After starting up the game countless times, learning Level 1 and 2 like the back of my hand, and then dropping the game out of feeling overwhelmed time and time again over the years, I have finally beaten the game and can give my actual thoughts on it.

This game is hella good.

I never would have thought to describe this game as fun, or even nearly as good as System Shock 2, which I love dearly and play at least twice a year, but that has changed. This game is an absolute classic.

Story
The story is incredible.
If you're someone who enjoys Prey, BioShock, System Shock 2, etc. then you know what you're in for.
Shodan is an excellent villain, and feels almost like and eldritch horror deity. She is constantly 5 steps ahead of you, while experimenting with the deceased crew members; turning them into bio-mechanical horrors.

What really surprised me is how she made System Shock 2 Shodan look like Diet Shodan, or Great Value Shodan. I really liked her performance in SS2, but in this, she is actually the star of the show. A relentless AI that is just constantly talking about how she is going to peel the skin off your bones slowly while her robotic minions feast upon your still living body.

Gameplay
The gameplay admittedly isn't super great, at least in the beginning.
The first few weapons like the pipe, the dart gun, laser blaster, and basic pistol are all very underwhelming feeling, and the enemies themselves seem more like nuisances. As you get further into the game, you get more and more weapons to play with, abilities, and much more overwhelming foes.
This, coupled with the fact that you are slowly learning how to efficiently play the game makes for some high octane fun that became straight addicting.

By the last level, I had mastered the guns and health/energy management, and was quite sad when the ending credits hit, as the game had become incredibly fun, with me now able to fly around corners and blast mutant cyborgs in the face with a rail gun at mach speed. This kind of shares a spot with SS2 as well, as the gameplay also picks up about half-way through that game too.

If you find yourself not loving the gameplay, seriously keep pushing.
Once I did, it became worth it.
What I think really helped it shine is the new Source Port that is now default for the Enhanced Edition. The game plays so smooth, looks super sharp, and the controls were remapped to actually play like an FPS game, with a few oddities here and there. I absolutely do NOT recommend playing the classic version first for "authenticity". It controls terribly, and does not run very smooth.

If you absolutely MUST play the classic OG version, go find the old version of the Enhanced Edition, or play System Shock Portable. Anything that has mouse look, because even with mouse look on Normal difficulty, this game can tear you a new one.

Sound/ Music
The sounds of this game are deeply embedded into my brain.
They're all super crunchy late-90's stock sound effects that range from sounding pretty good, to crumpled up paper. That goes for both enemies and guns.
The UI effects all sound pretty good, with some high tech plinking when you click something, and some nice sounds when you get an email or a new voice log.

The music in this game ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ slaps though.
It's all midi through Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth (unless you use a SC-55 plugin), but it just bops, and still manages to sound awesome. It's like some weird kind of cyber jazz, and once again gets really slammin' once you get to the further levels like Engineering and Executive.

Final Thoughts
I didn't go super in-depth with this interview, as I'm just writing this immediately after beating it, but if you want some deeper thoughts, just look through the reviews.

Otherwise, this game was stellar, and I can definitely see myself replaying this one at least once a year, or at least maybe when I do my bi-annual System Shock 2 playthroughs. The story is wild, the gameplay gets super thrilling, and the music slaps.

What else could you want?
For a score, I'd give this a 9.1/10.

After starting up the game countless times, learning Level 1 and 2 like the back of my hand, and then dropping the game out of feeling overwhelmed time and time again over the years, I have finally beaten the game and can give my actual thoughts on it. This game is hella good. I never would have thought to describe this game as fun, or even nearly as good as System Shock 2, which I love dearly and play at least twice a year, but that has changed. This game is an absolute classic. [b][u]Story[/u][/b] The story is incredible. If you're someone who enjoys Prey, BioShock, System Shock 2, etc. then you know what you're in for. Shodan is an excellent villain, and feels almost like and eldritch horror deity. She is constantly 5 steps ahead of you, while experimenting with the deceased crew members; turning them into bio-mechanical horrors. What really surprised me is how she made System Shock 2 Shodan look like Diet Shodan, or Great Value Shodan. I really liked her performance in SS2, but in this, she is actually [i]the[/i] star of the show. A relentless AI that is just constantly talking about how she is going to peel the skin off your bones slowly while her robotic minions feast upon your still living body. [b][u]Gameplay[/u][/b] The gameplay admittedly isn't super great, at least in the beginning. The first few weapons like the pipe, the dart gun, laser blaster, and basic pistol are all very underwhelming feeling, and the enemies themselves seem more like nuisances. As you get further into the game, you get more and more weapons to play with, abilities, and much more overwhelming foes. This, coupled with the fact that you are slowly learning how to efficiently play the game makes for some high octane fun that became straight addicting. By the last level, I had mastered the guns and health/energy management, and was quite sad when the ending credits hit, as the game had become incredibly fun, with me now able to fly around corners and blast mutant cyborgs in the face with a rail gun at mach speed. This kind of shares a spot with SS2 as well, as the gameplay [i]also[/i] picks up about half-way through that game too. If you find yourself not loving the gameplay, seriously keep pushing. Once I did, it became worth it. What I think really helped it shine is the new Source Port that is now default for the Enhanced Edition. The game plays so smooth, looks super sharp, and the controls were remapped to actually play like an FPS game, with a few oddities here and there. I absolutely do NOT recommend playing the classic version first for "authenticity". It controls terribly, and does not run very smooth. If you absolutely MUST play the classic OG version, go find the old version of the Enhanced Edition, or play System Shock Portable. Anything that has mouse look, because even with mouse look on Normal difficulty, this game can tear you a new one. [b][u]Sound/ Music[/u][/b] The sounds of this game are deeply embedded into my brain. They're all super crunchy late-90's stock sound effects that range from sounding pretty good, to crumpled up paper. That goes for both enemies and guns. The UI effects all sound pretty good, with some high tech plinking when you click something, and some nice sounds when you get an email or a new voice log. The music in this game fucking [b]slaps[/b] though. It's all midi through Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth (unless you use a SC-55 plugin), but it just bops, and still manages to sound awesome. It's like some weird kind of cyber jazz, and once again gets really slammin' once you get to the further levels like Engineering and Executive. [b][u]Final Thoughts[/u][/b] I didn't go super in-depth with this interview, as I'm just writing this immediately after beating it, but if you want some deeper thoughts, just look through the reviews. Otherwise, this game was stellar, and I can definitely see myself replaying this one at least once a year, or at least maybe when I do my bi-annual System Shock 2 playthroughs. The story is wild, the gameplay gets super thrilling, and the music slaps. What else could you want? For a score, I'd give this a [b]9.1/10[/b].