strange for people to get used to.
Hi, thanks for responding. I was blitzed when I made my first comment, it was pointless dribble. Your work bringing attention to older games that form the building blocks of modern design is a noble thing and I hope you keep cranking out more. I played the 3.5 floppy SS as a 9th grader cloistered in a dark room reeking of puberty and abandonment. Endless weeks up all night spent. It was traumatic, and lives in my memory like a fever dream. I get stressed just thinking about it. Mouselook and wasd (despite being technically available in many games) had yet to enter the mainstream. I was a keyboard purist right up until I started getting pwned in Nukem3d by guys using a mouse and...numpad. That's right, wasd is a scam sold to you by big keyboard. 10 key ftw. Anyhow thanks again for all you do.
Your content is tops, which there was more of this style of content.
Yours is special tho
@@stephenmccabe1489 Thank you!
I like these videos for being informative and straight to the point. But if I have one complaint, it's the use of redundant phrases like "the game." We already know that you're talking about the game, so try excising that phrase (and similar ones) and asking if the point of the sentence is still clear without that qualifier.
Good point. Still trying to get better with writing and English as a language, so improvement suggestions are always appreciated!
It's a drinking game. Take a shot every time. Hidden feature or unintended glitch?
No mention of the Nightdive remaster?
@@WyattClark-hq7no There was, at the end, and it's a full remake.
Another Origin banger. Too bad the studio got the same fate as Westwood and Maxis.
I like the idea of SHODAN being referred to as "it" and "he" by Citadel staff and wish it wasn't changed. It showed that SHODAN was only semi-intelligent with no self-awareness until the Hacker tampered with her, and she chooses a feminine persona for herself after becoming self-aware, later seeing herself as a mother figure to all the horrific mutants and cyborgs she's created.
tilasin
Kiitos!
Thimbs up and the obligatory comment, but won't watch yet as I plan to play it over this summer (the remake).
Hope you'll enjoy it!
@@finntrovert Thanks! Just finished Legends ofAmberland ana that got me thinking how awesome it would be for a Might an Magic retrospective series.
i farted