System Shock 2 (1999) is an action role-playing and survival horror game for the PC developed by Looking Glass Studios and Irrational Games. Although very linear in narrative structure System Shock 2 has an array of mechanical variability in allowing the player to interact with the game environment and choose how they progress though the game. System Shock 2 was also instrumental in an array of storytelling techniques and a hybridisation of game design in order to build an compelling, coherent and engaging fictional reality.
In System Shock 2 the mechanics of world interaction are immediately similar to that of the standard first person shooter game; the game is entirely played from this perspective, and the player interacts with objects within the game world by pointing an onscreen crosshair at it, and hitting a contextual button. The combat of System Shock 2 is also very similar to that of a first person shooter. However this is compounded by a complex user interface. The player has a series of screens representing items held on their person, navigational tools, statistics, statuses and a electronic journal device.
Honestly…this game is so truly timeless. Even playing it now feels completely modern and exciting. It literally laid the groundwork for everything we take for granted in gaming today.
