Bioshock

New interview at Gamersyde

Do you see Bioshock as the spiritual successor to System Shock, and if so what have you been able to add to the System Shock formula?
Paul Hellquist: The main things we added to the formula were accessibility and a greater focus on action than on niggly interface interactions. BioShock still is a horror game with a fully realized world to explore, it still is incredibly deep, with a ton of gameplay systems for players to interact with, and has a great story. All of these things make it a spiritual successor to System Shock 2 in my mind.
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How would you describe the genre of Bioshock? Is it an FPS? An RPG? Or something totally new?
Paul Hellquist: We believe BioShock is the deepest FPS ever made. It is an FPS through and through, but offers more choices for the gamer to interact with the world and their enemies than any other FPS before it.
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Cyan said:
:smile: This game is a good investment, like good rooms it has a view to the sea.

I am with Sethamin here, Bioshock's graphics are the best I've ever seen on any console to date, and they're superior to GeoW. It's just a matter of taste but apart from the aforementioned details what I really love of Bioshock's graphics are the textures. Some of them are awesome. i.e. the first time you use a plasmid, the ceramic dolls' textures are incredibly detailed, with the most vivid, rich color possible and it's not an isolated fact.

I think that GOOD graphics died along with the 2D era graphics (D2) but this game brings 3D graphics nearer to 2D -- artwork, content, etc. For example, the poor castaway fish after the water cascade that comes down when the glass ceiling breaks. The fish looks authentic.

Finally, I did read in a review that the game is a criticism of the Objectivism, a philosophical trend developed by Ayn Rand;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand
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In fact, the references to Atlas Shrugged are pervasive:
- Aaron Ryan is obviously a twist on the name Ayn Rand
- The dude you talk to on the radio is named Atlas
- At the end of Atlas Shrugged, all of the best and brightest of society go off to form their own utopia (though in the book, it's hidden in the mountains, not underwater, but meh).
- The speech you hear before you can see rapture out of the sub is almost a word-for-word extract of part of John Galt's 80+ page speech that he gives shortly before leaving society.
 
dlm said:
In fact, the references to Atlas Shrugged are pervasive:
- Aaron Ryan is obviously a twist on the name Ayn Rand
- The dude you talk to on the radio is named Atlas
- At the end of Atlas Shrugged, all of the best and brightest of society go off to form their own utopia (though in the book, it's hidden in the mountains, not underwater, but meh).
- The speech you hear before you can see rapture out of the sub is almost a word-for-word extract of part of John Galt's 80+ page speech that he gives shortly before leaving society.
Click to expand...

Ayn Rand is one of the most boring writers in history.Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead(If I translated the title correctly for the last one) are almost impossible to read due to the onset of extreme boredom and general lack of writing talent. I really don't regard her as a philosopher to any relevant extent, as her contributions to philosophy are...umm...let's say limited.
 
Morgoth the Dark Enemy said:
Ayn Rand is one of the most boring writers in history.Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead(If I translated the title correctly for the last one) are almost impossible to read due to the onset of extreme boredom and general lack of writing talent. I really don't regard her as a philosopher to any relevant extent, as her contributions to philosophy are...umm...let's say limited.
Click to expand...

No disagreement from me. Fountainhead was more readable than Atlas Shrugged. But both of them would have benefited from a lot less exposition.

Objectivism is about as viable as Communism as far as political philosophies go.
 
Thanks for the heads up on the connection with Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged. I went looking for more info and came across the really great article about Ken Levine, Bioshock, Ayn Rand, etc. Very well done article. You must read if you're into the Bioshock story. One little heads-up though, it does explain a little about what the Little Sisters are. Not totally, but more than what I got out of the demo. Enjoy!

http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/32465

Tommy McClain
 
AzBat said:
Thanks for the heads up on the connection with Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged. I went looking for more info and came across the really great article about Ken Levine, Bioshock, Ayn Rand, etc. Very well done article. You must read if you're into the Bioshock story. One little heads-up though, it does explain a little about what the Little Sisters are. Not totally, but more than what I got out of the demo. Enjoy!

http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/32465

Tommy McClain
Click to expand...

Great link! That was a good read!

Can't wait to pick it up.

And FWIW, PC demo is OUT!
 
So...I don't pre-order games, but I opted to go ahead and do it last week for BioShock.

I went into my local Best Buy, picked it up, and also picked up an extra copy of 2k8 for my buddy. Checking out, the cashier said 'oh, you get a free $10 gift card.' I asked why, she didn't know. I didn't complain.

I just went in to pick up my copy, and I got an ADDITIONAL $10 gift card when I picked up the game. Again I inquired, and cashier said 'I don't know, the system is telling me you get one.'

So yeah, that's all I got for ya. Now to get through the last half of the work day!
 
AntShaw said:
So...I don't pre-order games, but I opted to go ahead and do it last week for BioShock.

I went into my local Best Buy, picked it up, and also picked up an extra copy of 2k8 for my buddy. Checking out, the cashier said 'oh, you get a free $10 gift card.' I asked why, she didn't know. I didn't complain.

I just went in to pick up my copy, and I got an ADDITIONAL $10 gift card when I picked up the game. Again I inquired, and cashier said 'I don't know, the system is telling me you get one.'

So yeah, that's all I got for ya. Now to get through the last half of the work day!
Click to expand...

Sounds like they're matching the Circuit City price ($49) through a giftcard.

I hope they have copies after I get out of work ...
 
nintenho said:
I don't know if this has been posted yet but apparently it's only 4:3.
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My take from the PC thread:
Zaphod said:
I didn't see this discussed before (after a quick browse through the thread), but there seems to be a minor stir regarding Bioshock not being 'proper' widescreen:

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11658
http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=113784

My take on this would be that these folk are mistaken. It is natural to optimize and tweak the experience for the aspect ratio/FOV the title is primarily designed to be enjoyed at. Thus, it is equally natural to use an 'open matte' when allowing for secondary aspect ratios. As such, in a game that is primarily designed for 4:3, you'd like for wider screens to get a wider field of view. On the other hand, in a game designed for 16:9 (as I expect Bioshock to be) you'd expect to see a bit more extraneous space at the top an bottom when displayed at 4:3.

Just as in an open matte transfer from the director's theatrical 2.35:1 to 1.78:1 for DVD. Sure, you'd see a bit more, but it wouldn't be better. And after looking at the 1:78:1 print, you definitely shouldn't be complaining that you'd like to see more on either side.
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I think it's only for the PC version but the gamespot screens I saw of the 360 version didn't show the wrists when he had the wrench.

I think widescreen should make sense for FPS games.
 
I think Gamestop has a personal vendetta against me. How the heck are they only going to carry enough stock to only fill preorders. I mean seriously WTF?? The guy at the counter said they got like 50 preorders. I am thinking well shoot if I got 50 preorders I should probably get 20 more on top of that. The game could be popular, just maybe... What makes it worse is my car has a bad starter so I can't even drive around and get my copy... :mad: :mad: :mad:
 
My Gamestop sales person said they didn't receive enough Collector's edition to cover all their pre-orders. I got there early so I got mine, but I'm guessing there will be some pissed off people later today.
 
Ill second all this and agree pre-orders are stupid. Just another way for retailers to suck some $$ out of us. We are giving them mini-loans.

We should band together and agree to never pre-order! This is nothing new! I can only imagine whats going to happen with Halo.
 
AntShaw said:
Ill second all this and agree pre-orders are stupid. Just another way for retailers to suck some $$ out of us. We are giving them mini-loans.
Click to expand...

Well I got my pre-order for $40, but since it's via mail, I won't have it until next week most likely. Not that one week matters, I have plenty of stuff to keep me busy.
 
AntShaw said:
Ill second all this and agree pre-orders are stupid. Just another way for retailers to suck some $$ out of us. We are giving them mini-loans.

We should band together and agree to never pre-order! This is nothing new! I can only imagine whats going to happen with Halo.
Click to expand...

What is so bad about a pre-order? You give them $10 to reserve the game then pay the rest of the games cost when you pick it up. It makes sure they have plenty of games in stock for you once you arrive. Its your fault that they couldn't store 200 of one game when they had no idea how much they would need on first day for the game.
 
Zaphod said:
Just as in an open matte transfer from the director's theatrical 2.35:1 to 1.78:1 for DVD.
Click to expand...

Exactly, if there is a fix, it would be to letterbox 4:3. I know I'll be seeing exactly what the developers intended. The fact other's can see John Cleese's shorts does not bother me at all.

I didn't preorder, just swung by BestBuy. I never expected this game to get quite the response it has. I think alot of the goofy Widescreen discussions are just backlash on the reviews this game is getting. People love to have something to bitch about.
 
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