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Could've been better

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: December 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

They didn't really dazzle me with the whole dystopian environment and "philosophical" story reminiscent of something from Ayn Rand. It was well-produced, but it felt too diluted and monotonous, especially towards the end when I just wanted to finish the game rather than discover the ending.

The gameplay makes the same mistake. The idea of plasmids/weapon upgrades is a good concept, but the way it was implemented in the game was too simplistic and linear. There was no sense of accomplishment or progression - I simply expected there to be another upgrade waiting for me, so I was going to get a bonus regardless of how I played.

Combat was simply poorly designed, and obviously not the objective of this "FPS." It takes way too many hits to take out enemies, even with point blank shots with shotgun bucks, it still takes several rounds to down some enemies (and not just big-daddies). The weapons seem too weak.

The minigame of hacking became really obnoxious for me, especially when some puzzles were literally impossible to hack successfully. Fortunately, you can quick save before hacking so if you fail you can reload.

The "moral dilemma" regarding the little sisters is pretty lame. I was very apathetic about their welfare, and harvested/rescued them capriciously. Call me heartless, but the game didn't explain why I should give a damn about them. Yes, it affects the ending (2 outcomes, both of which are unsatisfying) but the fact that it's reduced to such an elementary binary of A or B really removes any moral complexity from the decision.

Despite all this criticism, Bioshock is still an enjoyable game. The developers were obviously trying for something new: an FPS oriented more like a visual novel, with some action along the way, but they fell short. There are great moments in the game, but there just isn't enough substance in the story to keep it going and it ends with an unsatisfying taste in the mouth.

The securom/DRM problems don't concern me as I don't plan to play the game again in the near-future.

A+ Transcends video game experience.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: January 20, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game allows you to be the central player in a VERY good movie, except it is an interactive video game with better character development than most movies.

I have played many games which were entertainining, but never a game which hit the heart like this one. I was genuinely engrossed with the plot and the characters of the game. Near the end, I really came to care for the "Little Sister" and the Rapture (underworld city which Bioshock is based on). I know it is silly to care for a video game character and location, but this movie succeeds where the others have failed.

The meticulous attention to detail in this game was amazing. It appears they have hired many experts (writers, actors, psychologists, movie effects professionals, artists, and programmers) to create a world and characters which we can genuinely care about. For example, the "Little Sister" murmurs her words just like a 5-6 yr old girl saying things like "Jams and Hamm Yummy!~". It was the little touches which made this 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.

BioHype

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: November 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I read all the reviews and couldn't wait to play it. I thought I'd love this game, but I didn't. The graphics are phenomenal, but the game play itself is mediocre at best. Please download the demo before you purchase the game. I know a lot of folks praised this shooter, but to me it was nothing but a lot of eye candy.

Compelling and addictive fun for the Casual Gamer

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: February 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

In acknowledgment of the SECUROM issues I had installing this game on my PC, I've removed one star from my review rating. I sincerely hope the publishers can find a less invasive method to protect their customers from the perils of software piracy. Now, onwards to the review of the actual game.

Firstly, let's get the negatives out of the way. Those expecting open-ended gameplay (like Stalker: Shadow of Cherynobyl), will be severely disappointed. Bioshock is a very linear game that follows the tried-and-true scenario of "obstacle blocks the players path, so they have to take the long way around". Unlike System Shock 2 or Deus Ex, hacking doesn't really require any true skill. Just shuffle the tiles fast enough and you'll succeed easily. Resurrection chambers means you won't be penalised for dying. Oh, and hardcore FPS veterans will find combat shockingly easy. I went through the game the first time on Normal Difficulty and it was a cakewalk. And I'm probably the least-talented FPS gamer 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.

not all it's cracked up to be

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 9 / 16
Date: August 30, 2007
Author: Amazon User

first of all, this game was hard to run in the first place - i have an intel dual core e4300 and an nvidia 8600 gts overclocked. even at low graphics, it would only play at 40 FPS! so it doesn't run very smooth. the graphics are beautiful, though.

people say this game is "immersive." i didn't find that to be true. half-life 2 was far more immersive. also bioshock isn't as innovative as people are saying. for example you can buy a telekinesis plasmid so you can pick up objects and throw them at enemies. sound familiar? that's right, it's exactly like the gravity gun in HL2, except less fun. i was hoping the game would be more innovative.

as a shooter, it's "decent." it's not as fun as a ww2 game like medal of honor or call of duty. people say the strength of the game is the story.. well there are a lot of nice touches in the story, but i find myself thinking "FPS's don't need a great story and this game proves it." again i think HL2 had a more fun and immersive story to it. and after playing the new MOH airborne demo, i have no doubt it is a more fun FPS.

there are also the smaller annoying problems - every single humanoid you kill, you have to loot their corpse. that's unnecessary and time-consuming. you also end up "hacking" machines with a little mini-game. the mini-game actually isn't too bad, but when i pay for this new awesome innovative game, do you think i want to play a mini-game of soda filling up pipes?! i don't think so..

a little hint: if you have AVG antivirus, you'll need to disable the resident shield to run the autopatch function, or to run the game itself. you can re-enable it after you're done playing.

Sent it back for a refund

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 11
Date: September 23, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Received this game and tried to install it, everything seemed OK during the install, but right after the install was completed, the game connected immediately to the game's web site for some type of a patch file download. It downloaded the patch file from it's own web site, then told me that the patch file was not digitally signed and the complete installation was aborted and deleted immediately by the install function.
No matter how many times I tried to reinstall this game, the exact same thing happened. I finally said screw it and I sent it back for a full refund.

Over-hyped, overrated, lousy tech support. Don't buy it!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 11
Date: November 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The game is so unplayable that it really isn't worth your time. The game play is so fractured by crashes that you can never get into it. I don't have the most powerful system and graphics card. However, I do have way more than the minimum system requirements that 2K demanded. Even people with totally loaded game boxes are frustrated.

To ad insult to the whole miserable experience, 2K support is virtually nonexistent. They have stonewalled every request for a patch status. I can't remember running into many companies that treat the customers so shabbily. Save your money until you hear that a 100% working patch has been released to address the multitude of show-stopper problems that exist now.

BIG disappointment

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 12 / 25
Date: August 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

There is no greater fan of SS2 than me. So after waiting 9 years for this "spiritual successor" from the boys at Irrational, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. The biggest disappointment in a game to date, at least for me. I have a brand new Alienware system, and yet still I have major probs with controlling the mouse sensitivity. If I put it on setting 1 it's too slow and "sticky". On setting 2 its too fast, so that I can't touch the damn mouse without spinning round 180degrees. What is the point in developing a great game if you get this most fundamental thing wrong? I expect smooth gameplay, to be able to fine control the mouse sensitivity. Not so here. Secondly the game is too damn dark, like D3. I can't see a bloody thing. Those Splicers jump out at you and you can barely even see them. Even after you've killed them you can't get a good look at them. How could a game studio make this mistake again after all the flak Id studios took for this in D3. And finally the voices in the game. Every time Atlas opens his mouth some splicer starts jabbering away and I can't hear a thing he's saying. And what on earth are the splicers saying? At least make them intelligible. It's like a medley of disparate voices superimposed over one another making it impossible to understand anything. Can't be bothered playing it anymore.

Entertaining and Challenging

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 14
Date: August 23, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is by far one of my favorite games. The graphics are outstanding and the game play is thought provoking. The environment allows a player to use objects creatively to eliminate threats. The plasmids are very fun to use and provides hours of laughter. Having recently rebuilt my computer, I have found that a 2gig, 1.86 Intel Duo, NVIDIA 7600gt, allows for full settings at a decent screen size. I have had no issues with frame freezes or experienced lags in frame rate.

The AI is pretty good and provides more of an overall challenge. The characters seem to be part of the world and do not simple appear from no where like other games. (Doom) The game does not feel forced as far as open ended vs. linear. There are plenty of areas to explorer that are not necessarily required to complete the game.

I would definitely recommend this game to anyone. (Mature audiences)

One of the best first person shooter games ever made

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: November 17, 2007
Author: Amazon User

What makes this game so good is that the "atmosphere" of the game, created with old time music and all kinds of sound and sound effects, totally immerses you in the time period of the game. Not to mention that it is a great first person shooter game in general. I'm running it on a 3 year old Dell computer with 1 GB of RAM and an Nvidia 6800 graphics card with the Graphic Detail turned on "medium" and it runs and looks just fine.

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