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Awesome game - HIGH SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 29
Date: August 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The game is fabulous - I have played it on the XBox 360 because my PC can't play it.

IMPORTANT: make sure your PC system can run it. I have a pretty powerful, albeit older, video card, a Radeon X800XT, and I can't run the game.

I payed $320 for my video card around 2 years ago and I can play many other high end games decently. That doesn't matter, this game will not play on my system.

This game requires a feature on your video card called Shader Model 3.0.

If your video card only supports SM2.0, you will not be able to run this game.

**There are no drivers that can add support for SM 3.0. SM 3.0 has to be built into the design of the card. (added in response to driver updates solving this problem)

Buyer Beware

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 14 / 19
Date: September 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

WARNING! This game may cause hardware malfunction!

The game comes with copy protection malware called "SecuROM" developed by Sony. After installation, my Sony DVD-CD R/W drive (DRU-810A) started making a "clack" sound like you hear when a HDD starts going south. The drive would no longer read any CD or DVD and the CPU took a lot of cycles for some reason. I uninstalled the game, and bought a new LG DVD. Even though the BIOS found the drive, Windows wouldn't recognize it. After searching the internet on how to uninstall SecuROM, I was able to get my new drive working.

Google "wombat2 securom" for instructions how to uninstall. Beware, make sure you read the article and completely understand the syntax of the commands before doing anything. I made a mistake in not removing some extremely hidden files (still hidden after "show all files" and "attrib -a" commands) with the "del /F /AH *" command on the \Application Data\Securom (hidden) folder, and I could no longer boot in normal mode and had to fix it through safe mode (the AT service doesn't work in safe mode, but apparently, that bit about scheduling the delete command wasn't needed).

The best thing would be to stay far away from this game on the PC. Don't even download the demo (because apparently, the demo is copy protected too for some reason and installs SecuROM as well!!).

I played the game on the Xbox 360 prior to buying it for the PC, and found it kind of interesting, but since it was a FPS, I needed a keyboard & mouse, so I bought it for the PC. I will be sending the game and my dead DVD drive to Sony.

RIP Irrational...err, 2K boston

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 14 / 19
Date: December 23, 2007
Author: Amazon User

What a shame. This game started out with so much potential. I'm a huge fan of System Shock 2, so when this game was billed as it's spiritual successor by the people who created it, I was definitely interested. Let me get this out of the way first, because it seems to be the first defense fans of the game jump to... no, I did NOT have too high expectations. In fact, I did my best to stay away from information on the game so I could experience it as "fresh" as possible. What did I conclude? It was a waste of $50 and my time.

The gameplay is uninteresting and repetitive, the characters are outlandish and completely overdone, the environments do nothing to sell the idea that being in an underwater city is effectively any different than being anywhere else, and there's no internal consistency within the gameworld, which makes for a lot of loose ends that never really add up (why again are there vending machines handing out ammo and illicit items in a supposedly utopian society EVERYWHERE? Why don't the enemies actually USE the supernatural abilities the game has claimed they gained? etc.)

...and say what you will about the "deep" story and "amazing" narrative style, but I thought BioShock's story seemed completely tacked on, told in very unnatural comic-style exposition ("haha, these fools will never know my REAL identity!!!")and the "philosophy" was completely cookbook and completely failed to captivate me in any way. Any claims of "moral ambiguity" or morality must have ignored the fact that there is NOTHING AMBIGUOUS about the game. The one actual choice in the game is presented as "Rescue" or "Harvest". Gee, I can't seem to figure out if the option to "rescue" someone would inherently be good or not.

Not to mention that the interface is very flawed and cumbersome, the shooting feels rigid and unresponsive, there are sound issues, install issues, and the game lacks certain basic movement functions that are pretty bog standard with any shooter these days. I also thought the graphics looked cartoony and terrible, but that's just me.

Essentially, I was hoping for a great game made by the same people that made one of my favorites, I was expecting a more mainstream product that probably made some compromises for marketing purposes, and I got a game completely dumbed down to cater to the lowest common denominator. It may be your thing, if you enjoy dispatching the same enemies over and over again (maybe using different methods only to spice things up) while occasionally hearing something truly profound like "a man is what he chooses"...

For anyone expecting a more thoughtful and immersive experience, I strongly suggest something else. This is without a doubt one of the worst games I've played, and certainly the worst that I've completed.

Great game if you have the computer for it.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 22 / 36
Date: August 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game has some very high system requirements, and most people with a computer older than 18 months old will not be able to run it. You're going to need 2 Gb of RAM and a fairly high-end video card made in at least the last two years with a min of 256Mb of RAM, preferably 512. It plays on 256Mb of video ram, but I noticed a big increase in performance by switching up to 512. Do not try to play on the minimum requirements because you will only be frustrated

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

CPU - Pentium 4 2.4GHz Single Core processor
System RAM - 1GB
Video Card - Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 128MB RAM (NVIDIA 6600 or better/ATI X1300 or better, excluding ATI X1550).
Sound Card - 100% direct X 9.0c compatible sound card
Hard disc space - 8GB free space

RECOMMENDED REQUIREMENTS

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo processor
System RAM - 2GB
Video card - DX9 - Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM (NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT or better) / DX10 - NVIDIA GeForce 8600 or better
Sound Card - Sound Blaster X-Fi series (Optimized for use with Creative Labs EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0 or EAX ADVANCED HD 5.0 compatible sound cards)

2K games and their draconian DRM

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: November 03, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I purchased a used version of this game. I did play it and thought the game was ok. However, what I did not like is the Digital Rights Management (DRM) that they used for the game. After what has happened, I will not buy anymore 2K games. Information was kept hidden from (or simply not divulged to) consumers that would have effected my decision to purchase the game. You will need an Internet account to activate the game and be able to play it. You are allowed only 5 activations before you can no longer install the game anymore. If you do not uninstall the game, you will use up another activation. "You are not warned about this anywhere". If the game files become corrupt or you need to reformat your hard drive and you do not or cannot uninstall the game, you lose an activation. The Digital Rights Management (DRM) in this game is real draconian and bad enough that I will not by any more 2K Games. I think if they are going to implement this kind of DRM, it should say so on the box and fully explain your limitations. It does not. That information is kept from you. I feel like I got burned. No more 2K games for me.

Good game, but too many quality issues in windows version

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 16 / 24
Date: August 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I bought the windows version of the game. In terms of production quality, its a total failure. There seems to have been little (if any) testing and no quality control on the PC version at all. Meeting the system specs does not ensure that the game will (a) start without crashing and (b) be playable without crashing. The publisher didn't do even basic checks for system compatability within the software. Now if I mess around with it long enougn, I could probably have got it to work. But why bother? The easy solution was to ditch the PC version and go to the 360 version.

The game itself is really good. Its a game with a great story and its highly playable/replayable. The graphics and attention to design detail in the game are probably beyond anything else out there at the moment.

The only places where it falls short is that it was over-advertised in some respects. For example, "moral" choices in the game don't mean as much as I was led to believe by the ads and some previews/reviews.

In short, its a great game. A game of the year contender for sure. But forget the PC version.

Great Game, Horrible Bugs - Would not recommend buying until 2K Provides patch and takes accountability

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 13 / 18
Date: August 31, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have tried to get this game up and running multiple times. When I have, it is phenomenal. However, the bugs, quitting to the desktop, crashes are UNFORGIVABLE for something costing me 50 bucks and hailed as the second coming.

I had seen Ken Levine speak where he wondered how he could get this game to the masses. For one thing, roll out a decent product. I do not know who is running quality assurance at 2K, but this has been perhaps one of the worst software experiences I have had.

Now, the gameplay is great, but anyone who has a life outside of games buys games to escape. They do not want to spend hours with tech support, hours of personal time trying to get the game running or time trolling forums to figure out fixes. If 2K had perhaps stepped off the 1st year MBA marketing wagon for a second and deployed even 1/10th of the marketing budget to quality assurance, perhaps this would have been a success. Unfortunately, I can not even get my money back for this time wasting product.

Crash and Burn (update)

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 13 / 18
Date: September 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I'll start with an update. Nvidia recently released new drivers which included updates to deal with some of Bioshock's bugs. I had high hopes since the beta version did help somewhat - the game was a little more playable but always had a blue screen of death when you exited the game. I loaded the new drivers, ran fine for a while and then crashed when loading the next level. I have a machine that is well within the requirements of this game but is not exotic in any way (e.g. no overclocking). Some people say they have had no problems with this game but this seems to be the exception by far. If it works 100% then lucky you.

For comparison here is a basic description of my box. Pentium 2.6Gz HT 1GB memory, Nvidia 7800GS (bitchin' card), and a Creative Extreme Gamer sound card. Bioshock is the only game I have ever had issues with.

I just got Half-Life 2 Episode 2 this week and it really underscores the lameness of this game. Bioshock is pretty (when it works) but is not in the same league as Valve's stuff. When you see that Bioshock costs as much as the Orange box you realize what a burn this game is.

Bottom line, if you still are interested in this game, wait until January, you'll find it in the bargain bin next to Leisure Suit Larry.

Hope this helps

--- Old comments follow ---

Overall this is not a bad shooter - it's kind of linear, but there is enough glitz and variation to make it interesting.

Now the bad news - the quality is the pits. I would not even consider buying this game until it gets fixed (wish I had known this before I forked over the bucks) It will not run for very long without crashing. If you Google this game you will see it is not just me, everyone is having trouble with this thing. I have a machine with enough snot to run the game (it plays smoothly between crashes) and I'm not overclocking or running obscure hardware. I updated drivers, etc with no luck (there is even an Nvidia beta driver that is supposed to help with this game).

In a nutshell, pretty good game with unacceptable quality problems - this is my first 2K game, it may be my last.

Just not all it's cracked up to be

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 13 / 18
Date: September 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I hate to write a review prematurely. Normally I'd try to fully experience a product before panning it. But the fact is, I'm only a few hours in, and Bioshock isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Sure, it has amazing graphics. There's hours of voice acting. There's a great deal of effort put into art direction and final polish. I appreciate the level of craft invested in Bioshock.

Unfortunately though, as a shooter, it's not even second-rate. Shooters had a bit of a renaissance lately, and unfortunately the Unreal engine hasn't been a part of it. Geared towards visuals, it has simply been left behind in gameplay terms.

Modern shooters should have 3 positions (stand, kneel, prone) and lean left/right. A game like Unreal Tournament, with its kinetic pace and constant movement, can afford to overlook these subtleties, but when you translate that to a pace and art direction like Bioshock, they start to seem like glaring omissions. You should be able to attack your enemies from behind cover, and they should be able to do the same - the original Halo did this brilliantly. Bioshock opts instead for cramped hallways devoid of cover, and enemies which make blind suicide charges at you no matter what.

Those enemies, by the way, are generally zombies. Zombies which can withstand multiple, back-to-back headshots without breaking stride - their stride, remember, is always, ALWAYS a suicide charge. Everything in this game absorbs bullets like a target dummy. Add to that the fact that there isn't much ammo - it's generally found one bullet at a time, if you bother to loot every single searchable object in the game, so I hope you like RPG's. There really isn't much shooting, which is appropriate since Bioshock isn't much of a shooter.

Keeping track of ammo is one pillar of shooters. The other - keeping track of health - has largely been abandoned by other games. Bioshock reminds us why: it's extremely tedious. Running around looking for health power-ups isn't good gameplay anymore, yet Bioshock as tons of them, in multiple forms, including the king of immersion-killers: first-aid kits which are for use mid-combat.

That's not all though, since you'll also have to find "Eve" (aka mana). And Adam. Oh, and money! I thought you said you liked RPG's.

As long as we're talking about combat, though, let's see how Bioshock handles that most important, potentially frustrating element of FPS games: death. You are resurrected in a pod somewhere in the level, with half health and half Eve, but everything else about the combat you left is persistent. Enemies are still in combat, and any of the limited ammo you blew when they bushwacked you is gone. Since there's really no penalty to dying, there's really no point in shooting, either. Why waste your ammo or First Aid kits when you can simply pummel the remaining enemies through multiple rezzes? I often found myself committing suicide and rezzing, since it was just easier than trying hard.

The plasmid bit is interesting. Generally they're geared around "creative" solutions. Or I say, it WAS interesting, in the three or four YouTube videos I saw pre-release, because you don't get much more than that. All of Bioshock's unique tricks with plasmids seem to have been exposed in the first few levels. It's all very innovative stuff, for Metroid in 1988 - melt the ice with fire, freeze this, shock that, etc. Telekinesis would have been a fun surprise if they hadn't blown it so early.

The idea that the various plasmid powers would lead to multiple solutions to a problem, hence high replay value, was much advertised. It doesn't really pan out. "Multiple solutions" really just means that a room will have an oil slick for you to set on fire, some water to shock an enemy in, and/or a robot to 'hack' (don't get me started on how tedious hacking is). It may be more involved later in the game, but for the most part, you're really just pummeling and blasting things until they die. If that means that occasionally you get to toss a burning propane cannister around, or catch and release a grenade, I suppose that's enough for them, but generally speaking, combat in Bioshock is about as linear as the level design is.

Which is to say, highly linear. Sure, shooters have to be, particularly when the designers have special tricks and cutscenes in store for you. But for the most part, you'll be spending your time in tunnels, which are occasionally connected to rooms, which are again connected to more tunnels. And when you are forced to backtrack, the tunnels are inexplicably repopulated by enemies.

Bioshock has a lot of cinematic entertainment value, but I just don't like playing it. It gets everything wrong that a modern shooter should get right. There are plenty of things I'm not even getting into (unfortunate interface choices, the fact that it crashes AND defaults its preference file several times per hour, the infamous Sony Rootkit....), but this should be plenty.

Maybe they oversold it. Maybe I expected too much. I don't know. Play Bioshock for the glitz and gloss, but don't expect a great game out of it.

Raises the bar for FPS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 32
Date: August 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Bioshock, the spiritual successor to the System Shock series, manages the neat trick of actually exceeding the hype that had built up for the game prior to release. In short, this is one fantastic game, from start to finish. I bought it the Tuesday it was released and beat it in the late afternoon of the next day, and I'm already considering how I'll play differently the next time I run through in the near future.

This is a rare game that satisfies in all areas of game design. The graphics are incredible (just make sure you have the PC to handle them). The sound design was brilliantly executed, helping, along with the detailed art, to craft the kind of all encompassing, unique world you can rarely find outside of thousand page novels. Rapture, the underwater city where Bioshock takes place, is a fully realized world, complete with it's own laws and rules and fauna.

The story, too, is well done and drives the game forward relentlessly. Told mainly through radio communications and (in a move harking back to System Shock 2) many pre-recorded audio logs you can pick up along the way, the narrative is detailed enough to keep your interest without bogging the action down. That is possibly the story's greatest strength: it is as involving as you want it to be. Don't care about the story? No problem. Just shoot stuff. But it's there if you are interested, and better integrated into the game than, say, F.E.A.R.'s similar use of audio logs.

I could go on and on. But suffice to say, this is a truly great game. It took me about 15 hours on the first play through to beat it, and I am an experience FPS gamer. There are a huge number of drop dead gorgeous environments, and several moments that will make you go "wow." It's also suitably creepy, though never quite to the levels System Shock 2 managed.

As others have said, make sure you have the computer to really play this game like it's meant to be played; if in doubt, download the demo before buying. On my relatively new computer, with a Core Duo overclocked to 3ghz, 4gb ram, and a GeForce 8800GTX running on Windows XP SP2, the game ran butter smooth (consistently above 30 frames/sec, usually much higher) with everything turned up at a resolution of 1920x1200. I experienced only two or three minor slowdowns early in the game after hacking bots to follow me around, and even that disappeared entirely later in the game.

In short, if you are a game fan at all, and especially if you like first person shooters, rpgs, or games with engaging stories and amazing atmosphere, buy this game now. If you are a fan of the System Shock and Deux Ex series, then, well, you should already have it.

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