Bioshock (again)

quarryman

So I bought this game when it came out on the Xbox360 last year. It bored me. Also, due to the Field of View issues i got a headache from playing it. I couldn't see what all the fuss was about, it felt like just another shooter. And i'm crap at FPS's. I seemed to keep running about of ammo and Eve and all the other bits that sustain you through the game.

In xtravision the other day i saw it on the shelf (I had traded it in last year) and decided to give it another try.

Its brilliant! The difference this time; i'm playing it through on easy. It means i pretty much never die so the element of suspsense is gone, but now i have much more fun playing around, trying all the plasmids, investigating every area without worrying about running out of ammo killing the splicers i find in there.

Just noticed EG have the PS3 review up today so my mini review might encourage the playstation crew to give it a go

armour87

I love the game but I see how people find it harder to take it heart. After a while you will be glued. You really should give medium or hard a go after you finish it. Im currently trying to play through on hard without any vita chambers!

DeVore

I've found I'm doing that more often too. Gabe from PA wrote that he has realised he plays games to "discover" the art in them, ie to enjoy the environments and see the graphics and gameplay throughout rather then as a challenge to frustrate and eventually reward the player. When I read that I realised I've been doing the same thing.... Its a lot more fun to goof off and not feel pressured about death etc. I have enough stress in my life , I dont need to create it artificially! If I want to challenge myself I can play games like Braid without the frustrations mentioned.

DeV.

quarryman

Stay clear of Ninja Gaiden so DeVore.

DirkVoodoo

I still have to finish Bioshock.

I think I'm like you pre-xtravision quarryman, I just get kind of bored. It's not the best shooter by a long mile (I don't think anything has really surpassed half life for me) and graphically I don't think it looks that impressive (running it maxed out in DX9). The character models aren't that great and the textures look a little dated and flat.

I suppose I should finish it soon, although at this point I have forgotten much of the story (I'm at the bit after smugglers cove I believe).

Shryke

I got bored with it myself. i wasn't that impressed to be honest though I could see that it could be a good game it just did nothing for me. I haven't gone back to it yet. Same with a good few games unfortunately. Right now I'm playing through Half-Life 1 again.

Retr0gamer

DeVore wrote: »

I've found I'm doing that more often too. Gabe from PA wrote that he has realised he plays games to "discover" the art in them, ie to enjoy the environments and see the graphics and gameplay throughout rather then as a challenge to frustrate and eventually reward the player. When I read that I realised I've been doing the same thing.... Its a lot more fun to goof off and not feel pressured about death etc. I have enough stress in my life , I dont need to create it artificially! If I want to challenge myself I can play games like Braid without the frustrations mentioned.

I think somebody coined the phrase 'videogaming tourism' for that at a conference. I'm finding the same myself. Games like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus aren't very tough at all still provided a challenge and the new prince of persia seems to be adopting a similar approach. Fragile for the Wii looks to be taking this philosophy to the extreme and looks very interesting. Still I think the Vita Chambers were a big mistake and felt out of place. They could have implemented it better. I remember in the original system shock they had things similar to vita chambers but you really had to fight to activate one in a level and it became an integral part in some of the puzzles. Even turning the vita chambers off isn't perfect due to the lack of checkpoints in the game which makes it frustrating when you die and forgot to save for ages.

Easier games are not really a bad thing as long as the journey is compelling. However i still think there is a need for challenging games like a good shmup or Devil May Cry. Those types of games just don't work if they are too easy as DMC2 showed.

silvine

After nearly smashing my controller on the ground while trying to get the Smile achievement in Geometry Wars I realise I too play games for the art:pac:

Seriously though what about multiplayer games, surely that's more about getting good at a game rather than discovering the art of the game?

astrofool

I remember after finishing Oblivion, I started playing about with the difficulty tuned down, was great fun charging headlong into every scenario slashing away

Some games lend themselves to messing about like that (GTA for example), others reward the player when they get very good at them, I spent ages playing Mario Kart on the GBA trying to get 3 stars in all the GP's, it wasn't just about winning, but about winning every race by miles, with no margins for error anywhere

I really want to play through Bioshock (have other commitments at the moment), but I think I'm going to try and play through it this week on the PC.

johnny_ultimate

Theres defintely a difficult balance to get between difficulty and 'tourism'. Finished Eternal Sonata recently which I think does an excellent job of it. While it is still a relatively complex RPG, it is nothing on the scale of the more absurdly stat based ones out there. By providing a challenge that was never frustrating, but still gets you thinking about tactics and combinations, it really influenced me to explore the well realised world and follow the offbeat and interesting story. Sometimes I am in the mood for a more difficult game (Dragon Quest VIII - which I love but have yet to finish due to a few challenging difficulty spikes) but I tend to finish the ones which are friendlier towards the player. Exploring in GTA, Beyond Good & Evil, Prince of Persia or whatever is amazing, but sometimes I do turn the difficulty up in Gears of War or the like for a bit of a challenge. It depends on my mood really.

Bioshock I think I played for the experience rather than the challenge though. I loved the art design, the subtle story (tape recorders were a great idea and promoted exploration) and atmosphere. It was one game that created a world that felt like a little ecosystem that was going on with or without your influence, which was really impressive. I liked the Vita Chambers, which meant you were never pulled out of the game by any annoying loading screens or checkpoints when you died. Within seconds you could be back in the battle you were in the middle of, which helped the immersion. It was easy, yes, but there are a few difficulty modes to play around with if you are looking for a challenge. But on first play through Bioshock, it really is a game to savour. Take your time, explore all the rooms, and really get sucked into Rapture. It has a few problems towards the end (and the hacking mini-game is a little pointless) but for the most part Bioshock is a really well designed game in terms of player involvement and design.

quarryman

ok just finished it. Great game. Glad i gave it another chance. Setting the difficulty to easy was the key to my enjoyment. It meant i could play around with all ammo types and plasmids without worrying about running out.

But i definately will NOT be playing this at a higher difficulty setting. Once was enough

Gingervitis

Any one seen the teaser trailer for Bioshock 2? It's an unlockable extra on the PS3:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhZRaNtq-EM

quarryman

I don't get it, what are they suggesting there for the sequel?

KilOit

It's only a teaser there not suggesting anything orther than there is gonna be a sequel

seraphimvc

i dunno.have it on pc due to its sale price,10euro?the names annoy me,plasmid??etc etc cant remember those weird names,it is basically some magic firing weapons(not really that cool or anything new and fresh) FPS plus very bad enemies design(scary?freaky?i am confused.like a small ripoff from Silent Hill without knowing the effect they want).

i think i finish the game about 95%,rescuing all little sister i think going into the final boss(wtf they are called little sis??and big daddy???).the story?nothing shocking or amazing.seriously,is there even a twist?bad music compose too.the only reason i still keep it because of its visual effect,beautiful indeed - especially watery effect looks so cool.wherease the design ruins everything...*little sister's smile shows up*

probably i have tried Clock Tower back in ps1.or Fatal frame.or Half-life.or any JRPG.and lotsa sci-fi/thriller/horror games/movies/books.it is a bad game,at all means.IMHO

p/s:the word 'plasmid' keep picking my nerve.BIO shock?dude,i do biology
why the hell a city is called Rapture btw?everything is 'insane',is that why people like it?

Sarky

You weren't actually paying attention to anything other than what you could shoot, were you?

pwd

I finished it. Like a lot of games where you can level up different aspects of your character, it gets too easy if you make sensible choices about how to improve. It gets a bit boring as the game goes on because of this and like lots of people have said elsewhere, you find yourself only using a couple of weapons. I killed the final level boss on my first attempt, which was far too easy. This is all on normal setting. I tried playing it on hard before that and in that instance I found it too difficult to enjoy.
I agree it's overrated. The graphics are excellent. That stupid pipe-connecting minigame that you had to play constantly was incredibly annoying. The way you just go back to a stasis pod thing when you die removes some of the excitement that should be there imo. I don't think the "use the environment to kill your enemies" idea was realised well, though it is a good idea. The rpg aspects of the game weren't realised well.

seraphimvc

Sarky wrote: »

You weren't actually paying attention to anything other than what you could shoot, were you?

i guess i do?the graphics are beautiful.the rooms,broken chairs/tables,sewer-like place,pic on wall,broken glass bottle peices,dim lamp on wall ,water looks really good since they are all over every places etc etc.now i wonder they should put a jukebox that you can play songs in there.anyway, give me a decent enemy design.my IKEA catalogue book is free.

i play on normal difficulty,die few times due to no armo - too lazy to pick up or maybe cant find the healing item but most stages become very easy with ice them break them instantly.failed on some enemies?electric shock stun them keep shooting/burn/confuse them kill themselves/use your highest power gunfire.choose the right plasmid to level your granted - a skill we have developed from LOTS of rpg.nothing strong on FPS elements,if i keep shooting in this game i would better go watch Home and Away

Kintarō Hattori

I remember reading bits about this over in the XBox forum when it was realised. I was kinda envious that it was on the 360 and not the PS3 or the PC as it was receiving such high praise.
Now though it can be got on both, so are there any reccomendations as to which is the better format to play it on or does that not have any bearing on the matter?

Jip

You're looking at a major video game tourist here, my passport is bulging with the amount of stamps from various games.
I find with work, commuting, dogs, exercise and general adult stuff I'm very time pressed to put any sort of effort into a game. I played this a good bit when I first got it as it was coming up to Christmas and I had some time off. I initially enjoyed it but got bored quick and probably haven't played it once this year. The Orange Box then took over and oddly enough I only went back to play Half Life 2 last night, the last save I have on this game was back in Febuary of this year, now I'm looking forward to playing it this evening already.
COD4 has fit into my niche very nicely as the online game gives me a quick fix of entertainment and fun, it's something I can drop into for any amount of time I wish.

silvine

I think the PS3 version improved on the Xbox version with some new powers/customisation options etc. Great game up until 2/3 of the way through.

LuckyFinigan

I picked it up on ps3 the other day and im loving it so far it has such a atmosphere and story they should of brought it out on ps3 ages ago

krudler

seraphimvc wrote: »

i dunno.have it on pc due to its sale price,10euro?the names annoy me,plasmid??etc etc cant remember those weird names,it is basically some magic firing weapons(not really that cool or anything new and fresh) FPS plus very bad enemies design(scary?freaky?i am confused.like a small ripoff from Silent Hill without knowing the effect they want).

i think i finish the game about 95%,rescuing all little sister i think going into the final boss(wtf they are called little sis??and big daddy???).the story?nothing shocking or amazing.seriously,is there even a twist?bad music compose too.the only reason i still keep it because of its visual effect,beautiful indeed - especially watery effect looks so cool.wherease the design ruins everything...*little sister's smile shows up*

probably i have tried Clock Tower back in ps1.or Fatal frame.or Half-life.or any JRPG.and lotsa sci-fi/thriller/horror games/movies/books.it is a bad game,at all means.IMHO

p/s:the word 'plasmid' keep picking my nerve.BIO shock?dude,i do biology
why the hell a city is called Rapture btw?everything is 'insane',is that why people like it?

yes theres a twist, pay attention

bad music? are you joking? Bioshock has one of the finest scores of any recent games

the city is called Rapture for a reason,again pay attention, it helps with these things

seraphimvc

krudler wrote: »

yes theres a twist, pay attention

bad music? are you joking? Bioshock has one of the finest scores of any recent games

the city is called Rapture for a reason,again pay attention, it helps with these things

a twist that straight forward enough giving you bit by bit info along the game?the story as far as i can remember set off obviously from start(some guy on a plane crush and dive into an underwater city to survive???and some heroic memont kicks in to save some people and his wife),Jack defo has something to do with this city.and the technology thingy can pull some clone/some professor son come back revenge or whatever.nothing is shocking/great with the story.BioShock as its title suggests?:pac:

music?well erm...i cant recall much music element in it tbh.just give me some blood pumping music when i am fighting a boss i am happy enough .FPS wont get a music award will they?

i said it is a fine FPS,a bad game - bad enemy/character design,boring game play etc - combining all the elements,from my point of view to judge a game.maybe they did some work on the story *at the point of FPS games* ,i still dont get all the hype of it.any 45mins episode in CSI outrun Bioshock plot .

FPS is good fun for its brainless shooting satisfaction ,take a look at Gears of war,perfect modern FPS sample.

if it wants to compete with proper RPG style epic story(and if that's what people want,i assume that's why it gets all its hype and high score) ,it can gtfo.bores me to hell.

p/s: or simply,i just hated 1940s/50s so much :pac:

Sarky

Ah, so you're dead inside...

johnny_ultimate

seraphimvc wrote: »

a twist that straight forward enough giving you bit by bit info along the game?the story as far as i can remember set off obviously from start(some guy on a plane crush and dive into an underwater city to survive???and some heroic memont kicks in to save some people and his wife),Jack defo has something to do with this city.and the technology thingy can pull some clone/some professor son come back revenge or whatever.nothing is shocking/great with the story.BioShock as its title suggests?:pac:

There is something far more to Bioshock's narrative than that. The hero isn't the focus, the city is. It charts the downfall of idealism (Ryan's failed paradise) as well as being a pretty interesting take on human nature. But the most fascinating aspect of it is how it examines choice.

The big reveal is that you never had any say in anything that goes on in the first half of the game, which is ultimately a hugely intelligent take on the very nature of video games themselves: how many games simply offer the illusion of free will, never allowing the player any meaningful impact over events: we simply follow the mediated instructions of the designer aka Atlas. Yeah the game shoots itself in the foot after the reveal by never allowing you to break out of the constraints it has illuminated, but for the first two acts at least Bioshock is probably the best game about gaming

.

music?well erm...i cant recall much music element in it tbh.just give me some blood pumping music when i am fighting a boss i am happy enough .FPS wont get a music award will they?

Honestly? The music choice is Bioshock is absolutely fantastic, and was a huge step above the general music choice for game. The songs were perfectly chosen (considering the era Rapture was meant to exist in) and there is something inherently creepy about walking around this failed utopia with upbeat and iconic Big Band songs blaring out from the speakers. 'Blood pumping music' just wouldn't have suited the atmosphere.

FPS is good fun for its brainless shooting satisfaction ,take a look at Gears of war,perfect modern FPS sample.

Why do all FPSs have to be brainless? Can they not be intelligent or something If you want a dumb shooter, play Gears of War: I do too, its a lot of fun. But Bioshock exists to provide a different experience. Its the same reason why there are always arthouse films to counterract the Hollywood output. There is more to games than mindless fun, and how can you not welcome the far more intelligent and cereberal options?