![]() ![]() The game did not start as a System Shock sequel, actually - it was none other than EA who, when Looking Glass pitched the idea to them, said to make it into a sequel to System Shock.Unfortunately, due to Looking Glass Studios' assets being acquired by Meadowbrook Insurance Group after they closed down and EA holding the trademark of the System Shock name, it took until February of 2013 for Nightdive to get the rights to re-release it. Screwed by the Lawyers: System Shock 2 was one of the most requested releases at GOG.com.Due to time constrains, the cutscene could not be redone and parts of the game were hastily rewritten to account for the differences. Serendipity Writes the Plot: The ending cutscene came out of miscommunications between Ken Levine and the cutscene artists, who had not used the script written for the ending.The doctor confidently states that "there have been literally tens of thousands of studies of primate intelligence, and there is no evidence of behavior even remotely that sophisticated." Since the release of System Shock 2, there have been a lot of studies of primate intelligence that displayed, if not this exact behavior, similarly sophisticated behavior. Science Marches On: There is an audio log from a doctor remonstrating with a nurse who claimed to have seen a monkey sign the passcode to a supply closet to another monkey, who then proceeded to open it.Both were too Looking Glass employees at the time. Real-Life Relative: SHODAN is voiced by Terri Brosius, wife of Eric Brosius, who served as sound engineer and composer.Contest Winner Cameo: The audio logs of Norris are voiced by a System Shock fan who won the contest.Acting for Two: Terri Brosius provided her voice to both SHODAN and Dr.And it's the incidental stuff that kept me company as I crept through Shock 2's endless corridors. Since SHODAN's influence is unknown at first, little of the incidental plot actually relates to her. ![]() It was these smaller stories I spent my time thinking about: Tommy Suarez and Rebecca Siddons' impossible quest to find each other in the chaos, Delacroix's rising panic long before anyone else saw the problem, Diego's subtle transition from proud UNN officer to servant of the enemy, Bronson's ruthless measures to curb the threat-and her utter defiance to the last breath. Most articles about System Shock 2 are primarily about SHODAN, but for me she was never the focus. Most are just people talking, which simply doesn't call for acting with a capital A. It might not have had Quark from Deep Space Nine (opens in new tab) in it like BioShock, but the non-actors give the kind of naturalistic performances you rarely hear anymore. Most were messages from one crew member to another, and sometimes you'd find the reply. Audio diaries have become a cliché since, but that's not what these were. ![]() The people who lived there are all dead, infested, or fleeing, but their lives were still in evidence through their recorded messages to each other. Each deck feels different: Engineering the hellish radioactive bowels, Med/Sci the convenient home base, Hydroponics a disgusting jungle, Operations an intimidating nexus of ninja-infested boardrooms, and Recreation at once luxurious and sinister. You pass the central elevator dozens of times on every floor, its satisfyingly chunky yellow button a reminder of all the places you haven't explored yet. ![]() The hub structure has been used before and since, but it's never quite as exciting as when it's on a space ship. The Von Braun is mankind's first faster-than-light spacecraft: a huge vessel, all five decks fully explorable. ![]()
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