
Seeing my health whittled down to nothing and taking potshots at robots in a desperate attempt to stay alive. I have so many fond memories of this game. Everything from the interesting set-up (your four-year tour of duty is actually a class/skill selection process), the way the backstory is told through audio logs and final journals, the desolate and unnerving atmosphere and the variety of weapons/armor that could be found (and crafted) added up to a landmark experience. The game may seem a little dated and archaic now, but back then there was nothing like it.

It is an action-RPG that takes everything great about horror games and applies it to the sci-fi/cyberpunk genre. Yet it remains one of my favorite games of all time, and one I've returned to many times over the years. It makes the very act of walking down a hallway an unnerving, terrifying experience. SS2 is a game that is absolutely dripping in atmosphere and dread. It wasn't long until I was reloading a save, practically wetting myself in terror as my character stood outside a cargo bay, listening to ambient chatter from robots that busted out of containers and were trying to hunt me down, and getting insta-sniped by a turret when I rounded the corner. Thinking it could be a fun little title, I took it home expecting to be entertained.

It was there that I ran across an unassuming box, stamped with an "EA Classics" banner (which I still own) that had what appeared to be a sinister-looking woman hovering over a ship in deep space. I had just received some spending money at Christmas, and decided to go to a local game store to pick up something to play. I was 12 years old when I first played System Shock 2. I can feel your fear as you tread the endless expanse of my mind." "You travel within the glory of my memories, insect.
