Reviews written by DevinHerron

System Shock 2 is an incredible experience. The atmosphere is unsurpassed to this day. It has a very good story, with a couple of well-timed twists and turns, but it tells it without pulling the player out of the game. The mix of gameplay elements also makes it a unique experience. Even the simple minigames mesh perfectly with the game, and don't feel like pointless additions.

The graphics don't really hold up well, but they aren't too much of an eyesore. However, the sound in the game is incredible. While I'm not usually a fan of this style of music, it works well with the theme of the game. The sound effects really help immerse the player, and they're far more advanced than any other game from the time.

The game does suffer from a lack of polish, and there are a few bugs that pop up occasionally, but they don't detract too much from the experience. The variety in gameplay is simply astounding, and would make the game nearly infinitely replayable (if not for a couple of long, unskippable parts, with minor interaction).

This is a must-play first-person shooter. It took the original game, expanded on it some, and took some motivation from Half-Life, and crafted a masterpiece.

Planescape: Torment was one of the first fantasy RPGs I played that really felt fantastic, rather than a generic copy of Tolkien. The game constantly keeps you on your toes, never truly letting you adjust to your surroundings. The atmosphere is greatly helped by the stupendous writing and the top-notch story.

Unfortunately, the game does suffer from a few problems that really keep it from being the top dog. It inherits all of the combat problems from previous infinity engine games, making the combat tedious and annoying, rather than an interesting aspect of the game. While the opening part of the game is fairly light on combat, it's a much larger focus later on, with several unskippable fights. The game also misses many opportunities for real choices and consequences. While the player is given many choices, few of them have an impact on what's going on. It often feels more like reading a novel than actually playing a game.

Despite the problems with the game mechanics, it's still well-worth playing for the amazing story alone.