Bioshock

[Dr. Boogie]

I only just learned that dying had no penalty; I had heard before from someone that dying cost you half your ADAM, so I had been avoiding it like the plague.

Still, I like the game. It defintely uses a lot of elements from System Shock, but I like that. I wish they'd used more, like being able to upgrade weapons whenever you want.

[Supafly345]

Yeah, like I said earlier, increasing the difficulty to full doesn't matter, since you can just die over and over and whittle down any enemies life.

But you could always TRY not to die, thus incresing the difficulty. I mean just giving up and playing a game as cheaply as possible will ruin any game for you.

[Matt Harty]

I get the whole idea of "trying" not to die. But i'm not going to dumb myself down and act all strategic and hide behind shit when I know I can afford to jump headlong into the enemies face and kill it with minimal risk to myself or my progress in the game. The game is good. I just don't see the justification for the amount of hype it's getting.

[Supafly345]

The justification is that there isn't anything else to hype right now.

I got my fill on a 5 day rental, but man that first run through the game... I wish I could play it for the first time over again.

[Chojin]

So does this get any better after you get out of the cuh-raaaazy carnival of surgeries? The intro was really cool, and pretty much everything since then has been "Doom 3, plus light, minus scares and playability". Headshots seem to be random whether they'll actually register more damage or not, aiming is a little stupid, maneuverability is a joke, cover is mostly useless and you're unable to use it effectively anyway, and enemies blast the shit out of you with ridiculous accuracy nanoseconds after you round a bend before you can even sight them (see: Gears of War). Not that there's any penalty for this, as you just respawn down the hallway and the guy that killed you will be standing there with his back turned.

But christ, this is just like every other FPS I've ever played. Condemned comes to mind when I play this, only that had way better melee combat.

I also did not appreciate the intense focus on SUPER GROSSOUTS, like having to inject yourself with shit every fifteen seconds.

DISAPPOINTMENT FOR ME :< Penny Arcade's been hyping it, so I had high hopes ;<


Looks real pretty on my 8800 GTS, though, even if the physics act like butt.

[Dr. Boogie]

It's pretty much more of the same. Cover remains barely useful, headshots only seem to work with single-shot weapons, armed splicers are super-accurate, and no real scares to think of, apart from creepy dentist guy in the medical pavilion.

I really liked it for a while, but having beaten it once, I find that my interest waning fast. Combat is definitely the main focus, but it's been dumbed down so severely, thanks in large part to infinite resurrections, that going through all of it again seems like more of a chore. It really doesn't help that it's so similar to SS2, as you can't help but be reminded of how elements in Bioshock seemed to be better executed in SS2.

[DuFresne]

I haven't played many of these new, fancy, dark n gloomy FPS's, but judging from reviews there seems to be a trend going on where these games will have a kick-ass, scare-the-poopy-out-you opener, only to degrade into standard shooter fare by the end. Would you guys say this is true?

[Dr. Boogie]

Totally. Just like Prey, it starts out great, but then devolves into just standard shooter fair. Also, it featured dying with no consequences.

[ItalianStereotype]

so from what I've been hearing, Bioshock plays like shit on the PC. everyone I've talked to who doesn't own the 360 version had, for the most part, the exact same complaints as chojin. the 360 owners, however, all say they're having a blast with the game, but it doesn't look as pretty as it would on the PC. the game was obviously designed with consoles in mind.

in my opinion, the story alone made the game worth playing.

[Fathom Zero]

Bioshock for the PC would be good if there were a proper widescreen version. 2K Games or whoever just clipped a little off of the top and bottom of the screen and called it widescreen.

[ArrowX]

yeah even tho it doesn't look quite as good on the 360 it still looks incredible and you don't have to worry about as much added shit like the game activation limit etc.

[Guitar Woman]

Edited in case anyone still cares.

[ItalianStereotype]

that would've been a dick move a day ago!

[Fathom Zero]

Hahaha, I don't even know who Fontaine is.

Your move, Sherlock.

[Chojin]

I'm confused, what would the difference in gameplay be on the PC version?

[Dr. Boogie]

I think he meant that the game seems like it was dumbed down to be more accessible (plenty of resources, no death penalty, etc).

[Supafly345]

As far as fun factor goes, the 360 they really encouraged you to explore every part of the game with the achievments. The average xbox player is much more likely to get all the research photographs, get every plasmid, find all the diaries, upgrade all the weapons ect. Most of them you don't really want until you have them (eventually being able to club a Bouncer to death without dying or even healing if you have the right equips). Not only does it sorta throw the 360 player into appreciating every last bit that this game has to offer, it also has something for them to work towards, which always seems to make a game more fun if you have something to show for it.

The game is hugely textured and has lots of things to play with, and the 360 players most likely got to play with them all more than PC gamers.

[EisigerBiskuit]

Originally Posted by Chojin

Penny Arcade's been hyping it, so I had high hopes

[Chojin]

I heard from a friend of mine that the developers hired another company to do all the water effects, which would make a lot of sense :<

[Dr. Boogie]

Originally Posted by Supafly345

The game is hugely textured and has lots of things to play with, and the 360 players most likely got to play with them all more than PC gamers.

Yeah, unless they don't care about achievement points.

Anyway, I'd rather a game just draw you in enough to get you to search and explore everywhere without having to put achievement points on something like scrounging up every taped message. Like Deus Ex; you could find valuable items/ammo in obscure places, even stuff that would alter the plot, and some secret spots rewarded you with extra experience just for finding them.

[toonamil]

I don't care if I'm late. The game is awesome.

I've played the 360 version and pretty much, it was easy, yet not completely. Sure, when you die, you respawn to the last vita chamber. But the story was immessive. I was easily drawn into it the second I pressed 'New Game'. Irrational Games (now 2K Boston/Australia) really promised a great story and very good gameplay. Hopefully, they will work on another game with tighter gameplay (possibly penalties for death like lost ammo) and multiplayer, which would add replay value.

Also, the wrench can be the most deadly weapon in the game. I pimped mine's out so as to save up on ammo during a big daddy battle. It worked out.

[HickMan]

The best part about this game is whacking enemies with your wrench while the Nutcracker Suite is playing in an opera house. I liked this game a whole lot. A lot of unique ideas and whatnot were put into it and you can tell.

[Chojin]

I'm still not clear on why the first few minutes of the game even happens. You're on an airplane, then it crashes, then you get to land and instead of waiting for a rescue chopper or something, you elect to go into a creepy building and take an elevator for no reason. Then, you're transported into wonderland, and start following the inane orders of a dude on a radio TO THE LETTER, including injecting yourself with a big syringe full of glowing blue shit.

Why the fuck does any of that happen? Is there a reason?

[Zomboid]

Have you finished the game?

[Chojin]

No, I got five hours in and decided I had better games to play.

I guess the question I was asking was in two parts:
1. Is it ever explained?
2. Am I just missing something, or do they make no effort to explain it in the first 5 hours of the game?