Can't get excited about Bioshock

koneko

http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3162017&sec=REVIEWS

Score:

10/10

Trying to not really read any reviews properly though because I don't want to spoil anything.

MooseJam

they must have pretty good gamers at those review sites, they seem to get them out very fast, I wonder do they play through the game on easy, I know I'd be plugging away for a few days anyway

koneko

Review sites are like magazines, they do this for a living so don't play the game just in their spare time. They'd also get review copies/builds weeks in advance.

FYI for people playing on PC that are worried about console-influences:

http://www.gamesradar.com/us/pc/game/reviews/article.jsp?releaseId=20060426172718471012&articleId=2007081595653768046&sectionId=1000&pageId=200708151000660015
"If you’re worrying about the dreaded taint of consolification, by the way, don’t. It’s clear that the PC team at Irrational are every bit as platform-snobbish as us. There’s a PC-only options menu that lets you turn off the quest compass guiding you to your next objective, disable the golden sheen on mission-critical items, and as for auto-aiming, it isn’t even an option unless you plug in a 360 pad.

Also exclusive to this edition is a magnificently intricate PC-only quick-switch menu. Because you can have 19 different weapon ammo types on top of your six Plasmids at any given time, using the mouse wheel can get fiddly. So there’s also a key you can hold down to pause the game and pick any one of those 25 modes of attack with a single click. Hacking, too, has been designed differently for the PC to make best use of the mouse - it’s quicker, slicker and less frustrating than the sluggish Xbox controls.

The final geekily gratifying thing about the PC version is how well it runs. It was dazzlingly beautiful and hitchlessly smooth on a machine with an Athlon X2 5200 and a single entry-level GeForce 8800 - running DirectX 9. And this was at 1600x900 on max settings."

Sarky

It's stood up to a few reviews and my friends loved the xbox demo. NOW I can begin getting excited about it.

Also, a nice man in Game told me the Special edition came with a miniature big daddy.

koneko wrote:

The final geekily gratifying thing about the PC version is how well it runs. It was dazzlingly beautiful and hitchlessly smooth on a machine with an Athlon X2 5200 and a single entry-level GeForce 8800 - running DirectX 9. And this was at 1600x900 on max settings."

Now that's good news. I was worried I might have to upgrade soon. I can put it off for a couple of months \o/

BlitzKrieg

hmm only niggles i have seen in the reviews is that the final level appears anti climatic...sounds sort of like how people felt with the system shock 2 final ending.



speaking of system shock.

If this goes down well, do you think EA will approach irrational games about continuing Shodan's evil will?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAY2ceNqjtg

koneko

Seeing as 2K Games own Irrational Games (who aren't really Irrational anymore but a 2K studio), I'd say no.

IGN review score:

9.7

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/813/813214p1.html

Kiith

BlitzKrieg wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAY2ceNqjtg

Ehh, is that link broken for just me, or is everyone seeing pictures of some guy and his really bored looking dog...and then nothing else

BlitzKrieg

its an audio 1up hands on impression on why the game rocks.

Kiith

Ahh ok. The pictures were confusing me. Gonna avoid listening to it though, unless they dont have any spoilers in there...do they?

Sand

If this goes down well, do you think EA will approach irrational games about continuing Shodan's evil will?

Eh, perfect world etc etc - EAs more likely to bring in some generic FPS team, tell them to go make a BioShock clone and unleash some crime against nature on the world.

Another possibility would be a unofficial mod using Bioshock maybe, but Id imagine EA would cease and desist that pretty much instantly.

BlitzKrieg

didnt they do that with some doom 3 mod based on system shock?

koneko

Review wise, Gamespot and Edge are the wild cards now. Rumour is an Edge 9 but I'm not sure how accurate that is. Gamespot, who knows, they could give it a rave review or average, anyone's guess. I wouldn't put it past them to purposely score it an 8 to get lots of traffic. EGM score is rumoured to be very high, like 10/10/10 or 10/9.5/10 or something.

This is funny though http://bioshockpwns.ytmnd.com/

Gizzle

After playing the demo, I'm quietly confident this could be a good 'un. The demo leads you by the hand a bit too much, but I liked the water effects and it created a good, creepy atmosphere.

joe_chicken

IGN wrote:

But to call this game simply a first-person shooter, a game that successfully fuses gameplay and narrative, is really doing it a disservice. This game is a beacon. It's one of those monumental experiences you'll never forget, and the benchmark against which games for years to come will, and indeed must, be measured

and they only gave it 97%.

Goddamn I need to stop reading these reviews.

Gizzle

joe_chicken wrote:

and they only gave it 97%.

Goddamn I need to stop reading these reviews.

Having read that review I leaped onto Komplett and paid an inordinate amount of money for the collector's edition with the figurine. Drool.

L31mr0d

koneko wrote:

Review wise, Gamespot and Edge are the wild cards now. Rumour is an Edge 9 but I'm not sure how accurate that is. Gamespot, who knows, they could give it a rave review or average, anyone's guess. I wouldn't put it past them to purposely score it an 8 to get lots of traffic. EGM score is rumoured to be very high, like 10/10/10 or 10/9.5/10 or something.

This is funny though http://bioshockpwns.ytmnd.com/

I lol'd.. yeah whats up with that, i've been reading reviews and they don't fault anything, and then they go ahead and give it a 4.5/5 or 97%... guess they are like one of my lecturers in college, he refused to ever give out 100% scores, even if you got everything right, you could always be better :mad:

TechnoFreek

Retr0gamer wrote:

I doubt it. I'd say Bioshock will be more popular than System Shock 1 and 2 that remained in a niche but the ignorant masses will lap up Halo 3 a lot more and proclaim it to be the best thing ever despite the fact it's just looking like more of the same.

Have to agree with you there Retr0gamer.
Only time will tell though.

MooseJam

preordered my copy today

koneko

L31mr0d wrote:

I lol'd.. yeah whats up with that, i've been reading reviews and they don't fault anything, and then they go ahead and give it a 4.5/5 or 97%... guess they are like one of my lecturers in college, he refused to ever give out 100% scores, even if you got everything right, you could always be better :mad:

Well, review sites (and people) have different ideas on that really. Some feel 10/10 or 100% should only be award to perfection, and nothing is perfect, so that score is unobtainable. Other sites like Eurogamer don't feel that way, and will hand out a score like that if they feel a game is really special and deserves it (they gave SOTC 10/10 for instance).

Sidane

Direct2Drive are selling it for $50, about 38 euro.

Good price, bought Oblivion from that site and it went without a hitch.

The average high-street retailer will probably be flogging it for 50-60, and as much as I like having a box and disc, the few bob saved is not to be sneezed at.

Sidane

Scratch that last post - just noticed there's a UK specific page and price - £35 which = 50 euro

Steam may be the way to go...

Dr Bob

Sidane wrote:

Scratch that last post - just noticed there's a UK specific page and price - £35 which = 50 euro

Steam may be the way to go...

Think it'll work out at 40 quid -ish, still have to wait until the 24th though

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/48490

"Original story: Valve today announced that Irrational Games' 2K Boston and 2K Australia's highly anticipated first person shooter BioShock is now available for pre-order on Steam for the price of $49.95 in the US and $54.95 in Europe. Steam users can now begin downloading the game's assets, which will be unlocked and activated on the release date of the retail version: August 21 in North America and August 24 in Europe."

MOH

Are ye talking about the PC regular edition?
Sure it's less than 40 euro nearly everywhere online:

Play.com - 38.99
BlahDVD - 39.49
Sendit.com is 41.99

Gameplay.co.uk have the 'Limited Edition Steelcase' for GBP 24.99
(so about 38 euro converted)

and the 'Special Edition' for a whopping GBP 39.99 = 60 quid.

Gizzle

Xbox 360 Collectors Edition: €80 on Komplett inc P&P. Thank God I'm getting a raise this month.

vasch_ro

seriously why bother with the special steel cases ? I did that for Oblivion on the 360 and few other games and now I find they just take up more space than regular size DVD/Game boxes ? The game is going to be the same......

WellyJ

vasch_ro wrote:

seriously why bother with the special steel cases ? I did that for Oblivion on the 360 and few other games and now I find they just take up more space than regular size DVD/Game boxes ? The game is going to be the same......

Because they look better,

And last longer,

And as you said yourself, they're "Special"

JPA

I don't buy many games anymore but if I bought this online is there any site that would have it to me for next Friday?

koneko

Hmm, most of them are in the UK so probably not by friday (unless you get it from Amazon and pay more for shipping). I've found shipping from the UK quite slow at times.

Moriarty

For anyone intrested, Bioshock costs $66.49 (€49.28 at current exchange rate) off steam after sales tax. I still got it, but it's something to be aware of.

It's also available for pre-load on steam now.

L31mr0d

One of the lads in work here brought in his Xbox 360 with the demo loaded on it so we could all have a go on our break. Have to say, the majority of us wheren't impressed. It is irritatingly short. Maybe 15 minutes of gameplay, and it really feels like they are leading you through the game, rather than you making decisions.

The graphics are excellent, but being a PC gamer they where nothing special, a few fancy water effects but that's about it.

I mean you start off on a plane that crashes into the ocean, you travel down to this underwater city, then just start killing things... I mean wth? you are some Joe Bloggs then 5 minutes later you are blowing the heads off old men with crow bars. You pass by a vile of glowing blue liquid and instead of looking at it, inspecting it or ignoring it, he just picks it up and injects himself? You pick up this radio and some Irish bloke starts giving you instructions, which you are compelled to obey? Why? Who is he, how does he know you and why am I listening to a complete stranger 10 minutes after surviving a plane crash into the ocean?

bah, i'll probably get this game just to see what all the fuss was about, but the demo did really leave a bad taste in my mouth.