System Shock: Enhanced Edition adds mouselook, higher resolutions

System Shock: Enhanced Edition launches on the 21st anniversary of the game’s original 1994 launch. There’s no denying that System Shock (and its sequel, for that matter) could be a little obtuse, but these changes should go a long way toward making the game a bit more streamlined.

System Shock: Enhanced Edition is a remastering with several welcome upgrades. Still, some gaming experiences are truly worth preserving, so you can also return to the authentic 90’s gameplay with System Shock: Classic – ready for modern systems, completely unaltered in all other aspects. It overhauls the game to make it playable, adding mouselook so you don’t have to deal with archaic early-90s shooter controls. Might as well get out there for a drink, System Shock, you deserve it. “The classic game has never been more accessible to a modern audience”. Awakening after six months in a coma, you find the station you knew in ruins, with cyborgs and robots following a mysterious and unsafe AI named SHODAN. The gameplay has also been improved with a toggleable mouselook mode, remappable controls, and a refined inventory system. The most obvious are new resolution options, supporting up to 1024×768 and a native 854×480 widesreen mode (as opposed to 640×480 by default).

Thankfully, that won’t be an issue anymore: GOG.com and Night Dive Studios have teamed up to bring System Shock to modern PCs. While it costs $9.99 regularly, there’s a 20 percent discount for everyone (and a 40 percent discount for System Shock 2 owners) until Tuesday, September 29.