Bioshock demo is out

[Bradylama]

I think it was released today, for the Xbox.

Just tried the demo and it's pretty neat. I absolutely love the world design, but then I like anything that's art deco. The lighthouse is pretty hokey, but whatever. The amount of art put into it more than makes up for the lame narrative.

Don't like how linear it is, etcetera etcetera. I hope the full game delivers on its promises.

 

[mindx2]

Just read through this:

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com...ic.php?t=11658

Apparently the developers have "faked" widescreen mode causing a zoomed-in view which is causing blurry textures and FOV "motion sickness".

 

[Zinc]

I'm so sick of lazy, cock-sucking developers who are too stupid to realise that widescreen gaming is the new thing. THE NEW THING!

 

[Rohit_N]

That actually sounds nice. Scary foreboding tension? Neat.

However, since the demo is really short... there's not much to say yet. When's the release?

August 24.

If this is a joke, I don't get it. I thought the game was released today?

August 24 is the release date in Europe, which is where Jasede is, assuming he didn't lie about his location.

 

[Bradylama]

Apparently the developers have "faked" widescreen mode causing a zoomed-in view which is causing blurry textures and FOV "motion sickness".

I figured something was wrong when the arms were spread out on a 1680x1050 screen.

 

[mindx2]

I'm so sick of lazy, cock-sucking developers who are too stupid to realise that widescreen gaming is the new thing. THE NEW THING!

I could care less about it being THE NEW THING! or not I just don't want to be puking my guts out every two hours playing the damn game!

 

[Pegultagol]

Oh wow that is a bad news. I usually have motion sickness in FPS games especially in Half-Life 2, but did not playing the demo of this game, probably due to its short length. Hopefully they will patch the issue quickly or at least announce they will investigate for the solution. Probably that is why I could still play it at full resolution due to the missing screen not being rendered.

Thanks for the heads up mindx2.

 

[cutterjohn]

August 21st, yesterday now, was the release date in the US for crapbox v0.0.0.2(alpha) and windoze...

 

[Shannow]

but after enough information was given that only a fool would think Bioshock would be anything resembling an RPG.

...wait..."after enough information"? You mean you initially thought this would be an RPG? Why? SS2 wasn't. I thoroughly enjoyed SS2, but it was a shooter with some vague RPG elements, great atmosphere and a decent storyline. Hmmmm, sounds exactly like what I'm expecting from Bioshock.

"Me"? I was talking about the Codex. I never played SS2 and since I share Sarvis' opinion about role-playing in a computer game chances are quite low of me expecting an RPG.
So change "RPG" in my post to SS2-successor if it makes you feel better and then think about why Bioshock got coverage on RPG Watch and the Codex while no other shooter ever makes it to the front page. It probably has nothing to do with "some vague RPG elements" in what is seen as Bioshock's precessor...

 

[Sisay]

Turns out you can only install the PC version twice. I think I'll skip this one, didn't care much for the demo anyway.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v481/ ... creen1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v481/ ... creen2.jpg
http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5527

 

[D]

Seems to me that the game misses the mark when it comes to being a System Shock spiritual successor by a pretty wide margin, due to the lack of features that made System Shock 1/2 not suck to begin with.

Most annoyingly, you have no real inventory and there's pretty much nothing in the way of exploration or danger, given that the game is almost ludicrously easy and has next to no branching paths.

For some reason, the game also seems to 'feel' wrong, to a degree. Mouse movement, weapons' firing and movement all seem sluggish.

The atmosphere is good enough, though Art Deco can look pretty ugly in dark environments - which, for Bioshock, is "every environment".

Turns out you can only install the PC version twice. I think I'll skip this one, didn't care much for the demo anyway.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v481/ ... creen1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v481/ ... creen2.jpg
http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5527

Positive Arguments for Piracy: Part the Nth.

 

[kingcomrade]

Failure: When people try to brute strength reality.

 

[Oarfish]

Turns out you can only install the PC version twice

Cool, the steam version has a more liberal license :D Way to kick yourself in the bollocks 2K, you would think that they would be a little more critical when listing to those sales presentations from macrovision by now. I'll give it a week before its cracked.

 

[Riso]

While the version from Steam might not include the retarded activation, it still does include securom.

That's right, totally useless copy protection in a steam game.

 

[The_Pope]

Just tried the demo.

It's a decent single player FPS, although the demo was disappointingly scripted. It might just be the demo, but I don't really mind either way as its got enough other stuff to be enjoyable even as a rail shooter. Pity it doesn't seem to carry on the System Shock/Deus Ex tradition.

 

[Castanova]

Got the game yesterday and played it for about 7 hours. Which actually sucked cuz I kinda OD'd on it. By the end of the session I felt like I'd be happy if I never touched the game again. I'll have to play it again a couple more times to get a more fair review.

It is a fun game and it's pretty addictive. Definitely better than most FPS games. Not sure it lives up to all the hype though. The whole Big Daddy/Little Sister "living gameworld" thing is a complete crock. They're basically just mini-boss encounters that you can initiate whenever you want. Otherwise they just walk around. If you're lucky, you can instigate a fight between the big daddy and a splicer.

Also, I'm playing on Hard and the balance is a mix between good and awful. In normal fights, it's suitably challenging which is very nice. BUT: it's virtually impossible to survive a fight with the Big Daddies and the bosses. You just have to do a suicide run, get respawned, run back to where you died and do another suicide run. I'm sure it's a lot easier on Medium or whatever. Also, I just got my hands on a grenade launcher which has significantly improved my chances against Big Daddies.

You only have a few slots to put the spells/power-ups and you're not allowed to switch between them except at certain "Gene Bank" locations which is needlessly aggravating... especially when certain spells are necessary to continue through the level. Looks like they wussed out on System Shock 2 style character building where once you make a choice you're stuck with it. Also, it's not like System Shock 2 where you create a certain character through upgrades. In this game, you don't make any choices in terms of initial character creation and you're going to end up a jack-of-all-trades no matter what you do. Everyone hacks, everyone casts spells, everyone upgrades their weapons (and can carry all the weapons at the same time... no inventory system). "Next gen" gaming scores another win!

Good atmosphere, good level design, good scripted sequences though. So far, it basically plays more like "Half-Life 3: Magical Mystery Tour" than System Shock 3. If I had to rate it right now, I'd give it an 85.

 

[Antagonist]

Turns out you can only install the PC version twice. I think I'll skip this one, didn't care much for the demo anyway.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v481/ ... creen1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v481/ ... creen2.jpg
http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5527

I've read the linked thread and I have to say that this is one of the few occasions where I am completely dumbfounded. This is a fuck-up of staggering proportions especially for all the people who already bought this game without being aware that their 45 Euro game is only slightly more functional than a copy from a video rental. Since I haven't bought the game yet and won't as long as these unacceptable restrictions are in effect I also will refrain from pirating it but all honest (PC!) customers will now have the burden to hunt down a cracked version.

Wow. :shock:

 

[obediah]

Turns out you can only install the PC version twice. I think I'll skip this one, didn't care much for the demo anyway.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v481/ ... creen1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v481/ ... creen2.jpg
http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5527

I've read the linked thread and I have to say that this is one of the few occasions where I am completely dumbfounded. This is a fuck-up of staggering proportions especially for all the people who already bought this game without being aware that their 45 Euro game is only slightly more functional than a copy from a video rental. Since I haven't bought the game yet and won't as long as these unacceptable restrictions are in effect I also will refrain from pirating it but all honest (PC!) customers will now have the burden to hunt down a cracked version.

Wow. :shock:

Nothing surprises me any more on this front. As long as people continue to swallow the piracy argument, content providers will continue to add new restrictions for paying customers. The U.S. government has been pretty shameful in all of this, happily taking the industries money and turning out ridiculously draconian laws. The government needs to take 1 of 2 stances:

a) Stay out of it, and let the free market work it's magic. Media will be copied, customers will be screwed, and in the end a balance both providers and customers can accept will be reached. All without court cases and jail time!

b) Continue on their current course or interference, but start representing consumers as well as corporations. That means regulating EULA's, and fair use issues like "install twice only". I have little hope that the government would get this right, but as long as their screwups aren't biased to either side it would be an improvement.

 

[Jasede]

What the fuck! That's just disgusting. Now, I hate piracy, but- wow. Seriously, that's... meh, I am speechless.

 

[Jedi_Learner]

So basically PC Gamers are being punished, while console players are not? I can't get to the 2K Forums, keeps coming up with a "Database error" on my browser.

 

[Jasede]

Yes.

Also,

hey guys,

first, let me say this. you DO NOT NEED TO USE THE INTERNET EVERY TIME YOU PLAY THIS GAME. it is only the first time.

second, you can uninstall and reinstall this game, and if, by chance, you have 2 computers you want to simultaneously play this game on, you also can do that.

if by some chance you are reinstalling this game without uninstalling it first, a lot, there is a chance you may have to call securom and get a key, or deactivate some older installations.

but if you upgrade your hardware next week, you'll still be able to play the game. if you revamp your system and need to reinstall bioshock, just uninstall it before you go through the overhaul, and then do your reinstall.

calling it "hardware fingerprinting" is a bit alarmist. we do not transmit any of your data to any companies.

really, the only people who will be concerned about any of these security measures are those who are rapidly putting bioshock on many pcs... if you use the game as you normally do, you won't notice this at all.

 

[Bluebottle]

What an amazing piece of polit-speak. Answers none of the questions, but retains an overall reasuring tone.

hey guys,

first, let me say this. you DO NOT NEED TO USE THE INTERNET EVERY TIME YOU PLAY THIS GAME. it is only the first time.

No one ever thought you did, or at least no one I saw in that thread.

second, you can uninstall and reinstall this game, and if, by chance, you have 2 computers you want to simultaneously play this game on, you also can do that.

Not 3 though.

if by some chance you are reinstalling this game without uninstalling it first, a lot, there is a chance you may have to call securom and get a key, or deactivate some older installations.

A lot being >2. Also someone has already been in contact with Securom, who provided them with a stiff middle finger and told them to contact 2K. Also, what's the betting Securom don't have a non-US line to call during non-US hours.

but if you upgrade your hardware next week, you'll still be able to play the game. if you revamp your system and need to reinstall bioshock, just uninstall it before you go through the overhaul, and then do your reinstall.

So, if you have a HDD crash then it's back to the helpful folks at securom.

 

[Oarfish]

back to the helpful folks at securom

#warez4lyfe almost certainly has better 24 hour tech support.

 

[Vault Dweller]

I got the game yesterday as a gift.

It's an awesome shooter, incredibly atmospheric. The environments are amazing. The weapons, options (AP ammo, HP ammo, regular ammo), and powers are great. You can use the lightning bolt powah to activate "shorted" door mechanisms, stun enemies and turrets, you can use fire to melt ice blocking access to some optional areas, etc.

It's just not an RPG. It's a great game and I really wish that it had more RPG options to match SS2 gameplay, but if you play it as a shooter you won't disappointed. It blows HL2 away.

I can give more detailed impressions if someone cares.

 

[kingcomrade]

Does Bioshock require a 3.0 card? I might download the demo if all it needs is 2.0.

It's just not an RPG.

It's a game where you play the role of Ayn Rand (or something). How is it not an RPG?