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System Shock 1 vs 2 - Which is better and why?

System Shock 1 vs 2 Which is better and why?


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mindx2

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With all the GotY polls flying fast and loose around here recently I got the itch to create a poll myself. I just recently finished both System Shock 1 & 2 and started thinking which one did I enjoy more. With the recent announcement of a SS3 being led by Warren Spector I began comparing the games to each other. Now this isn't intended as a full review of each game and their various parts but rather a quick impressions-type look at each games strengths (and weaknesses) with one emerging as the "winner."

SS1:
- I enjoyed the level design of 1 the best. Citidel Station felt like an actual space station with each level laid out in a fairly functional way that made sense and just "felt" more cohesive. This is totally subjective but 2's level layout didn't seem as cohesive as 1's with 2's last several levels (Rickenbacker and The Many) falling flat fairly quickly and forcing a totally different play style onto the player (the jumping!!).
- The puzzles win hands down when comparing 1 vs 2. The original's puzzles felt just challenging enough with the clues planted throughout the station in a logical fashion. One had to search for those clues and the logs gave you just enough info to know in which direction to look. In SS2 Delacroix pretty much walks you through each step with her leading you by the nose until the "big reveal."
- The mini-hacking pieces also took more thinking than just the trial and error clicking of 2. I also enjoyed the cyber-space parts as well. I thought it was a great representation and allowed you to open previously restricted areas by venture forth into it.
- I enjoyed the music in 1 much more than 2. In SS2 I always turn off the music but not in 1. Plus I love the elevator muzak!

SS2:
- The cRPG additions is the biggest plus in this one. The ability to upgrade weapon, Psi, tech, etc. Each upgrade and use of those precious Cyber-modules had a direct and immediate impact on my character.
- The combat is also much better in 2. In SS1 once I got the Flechette and assault rifle there were hardly any enemies that could tough me. Also, ammo was a much more precious commodity in SS2 than the abundant amount laying around in 1. The lack of resources did up the tension in 2.
- The UI in SS2 also wins hands down when compared to 1. SS1's UI takes some getting used to but it certainly isn't a deal breaker for me but 2's is just much more user friendly.

Visually this one is a tie for me with maybe SS1 having a bit of an edge. The enemy sprites in 1 don't stand-up as well but I really enjoyed the visual look of 1 more than the more generic 3D look of 2.

For me I give the edge to System Shock 1 as the one I "enjoyed" the most. Yes, SS2 is the cRPG of the two but as far as taking everything as a whole System Shock 1 comes out ahead of 2. Both are two of the best computer games ever made and, after playing them again, there is still no doubt in my mind. I can only hope and pray that Otherside Entertainment takes the best from both games and creates another classic as these two have become.

So, Codex, what is your take on which is better and why.........?
:hmmm:
 
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octavius

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SS1. I didn't like SS2 as much mainly due to the excessive respawning and weapons breaking down in no time.
 

Tito Anic

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System Shock 2 - even few years after completing it i remember those late evenings then i played it and get warm feelings till now. Superb atmosphere, exploring, voice acting - best survival horror RPG ever created imo. Also...
First time i saw Shodan manifestation, in the "falling walls" room, i was in awe after such plot twist:)

System Shock 1 - heard very good feedback about it at internet, tried it but didnt complete it. If i am correct it is different from second part - more FPS than RPG?

SS2:love:
 
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Obviously they are both classics. I would have to say SS1 is a better game, the overall design is tight, and almost everything in it works well. I didn't even really mind the control scheme, though I know a lot of people had trouble getting into it because of its lack of mouselook and it is a bit clunky in other aspects as well.

SS2 is very ambitious and does a lot of things well. It's clearly the superior RPG, given that SS1 isn't much of an RPG at all. But as an overall game, there are just too many parts that are off in comparison to SS1 to say it's the superior game.
 

octavius

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Obviously they are both classics. I would have to say SS1 is a better game, the overall design is tight, and almost everything in it works well. I didn't even really mind the control scheme, though I know a lot of people had trouble getting into it because of its lack of mouselook and it is a bit clunky in other aspects as well.

I've played SS1 twice, and the funny thing is that the second time, when I used the version with mouselook, I used twice as much time to complete it. :?

Anyway, one advantage of having played SS1 was that learning the UI of Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri took very little time.
 

Ash

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SS2 for a wide variety of reasons:

RPG Systems (even if poor balance).
Interface, use mode and grid inventory combo (work of genius).
The engine, and everything related to it (graphics, controls, more complex geometry, audio quality etc).
The soundtrack.
The plot.
The platforming (yes I like that shit fuck you)
The level design in general - on a room by room case SS2 is far more interesting and condensed, but SS1 had big open areas sometimes which would have been good in 2 so that it is not so corridor-shootery.
Although it is not much, the nanite toll for reconstructor use.
Next to no ranged hitscan enemies at all. Except those darn turrets.

There was still some aspects of SS1 I liked not present in 2 that should be noted:

Actual darkness, (although it was only one deck).
Prone position/lying down/second stage of crouch.
Stamina system? I don't even recall how it worked now.
Cyberspace, although it was a concept with underwhelming execution.
A finale & boss fight with SHODAN that was far better executed.
 
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Hyperpube

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Severian Silk

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SS1 has cooler levels, better music, and isn't so minimalist like SS2.
 

Cazzeris

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System Shock 1 is amazing. The cyberpunk, over-the-top atmosphere, the consistently cool music, the player freedom that was present in both the controls and UI design, the outstanding level design and game mechanics work great together and are enough to consider the game a timeless classic.

But then I tried its popular, well-received sequel. Holy shit, the level design and atmosphere felt totally insulting from the start. Banal-shit-boring, dumbed down corridors which can't hold a candle to SS1's goodness and retardedly generic, poorly mixed electronic music with pretentious horror stuff. Ken Levine butchered the uniqueness the first game had and included his very own retardation with BioShocky French-sounding people talking about love in those über cargo-culty recordings and ghosts ( :lol: ). The only thing that could've saved the game would've been those well-praised RPG elements, but they only made me think that some people just drool at everything that features an 'RPG' label. In a game with such linearity and focus in combat, this addition could've only added to the variety of the aforementioned combat at best, but it just remains repetitive since it's based on +DAMAGE bonuses and a small division between two clear paths that don't really make the combat deeper or more rewarding. It's just a really light aRPG, even lighter than not-RPGs like Deus Ex (a great game that at least was made more intereseting by the mixture of its skill system and competent multipathed level design, which SS2 is nowhere near having). Some balance problems also hurt the survival feel the game achieves at the start, and all this new potential is finally brought down by all those idiotic, gamist system and mechanics design decisions which have no place in a LGS game in my opinion.

Also, I didn't endure enough to watch how the narrative and plot were developed, but the gory communism stuff Levine was obsessed with at the time already felt kinda boring to me.
 

Tito Anic

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But then I tried its popular, well-received sequel. Holy shit, the level design and atmosphere felt totally insulting from the start. Banal-shit-boring, dumbed down corridors which can't hold a candle to SS1's goodness and retardedly generic, poorly mixed electronic music with pretentious horror stuff.

:edgy:
 

Cazzeris

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But then I tried its popular, well-received sequel. Holy shit, the level design and atmosphere felt totally insulting from the start. Banal-shit-boring, dumbed down corridors which can't hold a candle to SS1's goodness and retardedly generic, poorly mixed electronic music with pretentious horror stuff.

:edgy:

But it's true. Even if you didn't like SS1's style, SS2 is a definite departure from it and doesn't really feel as consistent or inspired at all. The level design comparison is just the pure truth: a fine example of unasked simplification.
 

Athelas

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SS2 because stats that support vastly different playstyles.
System Shock 2's level design is not expansive or elaborate enough to support 'vastly different playstyles' like in say Deus Ex.
 
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