System Shock: Enhanced Edition for PC is a refreshed edition of a classic action-adventure game, which features RPG elements. The original System Shock was developed by Looking Glass Technologies (Thief, Flight Unlimited) and originally released in 1994 on PC. This new edition was created by Night Dive Studios and released on PC as well; the works were supervised by the original game's creators, led by Paul Neurath – both an experienced gamemaker and a co-founder of Looking Glass.
Plot
The player assumes the role of an experienced hacker, who is one of the most wanted cyber-criminals in the world. The protagonist gets arrested, however, and is transferred to a secret research facility owned by the TriOptiomum corporation, whose aim is to hospitalize the hacker and implant a device inside their body. When the protagonist wakes up from a coma, he finds out that most of the personnel was murdered and the labs were taken over by Shodan – an artificial, though powerful intelligence. Facing heartless cyborgs and mutants who serve the murderous AI, the hacker has to use all of their skills in order to keep up with the greatest enemy they have ever encountered.
Mechanics
Despite the fact that System Shock was being presented as Doom's greatest opponent, the plot was substantially more extensive here and the mechanics were filled with both adventure, and RPG elements. Although System Shock offers open combat with use of many different firearms and a set of movements that is significantly larger to what Doom has brought, the game emphasizes hacking subsequent systems and solving puzzles. The latter is achieved thanks to the protagonist's implant allowing them to acquire different upgrades that improve skills.
Technical aspects
System Shock: Enhanced Edition for PC is different to the original release mainly in technical terms. The new edition supports higher resolution settings (up to 1024x768 or 854x480 in the widescreen mode), adds an option to look around with mouse, as well as introduces three independent control schemes – default, custom, and one for left-handed players. Also, many technical issues of the original release were resolved – those were the original System Shock's main flaws. Although the game is available exclusively in digital distribution, the re-edition features rich additional content: original manual, a guide, level designs, the official soundtrack, or the original game's TV commercial.
