System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition

Originally intended to be a standalone title, its story was changed during production into a sequel to the 1994 game System Shock. The alterations were made when Electronic Arts—who owned the System Shock franchise rights—signed on as publisher. The game takes place on board a starship in a cyberpunk depiction of 2114. The player assumes the role of a soldier trying to stem the outbreak of a genetic infection that has devastated the ship. OtherSide Entertainment announced in 2015 that they have been licensed the rights from Night Dive Studios to produce a sequel, System Shock 3, but by 2020 have since been transferred to Tencent. As in its predecessor, System Shock, gameplay in System Shock 2 is an amalgamation of the action role-playing game and survival horror genres. The player uses melee and projectile weapons to defeat enemies, while a role-playing system allows the development of useful abilities. Navigation is presented from a first-person view and complemented with a heads-up display that shows character and weapon information, a map, and a drag and drop inventory. The backstory is explained progressively through the player's acquisition of audio logs and encounters with ghostly apparitions. At the beginning of the game, the player chooses a career in a branch of the Unified National Nominate, a fictional military organization. Each branch of service gives the player a set of starting bonuses composed of certain skills, though may thereafter freely develop as the player chooses. The Marine begins with bonuses to weaponry, the Navy officer is skilled in repairing and hacking, and the OSA agent gets a starting set of psionic powers. The player can upgrade their skills by using "cyber-modules" given as rewards for completing objectives such as searching the ship and then spend them at devices called "cyber-upgrade units" to obtain enhanced skills. When a hack is attempted, a minigame begins that features a grid of green nodes; the player must connect three in a straight row to succeed.