It works fine with XP, at least on my system. Now, off you go. Go find a copy, so you too can learn why I get all nervous when I hear monkey noises.
Frightening monkey noises!?! O well, I'm off to eBay...

For the ugly bit, I believe there is a mod that does not change the game, but rather updates all the textures in the game making it look much prettier...
Even better! Thanks for that, Bob the Insane. I don't have a fileplanet account, but perhaps I can find it elsewhere. (Or perhaps it is time to give up and get an account.)

I remember a time when I had run out of ammo, and three Many Hybrids came at me. They hadn't seen me so I bolted into a sideentrance (the long corrideros where you meet the Walkers)... The Hybrids walked by, but then the last one stopped. I was standing there in the darkness with my wrench,
That sounds absolutely brilliant! I love the subtlety of the last one stopping.

I literally screamed out loud of fear and shock and I jumped from the chair ready to fight.
Hee! Hee! Not a problem for me, living on my lonely-o. I may be , but by the time anybody sees me, I should be like Fonzie .

Just for the sake of discussion, SS2 is not a space game - more like a cyberpunk action/adventure/RPG/horror game.
Good point, duly noted.

you operate on all three axis, something that is rather unique in the genre
Yes, that is one of the few things I don't like about SfC3. Come on: it's space but the ships only move on the x and y axes?!?