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Bioshock Previews Abound

Posted by Zonk on from the darn-creep-and-underwater-to-boot dept.

The much-anticipated spiritual successor to System Shock 2, Irrational Games' Bioshock, is finally starting to emerge from the depths of secrecy. The 360/PC title is due on store shelves at the start of August, and a bunch of sites now have previews available for perusal. Eurogamer, CVG, IGN, Team Xbox, and Gamespot all had hands-on experience with the title recently and now can report back. From Gamespot's writeup: "As you investigate Rapture's sprawling, doomed infrastructure, its crumbling art deco facades, and leaky corridors, you'll uncover the secrets of what went wrong. Stepping out of the diving bell, you'll see signs of a struggle ... We'd barely set foot onto the first platform of the city proper before running into a splicer, which is one of BioShock's common enemies and one of Rapture's former residents. As Atlas will quickly fill you in, it seems that overuse of Adam turns the subject into a crazed monster that fiends for--what else--more Adam. Imagine a crazed junkie dying to get his hands on a fix; only this junkie can throw fireballs out of thin air and move large objects with his mind. And those are just the basic enemies." For a more visceral experience, 1up has a video preview of the game, which looks as creepy as it sounds.

34 comments

  1. Yay, ZIPed videos by SnowZero · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I hate when sites ZIP up an already compressed file, as this site does with their downloadable videos. Gamer sites in particular seem to love to do this. Is the 1% size reduction (or in some cases, increase) really worth it?

    1. Re:Yay, ZIPed videos by Wicko · · Score: 1

      Sometimes they do that to encompass another file.. but no idea about this particular example.

    2. Re:Yay, ZIPed videos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is typically done to force users to download the file all at once, rather than streaming it.

    3. Re:Yay, ZIPed videos by MortimerV · · Score: 1

      They may also do it to prevent streaming the video from their site.

    4. Re:Yay, ZIPed videos by sholden · · Score: 1

      It's so the drooling gamer who can't work out how to "save as..." can download the file instead of having it play in their browser.

    5. Re:Yay, ZIPed videos by Mondoz · · Score: 1

      Apparently, enough of the droolers have figured it out. Their bandwidth is getting eaten alive...
      The trailer tops out at a little over 300 MB... It's coming down at a whopping 23KB/sec...

      All you punks need to stop downloading it so I can get some faster speeds!

      --
      /sig
    6. Re:Yay, ZIPed videos by udoschuermann · · Score: 0, Troll

      They save 0.3% bandwidth and you, you need double the diskspace to extract and view the movie. On the plus side, once you delete the .zip and the .wmv files you've got half a gigabyte free again to fill up with pr0n.

      --
      --Udo.
    7. Re:Yay, ZIPed videos by antdude · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think they do that so people don't download and watch in their Web browsers. That's annoying. If they zip it up, then it forces the browsers to download the files.

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  2. Can't wait by Wicko · · Score: 1

    If this is anything like SS2, I will love it (although its sad I will never see a conclusion to the SS series). From the preview video's I've watched, it seems like there is no crosshair or anything. Which can be cool, but also a pain in the ass. Could be just the 360 version though, where auto-aim will most likely be enabled.

    1. Re:Can't wait by dryueh · · Score: 1
      BioShock was the original reason I ended up purchasing a X360. I was a huge fan of both the original System Shock and it's sequel. I remember being super-freaked out by the original ---- it was probably my first (or at least one of my first) CDROM games. Creepy!!

      I definitely mirror your sentiments about no SS3 though ----- maybe someone will come up with a way to retrieve the license from the copyrighted aether. In any case, I've been watching the title for some time now, and am pretty excited to be reading all these hands-on impressions.

    2. Re:Can't wait by HexRei · · Score: 1

      Perhaps they toggled it off for the media footage? it seems odd not to have one available.

    3. Re:Can't wait by Wicko · · Score: 1

      I hope this is the case, but there have been some games like that PS2 game, the Getaway I think it was called, where there was no HUD at all, or so I recall.

    4. Re:Can't wait by MonorailCat · · Score: 1, Interesting

      System Shock was absolutely my favorite game from my childhood (ish).

      Believe it or not, my sister and I used to play coop multiplayer on easy difficulty.

      If you're thinking "but wait, SS1 didnt have that feature" you'd be right, she controlled the guns and torso, and I handled movement, navigation and some non-weapon equipment. We were pretty young, and playing it solo seemed too daunting (also this was a lot of fun).

      SS2 was pretty awesome too, if you snuck up behind me in the dark and moaned "Killl meee" and hit me with a cardboard tube, I'd still jump...

  3. The 360/PC title? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No slight on Xbox fans, but as far as PC gaming is concerned has there ever been a co-developed Xbox/PC game that wasn't garbage?

    When the lowest common denominator is a 9-button controller you can't ever expect to satisfy fans of games made for a more complex interface.

    If the Xbox continues to poison the PC game pool as it has been since its inception, the only thing anchoring many PC users to Windows will vanish... does Microsoft understand this?

    1. Re:The 360/PC title? by revlayle · · Score: 4, Informative

      Concurrent development, yes. Same interface no... there is a whole different team lead managing the PC interface for Bioshock. In fact, that man said the PC version of the game will be "harder" because of the ease of aiming compared to using a console controller. Also, the PC interface has more drag-and-drop type interface actions that cannot be done on the XBox360 very easily. Looks they somewhat understand the control and play difficulties of FPS-like games between consoles and PCs and are trying to address it. The core technology group and design of them game is the same, just mainly (from what *I* gathered) the interface teams are different (i'm sure as well: the teams that do PC QA and deployment for starters), from what I understand.

    2. Re:The 360/PC title? by MaineCoon · · Score: 1

      Command and Conquer 3. The PC interface and Xbox360 interface are entirely different.

      --
      Hunt your preferred prey at Aliens vs Predator MUD. Join the war at avpmud.com port 4000
    3. Re:The 360/PC title? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oblivion devs said the same thing but the PC version suffered with a console interface in the release. Different developer, so I hope they don't follow in those foot steps.

    4. Re:The 360/PC title? by Andrew+Kismet · · Score: 1

      Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. The two games (PC/360) play roughly the same, but entire aspects are different; more team-control in the PC version, third-person view in the 360 version... each uses their interface appropriately while reusing exactly the same graphical, level, and 'core' assets.

  4. was looking good until... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "But ammo is incredibly scarce, and faced with hordes of rampaging Splicers, we frequently found ourself reduced to smacking the freaks across the skull with a wrench.

    You'll also have your genetic powers, of course, but again, these are strictly rationed and it's vital that you make every strike, every last bullet count, as you never know where the next ammo or Eve pick is going to be."

    great. so yet another game where i run around not using stuff thinking 'im REALLY gonna need it in a minute so i wont use it right now' and replaying sections over and over to get the ammo usage down. THAT IS NOT FUN, NOR IS IT A GOOD FIRST RUN THROUGH A GAME.

    on the 2nd run through you know where there will be some more stuff, but that kind of makes the 1st play a bit crud. Can't we have an intelligent replishment system, so that it gives you *enough* when needed, not just slotted in as fixed items on a map?

    I played through one FPS (cant remember which) and used 1 grenade the whole game, thinking "gonna need all of these in a minute" and didnt. got the end and felt cheated.

    sytuggling for ammo is a boring as running around a black room with a torch. walloping things with large metal objects is soo Half-Life 1.

    1. Re:was looking good until... by skobar · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It would not be fidel to system shock 2 if you had almost unlimited ammo.

    2. Re:was looking good until... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      funny, its not a sequel.

      so you need to resort to spannering them in the head. when should i do that? just conserve ammo all the time and run around with a spanner? Sounds as boring at gravity gun based levels in HL.

      If i use too much ammo/special sauce, will i have enough power to kill a particular enemy? if not, how many savegames do i have to go back to fix this? or do i try and use spanner all the time and finish the game with 1,000,000 bullets?

      dunno just bores me, want some kind of common ground between "not enough ammo" and "unlimted" that should be vaguely 'smart'

    3. Re:was looking good until... by Eideewt · · Score: 1

      Perhaps you're just being too cautious. If you can't figure out the rate at which you can expect to find new ammo then you're setting yourself up for tedious gameplay.

    4. Re:was looking good until... by Das+Modell · · Score: 1

      Absolutely fucking mind boggling that even this got modded flamebait. What the fuck is wrong with Slashdot?

    5. Re:was looking good until... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe a mole is trying to show that the moderation system doesn't work? Never did. Something to keep in mind next time a slashmoderation discussion comes up.

    6. Re:was looking good until... by xtieburn · · Score: 1

      I have to agree, you can minimise issues by making it clear that the ammo and such are helpful but not essential. There should always be a way around every problem regardless of how equipped you are.

      Though ultimately things like that are difficult to balance and lead to similar effects to the one you mention. I prefer it when a situation calls for thought despite being well armed and equipped. Big Daddies being hard enough that they can take you down even if you are pumping non stop shots in to it. Only by using your also fairly unlimited powers (That like your non stop shots are not enough alone.) to manipulate the environment in intelligent ways can it be stopped.

      I enjoy thinking and working out puzzles but by restricting resources its not so much intelligent thought as frustration as you try to get by a part using no resources only to find that its actually impossible after multiple reloads. (Reloading being a thing I despise, saving should be a convenience not a game mechanic.)

    7. Re:was looking good until... by sesshomaru · · Score: 1
      This is supposed to be a first person RPG, not a first person shooter. You build yourself up to be a terrifying, inhuman superman. In this way it's a descendant more from games like Shadowrun for the Sega Genesis or Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines than Doom.

      I preferred melee weapons to firearms in System Shock 2. My main use for a pistol was shooting out security cameras, and I spent most of the game looking for upgrades to my pipe wrench. They had some pretty cool melee weapons as you got through the game. I tended to ignore pistols and the like, since they used ammo and I hated running out. Also they broke, which was annoying. I'd rather use psionics if I had to hit something at a distance.

      Of course, the pipe wrench was actually not a bad weapon in System Shock 2 early on, provided I made good use of hacking skills.

      I mean if guns were as effective as bio-enhancements, why not use them instead of turning yourself into a deformed monster?

      --
      "MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
  5. Shodan wuz here by SparkyFlooner · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Shodan was one of the greatest game villians ever. (HAL9000 anyone?)

    I can't imagine a System Shock spiritual successor without a Shodan spiritual successor to be in it.

    1. Re:Shodan wuz here by Cadallin · · Score: 1

      I do believe Bioshock has one. I think the founder of Rapture is present in some form (whether he's alive or not, I not know), and that he fulfills a similar role.

    2. Re:Shodan wuz here by chaosite · · Score: 1

      SIMILAR ROLE!?

      SIMILAR ROLE!?!?

      A mad scientist type can't compare to the semi-erotic, M-M-M-Max Headroom-like, deranged AI that we all know and love.

    3. Re:Shodan wuz here by Cadallin · · Score: 1

      Acknowledged. However, this isn't really Irrational's fault. Shodan is owned by EA, and they've buried the IP in the lands where great characters go to die when they don't meet sales expectations.

    4. Re:Shodan wuz here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      EA is reportedly working on System Shock 3. After all, by doing so they get to cash in on all the marketing/buzz of BioShock :)

  6. Spiritual? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Horrific scenes. Blood. Gore. Violence. Gunning people down. Monsters. Destruction. Domination.

    I cant for the life of me see any human or spiritual values in this.

    I can play these games, but please come up with something else than "spiritual", for it is not even resembling that. Intellectual masturbation and washing your brain in blood and violence, maybe.

    Getting bloody tired of FPSes, pun intended. Half-life2 had interesting twists, nice graphics, but after so many years, you just get tired of shooting / hitting stuff.