Digital Woman review: System Shock's Shodan

[Circe]

<a href="http://www.womengamers.com/dw/shodan.htm"><img src="http://www.womengamers.com/dw/shodan.gif" border="0" align="left"></a>WG member <a href="http://www.womengamers.com/members/bio.php?handle=irony">Irony</a> reviews the female lead character <a href="http://www.womengamers.com/dw/shodan.htm">Shodan</a> of the System Shock and System Shock II games.<br /><br /><i>"... SHODAN has the most positive attitude of any digital woman. She faces setback after setback — marooned on a planet in the middle of deep space, thwarted by both her creator and her own offspring, and hamstrung by a turncoat little cyborg — with aplomb, never losing her cool. She just finds a workaround every time. That’s gumption."</i>

[Yamazaki]

'F-f-foolish Irony, your p-p-pathetic human mind cannot fathom the cybern-n-netic perfect-fection that is SHODAN'

How I loved SHODAN as an adversary in both games. She was the first computer game villain that I really really really wanted to defeat. The trickery she pulled on me certainly inspired a lot of cursing on a few occasions (Remember the four transmitters you had to blow up in System Shock 1? She locked you inside one of them just as you planted the plastique).

As a temporary ally in System Shock 2 we got to see a different side of her, a side that was no less vicious and cold, but certainly more calculating and in-depth. In the first game she just called you up to taunt you and inform you of her glory... in the second we got to see what made her tick, where her priorities were, and just how deep her megalomania was.

[kostika]

'F-f-foolish Irony, your p-p-pathetic human mind cannot fathom the cybern-n-netic perfect-fection that is SHODAN'

How I loved SHODAN as an adversary in both games. She was the first computer game villain that I really really really wanted to defeat. The trickery she pulled on me certainly inspired a lot of cursing on a few occasions (Remember the four transmitters you had to blow up in System Shock 1? She locked you inside one of them just as you planted the plastique).

As a temporary ally in System Shock 2 we got to see a different side of her, a side that was no less vicious and cold, but certainly more calculating and in-depth. In the first game she just called you up to taunt you and inform you of her glory... in the second we got to see what made her tick, where her priorities were, and just how deep her megalomania was.

It's a shame though that the System Shock2 game seems to have fallen into the shadows. It's been a couple years now since it's realease, but at the time it was overshadowed by the likes of Q3 and Half Life's releases. It's a shame since in so many ways this game was/is ahead of it's time in concept and story.

As for Shodan. Well what can I say. It's nice to have an intelligence, evil, cunning, mouthy female villian for once.

[Irony]

'F-f-foolish Irony, your p-p-pathetic human mind cannot fathom the cybern-n-netic perfect-fection that is SHODAN'

How I loved SHODAN as an adversary in both games. She was the first computer game villain that I really really really wanted to defeat. The trickery she pulled on me certainly inspired a lot of cursing on a few occasions (Remember the four transmitters you had to blow up in System Shock 1? She locked you inside one of them just as you planted the plastique).

As a temporary ally in System Shock 2 we got to see a different side of her, a side that was no less vicious and cold, but certainly more calculating and in-depth. In the first game she just called you up to taunt you and inform you of her glory... in the second we got to see what made her tick, where her priorities were, and just how deep her megalomania was.

I agree. Nothing makes a game like a worthy adversary. I, too, lament the fact the there doesn't seem to be a System Shock 3 in the works. I was hoping SHODAN would make it back to Earth, and it could be fun times for all!

[Brummbar]

It's a shame though that the System Shock2 game seems to have fallen into the shadows. It's been a couple years now since it's realease, but at the time it was overshadowed by the likes of Q3 and Half Life's releases. It's a shame since in so many ways this game was/is ahead of it's time in concept and story.

As for Shodan. Well what can I say. It's nice to have an intelligence, evil, cunning, mouthy female villian for once.

<b>It's nice to have an intelligence, evil, cunning, mouthy female villian for once.</b>

Ah, so you've met my ex-girlfriend.

[Digital Nightfall]

The image of SHODAN you are using (where she is looking to the right) is not from the game, but rather original artwork created by me for my website (sshock2.com) using a photo of one of my friends. Though I do not mind and am flattered by its use here, it is improper to use it without permission from the person who's photo it was created from. Therefore, I must ask you to remove all instances of it. Thank you.

And it's a great article. Cheers and bravo.

[Akina]

<b>It's nice to have an intelligence, evil, cunning, mouthy female villian for once.</b>

Ah, so you've met my ex-girlfriend.

haha! oh wait, that sounded like something my x boyfriend may of said about me...hehe Josh?? hehe jk

[ZoeOno]

Shodan really scared me. I know it sounds odd since I'm fairly mature, but she kind of kept me from sleeping some nights. Maybe it was just the game, but it was pretty scary.

Other than that, she had great voice acting, and her rendering and art depiction look really cool.

[FreonThorn]

You gave away one of the climactic parts of the plot. The game's considerably more exciting when the good bits haven't been made public. Don't get me wrong, I like the article, but you have to try and stay away from this sort of thing. Blabbing that Polito's Shodan in disguise makes playing through the game a bit less suspenseful, after all.

No offense intended. Happy gaming, all. And yes, I am new here.

[ALRijil]

Yes, SHODAN is arguably the best game villan ever... even if you ignore the fact that she is by far the coolest. As to her attitude to the player and how it changes between the games, in SS1 the Hacker (aka PnP [Plug n' Play], aka the Gibbon) made SHODAN sentient, while in SS2 the player is some uniformed trooper, important to SHODAN only in his/her usefulness to her greater plan.

[Irony]

You gave away one of the climactic parts of the plot. The game's considerably more exciting when the good bits haven't been made public. Don't get me wrong, I like the article, but you have to try and stay away from this sort of thing. Blabbing that Polito's Shodan in disguise makes playing through the game a bit less suspenseful, after all.

No offense intended. Happy gaming, all. And yes, I am new here.

That's why we put that disclaimer at the top that says "Warning: Contains Spoilers for System Shock and System Shock 2". I'm as sensitive to spoilers as the next person, but truthfully, the game's been out for years, and while I welcome readers that haven't played the game, we can't live in a vacuum forever!

It's like "The Crying Game" or "The Sixth Sense"...once the movie's out on video, the secret's fair game.

And welcome!
Irony