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I love the wall jump and the dash (which really should have just been there from the start)

That's fixed with all the sequels.

The music is pretty good, but not as catchy as classic Mega Man tunes, and I've already unfortunately forgotten most of it.

What?! Clearly it's time to invest in a hearing aid because the music is awesome and catchy, so you clearly weren't hearing any of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APNQghAQlzM

Awesome cover of most of the music in the game and it doesn't sound very different from the source, since the game is very guitar based.

The MM X series has so many great tracks that are good cover material.

Awesome cover of Zero's theme from MM X 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9CW99uynFA

1.Alien Isolation - Xbox One
2.Super Mario Bros. 3 - NES *
3.Popful Mail - Sega CD
4.Final Fantasy - PSP
5.Super Mario 3D World - Wii U
6.Actraiser - Snes
7.Final Fantasy IV - PSP
8.Batman: Arkham Origins - Xbox 360
9.Contrast - Xbox 360
10.Deus Ex - PC
11.Ghouls 'N Ghosts - Genesis
12.Earthworm Jim - Genesis
13.Dragonball Xenoverse - Xbox One
14.Resident Evil Revelations 2 - Xbox One
15.Sally Acorn in Sonic the Hedgehog - Genesis *
16.Endless Ocean - Wii
17.Star Wars: Dark Forces - PC
18.System Shock - PC

System Shock is outstanding.

I wish I were better at actually discussing or reviewing games. As it stands, I'm also a bit overwhelmed by the need to gush about this wonderful game, and it means that putting together the coherent endorsement System Shock so richly deserves will be difficult.

To start, I think my favorite thing about the game is just how vast and complex it is. Each level of the space station is a massive, logical maze, and it just drags you in with the burning need to explore. Your diligence in doing so is greatly rewarded with helpful items and ammo and interesting tidbits. Audio logs are expertly used in delivering the story, providing hints about where to go to accomplish your objectives, or simply pointing out the existence of some hidden stash left behind by a dead station inhabitant. One log you find details a tech dealing with a malfunction that caused the station to fire upon a shuttle. A few floors later, long after that log has slipped your mind, you find another log and from it you realize that it was no malfunction. Its not critical information for you in either case, but it is one more fun detail in a game brimming with such things. Finding this stuff just plain feels great, and its awesome to learn how events tie together.

It says a lot about the strength of the game's design to have such a huge environment to explore, yet it never once holds your hand. At best, you're given a goal to strive for, and are then left to your own devices to figure out how to complete it. All of the information and tools you need are out there in the station. You need only go and find it.
The result is accomplishing everything they intended, but feeling like you planned it all out yourself. Its rich and addicting, and at no point does it ever become slow or tiresome. I'm amazed at how cohesive it all is.

Each of the levels has a unique design and layout that makes wandering through them a joy. Level 5 is the massive flight deck that gives you your first taste of the scale of the station. Level 6 is the executive floor, complete with carpeting, marble, and chandeliers. Level 8 is the entirely vertical security section, a slow climb to the top around an awe inspiring tower. They are all accompanied by some incredible and fitting music. The exception being level three, which is dark, dingy, infested with invisible mutants, and features only ambient sound to increase the oppressive feeling it evokes so well.

And Shodan! She's brilliant, funny, evil to the core. Luring you into fiendish traps and ambushes, delivering petty, sarcastic insults, cutting off your communications, spouting off a grandiose speech or two... and through it all you feel like a champ every time you survive one of her schemes and take another step towards stopping her. And she hates you! She hates you so much you can feel it like she's breathing down your neck. She's a supervillain that has earned the title, and you will find that you love to hate her.

I've only just barely scratched the surface here. There is so much more, but it needs to be experienced first hand. I suck at this and I have not done it justice here.

Do you like shooters? You should play System Shock.
Do you like puzzles and adventure games? You should play System Shock.
Do you like open worlds and freedom of choice? You should play System Shock.
Do you have a freaking heartbeat? You should play System Shock!

I feel like I've just walked away from one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. The folks at Looking Glass Studios were brilliant.

I....I think I just got a one credit clear of Magical Drop II

I didn't expect it at all, I haven't touched the game in months and couldn't beat it when I played everyday. I played slow, which must have kept rank low, got lucky against Strenght and cleared the screen very fast against Empress. Black Pierrot isn't as hard as either and I simply beat him by raking some combos before he had a chance to react.

I think this is my first "real" 1CC, every other game I've beaten in one credit (Batsugun Special Ver, OutRun) were too short to count. Though I think I've beaten OutRun 2 SP's full course which would count, but yeah, this is a new height for me


I don't really remember what games I've beaten this year, I just remember a couple:

1) Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War (SNES, 1996)
2) Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword (GBA, 2003)
3) F-Zero (SNES, 1990)
4) Magical Drop II (Arcade, 1996)

Not too impressive, but I'm proud of actually beating games!

CFFJR wrote:System Shock is outstanding.

That was a great write-up CFFJR! I actually wanted to try out the game after I heard HG101's podcast on it and now I want to try it out even more. Shame it would be so difficult for me to play it on the go...

Considering I love the Thief series, System Shock 2, and Ultima Underworld, I really should give System Shock 1 another shot.

Did you play with the mouse look hack?

CFFJR wrote:The folks at Looking Glass Studios were brilliant.

Yes they were. And so are you, for going back in time and enjoying System Shock.

To be 100% honest I believe Looking Glass Studios were the best game designers to ever have existed.

Xeogred wrote:Considering I love the Thief series, System Shock 2, and Ultima Underworld, I really should give System Shock 1 another shot.

All utterly amazing games, and here's the easiest way for folks to get into System Shock these days:

https://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=211.0
(That link is meant as a PSA, not saying Xeogred didn't know about it already.)

And here's the reference card and instruction manual as PDFs:

http://www.replacementdocs.com/download.php?view.9310
http://www.replacementdocs.com/download.php?view.5421

System Shock 1 has a really tough initial learning curve, but once that hurdle is cleared the rest of the game is bliss.

Xeogred wrote:Did you play with the mouse look hack?

Is there any sort of mouse look hack for the Ultima Underworld series?

Magic Drop II is a lot of fun. My daughter loves it. I'm just okay at it though... It gets really hard really fast.

BoneSnapDeez wrote:Magic Drop II is a lot of fun. My daughter loves it. I'm just okay at it though... It gets really hard really fast.

Strenght and Empress are far, far harder than every single other character and High Priestess is an early roadblock for sure. It's frustrating because once you get to the point at which you can beat either of those two, the rest of the game is very easy but you cannot give them a beating or rank will shoot through the roof.

CFFJR wrote:System Shock is outstanding.
...
It says a lot about the strength of the game's design to have such a huge environment to explore, yet it never once holds your hand. At best, you're given a goal to strive for, and are then left to your own devices to figure out how to complete it. All of the information and tools you need are out there in the station. You need only go and find it.
The result is accomplishing everything they intended, but feeling like you planned it all out yourself. Its rich and addicting, and at no point does it ever become slow or tiresome. I'm amazed at how cohesive it all is.

You totally get it. You've hit exactly on what makes System Shock so fantastic, and why I actually consider it to be better than System Shock 2 (and I played both for the first time last year, so there's no nostalgia goggles here).