Bioshock is awesome.

[Helios]

Bioshock is such a huge step down from System Shock.

I was deeply saddened when I learned that all of the RPG elements from its precessors wouldn't be present in Bioshock. I'm forced to be the generic super soldier like in most FPS; in System Shock 2, I could customise my character's combat abilities however I wanted. I could make him a full hacker, but that means that I'd have to be extremely careful to avoid enemies. I could rely on nothing but Psi Powers, or on nothing but guns.

Speaking of guns, in Bioshock you only got a handful of them, and plenty of ammo for them, and they never jammed on you. In System Shock 2, if you're going to carry guns around, you actually have to tke care of them and use your ammo wisely. If you don't maintain your weapons, they may jam on you just as you trip an alarm, causing enemies to constantly come at you for 100 seconds. Unlike Bioshock where ammo was laying around all over the place, in System Shock 2 it's considered lucky to have 10 bullets. Consider the fact that most enemies take 2 or 3 shots to take down, and ammo can become a serious problem.

Bioshock was pathetically easy. Your character is basically immortal, thanks to those revival chambers. You could use similar chambers in SS2, but only if you had the money. If not, game over. They're quite expensive to use, and money isn't found all over the place, and useful items that can be bought are pretty expensive as well. In SS2, enemies never stop coming. Just when you think you've cleared a room, a shotgun-toting Hybrid will come up from behind and kill you with a single shot. If you trip a security alarm, enemies of all types come from everywhere and attempt to hunt you down. This lasts for 100 seconds. There are no safe places to hide during this time; enemies always know your exact location.

SS2 is far scarier and more adrenaline pumping than Bioshock. I remember during my first playthrough of SS2, I tripped an alarm. I tried to hide underneath of a desk, thinkng the enemies might not find me. Then, out of nowhere, one pokes his head underneath the desk and shouts out "I see you!" Then there are the times when you're attempting to hack a security turret on one end of the hallway while a bunch of zombies are charging at you from the other end, and you manage to hack it just in time.

In one area in the Medical section I couldn't spot the camera that spotted me and I spent the 100 seconds waiting and praying for my life. Hybrid after hybrid somehow knowing my exact location. I somehow survived with only four health and no more Med Hypos. I stepped out of my corner, the camera spotted me through the glass and I had finally spotted it. By then it was too late...two zombies come around and killed me. I had no chance. I was down to five nanites because I spent most at the replicators, and I spend that on healing myself at the Med Station. No nanites, no med hypos, only a couple bullets left, and the zombies and the camera still are waiting for me. Sh*t. I somehow, by some luck am able to shoot the camera, and kill all the hybrids out in the open without dying. That whole sequence might be one of my favorite gaming memories yet. This game is fun, just pure fun...The game is really nerve wrecking at times.

If you like Bioshock, I highly recommend you try System Shock 2. The game is far superior to Bioshock. It's truly a shame Bioshock abandoned most of the gameplay elements that made its predecessors so great. If you don't like extremely hard games, though, stay away. SS2 is really f*cking hard.

Oh, and SS2's Rumblers could beat the sh*t out of Big Daddies.  ;D

[Tupin]

Did you JUST write that?

[Helios]

Did you JUST write that?

I have to write at least two ten-page essays every week in college. Making big posts has become a bad habit of mine.