Just that, holy shit...

I started playing this game two days ago and I don't want to put it down. It's better than everything I've heard about it, which is weird considering it got a lot of high scores. The hacking that everyone bitched about isn't as annoying or hard as people make it out to be. so far I've only failed twice, and only one of those was an Overload that caused damage to me. I've been killed more times than I can count but fighting the Big Daddies is a rush, especially when you're just following one waiting for the Little Sister to get called out. The opening is one of the few games that actually made my jaw drop. It was beautiful. I really want a Bioshock 2, and I'll have to get my hands on System Shock since I've heard so much about it as well.

...Wait, you like it?

You never did play System Shock 2 did you?

Hey, I guess if you get enjoyment out of it, I shouldn't put you down.

Me? I'll stick with System Shock the way a starving baby sticks to a fat juicy brea-

Wait, what are we talking about?

It is a fantastic game. I was a bit skeptical as well when I first picked it up, but it has a fantastic narrative, always want to know whats going to happen next, and the plot just becomes more surreal with every loading screen. It's like a well-written novel really.. just moar better.

Aries_Split:

You never did play System Shock 2 did you?

Hey, I guess if you get enjoyment out of it, I shouldn't put you down.

Me? I'll stick with System Shock the way a starving baby sticks to a fat juicy brea-

Wait, what are we talking about?

Does System Shock still hold up today? That was probably a blasphemous thing to say, but I was just curious... if so I might try to find it... not sure where though... apart from teh intarwebs.

I just completed Bioshock yesterday, and don't worry, it's amazing all the way through. There's variety in the enemies, a great storyline with an unexpected twist and of course awesome plasmids, tonics, weapons.. the lot. 9.5/10 !

Did this really deserve it's own thread?

Aries_Split:
...Wait, you like it?

You never did play System Shock 2 did you?

Hey, I guess if you get enjoyment out of it, I shouldn't put you down.

Me? I'll stick with System Shock the way a starving baby sticks to a fat juicy brea-

Wait, what are we talking about?

For us little nOOblets, BioShock is OUR System Shock 2. Personally, I had never heard of System Shock 2 until the Zero Puctuation review of BioShock.

Class game, but no replay value. One of the few games I've ever given to a friend to share the magic!

Spartan Bannana:
Did this really deserve it's own thread?

I'd say so, yes. Just because they post a while after the game came out, doesn't mean that its bad to make a thread about it... Though at the same time, there is nothing much to discuss.

Spartan Bannana:
Did this really deserve it's own thread?

Did you have to bump the topic by making this post? :\

Let me put it this way, System Shock 2 did everything bioshock did, but better.

I've only heard bad things about this game, but that's only really coming from people who love games and have played similar but better games. I bought it in the Steam sale because it was like £3 but I'm yet to actually install/play it.

Aries_Split:
Let me put it this way, System Shock 2 did everything bioshock did, but better.

What about graphics!? I joke I joke I kid I kid!

Aries_Split:
...Wait, you like it?

You never did play System Shock 2 did you?

Hey, I guess if you get enjoyment out of it, I shouldn't put you down.

otherwise known as the "deus ex" arguement, fucking n00bs
*shakes head*

BioShock is case study number one for me when it comes to talking about games that have an incredible presentation but next to no gameplay depth whatsoever. It is an incredibly sensual sort of game experience, yes, but it basically pisses itself when it comes to anything else. The much-touted "variety" in gameplay turns into essentially a few vaguely different ways in which to kill your enemies, and the supposedly compelling moral decisions (or decision, really) have no real consequences whatsoever except for what 30-second ending video you get. What's worst, though, is that since you can carry more weapons and super-powers than the average space marine, any replay value is killed off because you can change your tactics at the drop of a hat.

What's sad is that with a few simple tweaks the game would have been so much better. Removing or at least putting a price on the insta-revive machines, getting rid of half of the extra ammo and item/weapon drops in the game, lower the amount of ADAM the player gets (I should not be able to buy pretty much every single Plasmid and Tonic in the entire game and still have cash to spare), and adding some more challenging enemies would have been all that's necessary to keep the game compelling throughout, and to make subsequent plays still fresh. I always love playing through the beginning of the game, because that's when it is most difficult, resources are limited, and practically a survival-horror game (since most encounters can potentially kill you, the scares are actually scary), but as soon as I get past the halfway mark, it turns into a cakewalk and the grind sets in. It doesn't help that the story and setting have so much fridge logic it makes my head spin just trying to think about it.

A lot of people say it, and I will say it too: BioShock is basically a stripped-down, dumbed-down version of System Shock 2 that is inferior in every way but presentation; it is essentially a perfect sign of the times, where pretty graphics are not just accepted, but rewarded for replacing compelling gameplay and storytelling.

searanox:
BioShock

What's sad is that with a few simple tweaks the game would have been so much better. Removing or at least putting a price on the insta-revive machines,

I've not played it, but i would like too, anyway my question is.... why dont the monsters use the insta life o matic as well?

ColdStorage:

searanox:
BioShock

What's sad is that with a few simple tweaks the game would have been so much better. Removing or at least putting a price on the insta-revive machines,

I've not played it, but i would like too, anyway my question is.... why dont the monsters use the insta life o matic as well?

They BS it away in a story spoiler:

-- Steve

ColdStorage:

searanox:
BioShock

What's sad is that with a few simple tweaks the game would have been so much better. Removing or at least putting a price on the insta-revive machines,

I've not played it, but i would like too, anyway my question is.... why dont the monsters use the insta life o matic as well?

I can't really explain it without spoiling the story for you, so I'll just say there is a logical explanation.

Edit: Damn ninjas.

ColdStorage:
I've not played it, but i would like too, anyway my question is.... why dont the monsters use the insta life o matic as well?

Major spoilers below, which will ruin the main twist in the story for you, but answer your question:

It's a Ken Levine game all the way to the bottom. Isolated civilization that has gone haywire, bad ending to a clever plot, and dueling ideologies that you're stuck in-between.

As for people bitching about the game...the developers screwed themselves when they included an easy and normal mode of play. Bioshock should be played with the vita-chambers turned off and the difficulty cranked up, which you can do in the options. Part of what made System Shock 2 such a good game was that the difficulty was unforgiving. If you didn't manage your ammo and resources, you weren't gonna make it. Made everything scarier and more stressful, making for a better experience.

TheTygerfire:

Spartan Bannana:
Did this really deserve it's own thread?

Did you have to bump the topic by making this post? :\

It's on the front page, it's only bumping if it's on second or third page. After that it becomes thread necromancy.

Erana:

Spartan Bannana:
Did this really deserve it's own thread?

I'd say so, yes. Just because they post a while after the game came out, doesn't mean that its bad to make a thread about it... Though at the same time, there is nothing much to discuss.

My point exactly

thanks you idiot, I'll just go and buy Timeshift again instead shall I?

AND NO THE SPOILER THING DIDN'T HELP!!

L.B. Jeffries:
It's a Ken Levine game all the way to the bottom. Isolated civilization that has gone haywire, bad ending to a clever plot, and dueling ideologies that you're stuck in-between.

My biggest issue with the game is essentially its message that "your elitist atheist pro-individual dream civilisation doesn't work". In many ways the game is very preachy and is a conservative cautionary tale, and probably pretty pro-Christian too (note the suppression and smuggling in of religious material like Bibles and crosses alluded to as being responsible for the downfall of the society, as well as some symbolism like the crucified smuggler at Port Neptune).

L.B. Jeffries:
As for people bitching about the game...the developers screwed themselves when they included an easy and normal mode of play. Bioshock should be played with the vita-chambers turned off and the difficulty cranked up, which you can do in the options. Part of what made System Shock 2 such a good game was that the difficulty was unforgiving. If you didn't manage your ammo and resources, you weren't gonna make it.

I will be so pissed if Survival Mode doesn't make it to the PC version. Even changing the difficulty to hard isn't enough because the enemies still drop a shitload of ammo and money, and there's also tons of it lying around the world. Survival Mode is supposed to remove most of that, and make the game what it should have been in the first place - a tense, difficult shooter with a strong emphasis on resource management and effective, efficient tactics. In fact, that's what it was marketed as... at least, until the TV commercial and release trailers came out and admitted it was just a hokey first-person fuckfest.

ColdStorage:

searanox:
BioShock

What's sad is that with a few simple tweaks the game would have been so much better. Removing or at least putting a price on the insta-revive machines,

I've not played it, but i would like too, anyway my question is.... why dont the monsters use the insta life o matic as well?

As for searanox's claims; I don't think Bioshock was ever intended to be a standard RPG such as Baldurs Gate, instead it's more of a FPS with a story suitable for a RPG told. The gameplay seems like it isn't supposed to have changed greatly from other FPS such as Halo and Half-Life 2. Bioshock is the average FPS with an RPG story, not an RPG with RPG-esq gameplay. It is supposed to be a quick, twitching finger, shoot-athon but with good story telling.

The ending did suck though. It seems like they realised giving the player morality choices was a great idea but couldn't come up with a way to end the story. While it was not the worst ending in a game it left a lot to be desired, especially after the twist.

Just finished it after buying it in the Steam sale.

I enjoyed it, but I don;t think it deserves the rave reviews. The story and atmosphere are brilliant I have to say, and the immersion is really aided by the excellent voice acting in the diary tapes.

BUT

THis may be because I've been spoilt by the wonderfully fluent controls on Source Engine games, but bioshock felt ever so slightly clunky to me.
Also, and perhaps more importantly, it seems to have taken some of the worst aspects of an RPG without any of the best parts, most noticably, the item hunting fetch quests, without any of the character development and play-style choice that comes in an RPG. Add in the lack of an inventory screen just causing you to pick up EVERYTHING that you found and it just seemed a bit... eugh (for lack of words)
Oh, and the good ending (the one I got) was just so syruppy and goody goody that it did spoil the rest of the story slightly.

It's certainly good, but I didn;t feel gripped to play it as I was with HL2 and the episodes, which I finished in just a few sittings and have replayed several times, and I doubt I'll replay Bioshock.

you people like to try to spoil stories for others dont you?

I've only seen one plot crucial spoiler in here, and that's in spoiler tags.

ColdStorage:
you people like to try to spoil stories for others dont you?

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/12/05/

ColdStorage:
you people like to try to spoil stories for others dont you?

Spoiler tags are there to block them out. If you clicked on them to open them up, that's your problem and not mine.

Now, if the spoiler tags didn't block the text out (everything in my post between the "BS with a story spoiler" line and my signature should be contracted behind a warning in a little box like the "quote" box) you may want to let the moderators know, mentioning your browser type and version and any script blockers you're using.

-- Steve

seamusotorain:

Aries_Split:
...Wait, you like it?

You never did play System Shock 2 did you?

Hey, I guess if you get enjoyment out of it, I shouldn't put you down.

Me? I'll stick with System Shock the way a starving baby sticks to a fat juicy brea-

Wait, what are we talking about?

For us little nOOblets, BioShock is OUR System Shock 2. Personally, I had never heard of System Shock 2 until the Zero Puctuation review of BioShock.

Class game, but no replay value. One of the few games I've ever given to a friend to share the magic!

I know what you mean. I sold on my collectors edition after I'd finished. I actually profitted from this game, as I sold a Big Daddy for more than the actual collector's edition, then bought a new collectors edition and kept that big daddy. Then sold on both collectors edition tins!

I loved Bioshock as well, and cannot wait for the sequel...My shotgun and I are gonna be back in buisness...

L.B. Jeffries:

ColdStorage:
you people like to try to spoil stories for others dont you?

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/12/05/

oh thats just fucking great, I was going to watch Kong this weekend!

Anton P. Nym:

ColdStorage:
you people like to try to spoil stories for others dont you?

Spoiler tags are there to block them out. If you clicked on them to open them up, that's your problem and not mine.

Now, if the spoiler tags didn't block the text out (everything in my post between the "BS with a story spoiler" line and my signature should be contracted behind a warning in a little box like the "quote" box) you may want to let the moderators know, mentioning your browser type and version and any script blockers you're using.

-- Steve

I meant LB Jeffries with the Belgian artist sniggering at me, his post DID NOT have the spoiler tag, so I totally got to see it with my own eyes.

also the speed at which everyone was willing to give off spoilers

ColdStorage:

Anton P. Nym:

ColdStorage:
you people like to try to spoil stories for others dont you?

Spoiler tags are there to block them out. If you clicked on them to open them up, that's your problem and not mine.

I meant LB Jeffries with the Belgian artist sniggering at me, his post DID NOT have the spoiler tag, so I totally got to see it with my own eyes.

also the speed at which everyone was willing to give off spoilers

Dude, you need to redefine "spoiler"... anything LB had in open text wasn't spoiler material by most reckoning, and I know for certain some of it was on the back of the box.

And I was quick to answer with spoiler materials because of spoiler tags, and that the game's nigh-on two years old now. If that's alarming to you, you may wish to restrict your use of the Internets.

-- Steve

PS: Rosebud is a sled, and Darth Vader is Luke's daddy.

I purchased this yesterday! Very good indeed. I enjoy the hacking btw.

Why all the hate on Bioshock? My only complaint with the game is the Revive Chambers, which really brought down the scare factor, hard. But its a still a beautiful, atmospheric, creepy pudding of a game, and I can't wait for the sequel.