BioShock for 360 & PC getting RAVE reviews

I was really looking forward to playing the game when this thread was made, and now that I finally finished the game, I thought I'd post some of my thoughts...even if no one cares.

I know many have said this (practically every review mentioned this), but the game's atmosphere is amazing. The visuals are a large part of that, but I think the sound design is really what makes this aspect of the game so great. It is so easy to get immersed in the city of Rapture, which helps the story and the game itself. The voice acting was awesome too, something I didn't really know anything about prior to playing the game. There were many voice actors in the game, and I couldn't really find many complaints about their performances (in fact, some should be praised). The game's story pretty much relies on strong voice acting, so it was important that they nailed this part of the game. The whole backstory involving Rapture is really interesting, and well-crafted IMO (possibly "stolen" or heavily based on some other material, but I wouldn't know for sure). It even does a great job of explaining certain gameplay elements, including how a player can continue the story even after he has "died" many times. The main characters seemed well-developed, each with their own motives and beliefs (not just good vs evil).

All that said, I think I did come away a little disappointed about the game. I certainly think it is a very good game, and probably a great game, but I guess I was expecting a little more given the reviews and hype it got (EX: potential GOTY or something like that). While I loved the idea behind Rapture, its creation, its characters, etc., the story wasn't as great as I thought it would be. It was pretty good, but probably not the first thing I think about when it comes to examples of good video games stories (or possibly just even stories in FPS games). The last third of the game seemed like it could have used a little extra work too. I started to lose interest during that section of the game. I got the good ending, which was OK, but as many complaints mentioned, a longer, more specific ending might been better (guessing the "bad" ending is basically the same, just with "bad" things happening).

The gameplay was not quite as solid as I thought it would be either. The gameplay mechanics were fun for the first few hours, but it just got repetitive as the game went on and on. I think I mentioned how I loved hacking earlier in the thread, and now I hate it (thank goodness I usually had a lot of money and/or autohacks). Perhaps my biggest complaint with the gameplay design was the amount backtracking you had to do in the game. I hated it the first time I had to do it in the game, and I hated it more every time I had to do it. Kind of took me out of the experience. I would have preferred if they were cut out completely (or put in as side-missions for certain items/plasmids/etc), although then it wouldn't have been a 15-20 hour game. For all the talk about the AI in the game, it didn't seem all that special to me. Additionally, it was pretty disappointing that there are basically only 2 types of enemies in the game, not counting the security bots and turrets (there are technically several sub-types of these 2, but they didn't really make a difference to me). Even most of the "bosses" (or some characters) are basically just a slightly modified version of the basic enemies. I kind of thought the enemy models looked outdated, as did a few other aspects of the graphics, although the great art design in the game helped minimize the flaws (although it still hurt the overall look IMO). I didn't really like the way you equipped plasmids, tonics, items, etc. I would have preferred an inventory screen that allowed you to hold loot, even giving you the option to hold on to food/drinks if you wish (instead of consuming them right away).

So yeah. I think I'm probably coming across as too negative about the game. I'm thinking I probably would have enjoyed it a lot better had I not read the reviews and bought into the hype. But like I said earlier, it is a really good game that I would definitely recommend for people to play, especially if they want something that is somewhat original (not just another basic shooter with aliens, or something like that). But I personally didn't think it anything too special.

 

I thought it was an incredible game, I'd give it a 9.5 overall

did you play the 360 or PC version (you don't have a 360 do you)? I thought the graphics for a 360 game were absolutely top-notch, I don't really remember any flaws with them. I can't comment on the PC version

the only negative I will agree with you on is the enemy variety...there obviously weren't that many types. I don't mind backtracking in any games, as long as the gameplay and game world themselves are good of course. the Metroid games are some of my favorite of all time, and that entire franchise is based on backtracking

as far as the shooter gameplay, I thought it was great and worked fine. maybe not spectacular or anything, but was fine

as far as the story goes...well I know for sure that I don't care as much about story/plot as you do, it seems that's the #1 thing for you in any game. but I did pay attention and read every single thing in Bioshock, and I thought it was pretty cool overall

 

Yeah, PC version. I played with everything maxed out, although I have a DX9 card, so I couldn't get the DX10 effects. I'm assuming the graphics are just as impressive on my PC as the 360, if not more so.

Basically, I thought the enemy models looked pretty bad given the scope of the game. The models in the GTA trailer released today are probably just as impressive. It seems like they took the same amount of polygons used in games a couple of years ago, and just used a ton of normal maps, parallax maps, and other shaders to make it look "next-gen." I think the fire and a few other effects could have looked a little better too, although those were fairly minor (and actually, since I nitpick on this kind of stuff, all of it is probably fairly minor).

It just really annoyed me in this game. I would enter a particular area, spend 30-60 minutes checking out all the rooms and stuff (killing any splicers in my way), and then when I was done, I would try to advance to the next section. But oops...turns out I can't because I have to revisit a room (now with respawned enemies) just to get something I couldn't get before. Some of them were really annoying too. Example:

Spoiler

Perhaps I did it wrong, but I hated collecting the bee enzymes. I'd have to check every freaking box in a room full of boxes to get all 7 (IIRC) enzymes, and I could only check a few at a time thanks to the limited amount of time that the smoke was effective. To make things worse, every time I checked a box, I had to fend off a splicer. I would have been unhappy spending 5 minutes on this, but unfortunately I wasn't even that lucky.

I don't mind backtracking if it helps move the story along; for example, I loved picking up the audio logs in the game (although I usually did that w/o backtracking). But these things just held up the story. The story would prepare me for a certain event, but then I'd have to put that on hold while I went on a quest to collect some random items.

It worked fine, it was just the repetitiveness that got to me. It probably doesn't matter how good the mechanics are, you'll probably still only use a few different methods to disperse of enemies (or get by security). And if you do that over and over and over again, you kind of get bored (like with the hacking). This probably relates to the lack of enemy variation, and possibly how (unnecessarily) long the game was BTW.

I think I REALLY overestimated this part of the game. Had I not done that, I probably would have not been disappointed at all by the game's storyline (like I said, still a really good story with a great backstory, good characters, good presentation, etc.). It is, afterall, why I even bothered to continue playing the game despite my complaints with the gameplay (although I was hoping the last 3rd would get better in terms of the story).

It is more of a plus for the game than a minus, that's for sure.

 

I finished the PC version of the game last week. I pretty much agree with RC COLA on this. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't what it could have been.

The characters were plain to me, visually. No variety. All ugly. The gameplay got very repetitive.

There is likely a sequel to come, and I trust it'll be much better.

 

"Look Mr. B, an angel!"

"Don't be a slowpoke Mr. B. Angels don't wait for slowpokes."

The Little sister concept was neat though. I find myself quoting the little bastards every now and then.

 

A prequel could be pretty interesting now that I think about it. Maybe more interesting than a sequel, depending on where they go with things.

 

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/08/rumor-bioshock-movie-murmurs-in-hollywood/

Rumor: BioShock movie murmurs in Hollywood


Digging through all the praise heaped upon BioShock, you're sure to scrape your nails across several repeated phrases such as "engaging," "gripping" and "atmospheric." Some have even said it's "pretty good." The most common one, however, is sure to be "cinematic," a term that places BioShock and Hollywood in rather close proximity. A reliable source within a major film production company has told Joystiq that the two have been getting along famously, with a movie adaptation of 2K's successful franchise already being discussed by the Big Daddies internally.

The studio hopes to bring the fallen aquatic utopia of Rapture to celluloid life through extensive use of green screen technology, an approach not dissimilar to Legendary Pictures' interpretation of 300. If the computer generated approach is deemed feasible and fitting, the focus can then shift to capturing BioShock's secondary (and uninhabited) characters. While it's not guaranteed to move beyond these early stages, this project has our full support, if only so we can see M. Night Shyamalan's face when he gets out-twisted.

Of course, the potential film would do well to remember that while it's desirable for a game to share traits with cinema, the opposite situation will likely earn a thumbs down from most critics.

 

bioshock is the indirect sequel to system shock 2

 

Any chance PS3 sees the sequel? You are a gamer Clutch?

 

Microsoft was rumored to be strongly pursuing it as another exclusive, although I guess the whole EA Take-Two takeover could complicate matters. Unless it has only loose ties to BioShock, I'm not sure how practical it would be to release BioShock 2 on the PS3 if the original BioShock isn't available for the platform.

Kind of wish they didn't let another studio develop it (although I think some Irrational guys are at 2K Marin?). Guess it is better than forcing Ken Levine and the 2K Boston guys to make a sequel they may or may not want to make, keeping them from doing whatever they're doing now.