Name: System Shock
Developed By: Looking Glass Studios and
Origin Systems
Published By: Origin Systems
Year Released: 1994
Description: System Shock was a 'hybrid' computer game that combined a DOOM-like first-person perspective with RPG-like character advancement and a strong plot. It was unique, and like most unique things went underappreciated in its own time.
The game's plot begins when the player character awakens on a space station in orbit around Jupiter. Due to an extended period of cryogenic sleep, partial amnesia has set in. As the player explores the immediate surroundings, it becomes apparent that something has gone amiss. The player is then contacted by an agent from an approaching starship and is told that the artificial intelligence that controls the station, an entity known as SHODAN, has freed itself from human control and is using the station and its human populace to conduct experiments that will eventually end in the destruction of the human race. As the only being on board the station not under SHODAN's control, it is up to you to foil her various schemes.
Notable: This was the third game developed by the conjuction Looking Glass/Origin group (Ultima Underworld I and II being the first two) and it definitely represents the pinnacle of design on both sides. The Looking Glass engine was a work of art - pretty, fast, and customizable in a way that hadn't been seen before. Origin supplied an equally impressive game design and backstory.
The game is also notable for the debilitating terror that it tends to inspire in people who play it. Something about this game strikes the fear chord in the brain in a way that other games just don't. Quality cutscenes and voice acting added to the experience.
My Opinion: One of the best games ever made. While the final sales numbers were adequate, the game was not a runaway bestseller when it was released because people were expecting a DOOM-alike and got a deep, rich RPG done in a first-person perspective instead.
Notes: Two versions of this game were released for the PC - a floppy-based version that ran on 4 meg machines and a CD-ROM version that required 8. The CD-ROM version is superior, since it uses higher-resolution textures, includes voice acting and rendered cutscenes, and has a slightly rewritten storyline that helps the plot unfold more smoothly. There was a Mac version of the CD-ROM, it's a near-perfect conversion.
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