So I bought System Shock 2 a few days ago.

And I am not enjoying this at all :/

I've been Told that System Shock 2 is the grandfather of all great FPSs, that if I loved Deus Ex so much, it is a cardinal sin that I have not played SS2. I enjoyed, but was never in love with the Bioshock series, but was always told that SS2 was leaps and bounds better. SS2 paved the way Deus Ex and other "cerebral shooters".

And I'm having a hell of a time understanding why

This game is brutally difficult, and not in a challenging way, I find the game to be overtly unfair. Enemies spawn RIGHT BEHIND YOU, after you've cleared a room and all the rooms around it. You're basically forced to play a Navy soldier despite all the other skills and two other origin classes, and, frankly, I don't find the game all that exciting.

I though this game, like Deus Ex, would have multiple ways of handing different situations, instead, I'm feeling like I'm playing a clunky, albeit atmospheric, shooter. I can definitely see how Bioshock was made now, this is certainly the grandfather of that game, And it's significantly more interesting in its game play, but I'm finding that it feels rather antiquated.

I'll admit, I LOVE SHODAN, SHODAN is definitely the best part of the game, and the only real good part as far I'm concerned. Everything else feels half-baked or poorly thought out. I initially tried it on hard difficulty. So I didn't blame the game for its difficulty. But even on normal difficult I'm finding really cheap, mean-spirited tactics being used that, in an RPG today, would be considered really sloppy or poor quality.

I'm about to give it one more chance, I loved the psionic powers, but again, apparently, I really have to play a Navy seal or the game will punish me forever more.

Am I the only one that's apparently committed the blasphemous sin of not liking SS2? Is there something I'm missing? Or should we, maybe, admit a little bit of a case of rose-tinted-glasses?

The beginning is a bore. You need to get into it a bit and get a texture pack (I think there was a good one that was released).

What you're doing wrong is playing System Shock 2. It's a clunky overrated mess that I can't for the life of me see any redemption for it.

Historical notability doesn't necessarily make for fun. Great for it's time doesn't mean great for alltime.

That's how I felt with Jagged Alliance 2. I played the heck out of that game in the 90s but cannot get into it today. Not because of its age. For example I still play Ultima 6.

Yeah, some games you play from the 90s are very easy to play in terms of controls and it just plays naturally, but then others feel like clunk fests you're never sure how you played to begin with.

That's exactly it!

The same can be for Daggerfall, a head for it's time and some do love it but it's not for everyone. I actually like Arena better.