Once they even saved my playthrough when I badly needed nanites for a quest-critical item. Respawns did not bother me so much, they were quite limited if you did not trigger the alarm. I murdered Shodan on my last medical kit and with a few last bullets of the assault rifle. Even without that aspect, managing limited resources was tough, sometimes desperate.

Didn't bother with Psi, too few psi hypos to feel comfortable. There are no real builds in SS1, but in 2 I marched through the game dual-classed as soldier-hacker and I must say it was a very effective combination. I am even more impressed that they did it using the limited technology of the time. I can't really say I enjoyed all of it (backtracking and getting lost in those labyrinthian decks was tiresome), but I fully respect what the guys at Looking Glass strived to, and indeed achieved. Very atmospheric, claustrophobic, and intimidating experience. During the last 20 days, I've beaten Shodan not once, but twice, completing my virgin runs of System Shock 1 & 2.

System shock 2 atmospheric music mod