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[Parsely]

System Shock is a first-person adventure developed by Looking Glass Technologies (the makers of Thief) and published by Origin Systems. Released in 1994 on DOS, the game is set aboard a space station in a cyberpunk vision of the year 2072. Assuming the role of a nameless hacker, the player attempts to hinder the plans of a malevolent artificial intelligence called SHODAN.

Its pretty badass.

[Frumple]

... I liked the sequel better, iirc.

But yeah, they're both bloody sexy, sexy games. Have a multiplayer component too, at least SS2 does.

[puke]

one of the first fully 3d shooter / RPGs, with skills and inventory and plot and such.  really groundbreaking, and a great story and immersive environment to boot.  Ultima Underworld may have been earlier, but most of the other games were either pure shooters like doom, or  pseudo-3d RPGs like Dungeon Master and the Wizardry series.

Same guys behind it were the ones who made Thief, so that should tell you something about the creativity and quality of story telling.  I heard a rumor that the founder was up to something new, but that must be bullshit since his last company was bought by zynga back in 2011 ):

Fans keep updating this game to be compatible with modern computers, I try to play it every couple of years but it always crashes sometime in the first or second level, and I'm not that patient.  I hear some people have it working smoothly, and the graphics have been updated for higher resolution screens (I dont think the textures are improved, just higher display modes are supported now).  I couldn't get it going last year, but you might have better luck than me.

This post was updated like five days ago, so someone is still maintaining it:  http://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=211.0

[Parsely]

Same guys behind it were the ones who made Thief.

Yep. Said that in the OP.

I couldn't get it going last year, but you might have better luck than me.

Yes as a matter of fact, I just played through the first two levels a few hours ago on my Mac.

[kg333]

I hear some people have it working smoothly, and the graphics have been updated for higher resolution screens (I dont think the textures are improved, just higher display modes are supported now).  I couldn't get it going last year, but you might have better luck than me.

There are several hi-res texture packs available for all of the Dark Engine games...I'm uncertain as to how nicely they play with the higher resolution patches, though.

KG

[LeoLeonardoIII]

Love SS1 and 2, though SS1 controls were bad: need WASD+Mouse. Would be nice if they would re-release with better controls and a larger field of view. If you crave more SS, Dead Space is kinda like it.

[puke]

Love SS1 and 2, though SS1 controls were bad: need WASD+Mouse. Would be nice if they would re-release with better controls and a larger field of view. If you crave more SS, Dead Space is kinda like it.

that "systemshock portable" site i linked includes a mouse-look mod in their package.  pretty much does what you want.

[Viken]

I grabbed System Shock 2 today and plan to try it out for the first time tomorrow.

[Donuts]

My bro gave me System Shock (Can't remember if it was 1 or 2, probably 2) a long time ago. I should probably try to play it again.

[itisnotlogical]

I didn't especially like the original. Maybe I just lack the imagination or patience, but I didn't really have fun with it. SS2 looks more my speed.

Of course, I went to TVTropes and thought "This looks dumb and I'll never play it, might as well spoil it for myself." Two minutes later: "HOLY CRAP THAT WAS AWESOME WHY DID I SPOIL IT."

[miljan]

I didn't especially like the original. Maybe I just lack the imagination or patience, but I didn't really have fun with it. SS2 looks more my speed.

Of course, I went to TVTropes and thought "This looks dumb and I'll never play it, might as well spoil it for myself." Two minutes later: "HOLY CRAP THAT WAS AWESOME WHY DID I SPOIL IT."

Crap man, now I did the same xD

[Parsely]

I didn't especially like the original. Maybe I just lack the imagination or patience, but I didn't really have fun with it. SS2 looks more my speed.

Of course, I went to TVTropes and thought "This looks dumb and I'll never play it, might as well spoil it for myself." Two minutes later: "HOLY CRAP THAT WAS AWESOME WHY DID I SPOIL IT."

Crap man, now I did the same xD

FOOLS!

[Sergius]

The first SS had cyberspace.

I think it was pretty nifty.

[Parsely]

The first SS had cyberspace.

I think it was pretty nifty.

Yes indeed it was. The whole game was nifty, especially when you hold it up next to the bulk of the 90s games that were released at that time. I blame none of them though. I think we take for granted how truly far we've come when it comes to video games. Some of the trends and standards that we see in most games today (such as camera movement being bound to the movement of your mouse) were all revolutionary at one point.

[puke]

It had lots of things going for it, as far as innovative features.  the ability to duck and lean around corners is something it definitely pioneered. 

playing modern FPS games and stuff like Deus Ex:HR modernizes that feature, and ducking is mostly context sensitive (ie you dont have to tell it to lean low and left, it figures that out for you based on available cover)

But I think what really sets it apart is a really great narrative.  few games of any era delivered good story telling, and this was one of the better ones.  now combine the great narrative with the innovating features, and it is really history making.