I played the original System Shock right after I finished the full version of Doom (my first PC game) back in 1995. It was a great game that one-upped Doom by adding RPG elements, like an inventory to store items and the ability to upgrade your character’s skills over time. I ran out and bought a copy of System Shock 2 as soon as it came out in 1999. It was a bigger, better-looking version of System Shock with more shooter elements and interactivity. It too was a great game, but copyright problems have kept a third sequel from being made.
However, the makers of System Shock have now released the “spiritual successor” to the System Shock games called BioShock. I haven’t been so excited about a game since Oblivion. I started playing it last night, and I’m very happy with it so far. The game takes place in an underwater city in 1960. The theme is very “art deco”, and everything looks like it jumped out of an old film reel from the 1950’s. The problem is that this underwater utopia is falling apart and there are gene-spliced crazies roaming the halls in search of you.

The star of the game has to be Big Daddy. Or rather, the Big Daddies. These are huge protectors in armored diving suits with huge, glowing eyes. They’re armed with either giant drills for an arm or rivet guns for long-range combat. Their sole job is to watch over the Little Sisters, who carry the substance that you require to level up. To get to the Little Sister, you have to go through the Big Daddy first. And he brings the pain. I managed to kill one once, but it took three lives to do it.
Part of the fun of System Shock 2 was finding audio diaries discarded in the halls. These would fill in backstory and explain the relationships between some of the characters in the games. I’ve already found about a dozen. The recordings sometimes explain how to carry out critical tasks or how to use new abilities. The voice acting is very well done, and they’re fun to listen to as well. I keep on the lookout for the voice recorders, which look like phone booths on the wall.