hum yeah FPS player love multi but don't forget that RPG games are the one best known for multi.... MMO anyone ????? how many guys spend their life on world of warcraft or ultima online or neverwinter nights etc.... the essence of RPG is in playing the game with someone else....

about the difficulty don't forget they lowered it on purpose for the casual gamers.... I don't play any games and especialy FPS on normal level anymore.... but if you beat all the games easily in legendary, hardcore, etc... then my man you are a killer :) for DOOM3 don't worry the end is not that good... I mean a 10 sec video I was pissed off that game was under my expectations...

and yeah I can't wait for that game to come out .... that and mass effect and halo 3 (don't forget that they said they are working only on graphic enhancement until it goes gold now) for the XB exclu...

Do you feel the same way about MP3?

Is there a reason this thread has 25,000 views and only 57 replies?

@mrstickball - Yes, it's because I'm the ultimate authority on the subject, and once I post, little else need be said. (Just kiddin'... mostly.)

@libellule - It's hard for me to answer that. I know I can get past graphics pretty easily and just enjoy the gameplay, but some people really need graphics to hold the experience together for them... But let me try to answer.
System Shock 1 is gonna be so hard for you to get working on a modern computer, I'd just about say forget it unless you're dying to play it (I could help; took me a while to tweak it so it would play right.) I loved the game (the gameplay is like 10 years ahead of its time), but the interface is hard to get used to and the graphics are very archaic (picture a somewhat enchanced Doom 1), so it might not be for you. I was willing to deal with it, but I'm very patient...

System Shock 2 is, as far as I'm concerned, a must-play. It runs off an enhanced version of the Dark engine, which was used for the first 2 Thief games; the graphics aren't spectacular, but they wont hurt your eyes either, and the way that engine handles sound is top-notch. The enemies are a little squared in places, but their voicework and sounds will freak you out anyway. The feel of the game... and the story which unravels by listening to little audio tapes you find... its just downright creepy. This is a good precursor to Bioshock, for sure.

Deus Ex is fantastic, but different from System Shock 2 in many ways; its from a different company, though some of the people who worked on SS2 also worked on DE. It isn't a scarry game, but the story (and the way it unfolds) is probably among the best in any game ever. All about conspiracy theories, shadow-government sorts of topics, but the story goes so deep and stretches so far that it really makes the world seem alive. The graphics are an improvement over System Shock 2, and the soundtrack is absolutely phenominal - it arguably makes the game.

All 3 games are first-person shooters with additional RPG elements. In Deus Ex you can upgrade skills like hacking, lockpicking, close-range weapons, etc., modify your weapons, install upgrade capsules that improve jumping, silent movement, x-ray vision, all sorts of stuff. System Shock 2 has similar systems but they're also quite different in many ways.

I also highly recommend Thief 2 for a stealth game by the same people who did System Shock 2 (the graphics are on-par with System Shock 2.) Thief 1, 3 and Deus Ex 2 are good, but SS2, DE1 and T2 are my favs.

@Bodhesatva -
If they set the game up like they did for System Shock 2, it will have several difficulty modes, so don't worry (they do it with most of their games; I can almost guarantee they'll do it here). The reason most single-player games are easy is because they're semi-mindless, something Bioshock is very far from being. Key-words here are "thinking-man's shooter." Just pulling the trigger at anything that moves will not work. Using the wrong ammo on the wrong enemy, or using the wrong plasmids for the situation, or not taking the time to set up a trap or outsmart the enemies or search out resources will get you fried in no time.

Poor AI is also part of the problem with many shooters, and the AI in this game is gonna be revolutionary, so no worry there either. Also, sometimes the single-player campaigns for many shooters are easy only because you've had to get so good at the game to be able to stand your ground against human opponents in the multiplayer mode. The single-player AI cannot compare to the wit and randomness of a real human mind (Not to mention that single player campaigns are typically meant to be easier, so new players can get used to the controls and gameplay elements, and prepare themselves for the real game - the multiplayer).

Side note - With System Shock 2, they released a late patch that added co-op multiplayer to the game (I probably played the game 4 more times just with different friends, aside from all the times I went through it in single player before that)... they may decide to do something like that here sometime down the road, but no guarantees on that.

It's because the Wii fans have no idea what this game is, but are interested to find out :P

<-- Wii fan, with more than an idea about what this game is. Nya, Nya.

If it reduces the exploration significantly, and focuses more on action as is rumored -- absolutely, yes, I am not very excited. If it remains an adventure game that happens to be in first person mode, then we'll see. In general, I'm not especially excited about it, as my girlfriend isn't, either. The only game I really really want this year on consoles is SSBB, with SMG, MP3 and now Bioshock possible purchases depending on how things go. The only games I will absolutely purchase regardless of reviews are HL2:E2, UT3, and Crysis. 

System Shock is still a very compelling game today.

If you really are worried about graphics, then pick up the high res and model packs for SS2, and I think SS1 has the same. Even then, the games aren't up to par with modern titles, but the improved graphics help significantly.

Bioshock makes me sad I get nauseous playing FPSes.