The infection spreads. System Shock 2 , the atmospheric and genre-defining brainchild of Bioshock:Infinite designer Ken Levine, has been released on Steam . Originally published in 1999, System Shock 2 blended RPG and FPS elements with a cyberpunk flair right out of a William Gibson techno-nightmare.
The Steam version lacks achievements at the moment, but handily advertises full German-language audio support, just in case you want to reach a whole new level of alienation. Sometimes I just feel like survival-horror is best experienced in a foreign language.
To prep yourself for the cybernetic terror that awaits you, check out Tom Francis's take on the classic title in his Reinstall run-down or spend some time with Ken Levine as he talks about the history of the System Shock series during a recent BAFTA Q&A.
For a decidedly less-terrifying but still interesting peak into the background of System Shock 2, Irrational Games has excavated some original concept sketches . They even include the original coffee stains.
