I just beat SS1... I was never able to figure out how to blast that one camera on the executive level protected by a green force-field. Overall, I LOVED the game for levels R through 6, but level 7 turned into too much of a labyrinth-slog of high-level enemies. Level 8 was okay, but started out WAY too hard in the main "court-yard" with high-level enemies, and the almost completely un-used fliers, and I liked how messed up level 9 looked, albeit I was disappointed by the use of cyberspace at the end, and felt the ending battle with Shodan was anti-climactic... So a little mixed overall, but I'm glad I've played it after having a boxed copy for 21 years. Without the mouse-look mod and the improved (and better performing) resolution options in the Nightdive version, they're no way I would have ever played this.

A few other thoughts:
1. I've heard a lot of praise about the story. The story was just "okay". Shodan's harassement of your character made things personal, but I wouldn't say the story was "great", outside of getting the player to really hate the villain.
2. Despite the audio-logs, I never felt really connected to any of the station staff, which the exception of that one woman on level 5 (for plot reasons). The sequel did a better of job of connecting you to the individuals there, as it made a "core cast" of 5 or 6 members of the crew that you followed through their audio-logs.
3. Guns weren't that great. Despite wikis telling me about how some were more powerful than others, I found the magnum worked as good (or better) than the mag-pluse and railgun, As long as you were willing to get up close and personal, the laser rapier was BY FAR the best weapon in the game.
4. Finding the cyborg conversion chamber on level 7 was a pain, and I wound up blowing through all my spare batteries and med patches/first aid kits, including ones I was hoarding on another floor. Of course, I found the chamber JUST before I finished the level.
5. I thought I figured out ICE defences, but I wouldn't break through any of them on the final cyberspace level, with the exception of using the only fake ID item that I ever found.
6. Levels 8 and 9 droped first aid kits like crazy.
7. Diego needed some more audio-logs/development.
8. I wished leaning had more of a point, it didn't work as well as in later games, like Deus Ex, given it didn't give you that much cover from getting shot, you might as well strafe instead.

Systems Engineering is definitely the toughest level in the game, and requires the most saving of progress as you navigate the maze-like halls filled with Security-2 bots. Once you find the RF-07 Skorpion though, all is forgiven. Such a fantastic weapon. :)

I can definitely agree to the last few levels being the weakest point of both System Shock games. Rickenbacker level 2 and Citadel level 9 are both really "meh" compared to levels 1-3 of the Von Braun and Citadel.

About leaning, I was initially very surprised to read your comment that it was useless; then I realized I had done most of my playing without mouselook and therefore had the chance to aim freely around the screen, which you can't do in mouselook mode. Trust me, it's much more useful with the Classic Edition control scheme :)

Audio logs: they didn't try to tell the story of the characters IMO, they told the story of the station. I found this a better approach than the godawful Rebecca/Tommy line they went for in SS2. Sure, a Marie Delacroix caliber character could have been nice to have. Maybe. I definitely agree that Diego should have been fleshed out a lot more than just being Shodan's favorite puppet.

I can't remember if I found that gun or not... If I did, I dumped it by the elevator and never used it. Wished I had known how good it was. I just used the magnum and laser rapier, with the occasional mag-pulse. I did cheat at one point and look up a map to find the enviro-suit on level 7. Rather cheap that it was hidden in a pile of clothes. I thought "free style" shooting might be useful, but mouselook was SO much easier for general usage, that it messed me up in combat if I did it the "old" way.

Regarding SS2, sure we had the story of the lovers, buy we also had Delocroix, Polito, Diego, that one hacker who "hid a secret from the Many", that one guy who changed into a psi-reaver, even misc. one-shot logs. I'd argue that SS2 told the story while leaving an emotional hook to the characters.

Incidentally, is there somewhere on line with the text of the "hidden" cyberspace messages Rebecca leaves you? I apparently missed a message on level 3, and wondered what it was.

I still need to take some time this week to try the mini-games I got in cyberspace, such as Wing 0.

You fly through a LOT of cyberspace, only to shoot a metal tornado that doesn't fight back... (of course, I had cyberspace difficulty turned all the way down, pity when I "got" it this playthrough). I personally wouldn't have set it in cyberspace, but, eh. I'll still say it was a great game up until Level 7, and just became "okay" the last three levels.

System Shock has one of the strongest stories in any FPS, the opening cutscene alone has more story than most PC games out there. Yes, the text and audio logs do help, but it's SHODAN, Rebecca, Diego, and others that propel the story & atmosphere further.

Coming in late, but...

I think one of the big reasons that a lot of people have such high praise for this game, and it's successor, in so many respects is because, back in the day, it did things so much better than pretty much anything else available at the time.
Since then developers have, well, developed and given us deeper stories and characters and improved on every aspect that is important in games.

What would games be like now if these two games didn't exist? Remember that FPSs were very different back then and all games fit neatly into their genre with no blurred boundaries. A Sci-Fi FPS/Adventure/(more for SS2)RPG with puzzles and an insane enemy AI that is teetering between trying to exterminate the entire human race and set herself up as it's new god? Try pitching that back in those days and you'd get laughed at and told it can't be done.

So SS & SS2 are now a little dated but I think the fact that you can play them now and still enjoy them, despite the modern competitors, says a lot. After all, you finished it/them, didn't you? ;)