Overpriced snacks and movie theaters go together like free-to-play games and microtransactions. Having to take out a mortgage just to get Sour Patch Kids and a large popcorn is no new trend. The theaters have to rake in tons of money somehow, right?
The critically acclaimed System Shock 2, released in 1999, holds true to this common theme. There is a movie theater with a vending machine that sells food for way too much money. Even by the game’s own standard, the prices match those of life-saving ammo and weapons.
System Shock 2 puts the player in the shoes of a soldier on a spaceship. The main goal is to prevent the spread of a genetic infection that is spreading to and consuming everyone. The game features first-person combat and a deep RPG system with many ability trees.
This is not the only game in the series that adds this subtle detail. Its developer, Irrational Games, also made the spiritual successor to the series, BioShock. BioShock reached critical acclaim and strong sales.
Just like in System Shock, there is a cinema that serves the same over priced products. This was not only because of theaters being expensive, but with a tacked-on premium of living in the underwater utopia of Rapture.
Another detail that a fan on Reddit found was about the voice of the vending machines. In all of the previous titles they were voiced by Ken Levine, who is the creator of the System Shock and BioShock series.
Many fans hope that they see more details like this in the upcoming System Shock 3, which currently does not have a release date, but many trailers. OtherSide Entertainment claimed the rights to the franchise in 2015. Just recently, these rights have been transferred to the world’s largest video game company, Tencent.
The System Shock and BioShock series have dynamic stories with some of the best twists in all of gaming. They also use their narratives to look at the complexities of certain real-world ideologies and systems. The price of movie popcorn, for instance, is an injustice we should no longer stand for!
