LTTP: Bioshock

Yeah I'd say if you're not completely intrigued by the first hour of bio shock, you're probably missing the point and aren't going to connect with it. I don't really understand how you can't be completely intoxicated by it, but regardless, you clearly aren't.

For me:
- world design and singularity of vision
- relative intelligence of the narrative
- mystery
 
Okay, now that I'm at home and on my desktop I can type out what the real problems have been for my experience:

1. My expectations were really high. My friends would talk about the moral choices I would have to make and how it was an emotionally engaging game. However, the only real "moral" choice I've encountered was regarding the little sisters, and after the first time, I just started seeing them as a means to more Adam. No consequences to harvesting them, at least as far as I can tell from a gameplay perspective. The recordings are interesting and helpful, and I listen to all of them, but in the end it feels like something "tacked on" to give it depth, rather than something integrated into the environment.

2. I can't seem to master the controls. In the midst of combat I have a hard time getting to the right weapon or plasmid. Maybe my control scheme isn't the greatest, but having to switch between Plasmids and Weapons, and then the different types of ammo for the weapon, isn't something I can do easily at all on the fly. So I find myself preparing for battles by having everything set before hand (i.e. make sure the right plasmid and weapons are already selected, along with the ammo). Maybe I'm just too much of a PC FPS newb (though I've played through all of Half Life, HL2, Portal, and Portal 2).

3. I tend to dislike underwater environments and settings. (Haha this isn't the game's fault.)

4. Oh, and when I started playing the game, I had other things on my mind and didn't pay enough attention during the first 15 minutes or so to the little details that come together to make the environment.

That said, there is a LOT to like about this game and it's clear that they put a lot of effort into it. So I'm definitely enjoying it - just not sure I feel what all the huge hype was about.

It was kind of like Wreck It Ralph - my friends got me *way too hyped up* about the movie, which resulted in me not getting into it until halfway into the movie.
 
You know, it might be good to reflect on some of the things I've thought were cool:

1. Hacking - Really more enjoyable than I thought it would be, and the rewards for doing so are great.

2. Enemies jumping into water when they're on fire, or running to a med-station to replenish health, or simply running into the adjacent room to get away from me. Nice.

3. The voice-work is really good.

4. Searching rooms and objects and corpses is satisfying.

5. Really like the wide variety of power-ups / upgrades.

I would, however, appreciate some tips on setting up the controls. I can't seem to ever be able to pick the right weapon in the heat of combat.

Also, do any of you save like after every single room or encounter? I can't help it. :-(
 
I think what's so cool about Bioshock is that it has a very well constructed world. And it's awesome that you find this world in ruins, and yet you have all the clues that let you know how it was before.
It's an awesome game and it gets even better towards the end!
So would you kindly keep playing it? And then tell was what you thought once you finish it!
 
I thought Bioshock was amazingly well done artistically and its strengths weren't the outside environments, but rather the inside environment and the atmosphere it created.

I also hear "the twist" over and over, and I think that's one of the most overrated aspects of the game.

Honestly, the biggest surprise for me was one of the song selections that came up during the game.
 
BioShock_No_gods_or_kings.jpg


I always wondered why Andrew Ryan wanted people to see a statue of him taking a dump when they entered Rapture
 
Currygan said:
you're going to skip B2?
Click to expand...

I played a bit of bioschock 2 and wasn't sure how I felt about it. Didn't have the same feel as the 1st to me and I heard it was different developers so I decided to save my money and check out infinite, which looks pretty awesome. May go back to 2 sometime in the future... I take it you would recommend it?
 
With the ultimate rapture edition coming out what would be the definitive version of the game? 360 or ps3? Is there any difference?
 
Kevin Shields said:
I played a bit of bioschock 2 and wasn't sure how I felt about it. Didn't have the same feel as the 1st to me and I heard it was different developers so I decided to save my money and check out infinite, which looks pretty awesome. May go back to 2 sometime in the future... I take it you would recommend it?
Click to expand...

Its not as good in my opinion, but I hold Bioshock in my top 5-10 of all time, so that is tough to live up to. Bioshock 2 is a worthy sequel though and has a similar atmosphere, and is every bit worthy of its 88 Metacritic score.
 
The game world, lore, art direction and story were all impeccable IMO.

For me the only component that isn't 'perfect' is the combat. I'm not a huge FPS fan so if an RPG/Fallout style mechanic was implemented like VATs it would have improved that side of the experience for me.
 
Kevin Shields said:
I played a bit of bioschock 2 and wasn't sure how I felt about it. Didn't have the same feel as the 1st to me and I heard it was different developers so I decided to save my money and check out infinite, which looks pretty awesome. May go back to 2 sometime in the future... I take it you would recommend it?
Click to expand...

yes, definitely. Bioshock 2 doesn't have the wow factor of B1 but it's well designed, got solid combat, long but not excessively, the story is interesting and the new mechanics work very well. And it's got a better final boss...

Keep a note about it, it's worth every penny
 
Bioshock 2 is a good game. The dual-wield combat is reminiscent of The Undying, one of my favourite FPS from the early 2000s, and while the Big-Daddy Little-Sister Defence sections get a little tedious you can actually stop doing them after a while with very little consequence.

The problem is that Bioshock was a special game, in that it effectively used the medium of gaming to say something in a way that couldn't be done with other mediums. Creating a cash-in sequel which had none of the conceptual sophistication of the original game was extraordinarily tacky, so despite the massive mechanical improvements to the gameplay it still leaves a bit of a sour taste in your mouth if you truly feel that the first game was a high point for the medium as I do.
 
Bioshock had a nice presentation but I would rather play it on PC, and probably will do at some point.

I'm playing the first few minutes of Bioshock 2 as it was recently free on PS Plus, and I'm just not feeling it, ugh.
 
Exile550 said:
I preferred Bioshock 2. Yes I know.
Click to expand...

Spira said:
your not alone my brother

shieeeee
Click to expand...

I realize people are entitled to there own opinions, but these are just wrong. Bioshock was waaay more impressive than 2. Only thing that Bioshock 2 had was the gunplay and more variety in moral choices. Let's face it though, we didn't play the bioshock games for the gunplay. The original is what brought the world to life.
 
The atmosphere was wonderful, and I admire it's ambition, but the audiologs were horribly convoluted, as was the twist, and the combat sucked. Still looking forward to Infinite though.
 
The ignorance in this thread is astounding. BioShock came out of nowhere? What in the fuck? Were you asleep during 2007 or something? That game had a hype train of the likes few other games this gen could match up to.

Also the plot in BioShock is hardly original at all, just ask its older brother System Shock 2
which it copy/pasted pretty much everything from
. The gameplay is as shallow as a puddle, as a result of being neutered for the masses, which as a result you're left with something mind-numbingly boring and tedious as all hell. The level design completely falls off a cliff after Fort Frolic, and the game ends about as well as trip to the bathroom after bad Chinese food.

It built a good atmosphere and world though, I will give it that. Such a shame it wasted it on a game so mediocre in every other aspect but level design, which is also a shame because they didn't even have the balls to let you experience that awesome level design by yourself. They give you a big glowing GPS arrow telling you exactly where to go and place a big golden shader on things you need to interact with. Just a bleh game all around.

Honestly it's one of the most disappointing games I've ever played, and sits right up there with Invisible War as a bastardized sequel to one of the greatest video games ever created.
 
I feel for anyone who has not experienced this game. Bioshock is in my top 3 games I have ever played all time. Truly a landmark achievement in gaming.
 
JackEtc said:
The twist. Just wait for the twist.
Click to expand...

I think the twist was pretty lame and overrated. I've now been playing the sequel for the past five days on this week, and I think it's so far been better than the original in every way, including the "twist". But both of them drag a bit too long. The
little sister
part in the 2nd was absolutely great.
 
The best thing about the game is the way they let the player piece together what happened to Rapture themselves. Basically its like one big jigsaw puzzle, at the start the pieces are scattered everywhere. But as you continue to explore you slowly get an idea what went down. It's such an awesome approach to storytelling.
 
Bioshock sticks out on my mind for having a really unique setting and atmosphere. Most of the FPSs we had before it were about Aliens or a War setting. I remember a few sessions where I was completely immersed, I was there in Rapture. The game mechanics were great, the enemy designs were a breath of fresh air.

The only major fault was after a particular point of the game. Those who have played it know what I'm talking about. The game never really recovered after that, and the ending was very meh. Overall, I think Bioshock is a great gaming experience.
 
A game with a spectacular atmosphere but ultimately it is also a game with horrible gameplay mechanics. Hopefully they get that in order with Bioshock Infinite.
 
razgriz417 said:
Just finished this yesterday and I gotta say while Bioshock 1 was better at creating the Rapture atmosphere, I think I like the gameplay and ending of Bioshock 2 better
(<3 summoning Eleanor)
Click to expand...

Luckily I got past that point yesterday, and didn't see that before experiencing it in the game. Spoiler that shit for the others.
 
The Crusty Juggler said:
The best thing about the game is the way they let the player piece together what happened to Rapture themselves. Basically its like one big jigsaw puzzle, at the start the pieces are scattered everywhere. But as you continue to explore you slowly get an idea what went down. It's such an awesome approach to storytelling.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that stuff reminded me a lot of the Metroid Prime games. More games should do storytelling like that, by optional logs and by observing the environment
 
I always saw Bioshock's value as coming from it's atmosphere rather than it's story. If you take a look at a lot of what we consider to be the most original games, they don't necessarily have amazingly complex or satisfying stories. But rather, very unique atmospheres. The combination of visuals, sounds and terminology that assist with the player's suspension of disbelief.

So today, if one were to go into Bioshock fresh, I would advise they simply soak up the visuals and the world without focusing too much on the specifics. Like you would if you were spending a few days in Disney world.*

Aside from that, it's other big appeal is the emergent nature of it's combat. Everyone tends to take down Big Daddy's in their own unique way, no different than when people talk about fighting dragons in Skyrim.


*For more on this comparison, take the time to skim over this GDC presentation by Scott Rogers. It's interesting how many similarities you'll find to the Bioshock series.
 
I remember when the demo hit - following the plane crash and seeing the reflection of the fire in the water, then embarking on the trip down to rapture - there was such pleasure if seeing a first person game devote its resources to atmosphere and narrative. It remains one of the more immersive moments for me in gaming.
 
pa22word said:
Also the plot in BioShock is hardly original at all, just ask its older brother System Shock 2
Click to expand...

Personally I found SS2 to be pants. I almost passed over Bioshock simply because it was by the same devs. Fortunately I bought it on a whim and Bioshock is definitely the best FPS I've played this gen, just behind Fear and FarCry from last gen.

No game has ever gone so much against my expectations, so perhaps I'd felt differently if I expected the game to impress me.
 
Even if you hate everything that happens after that, I don't know how the plane crash and light house and initial descent into Rapture with that monologue can possibly be anything but awe-inspiring.
 
crisdecuba said:
This is motivated by the other thread where you share your favorite first levels that made an impression on you.

So many people are mentioning BioShock, which caused me to wonder if I simply missed something as I started the game.

I realize I'm in the water, and I swim around until I find the lighthouse, and then I descend down into Rapture... What is so mind blowing about this opening sequence?

And for that matter, what is so amazing about this game?

Maybe I just wasn't in the right mindset when I started the game, and didn't pay close enough attention to the details, But while the atmosphere is interesting, it's not anything that has made me say wow, this is something new.

At first, little sister concept was interesting, but then I figured out that the big daddies were in fact beatable, and from there it's been pretty easy-going.

So I guess this thread to ask, what am I missing that maybe affected YOUR experience to see the game in a more positive light?
Click to expand...
I do wonder... what game you DO find amazing?

This game is a gem, possibly the first gem to come out of this generation of consoles.

And yes, let's dont drag this into a comparison of System Shock 2, i do a gree it's the better game, however in terms of setting Bioshock is more impressive.
 
Bioshock was the one game that made me hate not having a 360. I played it when it came out for PS3 and fell in love right away. I love games that tackle issues and ideas that are controversial or taboo.

I played the game at night with all the lights off and the sound of this game, more than the visuals, was incredibly scary. To approach a splicer and hear it interacting with another splicer, talking to itself or singing a religious hymn was so creepy.

Easily in my top five of all time. I can't wait for infinite (I just hope they don't forget to include Bioshock 1 on the disc like EA forgot to include Battlefield 1942 on BF3's disc).
 
Mr.Sandman said:
I realize people are entitled to there own opinions, but these are just wrong. Bioshock was waaay more impressive than 2. Only thing that Bioshock 2 had was the gunplay and more variety in moral choices. Let's face it though, we didn't play the bioshock games for the gunplay. The original is what brought the world to life.
Click to expand...

Bioshock has a better story, atmosphere, characters (etc...), and that means a lot, and ultimately makes Bioshock is a more impressive experience. When it comes down to gameplay, Bioshock 2 is more enjoyable. After the twist in Bioshock, playing the game felt like an annoyance.

Big Bioshock 2 spoiler:
Bioshock 2 also has that Little Sister segment, which is the most memorable part of either game for me.
 
Being crap at gun games, I didn't get very far in BioShock after picking it up for £5 during a steam sale. After watching it separately in a YT clip I'm not sure I 'get' the Andrew Ryan scene with the golf club. Can anyone explain it to me, please?
 
The audiologs, atmosphere and voice acting all made it awesome. What sealed the deal for me?

Fort Fucking Frolic. One of my favorite levels in all of gaming.
 
pa22word said:
It built a good atmosphere and world though, I will give it that. Such a shame it wasted it on a game so mediocre in every other aspect but level design, which is also a shame because they didn't even have the balls to let you experience that awesome level design by yourself. They give you a big glowing GPS arrow telling you exactly where to go and place a big golden shader on things you need to interact with. Just a bleh game all around.
Click to expand...

Turn that stuff off in the option menus then, big boi. I hate the hand-holding, so I turned it off and the game became infinitely more fun to play and explore.
 
Aside from being "important" by dealing with some philosophical things mainstream games had never touched before, Bioshock wowed me we small atmospheric moments.

Chilling short stories found in the audio logs
Some great uses of elongated shadows of enemies around the corner
The lady with the baby stroller
The lights flickering on and off in the morgue
where the splicer magically appears behind you
First seeing the surgeons artwork

And many many more of course. I think it's a testament to the strength of these moments that I still remember them after 5 years.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Super LTTP: Bioshock Infinite...
Opinion 
39
1K
kiphalfton replied
Metroid Dread lttp kindda disappointed
LTTP  2
76
3K
gunstarhero replied
LTTP: Elden Ring
2 3
118
4K
vodka-bull replied
Twisted Tower (Demo on Steam) Bioshock Like
0
322
Da1337Vinci replied
LTTP: WUKOOOONG!
21
1K
Hollywood Hitman replied
Top Bottom