So I just bought Bioshock

[EllEzDee]

It's an opinion. I hated the game with a passion. Not just because of what the reviewers had built up, but because it was sad to see how many people could enjoy this tripe.

....So, you defend your opinion by stating it's an opinion, but then you mock the opinions of others?

I understand that you don't like the game, (well, no, I don't. Not really. Bioshock is just so good.) but I get the feeling that you're hating the game for the sake of it. There's some things people just don't like, and refuse to even consider liking, for whatever reason. Oh, and nice avatar, but what's with the odd coloring? It's like somebody put the Aesop Rock logo in the wash.

On-topic, get Bioshock, but please don't overhype it. I really enjoyed it, even though I played it way after it had come out, knew the hype, and the ending. I loved it even then, and if I had played it when it first came out, I would have liked it even more.

Hi there, thanks for posting, you're hereby directed to MY PREVIOUS POSTS. I've said why i hate it. There's nothing worse than people who jump on a band wagon of hatred, besides those who jump on the love bandwagon. It's hard for you to see my point from that other side of the fence, since we've both built up a wall of emotional opinions...a wall on our side of the fence.
And "it's an opinion" was my defence to his statement that i'm wrong. How can an opinion be wrong if it's a personal view?
Oh, and it's the only None Shall Pass cover without the lettering and with a size low enough to use as an avatar. I like it though.

 

[Korolev]

It ain't scary. I know how you feel - I don't like horror games either. But Bioshock isn't scary. A few moments are a bit startling, but it's not scary.

It's not the most brilliant game ever made, nor was its story all that unique. It borrows a lot from existing novels and films and plays, and while there is nothing wrong about that, it will mean that if you're even modestly well-read, the game will NOT blow you away. However, I do have to say that Bioshock is the first GAME to really explore the elements of pride, freedom, individualism and free will in such depth. It is well written, and the story is absolutely worth going through. As a game, it plays modestly well, but it is excruciatingly easy. If you want a challenge, Bioshock ain't it. You simply cannot die. Well, you can, but it's like a death in multiplayer COD - you respawn instantly, close to where you die, and you lose no progress at all - so even if there's a lot of enemies, you can always wear them down through a battle of sheer attrition.

Shooting mechanics, eh, not so great. Plasmids are fun to use though. The "moral choices" that the game presents are also nothing special.

But again, the main story line is absolutely worth your time, if you happen to like stories. The art direction and the atmosphere are also pretty damn nice (if you like a good ol' 50's vibe like I do).

I would go so far as to say that the gameplay was deliberately made simple so that you could enjoy the (EDIT) game's story . Well, simple is a harsh term - the game has quite a few moves and guns and plasmids and techniques. It's just that you can choose to ignore all of it, since you quite literally cannot lose progress or be stopped. You're basically invincible except for the final boss, and that's a cakewalk anyway.

Looking back on Bioshock, I would have to say that I definitely enjoyed it, I think it was well worth the 40 or so Australian dollars I paid for it (PC version), and that I would have been happy paying full price for it. Since you're getting it rather late, you probably paid very little for it, so it's doubly worth your time.

If you're all TLR then:

1) It's not scary. Very slightly startling at points. A tad bit depressing and gory at others. Nothing special if you've played modern video games
2) The story is quite good. It's not the most original thing out there, but it's definitely not bad. It borrows a lot from other works, but that's totally okay. Nothing is truly original anymore anyway.
3) It's super easy. That's not to say that the combat isn't fun, but it's..... not spectacular and not what the game is about.

Play it. Give it a shot. You already have it anyway.

And to all the other posts arguing about Bioshock - look, it's okay to like it or dislike it. Everyone's different. Not everyone likes every game or hates every game. For pete's sake, don't tell me you don't know the phrase "It takes all sorts". If someone doesn't like Bioshock, is it really that "shocking" (dur hur hur) to you? If someone likes it, is it a reason to get all bent out of shape?

I disliked Crysis and Heavy Rain. I liked Mass Effect 2 and Uncharted 2. I liked Half Life 2 and Bioshock. I didn't the first Left 4 Dead. I liked Portal and Black Ops. I didn't like The Witcher or Doom or Painkiller.

You can like or dislike a lot of things, children, and you know what? To each his/her own. Four frickin simple words - TO. EACH. HIS/HER. OWN. Got that? Want to write it down and put it on a post-it note so you don't forget junior?

 

[PhiMed]

Man, people in here really took the troll's bait. I'm glad he's decided to "redirect" us "to the moon", so now people who actually have a measured opinion or something to say can speak without being crowded out by the troll and the people arguing with him.

Anyway, OT:

Story: Amazing. Creates a complicated world with a detailed back-story, full of political struggles and major and minor players, all without holding your hand like a child and spoon-feeding you exposition and cut scenes like a mentally deficient third-grader. They create a sense of mystery around your character, the major players in the story, and the location in which the events take place. Don't read a walkthrough before you play. Just... don't. It'll ruin the whole thing for you.

Level Design: Inspired. Everything is so detailed that you just want to explore every nook and cranny in the place. The art style really lets you know what type of place this used to be, and what has happened since. Unfortunately, a lot of the actual pathways available through these areas are kind of uninteresting, and you'll do an awful lot of backtracking due to the mission structure.

Game play: Very interesting. The firearms/proxy for magic dynamic was unlike anything I'd played up to this point. The guns feel a little unresponsive, though, and hit detection will occasionally decide to shit itself.
It's very suspenseful at first, when you're underpowered and even one of the basic enemies can kick your ass if they get the jump on you. A lot of the suspense about what's around the next corner kind of goes away once you learn to exploit the VitaChamber system, however, because you get infinite do-overs with very little penalty. That's okay, though, because the Vita Chamber system is actually tied into the story in a pretty surprising way. It's not just a contrived mechanic, and that made me happy.
There are some games that have blatantly copied their system and have gotten the mechanics a little crisper since Bioshock's release, but none of them really give you a reason to care about why you should be running around killing dudes with this cool stuff.
Finally, I know the Half-Life series did it first, but I really liked the whole "no cut scenes" thing. I'm primarily a console gamer, so I never played a good Half-Life until the Orange Box came out (HL1 for consoles was GARBAGE), and always being in control (which seems an ironic phrase to use when talking about this game) was really refreshing.

Overall: You'd made a good decision for a first purchase. There are good things and bad things about the game, and neither of the sides arguing over its quality should be taken at their word whole cloth. It's definitely one of the most imaginative games I've played this generation, and I wish people would take a cue from the creators of this game. When I say for them to take a cue, I mean to emulate the creative process and to refrain from treating the player like a child. Not to just copy the environments and mechanics.

 

[AndrewC]

Beware of the statues.

 

[Broady Brio]

I think it's just a single playthrough.

It's good. Only once.

 

[Spy_Guy]

I don't regret buying Bioshock... it's a great experience, but there's practically no replay value whatsoever (the first playthrough will be geeat, though, assuming you're like me).

 

[Irridium]

It is a good game. However after the halfway point/climax(you'll know it when it happens. Lets use the codeword "golf") it turns into a boring slog full of generic gameplay. Play it to the "golf" point, and then just stop. You won't miss anything important.

But the game up to the "golf" part is just pure brilliance. Even if the RPG aspects leave much to be desired and the so called "moral choice" system is just stupid.

 

[TundraStalax]

to the OP, the moral choice system, wears down to, Make your choice and stick with it, you won't enjoy the middleground here...

 

[EllEzDee]

Man, people in here really took the troll's bait. I'm glad he's decided to "redirect" us "to the moon", so now people who actually have a measured opinion or something to say can speak without being crowded out by the troll and the people arguing with him.

I'm glad you read the crap i typed, but it's sad to see you dismiss anyone who doesn't love your little game as a troll. I truly dislike the game, as i've posted many many times.

Back on topic. One thing i haven't touched on are the "scary" parts of the game. I get the shits playing minecraft (those damn caverns and scary sounds), and i found the game far from scary. The atmosphere was pretty shallow. "woooo this room has a flickery light"
There's nothing psychologically scary, it's just people with distorted voices jumping out or mumbling to themselves.
The scariest part is near the begining when you get your first plasmid. The way his bones crack and snap is horrific. About all the game did right for me.

 

[AnneSQF]

It's not as scary as some say. But in my chase, I got jump-scared once and went through the entire game paranoid, heh. The gameplay is great and the art is of course BEAUTIFUL! I really loved it and I'm thinking about buying the sequel.

But my brother played ½ hour and got sick of it because it was too linear (note: he is a WoW/Minecraft/CoD player). So it is a matter of taste.

 

[T-Bone24]

It's like HL2. Not really good at anything.
Unlike HL2, it tries the whole RPG thing aswell, and fails miserably. It's a crap shooter, a crap RPG, a crap story. Just overall crap, BUT i did like the graphics.
As for the hacking game, just...wow.

Don't listen to this man, he is wrong. And possibly trolling.

It's an opinion. I hated the game with a passion. Not just because of what the reviewers had built up, but because it was sad to see how many people could enjoy this tripe.

So you don't like it more than you would because other people liked it? I'm confused.

 

[bossfight1]

it's friggin awesome, the sequel is... meh. Bioshock Infinite is gonna be awesome, though.

 

[fleischwolke]

IMHO it's one amazing game, and rightfully called a classic.

 

[PhiMed]

Man, people in here really took the troll's bait. I'm glad he's decided to "redirect" us "to the moon", so now people who actually have a measured opinion or something to say can speak without being crowded out by the troll and the people arguing with him.

I'm glad you read the crap i typed, but it's sad to see you dismiss anyone who doesn't love your little game as a troll. I truly dislike the game, as i've posted many many times.

Back on topic. One thing i haven't touched on are the "scary" parts of the game. I get the shits playing minecraft (those damn caverns a scary sounds), and i found the game far from scary. The atmosphere was pretty shallow. "woooo this room has a flickery light"
There's nothing psychologically scary, it's just people with distorted voices jumping out or mumbling to themselves.
The scariest part is near the begining when you get your first plasmid. The way his bones crack and snap is horrific. About all the game did right for me.

You just don't like being called out for what you are. The reason you are a troll is because you use hyperbolic negative language in a thread about a game you know the majority of the gaming public likes a great deal. You are a troll because you combed through the posts to find someone who didn't quote you who called you a troll so that you could call foul and start arguing with someone else.

Now "would you kindly" piss off, please? I didn't quote you because I don't have any desire to talk to you.

 

[Xanadu84]

It's more atmospheric then then scary. You can be suprised, and theres a lot of creepy stuff going on, but its no System Shock on the horror front. The setting is absolutely amazing. The gameplay is innovative and unique within the confines of it being a FPS. The real strong part, why everyone loves it, is that the story holding it all together is a very meaty, intelligent criticism of Ayn Rands Objectivism philosophy. But you can also gloss over that, and just enjoy it for face value. Definitely a must play, and you will probably love it. Then, consider Bioshock 2. Its less unique, but better gameplay.

 

[Flames66]

I have played it. Unfortunately I haven't got to the plot twist yet because after meeting Sander Cohen the game rapidly became extremely unforgiving.

 

[Rararaz]

I can't stand the game personally.

It has a brilliant story and the environments were great but I found the gameplay seriously lacking and too bad to be able to enjoy the game at all.

Despite this you should try it becasue lots of people do like it and you may be one of them, especially as you can pick it up for a good price so if you do dislike it as much as I did then you won't feel too ripped off.

I didn't find the game too scary and I'm not a fan of horror if that helps.

 

[Lenny Magic]

I'll put it this way: it makes most other FPS' look even more bland.

 

[BRex21]

Why do you hate something more because it's popular?

Im also a Bioshock hater and agree that people who love this game just make me hate it more.
I bought this game because some friends of mine told me it was great and that i had to play it and yknow what i heard it was good so i picked it up and started playing.
I found it to be atmospheric, but that was ruined by the resurrection chambers that LITERALLY make you indestructible, i actually downed my first big daddy with a wrench because i just didn't have the ammo. I found the combat relatively easy for the most part with the most difficult bit being resource management which kinda takes all the fun out of it for me and the fact that they loved re-using the same gimmick like corpses springing up again and again in the same zone just takes all the horror out of it. The sound also needed some more thought. Hacking one of those security drones means you have to listen to a poorly tuned dirt bike following you around revving its engine and on more than one occasion i had spider sploicers who lost interest in me and would rather hang out on the ceiling spewing out their few dialogue lines over and over and over and over... You can only listen to "his light reaches here even down in the murk" so many times before you just have to shut the game off. The hacking also kills immersion and seems to have a choice of being almost impossibly hard or just way too easy depending on how you slot your plasmids, with absolutely no middle ground.
It especially bothers me that people liked the story, because i did too. even more so back when it was system shock. And it was new. And i couldn't predict every twist and turn because i had already played this game.
Seriously, i didn't think there was any part of this that was worked on beyond its initial conception and as for a solid game, i think they could have done better to just update the graphics and engine in system shock as opposed to "starting from scratch"
I think its popularity WAS a big slap in the face because its just such a lazy game with no balance no original story that actively seems to work to beat you out of its immersive environment, which in my mind could have been the saving grace of this game, and if it can get away with this and sell, and even receive awards and praise for it, just re-ignites the flame that is my hatred for bioshock!
yes it needed the flowery ending.