I've always kept System Shock 2 in the back of my head as i game i ought to play but never got around to. Is it still considered worth playing, i've heard alot of good things about the story but also that the control's a bit clunky and the game being rather difficult.

"hell yes", to put it politely. also, mods - consider the Shock Community Patch and Shock Texture Upgrade Project as mandatory.

Thank's for your reply and mod suggestions, i appreciate it. Is the SS2Tool (as i understand is required to install mods) included with the game here on GOG?

nope, you need to download it and patch up.

GOG build does have a basic set of fixes though, and is fine to play if you aren't interested in mods.

Just to give you a second opinion, I agree with what voodoo47 said. It's a really good game.

Personally I didn't love it with the same fanaticism some people have for it, but I still liked it a lot. It's the kind of game you'll never forget.

I wouldn't describe SS2's controls as clunky at all. Moving around feels like Thief 1 & 2 (same game engine), so it feels great. Swapping to inventory mode might feel a little odd since it is uncommon in a first person game, but it doesn't feel bad.

The game can be difficult, but if you play on 'Easy' or 'Normal' difficulty, I think you'll do fine. The higher difficulties make increasing your abilities more expensive, so it behooves one to know the game and its mechanics beforehand.

I'd avoid easy, it's so easy that it pretty much breaks the game - normal should be fine for any newbie, even one with less than optimal FPS skills. and hard is where it's really at.

also, impossible is called that for a reason.

I just checked my video game playthrough spreadsheet (everyone has one, right? I'm not weird!) and I last played SS2 to completion in 2013. I played then on Hard and I don't remember it being difficult, so I think voodoo47 is right.

Just going to chime in here, and say do yourself a great service and play it. I also recommend the community patch and texture upgrade.

There are a lot of other mods, some are great, some not so much, and some that seemed like they would be great, but never got finished. IMO it's best to just use the community and texture ones as they don't drastically change the vision of what the game was supposed to be, but just refine and add a bit to it.

In this day and age, for someone who hasn't been playing it over and over since 1999, the graphics will still be a bit dated, but they are still quite serviceable, and have a style of their own that lends itself well to the game. Making it a bit more timeless than the average game of the time period (despite being a bit more crude in some ways).

You must experience this game.

(The original too if you haven't. Though to make it less of a... shock... :D I'd play SS2 first, then go back for one to get the history.)

No need to install mods. The GOG version is heavily modded and fully compatible as it is. The game itself is a standout title and is regularly featured among the best games of all time.

the default GOG/steam build is not modded, but it does have a couple of fixes and tweaks that will make it superior to the original 1999 release, if you are still running that on some retro machine. it also uses the updated engine, which is not a mod however.

also, you apparently didn't check how the game plays and looks with SHTUP-ND and SCP - because once you have a taste, there is no going back.

It's so easy to miss out on SS2, but never is too late! give it a shot, just not literally ;)
Don't play it as a FPS. Ammo is scarce and you'll need it later on in the game, on the first set of levels try to kill enemies that prevent your progress, avoid/ignore if possible.
Also make your self a favor and play System Shock 1 first :) I started with 2 but got killed on the storage section of the game due to the exploding robots... so I ran the 1st one and was overwhelmed by it´s quality.

It's been a few years for me, and I haven't made time for that 2017 playthrough (yet!), so I'm a bit rusty. Basically, everything gets a little more expensive. According to this FAQ on Gamefaqs by C.LE:

https://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/185706-system-shock-2/faqs/41882

"On Hard, cybernetic module costs are 139% of Normal, rounding down.
Maximum HP is 24 + 3 x Endurance. Maximum PSI Points is 3 + 8 x PSI.
Replicator prices are 125% of Normal. In addition, enemies have a
30% chance of not even checking their loot tables upon death. "

I think if you've played and beaten the game on Normal, you should give it a go on Hard.

I used to have Shodan as my old avatar. System Shock 2 is the single most influential sci-fi game I played when I was a kid back then. There have been good sci-fi games like Mass Effect, or SOMA but this one set the bar. The story is just brilliant, and the atmosphere of the game is unforgettable. As the story unfolds you realize that the stakes in this game are so high that every moment to the end is epic.