Agreed entirely. Also, they completely ruined SHODAN in SS2, turning it into little more than a glorified quest compass whereas in the first it was truly menacing, frequently taunting and setting traps for the player.
Nah.
Different plot role != ruined.
In SS1 pretty much the only thing there was to SHODAN was god complex. That was the single trait SHODAN had in SS1.
OTOH in SS2 we get to observe SHODAN in more varied circumstances than SHODAN boasting letting her display more character traits.
The less said about the abominable ending and nonsensical end battle the better. In SS2's defence Xerxes and the Many were great, but don't quite make up for that horrible, horrible ending.
It's not that cyberspace end battle in SS1 was any good (same with cyberspace anything in SS1) although it does deserve the credit for non-standard losing condition, I guess.
Most of good battles in SS1 were those where you got assaulted by massive force like with CPU node traps. Edward Diego was neat enemy to fight, but the last battle effectively took place in a cupboard, so a bit meh.
As for the ending, the really bad part in SS2 was the stinger.
Well, they don't convey a specific meaning, no, but the beauty of those sounds in SS1 is that pretty much any sound you hear is bad news, and you have no way to make sense of them. Lets your imagination do the work as to what might be making a specific sound and what that sound even is and what the fuck is going on with the enemy making it. It holds up a lot better over time than the (very neat, well written) few lines the hybrids keep repeating.
The thing is that once you learn what sound matches what, then that's it. OTOH hybrids in SS2 talk *TO* you. SS1 is nice and clean cut - there can be no real communication between you and SHODAN or her minions because there is nothing to communicate. At worst SHODAN may taunt you a bit or cut the helper voice off. That's basically talking AT you not TO you.
In SS2, OTOH the situation is no longer clear cut. The enemy is apologetic, you get to learn their motivation and you get to hear their persuasion. The ally is untrustworthy. The situation aboard before most of the people died was a mess with good amount of infighting and paranoia.
Enemies in SS2 are conceptually interesting, but the weirdness of SS1 I find creepier.
Both games could use some improvement in this regard, TBH. SS2 is maybe more consistent, SS1 has better visual variety but little mechanical variety.
Just saying that the uncertainty and 'wrongness' (ie, your brain understands this isn't how sound works and doesn't like it) added to the odd vibe.
That would be useful only for some effects and in the game that has psi (SS2).
SS1 music never clicked with me. It just doesn't work together with the in-game situation of being alone with an army of murderbots and bloodthirsty mutants in a corpse-littered station governed by an insane AI. It doesn't help create the atmosphere.
I like the music in both games, but you could say the same for a lot of the music in SS2, if you're not into the beat-heavy electronic music. I was referring to the more abstract/ambient moments in both soundtracks, which in SS2 are a lot more pretty than the grating noises of SS1. Again, that feeling of hostility is reinforced.
The thing is that SS1 music doesn't really mesh with what's happening. It isn't even creatively dissonant (single exception being elevator muzak) - it merely gets in the way. It doesn't help that it's pretty awful too, it pretty much beeps and bops all the time - most of the stuff I listened to on C64 was better.
SS2 music, OTOH is mostly low-key and cooperates in building the atmosphere.
Even an odd fast paced piece generally works out somehow - compare music in both games when you awake from hibernation. In SS1 you're immediately assaulted by a pretty jarring, fast paced tune that keeps up for the entire level.
In SS2 the first med-sci tune is similarly fast paced and could be seen as jarring, however:
- You're first left to soak in silence and environmental sounds up until after the upgrade units.
- Upon going through the first bulkhead the soundtrack switches again to the moody, low-key tune, similar to most other tracks,
So it pretty much ends up being creatively dissonant after the atmosphere has already solidified.
Idk if I'm just super conservative with how I spend resources in games, but come on, SS2 is pretty much a cakewalk in this regard as well once you get a feel for the melee.
I'm super conservative with resources too, so I did have a lot of ammo in SS2, but between ammo, nanites and weapon degradation it felt much less comfortable than SS1 where some types of ammo are super abundant and weapons don't degrade making many firearms and (depending on location) all energy weapons effectively free to use.
Not quoting your other point since I don't really disagree with most of them and think that some of them are just completely subjective and down to our personal experiences with the games. I wasn't arguing that SS1 is objectively better at horror than SS2, just that the more abstract aspects (which you see as a detriment, and that's totally fair) creeped me out more than the much more understandable SS2. The sequel may be the better thought out game with more horrific (often tragic) undertones, and the horror feel is a much more clear goal that has been carefully considered and mostly achieved, but I find myself filling the blanks in more with the first game, and it ends up a creepier experience for me. It's an example of abstractness and primitive technology working to create a weird alien feeling. Kinda like how some people find Silent Hill 1 the scariest in the series because of the strange low-poly graphics.
Well, I've never been fan of abstract crap. OTOH SS1 does excel over SS1 in things it does in less abstract, more explicit manner - DT mechanics instead of solely relying on abstract damage types, doing cool stuff with your cybernetic implants rather than merely being told that you have them, being able to use basic fucking firearms as normal person would rather than having to indulge in some misguided RPG gameplay to meet abstract skill reqs, etc.
Good horror can be implied, but SS1 is running awfully low on horror fuel.
Also, they completely ruined SHODAN in SS2, turning it into little more than a glorified quest compass whereas in the first it was truly menacing, frequently taunting and setting traps for the player.
And yeah, SHODAN was imo better written in the first one. The way she actively antagonizes the player is wonderful, and, again, gives this feeling that you are stuck inside the belly of your enemy (yeah yeah, this literally happens towards the end of SS2 as well, but you get what I'm saying).
I absolutely can't agree here.
Nope. Nada.
In SS1 SHODAN is pretty much generic malevolent AI gone bonkers #54657. The writing also contains noticeable slip-ups like treating her cyborgs as free agents and human-like minions rather than meat she stuck full of electronics so that she didn't have to waste time explaining shit and tolerating this meat's whims - which is rather explicitly the situation in SS1, case in point being Edward Diego who is distinct in being allowed to retain his will and personality.
SS2 might not be terribly stellar regarding story consistency, but SHODAN is a strong, decently written character there as opposed to loose heap of rogue AI cliches.
