System Shock [Model EA 10027]

GAME ID: EA 10027
BARCODE: 0 17814 82611 5

Released on September 23, 1994 (Friday) in the USA.

System Shock's engine was derived from that of Ultima Underworld, from 1992. Nonetheless, it was more advanced that that of Doom or Duke Nukem 3D, featuring sloped surfaces, variable gravity, realistic physics, 2.5D environments (with limited 'sector-on-sector', but otherwise 3D), functional camera viewscreens, weapon recoil, leaning and several other clever things.

The game was originally conceived and pitched by Warren Spector as a Wing Commander spin-off with the working title Alien Commander, and would be set on the wreckage of TCS Tiger's Claw. However, both Spector and project leader Doug Church decided that they wanted a greater degree of creative freedom with the game and to not be tied to an existing franchise, and so reconfigured the pitch into its own original setting very early into pre-production.