Bioshock: Windows

...

Bioshock: Windows

...

Bioshock: Windows

...

it did. If i exited the game, i couldn't play again until i rebooted my computer. That's frustrating but then, writing high end video games for a PC is pretty frustrating too. i lost some work the first time i played it, which i didn't like, and being forced to turn off my CPU monitor (which autostarts with my computer) before BioShock will play is ridiculous. But the game is cool enough that i'm still glad i played it

Bioshock: Windows

...

it did. If i exited the game, i couldn't play again until i rebooted my computer. That's frustrating but then, writing high end video games for a PC is pretty frustrating too. i lost some work the first time i played it, which i didn't like, and being forced to turn off my CPU monitor (which autostarts with my computer) before BioShock will play is ridiculous. But the game is cool enough that i'm still glad i played it

Bioshock: Windows

...

it did. If i exited the game, i couldn't play again until i rebooted my computer. That's frustrating but then, writing high end video games for a PC is pretty frustrating too. i lost some work the first time i played it, which i didn't like, and being forced to turn off my CPU monitor (which autostarts with my computer) before BioShock will play is ridiculous. But the game is cool enough that i'm still glad i played it

Bioshock: Windows

...

it did. If i exited the game, i couldn't play again until i rebooted my computer. That's frustrating but then, writing high end video games for a PC is pretty frustrating too. i lost some work the first time i played it, which i didn't like, and being forced to turn off my CPU monitor (which autostarts with my computer) before BioShock will play is ridiculous. But the game is cool enough that i'm still glad i played it

Bioshock: Windows

...

awesome plot, well worth the time, and the money if I could buy any game in the world I would buy this one first.

Bioshock: Windows

...

for immediate Adam, or you can save them. After saving a number of them, you're given a "gift" which does contain Adam. If you buy all the Health, Eve, Tonic, and Plasmid upgrades you should utilize almost all the Adam you harvest/receive.

The whole city of Rapture screams of a simpler time in America that went horribly wrong due to "the Parasite" and no, I won't explain that in-game reference :) Andrew Ryan, the would-be villian until "the twist" was quite the capitalist who lost control of his city, paving the way for your arrival after Rapture has fallen.

Loved the game, hated the DRM controversy. If you are afraid of possible computer corruption and have a 360...then definitely give it a go on the console...no gameplay difference!

Bioshock: Windows

...

for immediate Adam, or you can save them. After saving a number of them, you're given a "gift" which does contain Adam. If you buy all the Health, Eve, Tonic, and Plasmid upgrades you should utilize almost all the Adam you harvest/receive.



The whole city of Rapture screams of a simpler time in America that went horribly wrong due to "the Parasite" and no, I won't explain that in-game reference :) Andrew Ryan, the would-be villian until "the twist" was quite the capitalist who lost control of his city, paving the way for your arrival after Rapture has fallen.



Loved the game, hated the DRM controversy. If you are afraid of possible computer corruption and have a 360...then definitely give it a go on the console...no gameplay difference!

Bioshock: Windows

...

for immediate Adam, or you can save them. After saving a number of them, you're given a "gift" which does contain Adam. If you buy all the Health, Eve, Tonic, and Plasmid upgrades you should utilize almost all the Adam you harvest/receive.





The whole city of Rapture screams of a simpler time in America that went horribly wrong due to "the Parasite" and no, I won't explain that in-game reference :) Andrew Ryan, the would-be villian until "the twist" was quite the capitalist who lost control of his city, paving the way for your arrival after Rapture has fallen.





Loved the game, hated the DRM controversy. If you are afraid of possible computer corruption and have a 360...then definitely give it a go on the console...no gameplay difference!

Bioshock: Windows

...

for immediate Adam, or you can save them. After saving a number of them, you're given a "gift" which does contain Adam. If you buy all the Health, Eve, Tonic, and Plasmid upgrades you should utilize almost all the Adam you harvest/receive.







The whole city of Rapture screams of a simpler time in America that went horribly wrong due to "the Parasite" and no, I won't explain that in-game reference :) Andrew Ryan, the would-be villian until "the twist" was quite the capitalist who lost control of his city, paving the way for your arrival after Rapture has fallen.







Loved the game, hated the DRM controversy. If you are afraid of possible computer corruption and have a 360...then definitely give it a go on the console...no gameplay difference!

Bioshock: Windows

...

dark corridors.

Sitting in my dark office, different pieces of the game suddenly turn out to be part of a single hidden puzzle, which reassembles the story. And this is only one of a series of themes, turns and adventures which kept me playing from dusk to dawn. As derivative as the game is, the execution means *BioShock* isn't your typical trapped-in-a-maze shooter.

Rapture clanks and hums with vending machines that supply health and equipment--all of which cost money to buy. And when your wallet is slim--as it will often be--players can gather components to assemble at crafting stations. Most critical, however, are the Plasmids and Gene Tonics that boost the player character's body. These systems introduce economic, mechanical, and genetic strategy, which in turn affects the player's tactics.

In most shooters, the enemies beeline for the player as if they can see through walls; but in *BioShock* you can actually sneak up on enemies, or evade them altogether. Gene tonics even provide abilities such as camouflaging or backstabbing bonuses, though I was disappointed the player couldn't teleport as some NPCs can. Cameras, bots, and turrets can also be outmaneuvered, destroyed, or even hacked to join your side, while you can seduce Big Daddies into protecting you with the right plasmid. So I like the tactical options given to the player.

For the most part though, the gameplay is old-school FPS. You can't lean, lie prone, pistol whip your enemies, or use alternate fire modes (though you can select different ammunition types). Monitors display still pictures instead of FMV, there's no GUI interaction with computers, and the skyboxes are limited to 2D mattes. The design scheme is further reminiscent of the darkness of *Doom 3*, but ups the shadowy ante by omitting a flashlight altogether.

Like D3, the game world is a hermetically-sealed community, divided into a series of theme-levels, such as The Medical Pavilion or Fort Frolic. Though similar to Mars City in principle, Rapture doesn't feel claustrophobic or monster-populated to an annoying degree like *Doom 3*.

Yet the design is even more conservative. I wondered at the absence of escalators, ladders, cables, and bridges. There are no vehicles to ride or combat; the bathyspheres act mainly as level exits. And for a submarine environment, I was surprised the game never puts the player onto the ocean floor. Indeed, we are blocked from any body of water deep enough to submerge in.

Otherwise, BioShock displays more mastery in atmosphere than just about any game I've ever played, on both subtle and garish ends. To begin with, the game never breaks from the first person view until the end cinematic. The comical vending machine recordings juxtapose with period music and propaganda announcements. Realistic water leaks into the maps in a variety of forms, from drips, to steady streams, to outright waterfalls; the fire and electrical effects are mediocre, but fog and smoke effects look great. Even the footwork is good, as splicers scrape their bludgeons on the floor, and diving suit monstrosities shake the floors with their stomps.

Explorers will get the biggest dose of this environment, for the developers added extensive side rooms and even whole buildings filled with loot, battles, and tableaus. Fort Frolic is a particularly artistic exploration, if also chilling. Moreover, players can backtrack to most of the levels in the game.

Finally, the gradual revelation of back-story ties up the experience. Tape diaries, radio logs, and enemy chatter provide this illumination in period slang and voice inflections. Several of these logs chart the fates of denizens at various caste and class levels, and they also accompany many of the tableaus, thus functioning as subplots.

However, *BioShock* strikes me as an alienating game. It teases the player through brief interactions with a cast of otherwise intriguing characters. Whenever the PC does meet up with an NPC, a barrier tends to stand in between. This alienation, in which the player can only experience other characters at arm's length, creates a psychological message that would not register in a game that simply didn't have friendly characters. But it also dampens the heroics. At one point, a villain questions why the PC is trying to save Rapture. I had to agree because the game establishes too little connection between the plight of the city and the plight of the character.

In my review for *Doom 3* I wrote, "It is awesome when it isn't repetitive." I gave it three stars. For all the RPG elements, *BioShock* is also a horror-survival FPS, yet the overall effect is a four-star performance. And far from repetitive, it immersed me in an obsessive weekend of gaming. That's as ringing an endorsement as I need to give.

Bioshock: Windows

...

dark corridors.



Sitting in my dark office, different pieces of the game suddenly turn out to be part of a single hidden puzzle, which reassembles the story. And this is only one of a series of themes, turns and adventures which kept me playing from dusk to dawn. As derivative as the game is, the execution means *BioShock* isn't your typical trapped-in-a-maze shooter.



Rapture clanks and hums with vending machines that supply health and equipment--all of which cost money to buy. And when your wallet is slim--as it will often be--players can gather components to assemble at crafting stations. Most critical, however, are the Plasmids and Gene Tonics that boost the player character's body. These systems introduce economic, mechanical, and genetic strategy, which in turn affects the player's tactics.



In most shooters, the enemies beeline for the player as if they can see through walls; but in *BioShock* you can actually sneak up on enemies, or evade them altogether. Gene tonics even provide abilities such as camouflaging or backstabbing bonuses, though I was disappointed the player couldn't teleport as some NPCs can. Cameras, bots, and turrets can also be outmaneuvered, destroyed, or even hacked to join your side, while you can seduce Big Daddies into protecting you with the right plasmid. So I like the tactical options given to the player.



For the most part though, the gameplay is old-school FPS. You can't lean, lie prone, pistol whip your enemies, or use alternate fire modes (though you can select different ammunition types). Monitors display still pictures instead of FMV, there's no GUI interaction with computers, and the skyboxes are limited to 2D mattes. The design scheme is further reminiscent of the darkness of *Doom 3*, but ups the shadowy ante by omitting a flashlight altogether.



Like D3, the game world is a hermetically-sealed community, divided into a series of theme-levels, such as The Medical Pavilion or Fort Frolic. Though similar to Mars City in principle, Rapture doesn't feel claustrophobic or monster-populated to an annoying degree like *Doom 3*.



Yet the design is even more conservative. I wondered at the absence of escalators, ladders, cables, and bridges. There are no vehicles to ride or combat; the bathyspheres act mainly as level exits. And for a submarine environment, I was surprised the game never puts the player onto the ocean floor. Indeed, we are blocked from any body of water deep enough to submerge in.



Otherwise, BioShock displays more mastery in atmosphere than just about any game I've ever played, on both subtle and garish ends. To begin with, the game never breaks from the first person view until the end cinematic. The comical vending machine recordings juxtapose with period music and propaganda announcements. Realistic water leaks into the maps in a variety of forms, from drips, to steady streams, to outright waterfalls; the fire and electrical effects are mediocre, but fog and smoke effects look great. Even the footwork is good, as splicers scrape their bludgeons on the floor, and diving suit monstrosities shake the floors with their stomps.



Explorers will get the biggest dose of this environment, for the developers added extensive side rooms and even whole buildings filled with loot, battles, and tableaus. Fort Frolic is a particularly artistic exploration, if also chilling. Moreover, players can backtrack to most of the levels in the game.



Finally, the gradual revelation of back-story ties up the experience. Tape diaries, radio logs, and enemy chatter provide this illumination in period slang and voice inflections. Several of these logs chart the fates of denizens at various caste and class levels, and they also accompany many of the tableaus, thus functioning as subplots.



However, *BioShock* strikes me as an alienating game. It teases the player through brief interactions with a cast of otherwise intriguing characters. Whenever the PC does meet up with an NPC, a barrier tends to stand in between. This alienation, in which the player can only experience other characters at arm's length, creates a psychological message that would not register in a game that simply didn't have friendly characters. But it also dampens the heroics. At one point, a villain questions why the PC is trying to save Rapture. I had to agree because the game establishes too little connection between the plight of the city and the plight of the character.



In my review for *Doom 3* I wrote, "It is awesome when it isn't repetitive." I gave it three stars. For all the RPG elements, *BioShock* is also a horror-survival FPS, yet the overall effect is a four-star performance. And far from repetitive, it immersed me in an obsessive weekend of gaming. That's as ringing an endorsement as I need to give.

Bioshock: Windows

...

on a 2006 factory Dell machine with minor RAM and video card upgrades. My single 2.2Ghz AMD processor, 1.5 GB RAM, and my GeForce 7600GT (256MB) graphics card run BioShock, on the highest settings, quite adequately with minor dips in frame rate. With my PC falling well under the $1,000 mark, don't let skeptical gamers tell you that BioShock demands a monster PC.
If you're a shooter fan who loves eerie environments, non-stop, non-linear, shooting action (with VERY limited need for backtracking), and creepy, retro Art-Deco interior design-- BioShock is for you. The replay value is better than most shooters and FINALLY voice acting is superb. If it wasn't for Call of Duty 4, I would easily give BioShock my game of the year nomination.
At BioShock's current lowered retail price you'd be "Atlas Shrugging" off a can't miss game.

Bioshock: Windows

...

on a 2006 factory Dell machine with minor RAM and video card upgrades. My single 2.2Ghz AMD processor, 1.5 GB RAM, and my GeForce 7600GT (256MB) graphics card run BioShock, on the highest settings, quite adequately with minor dips in frame rate. With my PC falling well under the $1,000 mark, don't let skeptical gamers tell you that BioShock demands a monster PC.

If you're a shooter fan who loves eerie environments, non-stop, non-linear, shooting action (with VERY limited need for backtracking), and creepy, retro Art-Deco interior design-- BioShock is for you. The replay value is better than most shooters and FINALLY voice acting is superb. If it wasn't for Call of Duty 4, I would easily give BioShock my game of the year nomination.

At BioShock's current lowered retail price you'd be "Atlas Shrugging" off a can't miss game.

Bioshock: Windows

...

on a 2006 factory Dell machine with minor RAM and video card upgrades. My single 2.2Ghz AMD processor, 1.5 GB RAM, and my GeForce 7600GT (256MB) graphics card run BioShock, on the highest settings, quite adequately with minor dips in frame rate. With my PC falling well under the $1,000 mark, don't let skeptical gamers tell you that BioShock demands a monster PC.


If you're a shooter fan who loves eerie environments, non-stop, non-linear, shooting action (with VERY limited need for backtracking), and creepy, retro Art-Deco interior design-- BioShock is for you. The replay value is better than most shooters and FINALLY voice acting is superb. If it wasn't for Call of Duty 4, I would easily give BioShock my game of the year nomination.


At BioShock's current lowered retail price you'd be "Atlas Shrugging" off a can't miss game.

Bioshock: Windows

...

seen something that would feel more unique to this particular release instead of a rehash of the older games.
Don't get me wrong, I think that Bioshock is a good game and worthe the money. It is very atmospheric. Well, it's downright scary at times and the little girls are just creepy. The back-story was also good and kept me wanting to see what else was going to happen, but I felt like I was lead along in a fairly engaging fashion wondering what was in store for my character until the very end. It felt like having someone tell me a really good ghost story around the campfire, but ending it with "...but the hero kills the villan. The end."
I think if you've never played any of the other games I listed above, then Bioshock is going to seem very cool and original. Having played the older games, though, I was really hoping for a little something more.

Bioshock: Windows

...

seen something that would feel more unique to this particular release instead of a rehash of the older games.

Don't get me wrong, I think that Bioshock is a good game and worthe the money. It is very atmospheric. Well, it's downright scary at times and the little girls are just creepy. The back-story was also good and kept me wanting to see what else was going to happen, but I felt like I was lead along in a fairly engaging fashion wondering what was in store for my character until the very end. It felt like having someone tell me a really good ghost story around the campfire, but ending it with "...but the hero kills the villan. The end."

I think if you've never played any of the other games I listed above, then Bioshock is going to seem very cool and original. Having played the older games, though, I was really hoping for a little something more.

Bioshock: Windows

...

seen something that would feel more unique to this particular release instead of a rehash of the older games.


Don't get me wrong, I think that Bioshock is a good game and worthe the money. It is very atmospheric. Well, it's downright scary at times and the little girls are just creepy. The back-story was also good and kept me wanting to see what else was going to happen, but I felt like I was lead along in a fairly engaging fashion wondering what was in store for my character until the very end. It felt like having someone tell me a really good ghost story around the campfire, but ending it with "...but the hero kills the villan. The end."


I think if you've never played any of the other games I listed above, then Bioshock is going to seem very cool and original. Having played the older games, though, I was really hoping for a little something more.

Bioshock: Windows

...

head on over to Rapture.

Bioshock: Windows

...

you'll ever meet. This should make the game very attractive to casual gamers. As for grizzled veteran FPS campaigners - you have been warned!

Now, the positives. if you have a powerful gaming rig the graphics are indeed jaw-droppingly incredible. You can spend several minutes gawking at the scenery out a window before you remember you're supposed to be playing the actual game. The sound design and voicework in this game is excellent too. I found the storyline to be one of the best aspect of the game - there are so many compelling characters, and you want to see what happens to all of them. The other aspect that kept me coming back from more was the world itself. Despite it's linear level design, you really do get the feeling that Rapture is a living, breathing world.

In conclusion, Bioshock isn't the Second Coming of the Gaming Gods. Neither is it manna from heaven. I think the gameplay is geared towards Casual gamers rather than Veteran FPS players. But it has excellent graphics and sound design, and a compelling storyline that will enthrall you right to the end. If it weren't for the SECUROM issues, I would definitely rate it as a must-buy.

Bioshock: Windows

...

you'll ever meet. This should make the game very attractive to casual gamers. As for grizzled veteran FPS campaigners - you have been warned!



Now, the positives. if you have a powerful gaming rig the graphics are indeed jaw-droppingly incredible. You can spend several minutes gawking at the scenery out a window before you remember you're supposed to be playing the actual game. The sound design and voicework in this game is excellent too. I found the storyline to be one of the best aspect of the game - there are so many compelling characters, and you want to see what happens to all of them. The other aspect that kept me coming back from more was the world itself. Despite it's linear level design, you really do get the feeling that Rapture is a living, breathing world.



In conclusion, Bioshock isn't the Second Coming of the Gaming Gods. Neither is it manna from heaven. I think the gameplay is geared towards Casual gamers rather than Veteran FPS players. But it has excellent graphics and sound design, and a compelling storyline that will enthrall you right to the end. If it weren't for the SECUROM issues, I would definitely rate it as a must-buy.

Bioshock: Windows

...

you'll ever meet. This should make the game very attractive to casual gamers. As for grizzled veteran FPS campaigners - you have been warned!





Now, the positives. if you have a powerful gaming rig the graphics are indeed jaw-droppingly incredible. You can spend several minutes gawking at the scenery out a window before you remember you're supposed to be playing the actual game. The sound design and voicework in this game is excellent too. I found the storyline to be one of the best aspect of the game - there are so many compelling characters, and you want to see what happens to all of them. The other aspect that kept me coming back from more was the world itself. Despite it's linear level design, you really do get the feeling that Rapture is a living, breathing world.





In conclusion, Bioshock isn't the Second Coming of the Gaming Gods. Neither is it manna from heaven. I think the gameplay is geared towards Casual gamers rather than Veteran FPS players. But it has excellent graphics and sound design, and a compelling storyline that will enthrall you right to the end. If it weren't for the SECUROM issues, I would definitely rate it as a must-buy.

Bioshock: Windows

...

game more real than most movies.

I do not recommend this movie to kids under 12 since the violence and language are not appropriate. And the movie does take its shots against the religious right (I didn't mind but some would).

I ran this game on a Dell XPS 1530M which has a NVIDIA 8600M graphics card (same as MacBook Pro and one of the finest notebook card in the market) which ran Windows Vista and the gameplay was very smooth. I did have one technical difficulty of the game crashing when moving to the next "scene". I recommend the players to save the game frequently.

Overall, the gameplay was so amazing, I didn't care for the technical difficulty. Disliking this game because of the technical difficulty is like disliking Casablanca because it was shot in black and white.

Bioshock: Windows

...

game more real than most movies.

I do not recommend this game to kids under 12 since the violence and language are not appropriate. And the game does take its shots against the religious right (I didn't mind but some would).

I ran this game on a Dell XPS 1530M which has a NVIDIA 8600M graphics card (same as MacBook Pro and one of the finest notebook card in the market) which ran Windows Vista and the gameplay was very smooth. I did have one technical difficulty of the game crashing when moving to the next "scene". I recommend the players to save the game frequently.

Overall, the gameplay was so amazing, I didn't care for the technical difficulty. Disliking this game because of the technical difficulty is like disliking Casablanca because it was shot in black and white.

Bioshock: Windows

...

game more real than most movies.



I do not recommend this game to kids under 12 since the violence and language are not appropriate. And the game does take its shots against the religious right (I didn't mind but some would).



I ran this game on a Dell XPS 1530M which has a NVIDIA 8600M graphics card (same as MacBook Pro and one of the finest notebook card in the market) which ran Windows Vista and the gameplay was very smooth. I did have one technical difficulty of the game crashing when moving to the next "scene". I recommend the players to save the game frequently.



Overall, the gameplay was so amazing, I didn't care for the technical difficulty. Disliking this game because of the technical difficulty is like disliking Casablanca because it was shot in black and white.

Bioshock: Windows

...

game more real than most movies.





I do not recommend this game to kids under 12 since the violence and language are not appropriate. And the game does take its shots against the religious right (I didn't mind but some would).





I ran this game on a Dell XPS 1530M which has a NVIDIA 8600M graphics card (same as MacBook Pro and one of the finest notebook card in the market) which ran Windows Vista and the gameplay was very smooth. I did have one technical difficulty of the game crashing when moving to the next "scene". I recommend the players to save the game frequently.





Overall, the gameplay was so amazing, I didn't care for the technical difficulty. Disliking this game because of the technical difficulty is like disliking Casablanca because it was shot in black and white.