Bioshock

[AndrewTS 0]

1.3 GB worth. I hope it'll be ready by morning, but I'm not counting on it. Join in on all the progress bar watching fun now!

[death_by_burrito 0]

Thanks for the heads up. I don't know much about it besides seeing a few vids online, but it looks like a really cool game. This one and The Darkness are probably gonna end up being the best 360 games of the summer.

[Thoth 0]

Being a PC owner, I have to wait for my demo. Game will probably be out before the demo at this rate.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

Good. About time the demo came out. Gotta start the download now so I can see if it's worth getting the CE (I'm still a sucker for collector's and special editions).

[AndrewTS 0]

Being a PC owner, I have to wait for my demo. Game will probably be out before the demo at this rate.

 

It will be. 360 and PC versions both ship 8/21, but PC demo won't be out until next month.

 

Anyway, I played the demo, and it's pretty awesome! Visuals are terrific, control super-smooth, and the presentation/voice-acting top notch. The atmosphere is amazing, something I'd heard about vaguely in the previews but is hard to really explain unless you play it.

 

My fave parts so far are hacking flying gunbots to fight for you, and blasting enemies standing in water with electricity and also nailing ones standing in the water nearby. Oh, Big Daddy too (don't want to spoil anything thing, so you can see for yourself).

 

The abilities I've gotten so far (the electro bolt and incinerate), are a blast to use, enemies are damn quick but easily dispatched so far. Game feels great overall. I might have to get this one soon, if not on release. Damn $60 next gen pricing!

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

It's like System Shock 1960 version.

 

That's about the highest praise I can give anything, since SS2 is my favorite FPS of all time.

 

Getting the 360 version here, because I like the controls from the demo, and I don't care about PC gaming enough to spend enough I'd need to upgrade.

[Downhome 0]

First the Stranglehold demo, and now this?

 

Awesome.

 

I'm downloading it right now and I can't wait to play it.

[AndrewTS 0]

Some folks on other boards think it doesn't feel as "scary" as SS2, which I've never played. I felt there were of spooky moments, though.

[AndrewTS 0]

Played through it again, still digging the game but I'm a bit annoyed that enemies always know you're hiding and out to get them, rather than having more opportunities to sneak in and kill them before they can go after you.

 

I didn't notice before there's some interesting video clips available as attract screens. Besides the post-demo trailer there's a video clip of a battle that seems to be somewhat of a "target" vid for the game.

 

An art book for the game is available as a free download from the 2kgames site:

 

http://www.2kgames.com/cultofrapture/artbo...></h2>

BIOSHOCK: BREAKING THE MOLD August 13, 2007 Way back when I was creating the BioShock Limited Edition, I took a poll for what you guys wanted to see in the box. And while we managed to put your top 3 choices in – the Making of DVD, Sountrack CD, and Big Daddy Figurine, we just couldn’t manage a BioShock artbook.

 

But with a game as beautiful as BioShock, that just didn’t sit right with me. Because everyone should be able to experience the beauty of BioShock, see the concept art and visualize the evolution of building such a revolutionary game.

 

So, with the help of the BioShock team and an amazing art designer, I put together a BioShock artbook for everyone to download. Here it is, in all its glory, in two PDF versions: a smaller, ebook download, and a more hi-resolution version that you can take to your local printshop and bind.

 

The one thing I’d recommend is skipping over Ken’s foreword until after you’ve played the game, as it holds some spoilers you might want to keep secret your first playthrough is complete.

 

Other than that, and without further ado, I present to you BioShock: Breaking the Mold.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

Dowloaded and played the demo. Stopped off at Gamestop and put down my $5 for the preorder. The only real problems I had with the demo were the aforementioned splicers seemingly ALWAYS knowing where you are, despite me being crouched in the darkest corner of the room and practically crawling in silence, and remembering which direction on the D-pad did what. I was constantly using up healing packs when I meant to reload.

[AndrewTS 0]

Didn't really have the problem with the health packs myself, however it still feels like a bit annoyingly like a PC game in that if your floating arm isn't on screen, you best get it up and ready by pressing your attack button first, which just "re-equips" it.

 

The Plasmid powers, for instance, require you to have your left hand drawn with your selected power. Same thing with the right hand and its weapons. If you don't have it up, best press LT/RT before entering an area (or reselect the same power/weapon) where there might be enemies. It stays up for a while, and it's not a major issue, but just a minor annoyance.

 

Oh, and the demo area has enough booze to get an elephant drunk, but has almost no real food.

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

Oh, and the demo area has enough booze to get an elephant drunk, but has almost no real food.

 

There are a few bags of chips, and power bar type things laying all over the place.

[Downhome 0]

The game is already out at certain TRU stores across the US, and there's a rumor that it might start showing up early in other stores starting tomorrow.

[Mike wanna be 0]

No multiplayer makes me sad. I know there's no hope for the initial disc; any word on a MGS-like "sequel/upgrade" or an Oblivionesque XBLM patch?

[Thoth 0]

No multiplayer makes me sad. I know there's no hope for the initial disc; any word on a MGS-like "sequel/upgrade" or an Oblivionesque XBLM patch?

 

I hope not, if we learned anything from Deus Ex. I'd put money on no.

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

Never say never, especially with this developer. They did add co-op in a patch for System Shock 2.

 

That's really the only type of MP I'm interested in, so if it happened for Bioshock, that'd be nice.

 

 

[AndrewTS 0]

The reviews have been quite good, to state the obvious:

http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/bioshock

[Angles Broken Fricken Neck 0]

played the demo, and wacked down my preorder of £50 for the collectors edition, featuring soundtrack, making of dvd and 6" big daddy figure.

 

cant wait till friday.

[ZGangsta 0]

I'm building my new desktop PC over the next week and this is the first new game I'm going to get.

If it's anywhere near as good as System Shock 2 I'll be stoked.

[ZGangsta 0]

Damn! IGN just gave the PC version a 9.7! Is this game the next Half-Life? (Well for single player)

[muzz 0]

Wish my PC were slightly better, I can't play shooters on consoles. I could run it, but I'd like to appreciate the game with the best graphics possible.

 

Every review I've heard puts it at least over 90%.

[World's Worst Man 0]

I'd say it's better than Half Life, and up there with Deus Ex for best single-player FPS I've ever played. The only big issue I have with the game isn't a real issue with the game, as it's mainly that gamepads are terrible for playing fast-paced FPS games with, as the analog sticks sucks for aiming. It's out for PC anyway, so if it gets really annoying, I'll just run it on this old rig.

 

The 10/10's are pretty over the top, and are probably due to the reviewers being wowed by the graphics. Not to say the gameplay isn't great, because it is. But I wouldn't call the game better than Deus Ex, which didn't get anywhere close to those scores - the main difference between the games being Deus Ex didn't have fantastic technical graphics, while this game does. There's also a few minor things with the game, like being able to respawn close to the action for free, meaning you never have to use first aid kits. Against tough enemies, it often becomes more efficient to take the deaths rather than spend most of your first aid kits trying to stay alive. Stealth just seems to be poorly implemented, and the multiple ways to clear a room seems to have been overstated a bit as well. Usually you just attract the enemies' attention, and end up having to clear the room by force, because there's no time to mess around. Many rooms don't appear to have any easily accessible accessories with which to kill enemies either, which further lends itself to just blasting away. And then there's the fact that there really aren't many alternate routes to take like there was in Deus Ex, which makes stealth even less practical. Not huge stuff, but things that probably should keep it from getting a perfect score.

 

With all that said, BioShock is still an incredibly intense and moody FPS, with great environments, some neat skills (even if they're not totally original) and decent character customization options. Crap like Doom 3 wishes it could be even half as good as something like BioShock.

[AndrewTS 0]

Damn! IGN just gave the PC version a 9.7! Is this game the next Half-Life? (Well for single player)

 

It's supposed to be far more open-ended and varied in its storytelling, so I hope not.

[ZGangsta 0]

Yeah, the game clearly compares more to Deus Ex than Half-Life but by 'next Half-Life' I meant being universally lauded by the critics and perceived as the next great thing. Deus Ex got really good reviews but not quite the same level, and it definately wasn't as popular as Half-Life. Which is a shame cause DX was one fucking amazing game. It's too bad they dumbed down the sequel so much.

[World's Worst Man 0]

Deus Ex took hits in its reviews because it didn't have great, technical graphics in the context of its time. It's a shame, because artistically, the graphics were superb and they managed to capture the feel of a near-futuristic, dystopian society perfectly. If it was remade today with BioShock-esque graphics, it would likely be getting the same scores. And therein lies my problem with giving BioShock a 10/10, since Deus Ex had better gameplay, and thus should be rated higher if all else was equal.

[AndrewTS 0]

Yeah, the game clearly compares more to Deus Ex than Half-Life but by 'next Half-Life' I meant being universally lauded by the critics and perceived as the next great thing. Deus Ex got really good reviews but not quite the same level, and it definately wasn't as popular as Half-Life. Which is a shame cause DX was one fucking amazing game. It's too bad they dumbed down the sequel so much.

 

I meant that as somewhat tongue-in-cheek, hoping that it beats it as far as overall game design as well as the great reviews. However, you're not the first or second person I've read mention Half-Life along with this game. So...you're the third.

 

I couldn't be happier if it indeed does. I hate first person shooters that are too...first person shootery. Which is why I'm being soaked big time this month for Prime 3 and this one.

 

I'd say it's a safe bet that its sales top Deus Ex, though.

[Guest]

I have a hard time calling Deus Ex a FPS. Seems wrong to put the game in that category, because it was so much more than that. One of my favorite games ever, too bad my older PC wouldn't run it very well. Haven't tried it on this one.

[Thoth 0]

PC Demo launches in about an hour.

[Scroby 0]

Played the demo the other day, I really enjoyed it. I would like to buy it but since it has no MP, that is a big turn off for me. I'll rent it once I get a free weekend.

[World's Worst Man 0]

As I advance farther into the game, it becomes apparent that there are a lot more skills available than originally thought. There comes a point when you can't just buy all of the skills available without leaving the area and farming more Adam somewhere else, which isn't very convenient (You get Adam from little sisters, which is then used to buy skills). I don't even know if it's possible, because theoretically there would be more skill vending machines in those other areas. There's also the fact that you get more skills than skill slots available, which further constrains your choices. You really have to decide how you want to play the game, and pick your skills based on that. It also adds a nice bit of replay value, because you could theoretically replay the game with an almost totally different character if you wanted to. I still wish stealth was done better, and that there were multiple paths to advance through areas, because it would even make the character customization that much more rewarding - but it's still nice to know that there are a lot of ways to put your character together.