Last Update: 9/17/07
BioShock
The idealistic surroundings and grim reality are constantly at odds.
Often touted as the "Spiritual successor to System Shock 2", BioShock is the long awaited fps developed by Irrational Games, where lead designer Ken Levine promised to advance the definition of first person shooters.
Game overview and features as reported at the official site
BioShock is a revolution in the shooter genre that will forever change the expectations for the FPS. Going beyond "run and gun corridors," "monster-closet AIs" and static worlds, BioShock creates a living, unique and unpredictable FPS experience. BioShock is the Shooter 2.0.
After your plane crashes into icy uncharted waters, you discover a rusted bathysphere and descend into Rapture, a city hidden beneath the sea. Constructed as an idealistic society for a hand picked group of scientists, artists and industrialists, the idealism is no more. Now the city is littered with corpses, wildly powerful guardians roam the corridors as little girls loot the dead, and genetically mutated citizens ambush you at every turn.
Features:
- Take control of your world by hacking mechanical devices, commandeering security turrets and crafting unique items critical to your very survival.
- Upgrade your weapons with ionic gels, explosives and toxins to customize them to the enemy and environment.
- Genetically modify your body through dozens of Plasmid Stations scattered throughout the city, empowering you with fantastic and often grotesque abilities.
- Explore a living world powered by Ecological A.I., where the inhabitants have interesting and consequential relationships with one another that impact your gameplay experience.
- Experience truly next generation graphics that vividly illustrate the forlorn art deco city, highlighted by the most detailed and realistic water effects ever developed in a video game.
- Make meaningful choices and mature decisions, ultimately culminating in the grand question: do you exploit the innocent survivors of Rapture...or save them?
Developer: Irrational Games
Publisher: 2K Games
Released: August 2007
System Requirements
Minimum Requirements
CPU - Pentium 4 2.4GHz Single Core processor
System RAM - 1GB
Video Card - Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 128MB RAM (NVIDIA 6600 or better/ATI X1300 or better, excluding ATI X1550).
Sound Card - 100% direct X 9.0c compatible sound card
Hard disc space - 8GB free space
Recommended Requirements
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo processor
System RAM - 2GB
Video card - DX9 - Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM (NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT or better) / DX10 - NVIDIA GeForce 8600 or better
Sound Card - Sound Blaster X-Fi series (Optimized for use with Creative Labs EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0 or EAX ADVANCED HD 5.0 compatible sound cards)
In motion, the water effects are truly amazing. In fact, Irrational has someone on staff whose sole job is to handle water effects - everything from the fountains and ripples to the distortion of the fish beneath the surface.
Publisher: 2K Games
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Bottom Line: Bioshock is a breath taking, heart wrenching, sci-fi horror game that is worth every penny! Continuing the feel of the "Shocked" series Bioshock is a masterpiece of stealth, run and gun and just plain run! Allowing the player to destroy, hack or stealth past security devices, manipulate your enemies by using upgrades to your body and mind, as well as distractions and traps makes this so much more than your run of the mill shooter. I've played through about 1/2 the game so far and didn't even open the manual until I realized I didn't know how to use mines. The learning curve is moderate, as with any RPG/FPS crossover game. Using the environment is key to defeating some enemies. They all have a weakness. Two things that have greatly improved in the series are the hacking interface and the research method. OMG I love the research method!
Bioshock may get some unfavorable press for it's "suggested" violence against the little sisters, but violence against children is nothing we haven't seen before. Take anime for example, thousands of little kids with huge eyes and boots to match are virtually slaughtered everyday. We need to keep this in perspective. These are games for mature players, not children or the impressionable. Need I mention cartoons? Didn't think so. My last comment on the subject is ... your actions will effect the outcome of the game. The only thing that prevents this game from being a perfect 5 is the lack of ... 1) a sprint button would have made this much more fun in terms of fighting the faster enemies as well as speeding up travel. 2) multi-player, playing this online would have been the most fun I've had since TFC. Co-Op would have absolutely rocked my face! I can only hope for another "Shocked" sequel. Realistic Environment, Interesting Story ... Awesome Job!. This very well end up being my single player game of the year @ SteelValor.com Learning Curve: Takes a second
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