System Shock is a first-person action-adventure video game developed by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looking_Glass_Studios and published by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_Systems. Released in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_in_video_gaming, the game is set aboard the fictional Citadel Station in a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk vision of 2072. Assuming the role of a nameless http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_%28computer_security%29, the player attempts to hinder the plans of a malevolent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence.
Unlike other http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_person_%28video_games%29 games of the time, System Shock features true http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_computer_graphics environments, and allows the player to look up and down, duck, go prone, jump, mantle, and lean to the side. Critics praised System Shock and hailed it as a major innovation in its genre. It was later placed on multiple hall of fame lists. The game was a moderate commercial success, with sales exceeding 170,000 copies. A sequel, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Shock_2, was released by Looking Glass Studios and off-shoot developer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrational_Games in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_in_video_gaming; the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_in_video_gaming game http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_Ex and the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_in_video_gaming game http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioShock are http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_successor to the two games.

System Shock 2 is a 1999 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_person_%28video_games%29 action role-playing video game, designed by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Levine_%28video_game_designer%29 for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows. The title is a sequel to the 1994 PC game http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Shock, and was co-developed by Irrational Games and Looking Glass Studios. The sequel was originally designed as a standalone title with no relation to System Shock; story changes were made when http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Arts—who owned the Shock franchise rights—signed on as publisher. System Shock 2 was released on August 11, 1999 in North America.
The game takes place on board a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship in a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk depiction of 2114. The player assumes the role of a lone soldier trying to stem the outbreak of a genetic infection that has devastated the ship. Like System Shock, gameplay consists of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_person_shooter and exploration. The game also incorporates http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game_system elements, where the player can develop unique skills and traits, such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_%28computer_security%29 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psionic abilities.
System Shock 2 received positive reviews when released, but failed to meet commercial sales expectations. In retrospect, many critics have determined the game to be highly influential, particularly on first person shooters, and far ahead of its time, and inducted it into several "greatest games of all time" lists. In January 2006, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_and_Video_Games reported System Shock 3 may be under development. As of January 2010, nothing conclusive has surfaced regarding the purported project's status. In 2007, Irrational—then http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2K_Boston/2K_Australia—released a self-proclaimed 'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_successor' to the System Shock series, entitled http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioShock, to critical acclaim and strong sales.

Uh, thanks for the wikipedia copy-pasting?


I love System Shock 2. Most of it, anyway. I think it starts going downhill once you get to the Rickenbacker. Especially the final boss and the fleshy level before it I didn't like much, mostly because there weren't any ammo vending machines anywhere in those two levels AFAIK. In my last playthrough I ended up in the situation where it was impossible to beat the final boss because I had no ammo and the wrench doesn't work.

Also, the ending, what the hell.

I've tried playing SS1 but it's a little too old for me.

I also tried to play SS1 but I hate it how you have to use the keyboard to look up and down. Too old for me but SS2 was great.

There's a mod which adds mouse look I think.

Ya there is, but I could not get it to work for me

How about some links to where you can buy System Shock 1 and 2?

Neither seems to be available on Steam

They're really hard to find. I managed to find a retail copy of SS2 at a good price, it's pretty much the only option you have.

There's a big legal mess about who owns the IP, and it doesn't seem like it's ever getting resolved. But until it is, EA can't put it Steam, GOG, etc.