Bioshock!!! Movie Announced!!!

[Sanis Prent]

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/bioshock/preview_6110044.html



Oh man, terrible things are going to happen to me when this game comes out.

1. I will be poor when I buy this game and the computer to run it on.

2. I will stop going to work.

3. Christin will file a missing person's report.

4. I will stop eating and sleeping.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I anticipate sleepless nights of terror :uhoh

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

I'm not filing a missing person's report.

But I will buy myself a copy of that game :)

[Karl Valten]

Just played the demo and holy crap I can't wait until this comes out.

[Morgan Evanar]

The demo surpassed my expectations and reached my hopes. If the game is half as good as the demo we have a shoe in for game of the year.

[Morgan Evanar]

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/bioshock/preview_6110044.html



Oh man, terrible things are going to happen to me when this game comes out.

1. I will be poor when I buy this game and the computer to run it on.
You could get a 360 instead, it would be cheaper.

[Shi'Rasha Akara]

I just played the demo, and it really didn't send off all that many sparks for me. I love the idea, I love the way it plays and how it feels, but it just didn't seem to get me all hyped. To me, the entire game felt like a rip-off of Deus Ex, with the constant items-on-the-floor-highlight-to-pick-up and all manner of receptacles (trash cans, ash trays, etc) to pull items from, which when coupled with the similarity with the biomods (I forget what they're called in Bioshock) just makes it feel like a near-sequel to Deus Ex.

What I did like about the game was the smoothness of the play and the horror movie feel.

Not the game I'm looking most forward too anymore, but it's definitely still at the top of my list.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

If its still at the top of the list then... O_o :p

[Morgan Evanar]

I just played the demo, and it really didn't send off all that many sparks for me. I love the idea, I love the way it plays and how it feels, but it just didn't seem to get me all hyped. To me, the entire game felt like a rip-off of Deus Ex, with the constant items-on-the-floor-highlight-to-pick-up and all manner of receptacles (trash cans, ash trays, etc) to pull items from, which when coupled with the similarity with the biomods (I forget what they're called in Bioshock) just makes it feel like a near-sequel to Deus Ex.

What I did like about the game was the smoothness of the play and the horror movie feel.

Not the game I'm looking most forward too anymore, but it's definitely still at the top of my list.Plasmids. Deus Ex ripped off System Shock 2, please get it right.

[Shi'Rasha Akara]

I never played System Shock 2. *shifty eyes*

[Yog]

Looking good so far..
http://www.gamestats.com/objects/793/793105//articles.html

[Shawn]

The Games Radar review (http://www.gamesradar.com/us/pc/game/reviews/article.jsp?articleId=2007081595653768046&releaseId=20060426172718471012&sectionId=1000&pageId=2007081595737169023) is excellent, and allayed any tiny, niggling fears I may have had about the game. I do so love Irrational (2k Boston, natch).

[Morgan Evanar]

The lowest ranking out of 15 reviews is a 94. I already know that I'm buying it.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I just played the demo, and it really didn't send off all that many sparks for me. I love the idea, I love the way it plays and how it feels, but it just didn't seem to get me all hyped. To me, the entire game felt like a rip-off of Deus Ex, with the constant items-on-the-floor-highlight-to-pick-up and all manner of receptacles (trash cans, ash trays, etc) to pull items from, which when coupled with the similarity with the biomods (I forget what they're called in Bioshock) just makes it feel like a near-sequel to Deus Ex.

What I did like about the game was the smoothness of the play and the horror movie feel.

Not the game I'm looking most forward too anymore, but it's definitely still at the top of my list.

lol play more games

[Yog]

US
GamesRadar US – 10/10
GameInformer US – 10/10, second opinion 10/10
EGM – 10/10, second opinion 10/10, third opinion 10/10
GamePro – 10/10
1UP – 10/10
Gamespy - 5/5
IGN - 9.7/10

UK
EuroGamer – 10/10
OXM – 10/10
X360 Gamer – 10/10
X360 – 10/10
PC Zone – 96%
PC Gamer – 95%
Xbox World – 94%

Australia Official Xbox Magazine – 10/10
PC Powerplay – 10/10
Game Arena – 5/5
Hyper – 97%

Alemania 360 Live – 9.8/10

[Shawn]

Pre-ordered from GoGamer with 2-day shipping. Hopefully, they're one of those sites that ships a day or two before the release, so you get it on the street date. I work Tuesday night, but I have all of Wednesday off to enjoy the sweet, sweet gaming bliss.

[Yog]

I will probably pre order with my steam account, it releases on friday in Europe.

[Zem-El Vymes]

Guys let me know how it is

:(

[Yog]

Guys let me know how it is

:(

Wait what? You can't play it? Not upgraded your rig yet? :(

[Shawn]

Got my hands on the demo. :D It runs much better than I thought it would. It hovers around 30fps most of the time, with some slight dips. It never feels choppy, in any case.

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2634/untitled1ao1.th.jpg (http://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=untitled1ao1.jpg)

[Sanis Prent]

Wait what? You can't play it? Not upgraded your rig yet? :(

I can't afford to even think about an upgrade any time soon.

[Yog]

Got my hands on the demo. :D It runs much better than I thought it would. It hovers around 30fps most of the time, with some slight dips. It never feels choppy, in any case.

What are you running it on?

I have not bothered with the demo so far. It is going to be good for sure, and I have monster gaming PC (C2DUO 6300, Geforce 8800 GTS 640, 2GB 6400 DDR2, DX10).

[Shawn]

Yeah, you'll be fine. I have an A64 3800+, 2GB DDR400, 7900GT slightly overclocked. I play 1280x1024 (monitor's native res) with everything maxed. I was going to pass on the demo, but I wanted to find out how it'd run and get the system tweaking out of the way before I got the full game.

To talk about the game itself: It's everything I could have hoped for, and more. I can see them telegraphing a few of the plot twists already, but I obviously don't know the specifics. And the atmosphere is second to none. I know I'm going to be replaying this game over and over, just to be immersed in the amazingly detailed world of Rapture.

[Morgan Evanar]

I've been trying to test the demo at work but apparently it hates Realtek audio chipsets on Vista. Goddamnit.

[Liam Jinn]

Is this game only coming out for the computer?

[Yog]

I've been trying to test the demo at work but apparently it hates Realtek audio chipsets on Vista. Goddamnit.

This may or may not be relevant to you. I went into my BIOS and found a setting for Realtek chip in "Vista mode" (I have an Asus P5W DH Deluxe). Also there are realtek drivers out there which are supposed to improve stability for vista users.

Either way, I will now have to test the demo to make sure I don't have the same issue..


Is this game only coming out for the computer?

PC and XBOX 360.

[Liam Jinn]

Bah, my computer sucks because of viruses or something, and I don't have a Xbox :( This blows

[Morgan Evanar]

I downloaded the latest Vista Realtek drivers and it didn't make a lick of difference. I think the board is a Foxconn590 but I'd have to double check. It's really an absurd system, X2 6000+, 2gb and SLI 8800 GTXs.

[Salem Ave]

Is there a PC demo available online?

[Morgan Evanar]

Yes, hit up Fileshack or one of the many, many torrents.

Getting it on PC, it runs great on my system. It's also available on Steam, which might be faster. I dunno.

[Yog]

I started up the demo, and I said to myself, "hey those are nice cinematics" kinda waiting for what to happen next, then I was like "wait a minute... it could not possibly be.." I moved the mouse and discovered those were in-game graphics! If you think it look good on 1280x1024, try it in full 1680x1050 DX10 splendour with everything on. It gotta be seen in full motion to be believed, it all feels incredible realistic. I spent most of the time playing with my jaw open in amazement. The sound effects are abso-bloody-lutely mindblowing amazing. Expecially on my THX 5.1 home theater system. It is so atmospheric. And don't get me started on the fun physics and horror aspects of the story. What Bioshock does is take all the best aspects of first person shooters the last few years, bring them up to the next level and drop the competition from great height, then stomp on it with iron spiked boots. There is nothing remotely in the same league.

This is quite possibly the best game I ever played. It deserves all the accolades is received and then some. Anyway, that is my very subjective first impression from playing the demo.. :D

[Karl Valten]

Wow, I'm really loving how the game places and the scenery is just breath taking. Really could use more plasmid slots (ran into an incident against a big daddy and didn't have the plasmids I wanted equipped), but hey, it's early in the game.

[Sanis Prent]

Wow. This game has the best water effects I've ever seen in anything. Also plasmids are hilarious. I love this game. Not nearly as scary as System Shock 1 & 2 but with a hefty amount of fright here and there nonetheless.

[Karl Valten]

Hmmm, easy is really too easy. What plasmids are you sporting? I'm running with electro-shock, incinerate, telekinesis, frost-whatdoyoucallit, and enrage.

With all those physical tonics I'm picking up, I really want to run through the game using only a wrench. :p

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Who's playing it on the computer and who's playing it on the 360? I watched my brother play the demo on our 360 and it looked really sharp.

[Sanis Prent]

Hmmm, easy is really too easy.

It's the easiest easy mode that I've seen since perhaps C&C Generals. I never used more than 3 out of the 9 first aid kits that I carried in any fight, no matter how rough.




What plasmids are you sporting? I'm running with electro-shock, incinerate, telekinesis, frost-whatdoyoucallit, and enrage.

I tried the security cam thing and it was kinda lame. I never really got into a position to use the big daddy turning thing either. I really would like to try it.


With all those physical tonics I'm picking up, I really want to run through the game using only a wrench. :p

I thought about it, but setting people on fire does not ever get hold.

[Sanis Prent]

Who's playing it on the computer and who's playing it on the 360? I watched my brother play the demo on our 360 and it looked really sharp.

Living vicariously on my friend's 360

[Morgan Evanar]

I got the PC version, as I end up on the same display and I'm just more comfortable with a mouse and keyboard for FPSes. It's damn amazing. I'm playing with 5.1 surround. It has the best sound of any game I've played that didn't have "Thief" on it's name. I agree, it's not as scary as SS2. It's more unnerving instead. The whole thing makes you a little sick to your stomach (in a good way, I think).

[Dasquian Belargic]

:cry It's downloading the demo so slowly. Curses. :shakefist

[Sanis Prent]

I got the PC version, as I end up on the same display and I'm just more comfortable with a mouse and keyboard for FPSes. It's damn amazing. I'm playing with 5.1 surround. It has the best sound of any game I've played that didn't have "Thief" on it's name. I agree, it's not as scary as SS2. It's more unnerving instead. The whole thing makes you a little sick to your stomach (in a good way, I think).

I was rummaging through the medical ward trying to find some eve hypos and suddenly it seemed everything got quiet...very very quiet.

I turn and OH MY GOD SPLICER RIGHT NEXT TO ME!

I dropped my controller ^_^;

Also, this game's music uses creepy violin jabs very effectively.

[Morgan Evanar]

Tried Fileshack?

[Karl Valten]

I turn and OH MY GOD SPLICER RIGHT NEXT TO ME!

Karl: *Rummages through trash cans and corpses* "la la la"

Splicer: *tip-toes behind Karl*

ZAPPPPPPPPPPPP

Splicer: AIIEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

Karl: *giggles* "tee hee"
















































.....static discharge tonic brings much amusement

[Sanis Prent]

I turn and OH MY GOD SPLICER RIGHT NEXT TO ME!

Karl: *Rummages through trash cans and corpses* "la la la"

Splicer: *tip-toes behind Karl*

ZAPPPPPPPPPPPP

Splicer: AIIEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

Karl: *giggles* "tee hee"

....static discharge tonic brings much amusement


I use that tonic too, but it isn't the worrying about survival that I am concerned with. It's just a leadhead splicer, it would take four dozen in a head-on assault to threaten my life if I was drinking. It was just scary to turn and see.

[Karl Valten]

Yeah I know what you mean. The Houdini Splicers just creep the heck out of me.

Had the static discharge fail me in an odd, way. A big daddy tries to swat me out of his way and gets shocked. Big diver helmet in my face all of a sudden (this is where I freaked and dropped the controller) and I find myself in a vitachamber.

Only time I've died so far. O_o

[Shawn]

Because I'm a screenshot whore...

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/8124/bioshock01ju6.th.jpg (http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bioshock01ju6.jpg) http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/1537/bioshock02vm3.th.jpg (http://img172.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bioshock02vm3.jpg) http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/269/bioshock03ik0.th.jpg (http://img440.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bioshock03ik0.jpg)
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/5321/bioshock04xe7.th.jpg (http://img172.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bioshock04xe7.jpg) http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/6066/bioshock05oe6.th.jpg (http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bioshock05oe6.jpg) http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/4055/bioshock06nw3.th.jpg (http://img172.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bioshock06nw3.jpg)

[Aurelias Kazaar]

Dammit you guys are just gonna force me to buy this. And I was gonna wait a week or two.

[Morgan Evanar]

I hope you either have a 360 or a beast of a PC.

[Aurelias Kazaar]

360 = Me. Had it since last year.

[Karl Valten]

Holy Crap, I usually pride myself on being able to pick up foreshadowing and hints and figure storylines out really early. But jeez, I just hit a HUGE revelation in the game and I'm just starting to connect the dots with all the audio diaries.

Rapture is one screwed up place.

[Aurelias Kazaar]

Got it this afternoon.

Oh.

My.

Gosh.

[Sanis Prent]

I had a great moment when this spider splicer was doing hands-free cartwheels and backflips around me, and I just reached out and put one in its melon with an anti-personnel revolver bullet in the middle of a cartwheel. It was upside down at the time, and just fell to the wayside in a heap.

Best kill ever :cool

[Karl Valten]

Wow, I am rarely ever sickened or disgusted by video games, no matter how bloody. But bioshock has actually hit me emotionally at moments. Top five freaky stuff that I saw:

1.

I walked into the living room of an apartment and found the bodies of an entire family sitting on couches, the parents and three kids. Found a spider splicer in there and emptied an extra machine gun clip into it after I killed it. Left the apartment right away without looting anything.

2.

Seeing all of the little sisters in Tannenbaum's safe house/Tannenbaums audio notes

3.

The meeting with Andrew Ryan and Atlas's subsequent evil laugh. My first thought was "Oh God, what did I do?"

4.

Sander Connen walking down the stairs after completing his masterpiece/Sander Connen's 'artwork'

5.

Dr. Steinman's operating room.

[Sanis Prent]

5.

Dr. Steinman's operating room.

This one was hilarious though.

[Yog]

I am not that far into the game, but I am really enjoying it. The european release was on friday, and I had a technical issue I had to sort out. Some glitch prevented hacking minigame from working (fixed) and there is still sound stuttering in main menu and loading screens (have not figured that out yet). But beyond that, I have to say this is very likely the best looking and sounding game I ever experienced. The DX10 textures makes this look amazing. The water is easily the best in any game ever. The surround sound is terrific, I locate slicers just by listening to the direction. On top of that, it is an utter blast to play, very atmospheric and exciting. Top quality production. There are quite a bit of bugs though, which cause problems for quite a few PC users, but if you can get pass that, you are golden.

[Morgan Evanar]

I haven't experienced any bugs on my system. The vast majority seem to be DX10/Vista related.

[Yog]

If you check the BioShock technical support forums, there seems to be all kinds of issues, from random crashing, black screens and sound stuttering on a wide range of system setups. Most people who played it on PC experienced at least some form of glitch.

http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=42

I also spent several hours getting the key server to authenticate me when installing it on steam, because the server was constantly down. Don't get me wrong, I love Bioshock to death, but the PC launch from a pure technical perspective was far from smooth. Hopefully, it will improve a lot with patches.

[Shawn]

Haven't ran into a single problem, either. Running it in XP, though. I've only been playing a few hours a day, so I'm not blazing through it quite as fast as some folk; I just got to Fort Frolic.

It's all the little touches that I love about this game. For example: After you Harvest/Save all the Little Sisters on a level, you can follow a Big Daddy around and watch as he pounds on all the vents, trying to find one. Eventually, he'll get frustrated and just slam his fist into the wall. Kind of sad.

Personally, I'm harvesting all of the Little Sisters. I'm hoping for a real bleak ending.

[Mu Satach]

I want this game so bad. I wonder... maybe I'll buy it and load it on my PC at work and play a bit after hours.
>_>
<_<
^_^

[Karl Valten]

You cruel person, I'm rescuing all of them. Getting on Tannenbaum's good side has some real perks in-game. But then again I'm going through on easy, on harder difficulties that'll change. I'll need all the ADAM I can get.

[Sanis Prent]

I just couldn't bring myself to do it. That is ridiculous I know, but I couldn't do it.

[Morgan Evanar]

Yeah, I couldn't do it either. The situation is so terrible as it stands.

[Crystal]

I've been playing this, too. I really really love it. I stayed awake all last night playing it. I've been rescusing all of the little sisters because I also couldn't bring myself to kill them. :| I'm at Tannenbaum's safe house, after meeting with Andrew Ryan..

Even though I'm pretty sure he's just about as insane as Fontaine, I felt pretty bad after killing Ryan.. Especially since it was in a cutscene and I had no choice. Obviously that was the point. Would you kindly?


3.The meeting with Andrew Ryan and Atlas's subsequent evil laugh. My first thought was "Oh God, what did I do?"
I knew it was coming, but I still didn't really expect it like that. I was just starting to maybe sort of trust him and I kind of liked Atlas. :(


4.Sander Connen walking down the stairs after completing his masterpiece/Sander Connen's 'artwork'
That whole level was just amazing. All the frozen splicers really freaked me out. Connen is so insane, and I love him. Has anyone tried killing him for the other prize?

[Sanis Prent]

I knew Atlas was crooked from the start and I haven't even gotten to that point in the game. I mean, did any of you play SS2 at all?

[Aurelias Kazaar]

So I'm playing it and just finished hacking a security camera in the freezer...

And the power in my house goes out. I just threw my hands up in frustration.

[Karl Valten]

I


4.Sander Connen walking down the stairs after completing his masterpiece/Sander Connen's 'artwork'
That whole level was just amazing. All the frozen splicers really freaked me out. Connen is so insane, and I love him. Has anyone tried killing him for the other prize?


Yeah, I did, not worth it, it costs you later in the game. Make as many friends as possible even if they are twisted freaks.


Would you kindly.....gods how did I not get that the whole time. Through the game I always felt like I was a pawn, but damn.

The people at at work behind this made one helluva good game.

[Shawn]

Top five freaky stuff that I saw:

2.

Seeing all of the little sisters in Tannenbaum's safe house/Tannenbaums audio notesThis is even worse if you were a bastard like me and killed all of them throughout the game. They say stuff like "Who's he?" - "He's the one who hurts us." and "Stay away from him, he's mean." :cry
I knew Atlas was crooked from the start and I haven't even gotten to that point in the game. I mean, did any of you play SS2 at all?Haha, yeah. I have to give them credit, though. Although I suspected him from the very beginning, I did doubt myself at times. He puts on a good act.

I still have a little ways to go before I finish it, so I'm hoping there's still a surprise or two in store.

[Parsideon Denix]

Does anybody have a video of a Little Sister being harvested? I won't do it but it would be interesting to see.

[Aurelias Kazaar]

Edit- just did it and I would not have if Charley hadn't brought it up.

you pick the girl up, she swats at you, then the screen claws to green then fade to black. When it comes back on you have the sea creature in your hand

Thanks Charley for making me feel frackin' uncomfortable. :p

[Shawn]

You see kids, despite how funny your friends tell you it will be, it is NEVER okay to moon the automated turrets.

http://www.imagepup.com/up/SvxB_1188174780_tn_turret.jpg (http://www.imagepup.com/v/U3Z4Ql8xMTg4MTc0NzgwX3R1cnJldC5qcGc=)

And I'll see about making a video for you in a bit. That is, if there are any left alive. :darkangel

edit: Eh, the bad ending fits, but it wasn't what I was hoping for. No real complaints, though.

[Dasquian Belargic]

So, has anyone completed the game? Any reviews?

[Shawn]

I think hype will hurt many people's impressions of the game. For example, I think many people were expecting the game to play out completely differently if you chose the "bad" path, when it really only affects the ending and a few lines of dialogue. This is to be expected, since I don't really expect the developers to make two seperate games in the name of "choice".

Frankly, the game goes from amazing, to incredible, to kind of average towards the end. If all games were as good as BioShock's weak spots, then we'd be overwhelmed with quality titles. But in contrast to its better parts, the weak parts really stand out.

The difficulty always felt spot on for me. Although I've heard some people say different, I always found the Big Daddy's challenging, and I had to find more and more creative ways to fight them. The end boss could have been so much more, though.

The story is pretty darn good, but some of the twists aren't so shocking as, say, KoTOR's. They telegraph just enough of them so you get some idea what's going on, but you still don't know the details. The three word spoiler was freaking amazingly well done.

Overall, I loved it. It has a few kinks, and it's easy to bemoan the wasted potential there. But I'm glad we got the game at all, and that it's as fantastic as it is. If they release an SDK (and potentially even if they don't), I wouldn't be surprised to see the community fix 75% of said kinks.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Hehe, Shawn, I thought you meant that the ending was bad.

The bad ending... :mneh

[Morgan Evanar]

I think hype will hurt many people's impressions of the game. For example, I think many people were expecting the game to play out completely differently if you chose the "bad" path, when it really only affects the ending and a few lines of dialogue. This is to be expected, since I don't really expect the developers to make two seperate games in the name of "choice".

Frankly, the game goes from amazing, to incredible, to kind of average towards the end. If all games were as good as BioShock's weak spots, then we'd be overwhelmed with quality titles. But in contrast to its better parts, the weak parts really stand out.

The difficulty always felt spot on for me. Although I've heard some people say different, I always found the Big Daddy's challenging, and I had to find more and more creative ways to fight them. The end boss could have been so much more, though.

The story is pretty darn good, but some of the twists aren't so shocking as, say, KoTOR's. They telegraph just enough of them so you get some idea what's going on, but you still don't know the details. The three word spoiler was freaking amazingly well done.

Overall, I loved it. It has a few kinks, and it's easy to bemoan the wasted potential there. But I'm glad we got the game at all, and that it's as fantastic as it is. If they release an SDK (and potentially even if they don't), I wouldn't be surprised to see the community fix 75% of said kinks.The end is the weakest part of entire game, and it slams 90% of games to the floor. (Although I love one of the "good" final ingame cutscene.) I'm looking forward to playing it through again.

I agree with Shawn's review.

I love the three word spoiler, too. That was immensely clever.

[Pierce Tondry]

Wait, three word spoiler? Where was this?

[Morgan Evanar]

If I tell you it's spoiled. revealed when you meet Ryan

[Dasquian Belargic]

I've had a few glitches and crashes, but I think that's ore because of my laptop being unable to keep up rather than anything else. Still, what I have been able to play has been creepy as hell :uhoh

I am so bad when it comes to freaking out over survival horror. I don't know why I put myself through this :whaa I could hardly sleep for days after playing the Cradle in Thief: Deadly Shadows.

[Firebird1]

This is one of the few games like Halflife 2 and Dues Ex I can't get out of my mind! Its a good game, and a very good reason to own a 360.
I've been able to beat the game on Easy and Medium so far, I'll need to get better to beat it on hard though.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I'm playing through Arcadia at the minute, and struggling horribly against my desire to read all the spoilers here. I have so many suspicions about the storyline...

[Firebird1]

Even the spoilers tell only 1/2 the story. There is so much that is not said until you get every small piece of the puzzle....

[Darth Phantom]

Just bought the game a few days ago and wow, I love it thus far. I'm currently in Fort Frolic, the only problem I've been having is lack of ammo, more so as I go on. The Big Daddys are definitely challenging, I generally switch between either my shock bolt or my freeze Plasmid and the Grenade Launcher or my shotgun with the shock shot.

[Peter McCoy]

I'm installing the game right now and I was just wondering:

Do enemies respawn in areas you've cleared. I hope they do (but not in the bad way on System Shock 2 where hybrids appeared out of thing air). I'm hoping that reinforcements do come occasionally, if only to keep me busy.

[Darth Phantom]

Yup, enemies do respawn.

[Karl Valten]

And very annoyingly so. :)

[Peter McCoy]

I'm glad. People I've spoken to hated the way the hybrids respawned in System Shock 2, but to me it was essential for picking up extra nanites and the odd soda can - every little helps.

Incidentally, I've just gotten up to the first little sister and saved it there. I'm probably gonna harvest them on my first play-through so I can mess about with all the dfifferent upgrades. Then next time I'll know what I need the most and concentrate on those while I save the little sisters.

Still not sure how I'm gonna manage the Big Daddies though.

[Zem-El Vymes]

Why did people hate it, other than being scared out of their wits in general?

[Morgan Evanar]

I never found respawning enemies to be that much of a problem.

[Zem-El Vymes]

I did, but purely for survival reasons.

No shelter - ANYWHERE :uhoh:

[Peter McCoy]

I don't have a problem with it either, like I said I'd hate to clear the area, and then come back later to an empty deck. But my friend said it frustrated him the way more would show up. And also, he refered to how it actually looks when you accidentally see them spawn out of thin air, but that's neither here nor there to be honest.

I haven't played much more since my last post. I managed to sort out the first Big Daddy with the help of a lot of first aid kits. I really begrudge unequipping Electro Shock now! But hey, already I know what to do on my second playthrough :) And as with System Shock 2, I'm already favouring the wrench for dealing with Splicers. Got the Wrench Jockey tonic equipped, as well as Static Discharge, making me an uber melee master for the moment. As I understand it, the splicers get tougher as the game goes on.

[Karl Valten]

Yeah, but there are so many wrench tonics that it won't matter unless you're facing a horde. I'm going through trying to beat the game only using a wrench.

[Peter McCoy]

Considering my encounters so far, I can't see that being a possibility. I wouldn't dare take on a Big Daddy using only a wrench.

Having said that, I eventually got good enough at System Shock 2 to take on rumblers with the wrench :-P

Just got to Arcadia, but I need to go back to Neptune's Bounty as there's 2 more little sisters for me to harvest. I need more frag grenades though. I found the Daisies much easier than the Bouncers up to now. And I hate, hate, hate Arcadia. I'll be having nightmares! But so far I absolutely adore the gameplay and setting. Nightmares will be a small price to pay - I even enjoy most of mine :-P

PS: The mere thought of playing this game on the hard difficulty setting is ludicrous!

PPS: We should have a competition to see who can get the most security bots following them around. Screenshots or video's perhaps.

[Peter McCoy]

Hmm, apparently you can't have more than 2 security bots on your side at once.

And for the record, I've just experienced the coolest moment in the game for me so far. I'm in Fort Frolic, on the stairs by Poseidon Plaza and what do I run into? 2 Big Daddies, each with a little sister on tow. Enrage plasmid at the ready, and I just sit back and watch the two behemoths duel to the death.

Easy Adam :)

[Dasquian Belargic]

I just had the same thing happen, Peter. I actually saw one wandering around in there and remembered your post, so waited to see if another would show up - and sure enough, he did!

Also had a funny moment just with the ragdoll physics. At the point when Sander Cohen thinks you doubt his 'artist genius', I one-shotted a splicer and when her body hit the floor her head starting nodding in time with the music in the background :lol

[Taro Idol]

It's the simple things in Rapture you treasure the most :)

Sander Cohen doesn't half remind me of Runciter from the Blade Runner game. I wonder if it's the same voice actor.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I spent that whole level thinking that Cohen was going to make me into one of his sculptures once I'd carried out his bidding. Does anyone know if there's a way to see inside his box? The big chained up one, inside the glass case next to the plasmid he gives you.

[Taro Idol]

Yes indeedy, there certainly is. You need to kill him and loot the key from his body. But be warned as it will cause you to miss out on a few things later on in the game/

[Dasquian Belargic]

Ahhh. I did consider killing him. I stuck with my cursor lurking over him for a little while, but ended up feeling quite sorry for him.

[Peter McCoy]

Well I finally finished this excellent game the end of last week. And I loved it so much, I've already started again - this time I'll be saving the little sisters. I'm pretty clued up as to what not to bother with this time. Security Bullseye got just a single use when I first picked it up. But thats a free plasmid anyway so nothing to really worry about. I won't be bothering with Insect Swarm as I managed without it perfectly fine. Same for Cyclone Trap and Target Dummy - waste of time in my opinion.

I'd consider Electro Bolt, Incinerate and Enrage to be core plasmids. Telekinesis, aside from being essential to progress in the Medical Pavilion, is a nice thing to have if you want it, but I rarely used it. Trap Bolts are easy to deal with by hitting boxes and making the fly into the electrified wires without the need to use up a plasmid slot for Telekinesis. And I hardly used Winters Blast except during the final showdown, but I think that would have been a lot tougher without it.

Part of me wants to say that this game was better than Half Life 2 for me, but at the same time they're very different games, and equally great for different reasons. What I will say is that it's the best game I've played in quite some time, but not as good as System Shock 2.

Anybody else have any thoughts on the game after finishing it?

[Slayn Cloak]

Meh, I didn’t enjoy the game really, I didn’t even finish it. My three year old hardware was able to max out the pretty and all in all it wasn’t challenging, matter of fact I had a harder time spelling the word challenging correctly than I did at this poo fest.
This reviewer calls it pretty and stuff but other than that I think this is the best review of it out there. I showed this to morg and he hadn't seen it so I asume some of your guys havn't either.



http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/1394-Zero-Punctuation-BioShock

[Slayn Cloak]

Part of me wants to say that this game was better than Half Life 2 for me, but at the same time they're very different games, and equally great for different reasons. What I will say is that it's the best game I've played in quite some time, but not as good as System Shock 2.

Sorry to post twice but you just made me think of something. Maybe I didn't like this game because it wasn't like HL2 and when I say "like" I mean all the things that made all the valve games great. The amazing detail and rag doll phsy. The way they do push your hardware (something that really only crysys has done for me lately anyway… and my stuff is old) rewarding you with tons of pretty and even when the story telling is at its worst it’s still really good.
I would say portal is the best game I've played all year, and actually ever.
Here’s some yahtze …
<o:p> </o:p>
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/2541-Zero-Punctuation-The-Orange-Box

[Peter McCoy]

Funny you should say that. My previous undecisiveness as to which game I was in love with the mosy (HL2 or Bioshock) has been finalized over the last weekend. I got The Orange Box and played through Half Life: Episode 1 and Episode 2. Safe to say the Half-Life saga is now my all-time favourite game(s) - collectively.

But Bioshock is definitely up there with my all-time favourites. I'll be playing this game for a long time to come. I can't see it being removed from my current machine (and it'll likely be installed on my next one so I can play it on full graphics.)

[Slayn Cloak]

How have so many of you not been able to run this game full spec? My video card is ridiculous but otherwise my system is pretty crappy. I’m running a practically ancient athlon 64 3000+ 2gbs ram and an evga 7950gx2 superclocked.
Are you guys all on p4’s with 512mb ram and an x700 ati card?
(also I run vista so that’s nothing for ram )

[Peter McCoy]

My graphics card and CPU are sub-par for having the graphics on full whack. Need to invest in a Duo and a new card when I can afford it.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I have to run BioShock on loooow. It stutters and my laptop overhearts if I run it any higher :(

[Slayn Cloak]

My graphics card and CPU are sub-par for having the graphics on full whack. Need to invest in a Duo and a new card when I can afford it.

I have a single slow single core, but I do have a pretty amazing video card.

My roomate runs it at full pretty also and he has a single core 2300+ sempron and a defective 7900gtx. The game just doesn't really require anything to run, you guys should optimise your machines for running games. Not you jenny, lappys arn't for fun.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Mmm, lappy has a dual core but he cannot handle these new fangled games.

[Slayn Cloak]

Dual core or not processors just aren’t the most important component when it comes to a game.

[Morgan Evanar]

That depends on the game.

[Slayn Cloak]

some stress it more than others ( for example crapix... errr crysys ) on average though it's all optimizing.

[Dasquian Belargic]

http://weblogs.variety.com/the_cut_scene/2008/05/gore-verbinski.html


Lots of people in Hollywood have been itching to make a "Bioshock" movie pretty much since last August, as I wrote on here a few months ago (http://weblogs.variety.com/the_cut_scene/2008/02/why-no-bioshock.html). Finally, that interest has turned to reality. Universal has struck a deal with Take-Two to make the "Bioshock" movie. "Pirates of the Caribbean" helmer Gore Verbinski will direct and produce. "Aviator" and "Star Trek: Nemesis" screenwriter John Logan will adapt.
If you haven't read it yet, get all the details in my story, which runs in tomorrow's Daily Variety and is already online. (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117985365.html?categoryid=13&cs=1)There are a lot of details there about the financial terms, how it's connected to the "Halo" movie, the key players, how the deal came together, etc., that I won't repeat here. Seriously, just read it (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117985365.html?categoryid=13&cs=1).

:eek