CLOSED. Congrats to Spinorial!

Hey folks! So I woke up to see System Shock 2 on Community Choice sale on Steam for a steal. I know it's one of the most popular titles here with fellow Goglodytes, so I figured I'd pick up a copy for a giveaway.

Prize: System Shock 2 (Steam gift)

To enter, give me your perspective on why I should try this game myself, or alternately, why I should give Deus Ex a shot instead (keep in mind these things: I suck at FPS games in general so I've found I run the risk of just giving up on them if I get too frustrated. I've heard great things about both System Shock 2 and the Deus Ex games, but I didn't give a FPS game a shot until the Mass Effect series, and have still only played a small handful.)

SO! Tell me what you think! Is there something special about either (or both, if you want to say something about each) of these games that I'd regret missing out on? Tell me what makes either of these games/series special for you. Make it specific or general, even just some random thing you appreciated about the game(s) overall... help talk me into (or out of) checking these games out!

Requirements: at least 20 rep, or registered before June 2013. I have no clue when I'll close this one. I'll leave it open a good 12 hours at least, possibly more than a day, depending on what's going on in real life. :)

*I'll add you on Steam and trade you the gift. You're welcome to re-gift, enter for another member, etc.
**also, I realize some may want to enter to play this game for the first time, so if that's the case, you may of course still enter. Just tell me instead what draws you to the game and makes you want to play it. :)

Well, both are similar, from my understanding, but they also have a lot of differences. For instance, the theme. Both are cyberpunk, but System Shock 2 is more horror-oriented, whereas Deus Ex is all about the mystery. System Shock 2 is harder, while Deus Ex is definitely easier (you can get fucked easily if you don't allocate stats correctly in SS2). Deus Ex is easier to control, while SS2 can be a little clunky. Better bind those keys! I guess it really depends on your taste. If you're a big fan of horror, and you can handle a steep learning curve and some confusing stat-management, System Shock 2 is probably the better pick. But if you're more after the story, or you like your game a little easier (and creative), Deus Ex could be a more viable option. I'd watch the first 30 min. of gameplay of both on Youtube and see which grabs your attention more :)

Thanks for the giveaway, and count me in! :D

Thank you! This is exactly the sort of input I'm hoping for. Much appreciated! Off to a good start. :)

No problem! Between two games as good as these, I can tell why you need help deciding XD I wish I could have given more specifics, but I've only played the first hour or so of each. From what I experienced, SS2 definitely had the atmosphere down-pat (SHODAN's voice is just...*shivers*), but it's controls were outdated and the stats were confuzzling. Oh yeah, and it's tough. But it seems to have a lot of depth, if you're willing to put time into it. And Deus Ex was cool (especially all the options in the levels, giving for creative playthroughs), and I've heard the story's cool, but I don't know much else about it. Hope someone who has beaten both can give s'more specifics.

Once again, thanks for the giveaway! :D

Well, especially Deus Ex can be played very stealthily. You don't actually need that much shooter skill, because depending on your approach all you'll ever do is sneak through shadows, crawl through air ducts, hack computers, pick locks, knock guards over the back of the head or fire an occasional carefully lined up shot from a hidden spot. If you don't like intense firefights, just skill your character accordingly and you'll hardly ever get into a direct confrontation.

The same is true for System Shock 2 in a way, but there are a couple of difficult fights you'll inevitably get yourself into and it's overall a lot harder than Deus Ex, so I'd opt for trying Deus Ex first and saving System Shock 2 for later, when you're more comfortable with that kind of game mechanics

Also, nitpicking: Mass Effect is NOT an FPS. FPS is an acronym for First Person Shooter, while Mass Effect is a Third Person Shooter/RPG-thingy.

Also, also: not in for the giveaway.

Although similar, as others have pointed out SS2 is a horror game with FPS and RPG elements and Deus Ex is more of a FPS with stealth and RPG elements with a conspiracy story at the heart of it.
Both are great games, but Deus Ex might be more to your liking since it's more polished and you can avoid most of the enemies in the game. There are usually two to three solutions for every problem, of which at least one will usually be stealthy.
Being older SS2 is slightly more clunky (controls, interface, etc), but still a great scary game.
It's also great to see how much it has influenced other games (such as Deus Ex, Doom 3, Bioshock, etc).

If necessary I could try to tell you even more, but I personally think that's probably enough information.

A helpful little BUMP ;)

As has been made plainly clear to you, both games are not your standard FPS, mixing in a fair amount of RPG stuff. Now, in my opinion, the biggest determining factor should be your opinion on horror and survival-horror games. SS2 isn't quite Amnesia, but it does force you to be cautious and vigilant. There's a degree of randomness in enemy spawning, so it always keeps you on edge, if only by virtue of its atmosphere. From what I've read, there's a fair bit of item management and degradation, so you have to be cautious even if bullets are plentiful. The UI doesn't help matters, so you'll probably want to take your time reading up on the manual and setting it up. Experience tells me, though, that you'll need to play a bit before arriving at your final key-binds. Also, I would classify the genre as classic sci-fi, rather than cyberpunk.

Deus Ex, in contrast, puts you in the role of the hunter-stalker and gives you more freedom in executing your missions. It's a much less unnerving experience. Somewhat similar games would be Thief and Hitman, though they don't have DX's RPG elements. They would also be recommended if you end up liking DX (few people haven't). Also, by having made a thread about Deus Ex (if only in part), you've forced at least a dozen people around the world to reinstall it. It's a scientific fact ;)

So, I'll have to back the majority opinion and suggest Deus Ex, being a more even and gentler experience. That said, I'm not sure it will really prepare you for SS2, which you should also play at some point. Just be mentally prepared when you do :-) Oh, and thanks & +1 for the awesome gift, please count me in!

EDIT: I suppose I should add why I'd like to play SS2. Frankly, I'm not too fond of the hardcore survival games, i.e. I'm a pussy, but I've always liked their direction and have enjoyed the milder examples. Given that they all stem from the System Shock games, it's been near the top of my must-plays, since before NightDive got the rights. I was thinking of getting a less-than-legal copy, but then the miracle occurred ;)

Not in, but thanks.

Really tempted to enter for myself, since I've decided to not buy it for now on steam and wait.
But I prefer to enter for Spinorial, if it's possible!

For the advice, I'm sorry, but I can't say much more that Spinorial says... so count me in if this is not a problem! thank you! ;)

While I haven't played SS2, I have played Deus Ex so I'll give my opinion on that.

You said you suck at FPSes, well Deus Ex is not really a shooter. But it can be. It gives you a lot of option when it comes to gameplay. Want to be stealthy, never firing a gun? You can do that. You want to kill all the enemies? You can do that. You want to take everyone out silently in a non-lethal way? You can do that.

It also has a complex story, which is a nice touch. The graphics are dated, but what I've seen from SS2 it's similiar. So yeah, I don't think you'll have a problem with sucking at shooters when playing this game.

Why I want to play System Shock 2? Well, I'm curious if it actually lived up to the hype it got back when it wasn't on GOG and, well I like Action-RPGs in general, and since playing the Metros, I realized I kinda like horror elements in games.

Only played Deus Ex - but played it so much I went through a few disc copies, completed it probably around a hundred times (must be!) and have only recently began looking into mods for it!

It's not really an FPS, more an FP Stealth RPG focusing on plot and ingenuity to survive. So many secerets are hidden within it can take more than just a few playthroughs to find them all. Customise your weapons, take your own path on each mission - find your playstyle.

In for Spinorial! Cheers.

Thanks lads, really kind of you and much appreciated :-)

I'm most likely going to close this in a few hours, in case anyone else wanted to enter. :)

I was actually going to bump but OP himself beat me to it. :)

Not in. Thanks, Akhliber.

I never played either of the games, but I'd like to try System Shock 2 for several reasons.

Even though I mostly prefer tactical and turn based RPG's and I played a lot of action and hack and slash RPG's, I've never really played FPS RPG's that much. And System Shock is one of the classics of that sub genre.

Also it comes from a time when games weren't that easy which I love, since most of the games these days are really easier when you compare them to classics. Games shouldn't be easy, they should be hard enough to make you want to tear your hair in frustration and yell yourself hoarse sometimes. It's what makes it such an accomplishment when you finally complete them.

I'm not bashing new games, they are great as well. I just don't have the same sense of accomplishment when I complete a newer game as I do when I complete an older game.

So I would like to join this giveaway for a chance to play an older RPG I never played before, and I would recommend you give it a try as well.

Edit: During the rant I forgot to say thank you for this giveaway :) Also +1 :)