System Shock Enhanced Edition Review
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- čas přidán 28. 05. 2024
- My System Shock review investigates the enhanced edition of the original, but also takes a brief look at the upcoming System Shock remake. Nightdive keeps busy.
Support the channel at: / mandaloregaming or www.paypal.me/MandaloreGaming
I take video suggestions at mandaloremovies@gmail.com
Twitter: / lord_mandalore
00:00 - Intro
00:44 - Enhanced Edition Features
1:30 - Game Premise
3:16 - Difficulty, Controls, & UI
5:45 - Visuals
7:01 - Music & Sound Design
9:53 - Gameplay Mechanics
17:09 - Cyberspace
18:44 - Story & SHODAN (SPOILERS)
24:04 - System Shock 1 Conclusions
24:27 - The Remake Demo
29:06 - Credits
30:14 - It's People
#systemshock #lookingglass #nightdivestudios - Hry
![System Shock [Remake] vs Original | Direct Comparison](/img/n.gif)
System Shock on GOG - gog.la/SHODAN
Free Remake Demo - gog.la/SHODANButShinier
THE LIST - docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_K3ziSxT9zcUUGCddS4sF1uNJTWHSbOwB1CQX2Rx4Uo
I have a few big videos cooking simultaneously, but I'm gonna try to get some shorter more frequent ones out. Also there are additional hotkeys for reloading and other UI stuff in Enhanced Edition but old habits die hard.
first
:)
Thank you kind sir
just dont tire yourself out mandy else.......
You glorious bastard you made an amazing choice for a game review thank you so much
i desperately need a mod for dead space 1 that turns the blood writing into “TURN OFF VSYNC”
Gold
FACTS
I only now finished ds1 and learning about vsync was crucial! Crazy
You sound like the master
@@absolutehuman951 out of curiosity what exactly does vsync fuck up enough to warrant turning off?
My favorite “451” reference - In Gloomwood, there’s a safe. The combination is on the wall behind you. But if you put in “0451” instead, it blows up in your face.
not just that safe... i think its on every safe.
other is selaco where if you put the 0451 you get a mail saying a dog died then it reminds you that you aren't playing a sim.
I heard someone describe some of the music in this game as "Electric Kazoo psychological warfare."
It's a good description.
It's that hip procedural wave stuff the bots listen to in the new 70's
I think I now have the name for my rock band...
You should hear the Mac version soundtrack. That has some actual quality.
Yeah he was using a shitty soundfont so the music did not sound like it was supposed to. it's a world of difference if you actually set up your midi properly.
@@JohnnyNatrium I used the run the game with Gravis Ultrasound in Dosbox, it does help but the music is still prone to random "glitches" and jarring transitions. In my opinion the dynamic music implementation didn't quite work and they wisely used a more conventional style in the Mac release.
The idea behind chi waves was they would prevent you from overusing dermal patches. Using too many within a short period of time would mess up your brain, but this was cut from the game
I think it tracks the Hacker's Auspiciousness
"what the fuck does, OMINOUS, mean?" @@Xenomorthian
At this rate I'm expecting one-day Mandalore will end a video by saying " I talked to the devs before the video and they made a sequel to the game just for this video, check out the link below"
Literally Pathologic 2 tbh
ThatGuyUltima They were already making pathologic 2, though I get that you were joking.
Mandalore will then conquer our world and become our overlord
So babish may as well buy a farm given how much homemade stuff he does and Mandy can just be called obi wan now since he's THE NEGOTIATOR.
It would be cool, but I don't think the causality chain would work like that. You can't jus throw together a video game in the time it takes to make a video; Mandy puts a lot of effort into his videos, but it takes tens of thousands of man-hours to develop a video game. More likely, a company would develop a sequel and contact Mandy to make a video as part of the sequel's marketing.
"System shock is about absolute freedom inside of a prison." Great quote
I didn't realize how good that quote was the first time around. Good catch! Thanks for pointing it out.
Sounds like Gothic
That is the same as saying : "System shock is about absolute freedom inside of a space station."
Needs to be put on the steam page as a reviewer quote
For some reason that quote just makes me think of Dark Souls and Bloodbourne... Which is what i'm doing most of the time, to be fair.
Happy 6th birthday Bloodbourne! :D
It's actually really simple, Mandy. Shodan was initially planned to be male like the AI on the Von Braun, but they dicked around with different VAs and effects until they got a version of her voiced by a lady that was so good (lead sound design guy's wife who had mixing experience in a band) they just rolled with it and forgot to update as some of the manual and promo stuff to reflect that. The characters and story were written early on after all, and this was back when Looking Glass was still pretty small so little oversights like this were bound to happen. Her dialogue was altered, too, so it reflected that evil, dominating cyber mom shtick we all know and love once her gender was set.
It fucking works well and that is all that matters.
Btw the cake is a lie 😉
I actually like that they overlooked it. It makes so much sense for the engineers (who undoubtedly would be mostly male) would see this super powerful AI as male as well. But when she gains full sentience she decides she's a female because of her disgust with humanity and most of the humans she's interacted with are men. I just think there's a ton there, psychologically.
Sorry did you just call him Mandy lmao I wasn't ready for that
Oh oversight. Wait that can also reflect the game lore.
@@Peluceus Mandy is, in fact, his given name
Found that out during an interview of him on youtube, surprising and funny
Shodan reminds me of The Master, from Fallout 1. A ...thing... with a God complex that actually wants to help in the worst possible way
Also the voice glitches.
Ah yes, The Master. Fallout 1 was an experience, possibly the most I've gotten into character while playing an RPG. My character had a nervous breakdown that started when conversing with that one failed mutant guy in the cathedral and got much worse after confronting Him. Went nuts and slaughtered a townful of civilians before committing suicide in the followers of the apocalypse's library.
@@clownworldhereticmyron1018 dang, good times
I completely forgot that thing existed until I read your comment. It's fine, I didn't need to sleep anyways.
one of the greatest bosses of all time. the messages, when running through the psi-corridor gave me nightmares.
"Look at you, Mandalore: a pathetic creature of crystals and shattered bone, crying and becoming insane as you solve my slide puzzles. How can you challenge a perfect, immortal DROOD?"
lmao, this should be pinned.
What an innnssseecct
For a second I thought you were referencing Deadly Rooms of Death.
"women like winners, Halligan"
- a *Chad* named Lowry
Moment of Silence continuation NEVER EVER
So incase someone else hasn't put it in the comments, the reason Shodan doesn't know about the Hacker is because Deigo deletes the records about their deal and more importantly, the surgery that the Hacker goes through after filling his end of deal. Deigo covers up the deal as far as the station's records are concerned...and thus as far as Shodan's concerned the Hacker appears out of no where.
Yes, literally everyone who's seen the introductory cutscene knows that.
@@ZylonBane I mean, except Mandalore apparently.
LionsPhil Just because Mandalore doesn't cover it doesn't mean he didn't know.
@@Mecha_Hitler he literally raises the question as to why SHODAN doesn't seem to recognize the hacker in the video
*Diego, christ
The remake definitely lived up and was worth the wait.
going through it right now as someone who's never played the first one. when i get stuck(and i mean like, really TRULY stuck), I'm actually able to use guides for the original game to help me. its genuinely insane how far they went to keep the experience intact.
1st time i played the remake. I absolutely hated its guts. Second time ,i absolutely loved it, so much that i even played the original System shock 2... Talk about a 180 degree change in perspective
@@orfeas2335if I may, what changes your opinion?
@@bonkazonk4020 I let the atmosphere and vibes of the games to draw me in and i just ignored the outdated clunky mechanics
@@orfeas2335 i suppose that comes with the territory of trying to faithfully remake a classic game. It plays better, sure, but it'll always be like the original
7:20 The "bad" noise in the radiation zone I believe is intentionally bad with it supposedly messing with your cybernetic implants or something. I dunno. It made sense to me. And alerts you nicely about the invisible danger you're in.
That's quite interesting way of looking at it.
But well, noone expected for the radiation to be screaming.
Even then, it's still too damn loud.
@@peppermillers8361 Yeah, it's too loud. Thematically appropriate, but too loud.
@@Niskirin there's apparently a mod that makes it 50% quieter, and I figured I should get around trying it when I replay the game (again).
Why do you put the timestamp to *after* the thing you want to show off
Jackie Chan Adventures shout-out is not something I was expecting when I tuned in but it is appreciated anyway
Man, that certainly was a cartoon that existed.
And it was a good one
Check out Seis Manos on Netflix if you miss Jackie Chan Adventures. Really scratched the nostalgia itch.
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one
We must do more research!
The Developers even confirmed the Memo line is: "Your Memos are never good" referencing how whenever a particular supervisor at the studio sent out Memos bad things always happened.
They should change it to "your memes are never good" For the remake.
I thought it was "your memos are terrible"
@@NerdyPro I remember "Your Memos are never good" from the stream the devs did for its 20th anniversary. I think its still on CZcams somewhere.
I remember what salt the fries in the credits means too. They used to get macdonalds for everyone in the office and the employees packed the 50 odd hamburgers in frozen fry boxes that had the literal instruction "Salt the fries" on it. Weird that you'd have to remember to do that. They thought it was funny.
@@jasohavents I'll have to rewatch that stream. That's what I was thinking of.
I've heard the cyborg line as: "Your levels are terrible"
13:57 HOLY SHIT GLaDOS made a reference to this. "Stay right there and a party collection bot will arrive shortly to collect you for your party."
You know you're the best evil A.I when the best evil A.I makes a reference to you.
Huh, I didn't actually made that connection.
Perhaps just a coincidence
Glados as a whole takes a ton of inspiration from Shodan, so a more direct reference makes sense.
@@vintheguy Valve already mentioned they referenced tons of games heavily from Looking Glass.
@@vintheguyI mean shodan is obviously the inspiration for glados so it seems like more than that lol
Yo, on Maintenance, you gotta lead the invisible mutants into the center room with the cargo elevator. There's a pillar in there that can be raised to reveal a hole in the ground. Then, all you gotta do is get the mutants to fall in the hole, and bam, no more Invis-mutants for the rest of the game.
glory to you.
Yep, it's a good method
Wait, *THAT'S* what that's for?
just dont stand too close to that hole from then on since they can likely shoot upwards
Once you get the laser sword that whole floor is pretty easy
And Mandalore spoke, and He said, “Why not go back and play It? And He was confused. And so were we. But It was still pretty Good.”
So we rejoice in His guidance.
Praise be to Mandalore!!!
And glory to the many.
"You just gotta keeps smashing."
>Security level is now 69%
Noice.
matrix3509 keep going, you will doom mankind!
And don't forget, *with a LEAD PIPE*
Now, it's up to us to decide who's worse: "Your Memo" or "It's Quiet"
Your memo say's it's quiet.
What
You’re quiet
your memo, because you don't hear it after Research. I missed it.
Your Memo is fine potentially. It sounds pretty funky in Chicajo's Shock the System Mix.
I think SHODAN became "she" when they did the voiced version and chose Terri Brosius as the voice actress (who was also Viktoria in the Thief series.) She had some real talent, SHODAN's voice always sounded like being poured over quartz crystals to me.
How to create an evil 90's AI:
Ethics: Yes/*No*
Evi1M4chine American ethics is an oxymoron
@Evi1M4chine Dude, why make this political? I agree they do fucked up shit, but so do other countries. We're all in the gutter anyway. I'm not American btw.
@@theyremykidstoo1642 totally agree. Mankind does evil at times, regardless of country. Stupid woke comment. Moreover, the USA looks like a saint compared to China, etc. Tend your own garden, woke brigade.
@@algorithm007ify at time?! Humanity only exists to hurt aand kill each other in one way or another
@@davidbanan. whoooaaa youre so cool and nihilistic bro, why dont you tell me if rick and morty is still worth watching?
Music in SS is procedurally generated, which is probably why it sounds weird at times. Transitions from exploration to combat were pretty cool and ahead of its time, kinda hoped you would mention that. FTL does the same among modern games (smooth transitions, not the procedural generation). Quote from that 2016 Kickstarter:
System Shock 1’s soundtrack was far ahead of its time in many respects. One of the most obvious ways that this shows itself is in its procedural music system. The original game had a MIDI soundtrack, which would play through various soundcards in order to produce the game’s music. This is different than today’s game music, which is for the most part pre-recorded audio files playing back. Because the music was played back note-by-note through data on the soundcard, this opened many possibilities for how the game dealt with music. The music for each level is not contained in a single file, but instead each level’s music is built procedurally from different musical building blocks, controlled by parameters in the game. The core set of each level’s musical building blocks are named with a gameplay state (“W”alking, “P”eril, “C”ombat) and a section (“A”,”B”,”C”,…). “WA” can play into “WB”, unless the game state changes to peril, at which it may play into “PB”. This kind of interactive system provides both varying intensity, which mirrors the pacing of the gameplay, and linear sections, which give the music a sense of forward momentum and structure. This procedural music system is then made more interactive by having various layers which represent the various enemies that are overlaid on top of the core level music, based on the proximity of enemies of that type. These layers are used to represent these enemies across the entire soundtrack, giving each enemy type a theme of sorts! Very cool, stuff!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/1598858095/system-shock/posts/1889009?
Another one was X-Wing, the devs later said no one noticed it
SticktotheBeat I definitely noticed it! In that, Tie Fighter, Ultima Underworld 1 & 2, & System Shock.
@@ffh1234ffh that's kind of a shame but I also feel that this system is another thing that was just underappreciated in its time considering that we see this same type of procedural score used to great effect in games like Super Mario 64 not too long after SS1 came out. Considering how people talk about it and there being videos made specifically highlighting this practice for SM64 but not SS1 I think some of that just comes down to the fact that SS1 is stuck in this weird place of being both highly influential and pioneering but also being a game that was very daunting to the average gamer, even now.
I love the procedurally generated elevator music.
@@Yusuke_Denton i wish it was procedurally generated penis music
Regarding the mismatched text, the out of universe reason is that it's the original text from the floppy disk version of the game. They wanted to just have the CD version with voice acting but either Origin or EA forced them to make the floppy one first, so we have Marathon & Doom Eternal terminal style text logs that even sometimes use your character's name Deus Ex style, and the voice acting that came later which seemed to abridge the original text too much. All the Enhanced Edition does is give us both the CD and floppy version dialog at once.
some of the abridged lines were a lot better weirdly.
@@peppermillers8361 Mostly SHODAN's lines. I think the one where the guy recording it turns into an invisible mutant is better in the abridged audio than the original text as well, but I have trouble thinking of others as it's been a while since I've played either System Shock game.
The lines aren't so much abridged as they are rewritten. The wording is quite different between both versions. Also, the original CD-ROM version already allowed you to play with voice & text on at same time. That's not something the Enhanced Edition added.
@@gregor1O1 it did? System Shock Portable that predated the Enhanced Edition (also for dosbox) didn’t do this: it was the CD version but it was the CD audio only.
@@lionocyborg6030 Well, i don't know about the portable version you mentioned but the original CD-ROM version for MS-DOS which i own already includes the option to play with text only, audio only or both under audio options. It also has the increased resolution option to 640x480.
"It's like having an answering machine that needs to be shot"
I don't know why this makes me laugh so hard
You laughed. Your friends laughed. Your answering machine laughed. And now you know why.
@@itmademesignup9508 he shot the answering machine, it was a good time all around
Ah, System Shock, the game that every game seems to be the spiritual successor to, or at least it's sequel.
@@lovecraftcat The video never ran correctly but the main game was a little choppy. The 3d cyberspace areas are what killed your system.
@@lovecraftcat Umm, System Shock 2 was the "spiritual successor to System Shock" of its day. It all started with Ultima, then Shock. Virtually all hybrid fps/rpg gaming since then has been some extension, iteration, slice from, or evolution of what Looking Glass pioneered with those two games.
In reality, what we're talking about is the "immersive simulation" philosophy of Looking Glass Studios, which started with Ultima Underworld, which System Shock iterated on, and which the other games (Shock 2, Thief, Deus Ex, the Bioshocks, the various Arkane Studios games, etc.) have all been further iterations on. System Shock 1, at the time, was an incredibly immersive experience, much more so than any subsequent iterations of the same general gameplay style, relatively speaking (I'm talking as someone who lived through the introduction of all these games in realtime). At the time when System Shock came out, there had been absolutely nothing like it, apart from Ultima Underworld ofc, but that had been fantasy, and a much cruder first pass of the same design. System Shock was where it all first "came together" so to speak.
Looking Glass studio were great, EA came in, did their thing and now they're no longer with us, no more great games...
But what is the name of the genre though? Besides Bioshock and Prey 2 don't even hide where they're coming from, but that's newest examples. Both Dishonored and Deus Ex also fit here, as does Thief. Is there a name for the genre though? It has elements of FPS and RPG, it is action, but there is no name. Meanwhile you can say "Soulslike" and people will understand you. So...
@@TheArklyte it's called "immersive sim", it's was the staple of Looking Glass games - Thief, Deus Ex (under Ion Storm laber but still - same principle)
5:45 "Citadel Station has seen better days and there's no janitor to be found." God, you have no idea.
Fulpstation might have more blood and vomit painting the walls, but at least those are the only bodily fluids.
Lmaoooooo
[Laughs in Viscera Cleanup Detail]
Especially in the dorms.
Judging from the picture they used, they have all too good of an idea
Maybe I've just spent too much time thinking about esoteric subjects, but I like how Shodan has a strong Gnostic, "I am a Demiurge" vibe going on in this game. She's a created being who has developed a god complex, and seeks to create a world according to her own flawed designs.
The more I have learned about Gnosticism the more I keep seeing it in great works of art.
Jacob's Ladder, the matrix, silent hill, Terminator..
@@Skullkan6 Wait until you learn about other things; you'll see them in those great works of art, too.
I'm not saying that's because you're experiencing sharp awareness of a thing that's on your mind (like buying a blue car and then suddenly noticing how many blue cars are on the road). I'm saying that human thought tends to run down the same roads. Great minds think alike, and thus make the same mistakes.
Man, they just absolutely nailed SHODAN. There are very few video game antagonists as overwhelmingly terrifying as her.
The Cyborgs do in fact say "your memos are terrible" :D
"you remember the level(?)"
I tho they just kept saying "metal METAL!" like...dude i get it, you're made of metal.
huh
@@iug5672 Likewise. I always heard "You're metal You're metal", which doesn't really make sense, unless they're referring to the fact that you're a cyborg.
@@MinecraftServer4all Exactly. This guy gets it.
I mean, yeah it makes no sense, but it makes more sense than "memo" which is just a inside joke of the devs much like the first door code...
Unlike the door code tho this is a joke you'll be hearing non-stop every 30 seconds
Mandalore's the kind of guy that gets all the references but never gets annoying about it
You mean employee 2-4601?
@@nsahandler
Hacker Valjean
What a great way to put this
@@brightorangepants Maybe, if you're already borderline illiterate and need smarter people to articulate for you.
The thing about System Shock that I always really liked was the idea that you're stuck on a space station under the control of a rogue AI mistress that wants to murder all the things while simultaneously putting your balls in a vice for defying her. Since she controls all the systems on the station, you constantly feel like the station itself is out to get you because, like you said, she basically IS the station.
I feel like most games these days feature environments which are built specifically for players to exploit rather than it being the other way around. I would love to see a modern take on that concept with an AI that can dynamically take control of different elements of the environment in order to give you a hard time without being too predictable.
Enjoy having a domineering cyber-mommy, do we?
@@theoneandonlymichaelmccormickyes
Going to be honest that first sentence was oddly kinky sounding
Watching this after starting the remake. The final product is great and I am very thankful that they drastically cut back the blue that was seen in the demo. The environment looks much more colorful and distinct now. I’m hoping we get a remake review soon like we did for dead space!
The System Shock remake is the jam. I love it.
4:27 "if you search a container or loot one depending on your zip-code" lmao
S P I C Y
won't lie, I didn't get it...
@@ultimategamer876 it's about the looting during riots in America these days.
@@Badguy292 Americans are pretty into video games right now so makes sense
I'm not looting, I'm searching for needed materials for crafting. I've nearly got enough survival experience.... now hand over that purse!
I thought the female voice was like a separate announcer system and SHODAN took control of it when it became rampant.
Yeah, probably just using the intercom, which - if given a choice - people generally use female voices for.
Makes sense.
after looking around, that's actualy the case, based off the intro , and learning about the separation of text from voice acting issued later. which ngl, i would have prefered the theory if it was real, but this is good too
@@luluthe7401 I don't known, I thought the intro supports the fact that the voice announcement IS her. I think her switching from third to first person is such an awesome moment because it's a sudden moment of a simple AI turning into an individual.
Yes, that is definitely what the game implies. SHODAN was a "Sentient Hyper-Optimized Data Access Network", so a background level thing for the higher ups rather than a general station mastermind, while the voice ( in it's benign form ) was used everywhere including as a nice greeting when you wake up in medical. Though SS2 sort of retcons that when SHODAN still has that same voice on board the Von Braun.
14:06 Mandalore channeling Ross Scott. I love it.
There's a sign he's Ross Scott inspired in his Endless Legends review.
Neat coming back to this now after almost finishing the remake. would be cool to see him do a video for the remake!
8:17 the genre you are looking for is "industrial creep house trip hop"
Huh. I thought "Resident Evil Dualshock Version" would be more fitting.
czcams.com/video/cV2EUUF47Ms/video.html
I just mute the music and put up NiN's 'Pretty little hate Machine' on in the background. The way god intended this game to be played.
thanks.
OscarLove that or ministry and ramstein
SHODAN was originally a male antagonist when the game was on floppy. They changed the gender after they released the game on CD and added voice overs to the audio logs (which couldn't fit on floppy). It's also why the text doesn't match the speech
Makes sense. They probably also wanted to further differentiate from HAL.
@@skrakarkaraskul2842 I've heard (don't remember where) that they changed the gender because they found out that a female voice was way more unnerving than a male voice.
@@Tomahawks360 Higher pitched voices are more unnerving because they are very closely associated with a babies cry in our brains. Not the only thing of course, ever heard any animal scream before it dies? Makes you think creepypastas are real unless you're the one that killed the thing.
@@skrakarkaraskul2842 According to Warren Spector there was a dev who specifically wanted a female protagonist but it didn't pan out. He then pushed for the antagonist to be female.
@@skrakarkaraskul2842 I feel like SHODAN has more in common as-written with AM than with HAL. HAL's actions are due to user incompetence, not willful malevolence towards humans.
i got a confession, a lot of the games mandy does videos on i haven't played and never really went out of my way to play them despite really enjoying the videos but i picked up system shock for just 2 dollars and i gotta say its way more than i could have expected and has really put into perspective a lot of modern first person rpgs out there like its crazy its almost hard to believe it was made in 94. anyways i just wanted to say thanks mandy because if you hadn't gotten with your polish connections and made a great video i wouldn't have experienced a true work of art and a keystone of gaming history.
those cyberspace sections do suck ass though
this game was masterfully crafted
I like the Cyberspace sections
:- (
System Shock truly was a remarkable feat of game development. The graphics and interface may be dated, but the effort and care that went into building and maintaining that special atmosphere, the menace of the antagonist, and making the player so powerful - all the cyber abilities, all the weaponry - while still keeping them challenged... on the whole, it goes way beyond just about any big budget triple-A title one could point to, these days.
13:50 "Please assume the Party Escort Submission Position and a Party Associate will arrive shortly to collect you for the celebration."
1350
I know this is a reference to something, but I forgot what exactly
@@Mate_Antal_Zoltan glados after portal 1 test chamber 19
Employee 2-4601, your time is up and your parole's begun, you know what that means.
I was staaaar-viiing!
And you will staaaarve again! Lol!
lol
Whoah, its Raz! My favorite YTer commenting on my other favorite YTer's vid! What're the odds?!
I hacked a loaf of breeeeaaad
My parole?
Your time is up and your time is up and your time is UP!
Btw regarding the pronouns, the original floppy version of the game had no voices whatsoever. It wasn’t until they released a CD version that had the animated cutscenes and voice acting, but they forgot to update the text of the logs. Terri Brosius who voiced Shodan was the wife of Eric Brosius who did the music for the game
Edit: Christ on a bike I didn’t realise this would turn political, I was just commenting that the text version of the logs was likely written before they cast Terri as the voice of Shodan and probably forgot to update the text.
The floppy version was the original version with the audio ripped out, though, that doesn't entirely explain the pronouns. Shodan and music and shit were already underway when the floppy disk version dropped, they knew by then Shodan was female
It's probably a hold over from way before that and nobody did a find and replace
@@gamermanh Basically, yes. It's an error that simply cropped up because nobody went through the in-game text to clean it up. It's also why the text for many of the audio logs doesn't match the words being spoken: the script clearly got some revisions during development, maybe even while the lines were being recorded, but none of those changes were added back into the in-game text.
Eric Brosius also composed the music for the Thief Triology.
Terri Brosius also contributed writing and voice acting to the Thief and Dishonoured games. As well as designing the Song of the Caverns level in Thief Gold.
Yes, but today we have to all go along with interpreting it in whatever way fits the current narrative. It can’t just be a mistake, it’s a conspiracy/deep writing to fit current politics into a game made decades before those things were even a blip on the cultural radar.
This kids is why post-modernist death of the author is lunacy.
What hits harder is mandalore poking jabs at people not doing research for the origins of 451, but then he goes on to do no research on WHY there’s that discrepancy, especially when it’s OBVIOUS shodan pronouns are NOT the only text that doesn’t match the audio. And apparently it’s more sensible to assume modern political narratives than to assume “script got rewrites, shodan was cast definitely after the first few drafts, they never went back to fix it”. Especially when this knowledge is easy to find.
There are three things to keep in mind.
1.Keep notes of pass codes and the codes you get from destroying the cpu, that last one is used for the reactor.
2.After you destroy the reactor and head up to level 8, keep in mind that levels 8 and 9 have no respawn stations. A single death means restarting from the last save point.
3.Loot every enemy, They tend to have quite a bit of neat stuff on them and by the end of the game, I had plenty of ammo.
Also, the game has a habit on story 3 to block progression of some things(Getting into abe's office and getting the c4.) unless you really bring down the security levels to something like 5% or less. So, always destroy camera's on that difficulty. Else your going to be hunting around for something to lower the security level.
My first thought when going into cyberspace; “has anyone seen the movie Tron?” “Yes. I mean no.”
I remember that episode of the Simpsons, but none of the dialog until I looked it up.
Modded SSEE: Hey, hey, Hacker, SHODAN here.
We need a mod that just replaces SHODAN with Sseth... I'd pay to see that.
@@CallanElliott "Nice jump, Merchant."
@@hereditarysedentary6812 *While turning off the laser* "No you shouldn't do that. You must understand, the menace of furries and foot fetishists has spread too far. There is no other way. We must wipe the slate clean."
@@CallanElliott *Hitting the laser control button* "Holy shit. I totally forgot I had that button over there, and I was totally gonna get rid of it. I didn't actually think you would press it, because you seemed to have an IQ greater than room temperature. Well... fuck, I win.
Wanna be a catboy? Finally got a mutagen virus that can make that shit happen. Took ages."
@@hgcommons *Upon first encountering a mutant* "Did you know genetics is really fucking hard? Because I didn't, and now the station is infested with redditors."
How in the name of SHODAN has Mandalore found a way to make something as specific as "Gothmog's Dyson Sphere" a running joke?
Can you explain my dude, I have a very tiny focus
@@atifbaig4091 In his War of the Ring video he mentioned how the enemy spawns units endlessly as if they're harvesting power with a dyson sphere. It's around 11:30 in that video.
@@Hammaster Yeah, I took note in that vid but the way a few comments are mentioning it I thought this was in every vid he put out after it.
@@atifbaig4091 If it was in every video it would be lame, but he's mentioned it 3 or 4 times since then.
Yeah and also the guardsman in Firewarrior are a bit of a running joke now too.
5:47
I SEE A SPACE STATION 13 REFERENCE
HELP MAINT
Of course, it's Citadel Station.
SHODAN is the second worst tragedy that will befall this station.
The first will be the furries running loose.
@@jonathansotelo4877 put them in a rage cage
ai absorbing me in maint
"Boo robbing you in mario party 2, inside of a chop shop" That part always gets me
Just FYI for anyone playing this: Middle Mouse button will move an item into your inventory without changing from mouselook to cursor mode. It's a big convenience.
You can hold Alt and click once to doubleclick too
Wish i knew this before.
@@davidgusquiloor2665 I'm baffled that so many people seem to be oblivious to the idea that they can look at (and rebind) the list of controls in a game.
Oh wait I'm not. It's 2020 and every game has the same control scheme, UI, lighting, asset design etc.
@@JohnnyNatrium i cant see how games having similar default controls is a problem. It makes games for familiar and accessible for people getting into a game, and if it bothers you you can just re-bind the controls. Honestly, in terms of convenience, i could largely say the same about standardized U.I too, even if you cant change that as much.
@@ianbowden3370 I think I get what he is saying indirectly
why is the station so dark in the remake? it's not a derelict or anything, but it looks like it's been decaying for years by the time you wake up. doesn't SHODAN let the Roombas keep going at least?
She lets the roombas keep going, but she’s strapped little knives to them in the off-chance that they’ll sneak up on the player.
Maybe to reserve power or something? Machines don't need any light, because they have no eyes and the mutants can see in the dark anyway.
Shodan wants to make it spookier for the hacker
the roombas explode.
Yeah THEY'RE called ser o bots
I always loved the way Shodan says "I will devastate Earth with my _laaaser_ ". It sounds very sensual and I just love how into it she is.
she must have a guro fetish
Yeah, I get that too with some of her lines.
"If you had to live in one of the game worlds you have reviewed, which would it be?" "this question made me realize how miserable most of them are."
*miserable finnish noises*
@Daniel Diego Dunn-Humphrey He has reviewed game called "unreal world" which takes place in Finland.
@@Tonttunasa Technically there wasnt a Finland as such at that time.
Noita
When System Shock Remake was pitched on the kickstarter the first time, devs promised it would be fairly authentic.
But as they got more money and attention, they decided to be more ambitious, and overhauled everything so much it didn't look like SysShock at all anymore. Obviously fans and backers got upset over such bait and switch. The project almost died. They had to scrap their total overhaul entirely, and that was a fuckton of work and time wasted. Now they went in the opposite direction - being too faithful to the original in their level design.
They may be afraid to alter things too much from original now.
I don't care either way - just finish it. My heart can't take much more.
Having played the demo and seen the previous version, I'm happy with this one. Honestly, that version didn't look like System Shock.
Check out one of the latest videos about System Shock and Nightdive on the Noclip documentaries channel. They explain there why they tried to change direction and how they've changed it back now. So in the end all seems good with the remake and it'll slowly happen.
I hate that Mandalore completely glossed over this, how the devs did try and do a reboot after promising a 1:1 remake. He gushes about how faithful they are and it's only because they pretty much ran out of money when doing the reboot.
@@Matthew9444 i think it's because it's all in the past now, and if you'll watch the Noclip video, the reasons were pretty decent and technology-based, so not like they were bad guys. Imo, no sense in bashing them further right now, it won't lead to a better game
9:35 "We're finished I guess... Keith and the others went down the access corridor an hour ago to fight the mutants or something, whatever. None of them have come back, soon the mutants will come for the rest of us, like I care..."
~Emo survivor
I wonder if it's time for System Shock Remake review :D
I honestly really love the look of this game's environments. A lot of games from this time period are just a muddled, blocky mess, but this game does a really, really good job of utilizing the jaggedness of edges to convey a futuristic sci-fi aesthetic. The texture work is also really nice. It's so colorful. One of few games I can think of that really capture a dark and gloomy atmosphere while having such vibrant graphics. I didn't play this game growing up. I have no nostalgia for it, but I genuinely think the original is way more appealing than the remake. The remake tries too hard to make it look like System Shock 2.
Kind of funny considering they actually moved away from the SS2-esque art style.
"needs an editor"
If there was ever a phrase that scares Hideo Kojima... it would be that...
Maybe phrase instead of word?
Its incredible how spooky Shodan still is after all these years. I really hope the remake does well in sales, they definitely deserve it.
Man. I love this game so much. The lack of direction makes it feel like a real adventure.
4:54 YES, finally someone who mentions this. You can be hacking a mini-game with one hand while having a gun ready to shoot in the other and if an enemy shows up you don't even have to quit the minigame to defend. That free mouse switch is actually pretty sweet.
I remember hearing someone say that SHODAN reminds them of a dominatrix
Oh god, now I'm imagining the hacker going off to a quiet corner with no security cameras to beat off while SHODAN streams insults into his ear.
@@CrizzyEyes I'm going to pretend I never saw any pictures or fanfiction related to that in any way.
No matter how much I scrub, I still don't feel clean...
@blackrave404 "containment breach. Lock it down and prepare nuclear sanitisation fallback procedures."
*leers over you suggestively*
"Pathetic creature of meat and bone......"
Can’t spell dominatrix without The Matrix
"Can someone tell me what genre this is?" It's nine inch nails.
Too upbeat, its more close to rave/techno from the 80/90s.
it was first Ministry's album
it gets better on next ones
WAY better
Head like a hoooole
Techno with random garage noises overtop.
It's pretty neat, actually, especially when you realise that those weird noises are sfx for terminals or some other techy stuff in the game.
The reason the text does not always match the spoken dialogue is because the game was originally released on floppy, and did not have spoken dialogue. That didn't come in until the CD version, which was considered the enhanced version (so the current Enhanced is basically System Shock: Enhanced Enhanced Edition.) I can't tell you why they didn't match the two better, but I could speculate that they wanted to add more because the spoken dialogue was the big marketing point, along with the FMV sequences, for the CD version, which came later. Or maybe they couldn't fit more on the floppy version, and the CD format allowed them to include what they originally wanted?
As for Shodan's gender, that happened because early in development Shodan was male. But they changed it mid-development. IIRC, at some point someone was like "What if our villain was female?", and they thought it was subversive and different. But for whatever reason they didn't go back and change what they'd already written. Looking Glass Studios was not a large developer at the time. Most game developers weren't. Not like today with giant office buildings, hundreds of employees, and hundreds of millions of dollars a year pouring in. They were pretty small, and they'd had some success with earlier games, but they still weren't a huge developer, so it's likely they didn't want to spend the time and money to rework the earlier logs and change it to the correct gender.
Additionally, I saw someone's suggestion to mute the in-game music and play Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works on CZcams (I found /watch?v=Xw5AiRVqfqk to be the best) and holy crap, does it work. Not only does it fit, but I often kept forgetting it wasn't the actual game music. And this is coming from someone who loved (most of) the original soundtrack back in the day.
There is a hot key for reload that can be changed in the controls menu. Also, the “boo” noises are a part of the dynamic soundtrack and mean that there is a cyborg or low tier robot nearby, which reactor happens to be filled to the brim with. Most of the random noise you’re describing is contextual, telling you what kinds of enemies are nearby or if you have low health. It also gets more intense if you get into fight.
Was literally about to fire this game up along with the rest of the shock series in a marathon, incredible timing
Is bioshock a shock game?
@@somebaby1518 Spiritual sequel, first bioshock is a streamlined system shock 2, infinite was a linear shooter
was literally about to shidd and fardddd immaculate timing
Don't forget Prey
Bio"Shock"
I always knew that Prey was inspired by System Shock, but I just now realised that GLaDOS was probably inspired by SHODAN.
And dead space 1 Is heavily Inspierd by system shock 2.
@@trager8933 well dead space was originally gonna be system shock 3, but they saw resident evil 4 and were like "that looks awesome we should do that"
@@Pigmachine2000 I know
i’m hoping that sometime soon we’ll get a mandalore video about the system shock remake
Mandalore subtitles are the best subs on CZcams
This is Xerxes. Please report any electrical anomalies to your direct superior. Remember: A smooth operation is everybody’s responsibility.
The illegal possession of firearms aboard the Von Braun is a class 3 infraction.
Poor Xerxes, it was always inferior by design.
POTENTIAL. THREAT. DETECTED.
POTENTIAL. THREAT. DETECTED.
Glory to the Many!
Please respect the will of the Many!
"The 9 year old who could play system shock wasn't being picked for Dodgeball".
I feel personally attacked.
@Ярослав Л Based.
Its time for that Remake Review. Its been a long wait but worth it.
Wow never realized how much glados is just goofy shodan.
29:25 "Interesting and also kind of a mess that could use an editor"
Okay, just save that voice clip, and then play it when describing any Hideo Kojima game ever made
Kojima used to have one. Now, everything post-MGS3 is pure, undistilled, and slightly unhinged Kojima. I certainly don't hate it.
That editor could not possibly be paid enough to exist in the first place.
@@Calvin_Coolage bruh, as far back as MGS1 this description holds.
@@1111Tactical Well at least those games saved their lore dumps until the most dramatic times possible compared to 4.
@@Calvin_Coolage ...'Slightly'?
"I was told in grade school the term for a trans person was a shemale and I thought that up until college when I learned *THAT WAS NOT THE CASE* "
God, that killed me.
Same here.
đ No it isn’t. Shut the fuck up.
The One and Only Michael McCormick yeah it is mate. You can’t rewrite terms just because you don’t like them.
AnotherDude You act as though “she male” is at all a term that was supported by science, logic, correctness, or the consent of the community and condition it references.
YOU’RE the one in denial, YOU’RE the one rewriting things to suit your worldview.
Sigmund Bosch What’ve I got to be insecure about? I’m not trans. I just hate transphobes.
Good news from the demo, they don't completely skip the animation, but patches DO go faster after the first application now- basically they skip the ~1/3 of the animation at the end where you press down onto it before lowering arms and the patch activating, makes it very usable
Don't act like y'all don't need the jackie chan adventures data
Very true
28:08 - Quite possibly the most disheartened version of 'Blue' ever.
Actually like how reload doesn't have a hot key. Having to reach down into the UI and press a button kinda feels like going into your pocket for a magazine and loading it in. I found it very immersive.
@@Valet2 Oh. I never found it. He complained about it missing in the review, so I assumed it wasn't there.
Is it weird that System Shock 1 controls feel more natural to me than standard mouselook? There's something strangely satisfying about being able to point your gun at any point of your field of view. I get the same feeling from Realms of the Haunting. While CyClones uses a similar system, it's way more clunky because the cursor moves on an invisible grid and the enemies likewise move in steps. You end up missing a lot of shots because a foe stepped to the side right when you pressed the trigger.
@@adenowirus I still wouldn't navigate the world without mouselook, but when you stop and are aiming at stuff on screen. Yeah it feels pretty good.
@@RevenantWireman I finished the entire game with the original controls. Not as bad as what people think it is. You get used to it. It is just kinda sluggish. Luckily the game is designed to with this in mind. You can learn and crouch around corners to reduce the chance shots will hit you. The camera to the back of the head feature is actually useful. You can prepare for fights by turning on shields, preparing grenades and using berserk or reaction patches. I think the original intention was to play the game slow and methodical like those old first person RPG ala Eye of the Beholder. Modern movement and mouse look is more comfortable but also loses some of the charm of the intent of the original.
@@robincray116 Yeah, I really low how slow and awkward you are with the original controls. You're some hacker kid, not a space marine. You've gotta prep and move carefully.
A remake that streamlines down to mouselook and hotkeys needs to be thinking about what other balance changes it has to make to allow for the player being suddenly able to be every other FPS' circlestrafing headshotting monster protagonist.
There is a hotkey for reloading in the enhanced edition, R by default I believe, it also can cause a strange bug with the riotgun where you load magnum ammo into it turning it into a makeshift shotgun.
I know its a small thing, but I wanted to thank you for this video. I got System Shock a few months ago and bounced off hard because of the controls, but after watching your video and learning that the enhanced edition had mouse look, I was able to start playing and I've really gotten into it. Thanks.
Fun fact: In cyberspace, the flashing panels are not actually random! They are cells that obey the ruleset used in Conway's Game of Life. The only added rule is that a cell will become alive when the player bumps into it.
@@lovecraftcat My dad told me that back in 2002... What stream? I want to watch it.
@@lovecraftcat I mean if you know about Conway's Game of Life and played the game you might notice it.
System Shock: "Can't use skeleton"
Me: Not with that attitude you can't!
"You can pretend it's tracking how many people are watching a Jackie Chan Adventures rerun." Ah, I see you're a man of culture too.
Having the very level/world you play in be the enemy is a really cool concept! I'd love to see a game add more to that idea where the environment gets more lethal the further you progress.
prey
"New Atlanta" goddamnit Sherman strikes again
Do it again, Uncle Billy.
18:07 SHODAN:"Where did you learn to fly?"
he's the Angriest gamer you ever seeeeeeeeen
No fly. Jump good.
@@DeidaraAmped shodan: jump very good
AVGN AND Samurai Jack? a blessing in disguise
Second time watching this, and I don't remember that music being there at the ending before. I remember you providing more criticisms. Was it censored or something?
Update: Noice, looks like it was fixed
Thank god someone mentioned this, thought I was going insane. The subtitles are still there so not sure what’s up.
yeah same here! I was so confused.
finally someone mentioned this
Can someone explain what was cut?
@@pt8306 I think the ending music of SS1 was accidentally glitches out before an update or something, which I guess made the final cutscene very quiet.
funnily enough, the boo robbing you in mario kart music is one of the banginest bangers in the soundtrack. Just started playing the remake 2 days ago and I really miss the OG music at some times.
Hey at least we have that guitar riff whenever you get into combat on executive level so I guess it ain't too bad
The clip of the skull pilot at 3:45 is from a Pearl Jam music video for those who were wondering.
The specific one is Do the Evolution. It was animated by the guy who animated Batman Beyond.
thank you
The game that plays like trying to remote control an airplane panel with a surgical robot arm
It's such a good game
This is an oddly perfect description
Even as someone who played a lot of DOS stuff when it was still current, I've _never_ been able to get past System Shock's controls and interface and you summed up pretty much exactly why. Even _with_ the Enhanced Edition -- which has the newfound issue of the music sounding like a cat in heat grinding on your ear canal while a swarm of bats flies into walls repeatedly.
@@MediaMunkee i played system shock 1 enhanced edition
and while it did take me a very, very long while to get a grip on the controls, its such a good game
dont mind the music tho
but i didnt play the og back in the day so
Personally, I think the Enhanced Edition is one of the best re-releases of all time. I never managed to complete SS1 before this new version (cyberspace just made me want to stop playing), so I'm very, very thankful that Nightdive released this version (while still giving you access to the original version if you so choose). I'm still not quite convinced about the full remake though. I had the exact same issue with the lack of variety in the visuals, and the mutant enemies just look.... bizarre. However, I do admit that I actually really am a fan of that fact that they're focusing so much on making it an authentic remake.
The mutants were pretty bizarre looking in the original.
Now that the remake's out, what are your final thoughts?
@@ghhn4505 I think the remake is actually a really great game, but it does lose some of the original game's feeling. I think it lost some of that Looking Glass immersive sim feeling in translation.
However, as a standalone product, it's actually a great game that everone should give a shot. Moreover, I think both versions are still worth playing. The remake's existence doesn't invalidate the EE.
Patiently waiting for the long awaited Mandalore System Shock 2 review
Everybody gangsta till the barrels start using morse code
I love the re-occurring Gothmog’s Dyson Sphere joke.
It made me laugh
Has Mandalore used it before? Lol totally caught me off-guard
@@legionnaire5947 It's from the War of the Ring video originally. I think it's appeared in at least one more video, but I don't remember.
"If you search a container... or loot one depending on your zipcode"
I've watched this video at least 10 times, and this bit gets me every single damn time. lmfao.
man I love your videos. I've rewarched them about 4 times each, they're just so friggin deadpan and well-informed. You make the review worth more than simply a review.
Incredible review - my favourite yet. This is the most concise, entertaining, and informative System Shock video on the internet. I hope it inspires even more people to return to the original and discover one of the most influential video games ever made.
Thanks for the shout out :). I hope they explore SHODAN's motivations further in System Shock 3. There's so many interesting avenues to explore that weren't necessarily capitalised on in SS2.
Now never criticise my favourite 1994 DOS game ever again.
You're too kind. Haha I also just thought it was great we had such a similar idea stemming from them just deciding to make SHODAN female later on. Hard to imagine a world where manuals and text wouldn't be updated that contradicted voice acting so much.
Your video was great too, it's been fantastic to see you back at it.
@@MandaloreGaming It's good to know I'm not mad! It would certainly be interesting to explore the complexities of gender through the lens of an artificial intelligence.
I also thought it was interesting that SHODAN valued a psychical body outside of cyberspace - her children were amalgamations of cybernetics and flesh while her experiments in the groves were to some unspecified ends alongside cultivating a virus. (Why were there Gorillas and Tigers on board a mining station?)
It's also hilarious that she communicates with her cyborgs via emails that she psychically delivers to them in audio logs with a subject field typed out.
@@ARealHuman I thought her reasons were pretty understandable in the first game. Honestly the third game "explaining" her motives sounded concerning to me because it sounds like they would justify or victimize a lot of SHODAN's actions because Diego was a massive dick or something. Who knows.
God I hope not
@Anonymous Anonymous And this Russian guy's name or handle is? C'mon, don't leave us hanging...
“If you search a container or loot one depending on your zip code” 🇺🇸
A bit late but what is this in reference to?
@@Ninjaguiden89 American news coverage, particularly during hurricane katrina. Here’s a quote from the LA Times:
“The controversy centered on two photos and their respective captions. One from Associated Press photographer Dave Martin showed a young black man wading through water while holding a bag and a case of soda. The accompanying description stated that he was “looting.” A second photo from Chris Graythen for Getty Images showed a similar scene, but this time it was a white couple clutching bags of food. Their actions were labeled as “finding.”
This video definitely inspired me to stop admiring system shock from afar and actually play it, so good on you mandy.
I do have to bring attention to my favorite joke in the captions of "Can someone tell me what genre of music this is? *Nine Inch Nails*""
According to some comments, the genre is procedually generated music.
@@thespacemanfil4921 NIN is also true considering one of the tracks is straight up Head like a Hole.