Bioshock is going to have the coolest Singleplayer experience of this generation!! [Archive]

v.dog

03-13-2007, 06:43 AM

ME on PC, just saying it makes me drool. *wipes keyboard* We can only hope. :D

On the PC, Bx dosen't have that much to fear. Stalker is probably it's closest competition, but so far feeling are mixed. Plus it's release is much sooner, people may clock it before Bx's release. HL2: episode 2 will come out in Sping (Autum to you Northern Hemisphere types), or so they say. Depending on the timing it may steal some of Bx's thunder; though it's released later, Valve's PR machine will probably be in full swing in the months leading up to its release.

On The Xbox 360, Halo 3 will crush all in it's wake. It's not whether it's a better game than Bx inasmuch as it is that MS's marketing machine in even bigger than Valve's. 2k's best bet is to avoid a release at that time.

Assassin's Creed is a dark horse. It'll be interesting to see where it places.

Necros

03-13-2007, 10:54 AM

What do you guys think? Can mass effect compete? MGS4? How about Metroid Prime 3? Any takers, can any of these competitors become superior?
I think ME will be a lot different than BioShock, so I wouldn't compare them. I just hope ME get's released on the PC soon...

But only concentrating on how good the SP will be in them, I don't know. But Bioware didn't let us down till now, so I'm sure they will make a great game too. Maybe not as great as BioShock but we'll see. :D I'm not a MGS fan and don't know the first thing about MP3,so I can't say anything about them.

There are some more great games too. Assassin's Creed can be a very good game, Brothers in Arms 3 will be awsome too (I think it's the best WW2 FPS series, and I just loved the first two games), the new Area51 game with Harvey Smith as the project's leader is looking to be great as well.

But I think Jericho can be a huge surprise. I've just read the preview on CVG and I'll say that this can be the best horror game, ever. Clive Barker is a god among writers and the devs seem to be able to make this game good, so I just can't wait to play with it. :D

(I'd love to buy the latest -?- UK PC Zone mag but I'm in Hungary and I don1t know how I could do that. They have a lot of coverage about the game and interviews and there's also a book from Barker in the package. :cool: I've sent them e-mails but they didn't answer yet... Can anyone give me some help (further information about buying the mag or a pdf file :D)? In PM of course.)

^ilovebioshock!

03-13-2007, 11:22 AM

I would give almost anything for Mass Effect to come to the PC.

I think it is coming out on PC

Raveness

03-13-2007, 02:15 PM

witch

03-13-2007, 06:00 PM

Gears of War is eventually coming to Pc, believe it was confirmed a while ago. So ME coming isn't all that out of the question. I'm glad I got a 360 though just in case ME gets released over the summer, then the wait for Bioshock won;t be so long, :D

Halo 3 will undoubtedly crush everything (I love the series but it would be great to see Bioshock attain that level, :D) but I'd also put money on Super Mario Galaxy since it seems almost everyone and their mother has a Wii. For single player though I think ME might beat everything out, but it's gonna be close with Bioshock (Since Bioshock has such a unique setting too). But I really want to continue the Half-life saga with episode 2, I love Alyx, :D

Silent Film

03-13-2007, 11:23 PM

I never quite understood the hype surrounding Halo. I mean I never thought it was any better than say, Chrome. But I guess I'm in the minority.

One game I'm highly anticipating playing is Armed Assault (aka Operation Flashpoint 1.5). I know, it's out already, but I don't have time to play it at the moment and it's a game I want to sit down and savour, not play in drips and drabs.

Pinky_Powers

03-14-2007, 03:26 AM

According to October 2006 PC Gamer UK, the Xbox 360 exclusive sci-fi RPG from BioWare and Microsoft Game Studios will be hitting the Windows platform in 2007. It may take the token 4-6 months that Bioware usually takes to port over to the PC (not including Jade Empire)

What a fine thought to lie next to and feel up on these cold and lonely nights.

Just a great thing to hear! I can't wait. The game looks stellar.

Necros

03-14-2007, 04:59 AM

I never quite understood the hype surrounding Halo. I mean I never thought it was any better than say, Chrome. But I guess I'm in the minority.
I also think that's true. :) I feel (almost) the same way about HL2 too. :D

After reading the Jericho preview thoroughly, I think it can be the strongest opponent for BioShock. And if it will be as good as it seems to be, it can grab my GOTY award from BioShock. :cool: :)

pn18

03-14-2007, 05:14 AM

I also think that's true. :) I feel (almost) the same way about HL2 too. :D

same thing here. first level is fun, but then it becomes sooo boring. the textures are somewhat bad, the AI sucks,...

but as a multiplayer shooter it's decent (at least for a consolegame)

LowEnergyCycle

03-15-2007, 07:19 AM

I never quite understood the hype surrounding Halo. I mean I never thought it was any better than say, Chrome. But I guess I'm in the minority.

Yup, I agree too. This minority is fast becoming a majority.

I've never understood the hype over Halo either. Maybe after playing PC FPS' for years and years, it just didn't seem so revolutionary to me. I kinda found it... Boring?:eek:

Still. It got a bunch of kids exited enough to give Microsoft a load more money... and with that money they made the Xbox360.... and we all know what game is coming out for that at the end of August...... soooo....... *shrugs indifferently*

Swings and Round-a-bouts...

Hatesink

03-15-2007, 08:57 AM

I never quite understood the hype surrounding Halo. I mean I never thought it was any better than say, Chrome. But I guess I'm in the minority.
I've never understood the hype over Halo either. Maybe after playing PC FPS' for years and years, it just didn't seem so revolutionary to me. I kinda found it... Boring?:eek:Halo was a relatively okay console based FPS with co-operative play and good graphics. It seems to me that that (and all the marketing hype) was the basic reason it was so successful.

I didn't think it was that great. I only ever played the demo and I'd played better FPSs on PC. Having said that I never played Halo co-operatively— maybe I would have appreciated it more if I had.

...I feel (almost) the same way about HL2 too. :DHL2 was basically a run'n'gun corridor that felt like a tech demo for the game engine. Apologies to the HL2 fans out there, but it was totally scripted and using cover was like running from bubble to bubble on Dark Aether. One criticism of HL2 was that its AI wasn't as good as that of the original (a game released in 1998).

After reading the Jericho preview thoroughly, I think it can be the strongest opponent for BioShock. And if it will be as good as it seems to be, it can grab my GOTY award from BioShock. :cool: :)Is there a single body who ultimately decides who's given 'the GOTY'? I know they give a game of the year award at the GDC, but I don't think that's the same thing (although I could be wrong). If it's decided by the people it could be anyone's guess. Otherwise I'd imagine it'll go to either BioShock or Mass Effect, with Assassin's Creed a close third (assuming Alan Wake is postponed to 2008). If it's everything it's billed as being I can't see how it won't go to BioShock. Although Fable 2 could be a dark horse.

LowEnergyCycle

03-15-2007, 10:17 AM

Is there a single body who ultimately decides who's given 'the GOTY'? I know they give a game of the year award at the GDC, but I don't think that's the same thing (although I could be wrong). If it's decided by the people it could be anyone's guess.

I figured that every games publication / website had their own GOTY Award, hence why there are always, like, 50 Games of the Year. I don't personally know of an official GOTY award.

I'd also like to know a definate answer to this question.

On a different tangent: do you think in years to come there will be an official awards ceremony like the Oscars or the BAFTAs?

I only ask because it would have to be called The Goaties (you read that here first!):p

Hatesink

03-15-2007, 10:23 AM

There are BAFTAS for computer games. Startopia won a BAFTA.

http://www.bafta.org/site/page20.html (I wonder if BioShock has been submitted)

I'd like to see "The GOTY", like an oscar, but for the best game (and the industry would award it). :)

jackinthebox

03-15-2007, 10:33 AM

I also think that's true. :) I feel (almost) the same way about HL2 too. :D

hmm i think halo has a quite funny multiplayer with its little aircrafts and fast hovercrafts... but the singleplayer is just crap. sorry i said that, but i really only enjoyed the first level (because of the buggy)...
hl2... i liked the whole game and i still like it. maybe it's just because i'm a hl-fan, but i like the gameplay... it never get's boring. (kk the end sucks^^)

LowEnergyCycle

03-15-2007, 12:07 PM

There are BAFTAS for computer games. Startopia won a BAFTA.

Yeah, I know. I caught some "highlights" one morning last year whilst flicking through some bad Sunday TV programming.

It was all a bit... Crap. Okay, there, I said it.

Crap.

I mean, it's nice to see games in the same league as films in regards to these respected awards ceremonies - it shows the medium is one step closer to attaining a credible and mature status in mainstream culture...

...So did they really need all those dumbass tag-along D-list TV celebrities (and their bad, bad jokes) to get involved? They totally ruined it for me (I'd give examples, but it was months ago now...:)).

I didn't exactly agree with many of the awards much either.

v.dog

03-15-2007, 05:12 PM

I got over Halo the day Microsoft took control of Bungie and made the game an Xbox exclusive. Now it's their flagship title and used to promote Vista and the Xbox 360- to me it seems more like an exercise in marketing than it does in gameplay.

HL2 was linear, yes, but it had a good story and lot of variety (Ravenholm for example). HL2: Episode to is going to be a lot less linear, and comes bundled with Portal. (if there's one game I want more than Bx, it's Portal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_(computer_game))). :D

witch

03-15-2007, 07:32 PM

For me, Halo was my first real FPS, besides Goldeneye on the N64. I loved the story as well as the characters although the sequel let me down a bit in that department. Also, Halo was a great multiplayer game that me and some buddies used to get together and have Halo nights, I think it was the same for a lot of people.

Afterwards I really got into FPS and even started playing older ones that I had missed (i.e System shock). Does Halo deserve all the hype? Does any game really? It's just fun, and has some great controls. Story-wise for an FPS I think the Half-life series has pulled me in the most because I think it has the best pacing I've ever seen, plus characters like Alyx, Dog, are really neat with some depth.

"Breakdown" for the Xbox still remains my favorite game though, because that was an FPS experience I've never had and has never been recreated, plus the story was amazing. I mean, they really took the 'First-person' aspect of immersion to a whole new level.

"Jericho" looks great, I loved Undying, :D

Necros

03-15-2007, 09:06 PM

It always surprises me when I see the words "good story" mentioned in connection with the HL games. :) Depth in characters? Perhaps depth of field in EP2... :D

Anyway, this generation (in graphics, I presume; there's no reason -yet- to call the games next-gen, only graphic wise, I don't see big improvements in the gameplay...) has just started. And we still don't know much about Warren Spector's games for example, or about the game Doug Church and Spielberg are working on. And there will be some pretty good games with strong SP in this year too. I agree, BioShock has a very big chance to be the best but we'll see.
Looking at the new screens of Jericho makes me say BioShock is not so sick/wicked after all. :D Or maybe in a different way it is. Oh, I want to play with these games, NOW! And they will be released close to each other if everything goes fine. A great year for gaming indeed. :cool:

Club Heaven

03-16-2007, 04:41 AM

I think Bioshock and Stalker will be the moodiest games to come out in a looong time. Bioshock's setting and idea are very promising, at least for me, one who's always been fascinated by the idea of utopias. All I hope now is that the story will be mature and won't go overboard like some of the more violent actions and abilities in the game. I've been dying for a storyline that can make me take it seriously.

As for Stalker, I've played the multiplayer beta and I gotta tell you that I've never seen more impressive places in any game, mood and feeling-wise. I'm not saying I find dead cities cool, but the loneliness and fear 10 minutes of walking around in that world can put in you, is something I've never seen before. Except maybe in Project Eden, an older game I strongly recommend to anyone interested in Bioshock. I'm quite sure the devs heard about it and at least some of them love it.

Hatesink

03-16-2007, 12:30 PM

I liked Project Eden a lot. It was like they'd made Judge Dredd but somehow lost the license.

The meat factory was pure Otto Sump, the player-characters were like Judges with the skins re-edited and the whole environment concept was like mega city one.

I'd love to have been able to play it on a network, to experience the co-op play— that would have been really cool.

Also— it had the fastest load times I've ever seen. Impossibly fast, like the blink of an eye.

witch

03-16-2007, 03:07 PM

"It always surprises me when I see the words "good story" mentioned in connection with the HL games. Depth in characters? Perhaps depth of field in EP2... "

Well, its everything about the game that tells a story, the architecture, etc. HL2's whole world is what appeals to me and their characters have shown more emotion then I've ever seen in a FPS (Besides Breakdown, lol). The whole apocalyptic world-ending story seems completely believable here, and they give me enough to let my mind wander, with details that they've provided.

Bioshock looks to have some great characterization as well, but coming from the enemies. Just like the midwifes in SS I am really starting to feel for those big daddies, and that's the first step towards a great story.

Silent Film

03-16-2007, 03:55 PM

Well, its everything about the game that tells a story, the architecture, etc. HL2's whole world is what appeals to me and their characters have shown more emotion then I've ever seen in a FPS (Besides Breakdown, lol). The whole apocalyptic world-ending story seems completely believable here, and they give me enough to let my mind wander, with details that they've provided.

Exactly. What makes it special is the way the story is told, or should I say 'experienced'. You're not spoon-fed the plot but rather it is something you uncover. Breeze through the game and you'll miss out on a lot, but pay attention to the details and you'll reveal much more, or more likely raise new questions. It's one of those games that keeps you speculating for a long time afterwards, and that's something I like.

I felt more connected with the characters in HL2. All too often in games the characters you interact with seem to be little more than cardboard cut-outs. Alyx and co have unique personalities and are definitely some of the more believable characters I've seen in any FPS.

Necros

03-16-2007, 06:04 PM

I can't agree about the characters in HL2. I've just finished Star Trek: Elite Force 2, and some of the characters in that game feel more real than Dog for example. :) But I agree, the way the story is told is nice, I like it too (though I miss a few things). But the story itself is kinda thin IMHO.

Hatesink

03-16-2007, 06:24 PM

Illusion Softwork's Mafia is really good in terms of storyline and characterisation. The dialog starts off a little choppy but it just gets better and better as the game goes on. If I remember correctly two of the Mafia voice over artists are in The Sopranos.

I posted quite extensively to one of the Mafia forums and there were quite a few guys there that posted saying they'd cried at certain points towards the end of the game. A few people also posted poetry inspired by the game.

If you haven't played it I highly recommend the PC version. It really helps if you have a wheel also. Force feedback is really cool, but you don't absolutely need it. But the difference between playing it with a wheel and playing it without a wheel is pretty huge (it's got a very faithful driving model and lots of funky old cars from the nineteen twenties and thirties (model t fords etc.)). It's probably my favorite game, and I'm absolutely gutted that they haven't made a sequel.

There's a part where you chase a plane along a runway that's worth playing through a few times as there are two alternate dialogs, that should just definitely be heard.

It's just a really great game— great design, great missions, great atmosphere. The only bad point is the very first mission is pretty tough and a little frustrating, which is a real shame, but once you get past it it's just fantastic (but definitely get the PC version as it's much much better than the xbox port).

Silent Film

03-16-2007, 06:37 PM

Seconded. You have an exquisite taste in games good Sir!

Raveness

03-17-2007, 01:51 PM

I can't agree about the characters in HL2. I've just finished Star Trek: Elite Force 2, and some of the characters in that game feel more real than Dog for example. :)

*chokes on coffee* which characters exactly? The scantily clad female, the one-dimensional villains, or the characters already established from the TV series and the previous game? :rolleyes:

Silent Film

03-17-2007, 02:03 PM

Well, I don't think I've ever wanted to strangle a computer game character more than Ensign Chell.

Necros

03-17-2007, 02:20 PM

*chokes on coffee* which characters exactly? The scantily clad female, the one-dimensional villains, or the characters already established from the TV series and the previous game? :rolleyes:
Okay, and what's so great about HL2's charcters? :)

D'Sparil

03-17-2007, 02:47 PM

I liked the fact that Alex isn't the typical fairie tale princess type character or a Laura Croft model. She seems more like a tom-boy rebel, and I thought it worked nicely. Dog is an O.K. charcter for what it is, its just a robot made thing and fills its role nicely, I don't think its fair to make comparisions to human characters. Though I've always thought Star Trek is lame besides the Next Generation, so I have no idea what the characters are like in that game.

Hatesink

03-17-2007, 03:23 PM

I thought the dialog and characterisations were one of the best parts of HL2. I thought the world and the human NPCs that populated HL2 were basically the best part of it (better than the gameplay, and certainly better than the head-crabs and ceiling things).

Silent Film

03-17-2007, 03:27 PM

They all play their part convincingly. Alyx your young combative and resolute companion, Eli the concerned father, Barney your old friend and fellow Black Mesa veteran. What they say, how they say it and now because of the technology, their body language all contribute - it's something Valve concentrated a lot on. The performance is subtle and believable, it only takes a few moments for you to gain a sense their personality.

I think it ranks alongside games like Mafia, Psychonauts, Anachronox, Beyond Good & Evil and Deus Ex as far as characterisation goes.

[edit] Can't spell Psychonauts properly.

Adabiviak

03-17-2007, 04:14 PM

Dr. Breen, for example, stands out in my mind as one of the better villains to grace video games.

Hatesink

03-17-2007, 04:35 PM

Dr. Breen and that whole 1984 type environment was really excellent.

Raveness

03-17-2007, 04:50 PM

Gotta give props to Robert Culp and his voicework as Dr. Breen

Every diatribe and reaction was believable. I believed in his sardonic benevolence. I believed in his surprise at Freeman's appearance in City 17. I believed in his restrained resoluteness at finding Freeman quickly. I believed in his eventual exasperation at Gordon one-upping him at every turn. Under all that I could feel the hint of a man who knows he is a puppet that is betraying his people, but a man, nonetheless, that is a coward deep within his soul.

Necros

03-17-2007, 05:02 PM

I think it ranks alongside games like Mafia, Psychonauts, Anachronox, Beyond Good & Evil and Deus Ex as far as characterisation goes.
I don't think it goes near those games but I accept you guys' opinions. :)

But Breen is a good villain. http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/images/icons/icon14.gif Just like Ryan in BioShock. :cool:

Hatesink

03-17-2007, 05:16 PM

I think they're all well characterised, if maybe just a little bland.

I like the guy that takes you into the security station right at the beginning, and I like Dr. Breen.

Silent Film

03-18-2007, 07:33 PM

Dr. Breen bears an uncanny resemblance to a guy I pass each morning on the way to work. Which kinda freaks me out. :D

I think it's his normality that makes him such a compelling villain. Breen that is. ;)

witch

03-18-2007, 07:54 PM

The movements and actions that they've done with D.O.G is amazing. No voice, but you know he cares deep for Alyx and Co. just by his physical expressions. One of the greatest characters in gaming.

The Big Daddy is reminiscent, with very exaggerated movements and no speaking voice, and you know from all that what he's thinking.

v.dog

03-18-2007, 08:18 PM

That is what made R2-D2 the best character in Star Wars, IMO.

Eurhetemec

03-23-2007, 08:22 PM

I think Mass Effect and BioShock are same level of AWSOME!:D

I tend to agree with this man. These are two of the my most anticipated games ever, I'd suggest, and I've been gaming since the '80s. The later '90s and the early 2000s seemed to lack much in the way of truly exciting titles, but this year? Well, maybe it'll be different! Oblivion was literally the best RPG I'd played since Fallout 2, which was nearly a decade ago (jesus!), and by a significant margin the best "Action RPG in a Fantasy Setting" (beating Ultima Underworld 2, something I thought would never be done), so here's to hoping BioShock will be the best "Action RPG in a Sci-Fi Setting", and manage to beat the System Shocks. It'd be quite an achievement.

(I'd hope Mass Effect is a "Fallout-beater", myself, of a rather different nature to Bioshock.)

Edit - As for good characters, well, with Halflife 2 I was never able to get into the game, because of the huge cognitive dissonance (for me) between the reviews saying it was great and fun and so on, and it actually seeming to be one of the dullest FPSes I'd ever played (I'd just come from the much-overlooked Far Cry), gameplay-wise (admittedly I'd seen all the physics jive before in other games). Thus I can't really comment fairly on the characterization, as they were encompassed by my general loathing of the game.

Halo definately had terrible, one-dimensional characters and a dull-ish plot (like a particularly predictable sci-fi novel), both the System Shock games were light-years ahead, so I'm sure we can expect much better than that, at least. SHODAN was one of the best villains ever, for me.

I just hope we see a villain as genuinely threatening as SHODAN. Most villains these days seem to be effete fops (Japanese games) or total non-entities who are about as genuinely menacing as a BB gun (Western games). FEAR managed to have a villian I was actually quite scared of, at least.

witch

03-23-2007, 09:31 PM

Was that alma or fettel that your referring too? FEAR was great but I was really let down by the variety lack of levels and enemies. Plus, after i saw the original e3 video of the office and then played said level in game, i was pretty disappointed. God, the middle of that game almost killed it for me.

PrivateJoker

06-08-2007, 04:44 PM

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzppppppppptt

*RESURRECTION OF THREAD*

So who here thinks that Bioshock will be the best game of the decade?

0d1um

06-08-2007, 07:39 PM

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzppppppppptt

*RESURRECTION OF THREAD*

So who here thinks that Bioshock will be the best game of the decade?

right now? can't really say for sure, it certainly has the *potential* to be so, from what've read and seen (trailers, gameplay footage... etc').

i wonder if the ADAM sings as the MANY did...

ohhhhh how i loved it when they sang (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/43748795/)to me!

Lythius

06-08-2007, 08:00 PM

Woo! On a purely mechanical and graphical level, Bioshock will be the paragon of all Singleplayer video game experiences in the science fiction horror genre!

What do you guys think? Can mass effect compete? MGS4? How about Metroid Prime 3? Any takers, can any of these competitors become superior?

well i dont think we can compare MGS4 with Bioshock in anyway, besides story, but keep in mind the MGS series has had possibly the best story ever created in video games(yea i like it Better then FF7) so storywise, i think it would be hard for Bioshock to top MGS, in gameplay we will see, but man, if it where for past experiences MGS would get my vote, but Bioshock looks so damn good, We jus have to wait til august

Alex Pliskin

06-08-2007, 08:32 PM

Whenever my friend and I talk about Bioshock, Mass Effect always seems to get brought in. Bioshock definitely has my reserve money right now...I can't wait.

WakeUpInFlames

06-08-2007, 09:59 PM

I think that Mass Effect and Bioshock are going to the the 2 greatest games in years as far as single player and immersion goes.

witch

06-08-2007, 11:59 PM

well i dont think we can compare MGS4 with Bioshock in anyway, besides story, but keep in mind the MGS series has had possibly the best story ever created in video games(yea i like it Better then FF7) so storywise, i think it would be hard for Bioshock to top MGS, in gameplay we will see, but man, if it where for past experiences MGS would get my vote, but Bioshock looks so damn good, We jus have to wait til august

I just can't agree that the MGS series has the best storyline. Metal Gear Solid was pretty decent for the PS but every other one has just gone down hill into an extreme realm of storytelling silliness.

Also, the series has stopped being a game in my eye and has just become a really long movie instead (if you want a stealth game--->Splinter Cell).

Just my opinion though and I respect what Kojima has done but man Bioshock, as well as Mass Effect, are going to blow MGS4 out of the water.

PrivateJoker

06-09-2007, 12:39 AM

I just can't agree that the MGS series has the best storyline. Metal Gear Solid was pretty decent for the PS but every other one has just gone down hill into an extreme realm of storytelling silliness.

Also, the series has stopped being a game in my eye and has just become a really long movie instead (if you want a stealth game--->Splinter Cell).

Just my opinion though and I respect what Kojima has done but man Bioshock, as well as Mass Effect, are going to blow MGS4 out of the water.

MGS always had 'its a cool action movie' type of plot, with good voice acting but the plot was nothing to be excited about. The inventive ness of the system shock games had a much more classic science fiction quality to them, with alot of deep philiosphical and horror themes, strange but compelling blend. Probably the deepst FPS/hybrid etc games ever made.

I would like to see a SystemShock/Bio shock game with time traveling, now that would be...beyond amazing.