In case any of you missed it there is an amazing little patch/mod for the first System Shock game which enables "mouse look", higher resolutions, and custom key confirgurations:

http://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=1719.0

System Shock 1 was a game I was always dying to play but the keyboard driven UI always drove me bonkers after an hour or so. Now you can WASD/mouselook

The mod requires the enhanced CD version to work. There are only 3 files which you drop into folders per the readme. What the readme is not clear on is how to activate mouselook: press the key E in game for that. In combination with the full-screen button it's a real transformation for the good...

Game resolution can be bumped up to 1024 and looks very cool.

Sadly that mod makes using your mouse as a cursor in game a bit clunkier, as you have to switch between mouse look & cursor mode all the time. Still worth it though, System Shock might have been a groundbreaking game, but its controls were horrible. 

I think I can live with tapping the E key to grab things rather than the original system which was a complete deal breaker for me. I would encourage anyone who gave up on the game to give it a go now.

I remember playing through System Shock 1 (original interface and all) and being blown away.  Many fond memories of that game, and the interface did not bother me much then. (obviously I didn't know any better!)

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I also loved the original System Shock, but did find its interface to be pretty clumsy compared to the emerging FPS titles of the mid 1990's. 

However, Looking Glass (under Doug Church and several other MIT grads) adapted quickly and their next batch of games was nothing short of brilliant with Thief: The Dark Project introducing directional sound as a new dimension in immersive gameplay. Of course their 1992 release, Ultima Underworld had already set a precedent by seamlesly merging the FPS and RPG genres - plus their superb System Shock 2 inspired Deus Ex when Warren Spector created Ion Storm Austin with several other Looking Glass team members. 

A few years later, some of them also produced Arx Fatalis at Arkane Studios and others went on to do great work at Irrational Games, Valve, Westwood, etc. 

Collectively, they were some of the most innovative, influential and prolific designers in the business and I consider many of their games to be among the best ever made. 

Cheers, Terry