By Alec Meer on May 14th, 2009 at 1:55 pm.
When a bunch of us scruffy journos wrote our Bioshock 2 previews a few weeks back, this is the bulk of what we based it upon: a nine-minute scripted walkthrough, accompanied by an enlightening commentary from Creative Director Jordan Thomas. Included: Big Sister action, the Little Sister adoption mechanic, and horribly messing up splicers’ faces with your drill-arm. Make your own judgements and crazy theories about who or what’s really pulling Rapture’s strings below. And for the love of Roy Orbison don’t drag this thread into yet more tedious mouthing off about how Bioshock 1 disappointed you. Look not to the past but to the future, friends!
Click that widescreen button over on the right for a better picture. I’ll stuff a higher-res video in there later, if I find one. Things to possibly peer closely at are the odd way Big Sis stands and moves, how much freedom of movement is allowed in the underwater section, and your character’s ability to deal with multiple enemies.
Alternatively, here’s just a couple of minutes of voiceover-free action:
14/05/2009 at 14:07 Idle Threats & Bad Poetry says:
It’s getting increasingly hard for me to resist buying it when it’s released. The Little Sister is really sympathetic and well voice acted, and big sister telekinesis is awesome. I bet it’s going to be a great game, but I don’t want it for financial and time reasons, not to mention doubtful replayability even with the promised multiplayer. But I feel the narrative eroding my will sucking me in like a goldfish spiraling down a toilet bowl. MUST… RESIST…
And as for not mouthing off about BioShock 1: Alec, anything you want, you got it.
14/05/2009 at 14:09 Stupoider says:
Hmm. Did anyone else feel that the aiming in Bioshock felt a little console-y? Even on the PC?
I hope it’s not like that in the sequel. :(
EDIT: I’m also not that convinced with going out onto the ocean floor. It looks really linear, like there’s not much exploring to be had. :o
14/05/2009 at 14:15 Clockwork Harlequin says:
Some people were complaining on the last [Bioshock 2] article, about the fact that protecting the little sister was central. Apparently “escort” missions are unfun. But I think it looks great: protecting that little ghoul looks to give fights some meaning (and make them a lot more hectic). I often find myself retreating to heal and reload/pick off enemies one at a time, so being tied to NPCs survival (so long as they aren’t suicidal) gives things flavour!
I salivate in anticipation!
14/05/2009 at 14:19 Lewis says:
So it’s looking inhumanly awesome. When a sequel was first hinted at, I facepalmed a little. BioShock seemed like such an insular game that expanding on it would be totally foolish. But actually, Thomas seems to really understand what did and didn’t work about BioShock, and has excellent ideas about how to integrate the design changes into the plot and the game lore. So while I would have preferred no sequel, I pretty much trust him.
14/05/2009 at 14:22 TheFatDungeonMaster says:
I liked Bioshock and I think I’ll enjoy Bioshock 2.
14/05/2009 at 14:30 whaleloever says:
Still no bloody whales!
I’m guessing that the twist at the end is that you’re still the original character from BioShock, only you’ve been sent back by some evil manipulator-type character. It does look like they’ve put enough new stuff in it to make it fun though.
14/05/2009 at 14:41 hahaha says:
well, as we have seen, we can still harvest the sisters (if you have no conscience or) if you don’t like these type of missions.
14/05/2009 at 14:42 Jeremy says:
I typically loathe ‘escort’ or protect missions, particularly because the NPCs in those situations tend to be suicidal. But if she’s just crouching there and I’m free to wreak havoc around her without fear of her dying, I’m cool with that.
I remain cautiously optimistic.
14/05/2009 at 14:45 Neut says:
Ooh maybe the twist is you’re Andrew Ryan revived and encased in a Big Daddy suit like some Bioshock version of a dreadnought. :O
EDIT: Also I’m sure I read somewhere that the little sisters can’t actually be killed while she’s harvesting and any splicers that reach her only delay her from harvesting, prolonging the battle for you.
14/05/2009 at 14:50 Lewis says:
With regards to the “Protect the Sisters” addition, I think it’s likely to be a far more satisfying dilemma than those of the original game. Where those faked morality-itching, they were essentially flawed practical dilemmas – flawed in that you were rewarded either way, even disregarding being rewarded more highly for taking the ethical route – these are shamelessly practical situations. Do you go for the quick fix, or are you in it for the long-run – and are you prepared for the increased difficulty if you’re after the lengthy payout?
14/05/2009 at 14:53 Dreamhacker says:
Is that Vin Diesel on the left!?
14/05/2009 at 15:01 LionsPhil says:
@Jeremy: That’s probably because they haven’t written the “run at pretty grenades” AI yet. ;)
They’d help avoid “consolised” criticisms if they’d record their trailers with mouse-and-keyboard. Gamepad controls are too smooth.
14/05/2009 at 15:14 Psychopomp says:
@Dreamhacker
The Chronicles of Mr.Bubbles:Escape from Bathysphere Bay
14/05/2009 at 15:15 Jeremy says:
I don’t think the twist is that you’re the original character because you’re the first ever Big Daddy, a prototype of sorts. Maybe they can work it in somehow though, you never know! This game is really looking amazing, I liked the big battle at the end, it brought some fun chaos. Also, there is an actual use for trap type plasmids which is great, I pretty much only used 6 or so plasmids the whole of Bioshock 1, and some of those I was forced to use. I’m pragmatic… don’t judge me. My favorite was causing the Big Daddy’s to get enraged at each other, though, I felt bad for some reason. They were created that way… so sad…
14/05/2009 at 15:17 Jeremy says:
@Jeremy… Imposter?!
14/05/2009 at 15:25 whaleloever says:
How does it work though? It’s set after the original game, and yet you’re the prototype Big Daddy. If it’s anything like the first there’s going to have to be some “you’re not who you think you are” style twists. I think you’re going to turn out to be Garrett from Thief.
14/05/2009 at 15:28 Kieron Gillen says:
Prototype big daddy was put in suspended animation and mothballed because it was too good. Which is just me speculating, I stress, but it’ll be the sensible way to do it.
I think that footage looks splendid.
KG
14/05/2009 at 15:36 Seniath says:
Positivity about BioShock? On these forums? With our reputation? Has no one thought of the consequences?!
14/05/2009 at 15:38 Lewis says:
@whaleloever I’d be pretty fucking upset if BioShock 2′s twist was in any way similar to the first one.
14/05/2009 at 15:44 Ecko says:
I am mortified about the inclusion of multiplayer in this, but goddamn, did that trailer look good.
I happily admit I absolutely adored Bioshock 1 (apart from the end bit), and that kind of pedigree seems to be continuing! Woot.
EDIT: Wow, a 30minute period in which to edit, cool!
14/05/2009 at 15:44 Cooper says:
It look fantastic, but one gripe. It never felt like I was looking through the eyes of a big daddy, even a nimble prototype.
The way the arms ‘hung’ there, in lifeless suspension felt awkward. Same with the original, but this felt even worse here where a giant screwdriver made from pounds of metal seemed like little more than a cardboard cutout stuck to the bottom of the screen…
Might have been fine a few years ago, but we’re getting more and more used to – basically- being able to look down at our feet in FPS games. Movement seemed too ‘floaty’, for want of a better word, and at no point did the screw barge feel weighty enough.
Small gripe, but I think they missed a trick in conveying a sense of momentum and physicality for this not-insignificant presence of a man in a heavy diving suit…
14/05/2009 at 15:46 Pzykozis says:
I hope that its actually enjoybale to play through multiple times, the original I could hardly bear to play through a second time purely because its so plot driven with twists and turns that aren’t so fun the second time…
Especially given the big twist near the end… ugh, excuses for linear play are still excuses, here’s to hoping they might put a little more exploration in for bioshock 2.
14/05/2009 at 15:47 Robyrt says:
This game looks, um, exactly like Bioshock 1, except you have a dash attack. Sounds good to me. I have faith in Jordan Thomas, who is perhaps the best survival horror level designer out there.
14/05/2009 at 15:48 Clockwork Harlequin says:
Seniath: We exhausted our hate reserves on Dragon Age. From here on it’s happy, happy flowers and sunshine. . .
14/05/2009 at 15:48 Bobsy says:
I’d prefer the twist to be that Shodan was behind it all along.
14/05/2009 at 15:49 Über Nerd says:
The looks remind Thief more then the first, cold soft glows, hard contrasts, “I barely see where I’m going” kind of dark…
…not that I bother with console sh*t anymore…
14/05/2009 at 15:54 Psychopomp says:
Console=/=bad, for fucks sake.
14/05/2009 at 15:59 phil says:
Glorious footage, swating splicers looks to be considerably more fun than in the first game, if only due to the power of your blows.
One thing; “Bioshock had a unity between the fiction and the mechanics of play that hadn’t been seen before” – Or words to that effect from the voice over.
This is marketing guff of the highest order, almost every game with an uber powered memory less protagonist is about how they came to obtain their power, how they are tied to the fate of the game world and what they will do with their father/mother/mentor/initial objective setter once they have turned bigbad. And Futurama had a better explanation for the constant reincarnation of the player character. Would he kindly stop making undue claims to uniqueness.
14/05/2009 at 16:06 LionsPhil says:
I’m confused. I thought the premise of the Big Sister was that she wanted Rapture to stay, as PCG put it, “Big Daddies & Little Sisters 4eva”. So you take the “adopt” option and go through the harvesting routine she was brainwashed to consider The Right Thing to happen in the world.
Why does she then attack you? If you were the liberator/murderer of the first game, it would make sense. In this, one of your options is to do exactly what Big Daddies are supposed to do.
(Also, plz to turn up gamma when recording trailer, kthx. Black screen not show much of prettygameness.)
14/05/2009 at 16:18 Dracko says:
Psychopomp: It really doesn’t.
Shit, a console game series practically devoted itself to “unity of the fiction with the systems of play beneath it”, without ever compromising its game design. Can you guess which one it is?
From the get-go, Jordan Thomas promises more of the same, really, because it sold. I do not see this being much better than the original.
Moral decisions need to fuck off and die. They have never worked in games, nor should they be there in the first place. Moral decisions are for real life. That thing where you can’t reload a save or hit the reset button or rewind or close the book. That thing where actions have genuine consequences.
I can’t believe Jordan Thomas of all people would forget that ocean floor isn’t static either.
Because if there’s one thing seaweed is known for, it’s rigidity.
14/05/2009 at 16:38 PC Monster says:
Moral decisions in games are difficult, not just getting them right but in the way that everyone seems to become enormously judgmental of you afterwards.
Yeah, so I’ve ripped a few creepy little girls apart for their Adam stores, but hey – I’m an innocent suddenly trapped in this nightmarish world…….hmm, no, I can’t really justify those awful little deaths. I really did become a monster, didn’t I? *sobs*
14/05/2009 at 16:55 Janto says:
Yeah, that rigid seaweed was a bit rough looking. If you’re going to do a transition between organic vs mechanical areas, the organic stuff should really feel alive.
14/05/2009 at 16:56 Meat Circus says:
This looks splendid.
But then so did Bioshock. And it was splendid, with a cacky ending.
14/05/2009 at 17:04 jon_hill987 says:
I think that Alec missed a trick by not putting:
“Would you kindly not drag this thread into yet more tedious mouthing off about how Bioshock 1 disappointed you”
14/05/2009 at 17:12 Big Daddy says:
So why do you need to protect the Little Sister if the Adam sea slug inside her makes her ‘invulnerable’ (thats what Tenenbaum said in BS1)?
14/05/2009 at 17:14 Sunjammer says:
Man it does look pretty good. But that’s 99% because of the underwater bits. The only part of Bioshock, a game set nearly entirely on the bottom of the sea, where you are actually fully immersed in water, is when you’re at the surface. During a scripted cutscene. I’d walk around looking out the windows wanting to go out and explore!
Frankly, game designers should be ashamed at how little of the ocean we have seen in video games. Archimedean dynasty aside, i don’t think any game other than Bioshock really exploited the setting, and that’s also including Subwar 2050. It’s a stone cold shame.
As for the “it looks consoley with those smooth controls and all”, for video purposes, i actually prefer that to the staccato, stiff, and frankly unrealistic mouse camera controls that are so common.
I played The Punisher on the PC recently and i was delighted to find an aiming CURSOR that was moving independently of your head, much like System Shock did. Shooting on the PC can be far more than having a locked point on the center of the screen that’s either infinitely accurate or accurate offset by a random god damn number or accurate as long as you follow rules.
After a long hiatus from PC gaming (i only recently had the cash to spare for a gaming-suitable PC), returning to the PC FPS has shown me two things;
1. The accuracy of your firearm is NOT the reason mouselook is superior. Having sharp and intuitive control of where you are actually looking is.
2. The mouse is being underused. I actually prefer shooting on the Wii, where they seem to understand that aiming a gun is a cool feeling, not playing Turrethead Man or whatever character all PC FPSes seem to star.
So sorry for the sacrilege; i’ll keep being a PC gamer for the strategy, the rpgs, the anarchy and the fact that a mouse and keyboard allows for a greater brevity of experiences than a joypad, which inspires a lot of inspired design. The first person shooting though really needs a shaking up. Give me some more Dark corners of the earth. It was terribly awkward but it felt like the gun was an object, not a part of my face.
14/05/2009 at 17:14 MrMud says:
I still think the big sister is a horrible concept
14/05/2009 at 17:24 Dracko says:
[Either keep your angry mouth shut in Bioshock threads or go rage elsewhere, Dracko]
14/05/2009 at 17:27 Rei Onryou says:
Yay. That is all.
14/05/2009 at 17:30 Stupoider says:
Big Daddy: We have a winner folks..?
14/05/2009 at 17:53 Psychopomp says:
Seeing what happened to Dracko’s post made me very happy.
14/05/2009 at 18:29 Meat Circus says:
@Big Daddy:
Did you miss the bit where you can harvest them for Adam? That doesn’t seem very invulnerable to me.
You may not be able to shoot them, but you can clearly still harm them.
14/05/2009 at 18:30 Bhazor says:
Oh what did Dracko say!
I love his bizarre “Bioshock was the worst thing to ever happen to mankind” vitriol.
Also seaweed may not be rock solid but it is hella tangly and sometimes vaguely poisonous. It would almost certainly jam up a drill. Either way I’d rather suspend my disbelief than watch my computer catch fire trying to render the fabric physics involved.
Still not sure about this. To me Fort Frolic always stood out in the original but not entirely in too good a way. All the other areas felt justified, they felt like they made sense, they felt cohesive and grounded even in such a bizarre setting. But Fort Frolic was a strip club which was inside a theater which was inside a shopping mall that was all covered in plaster of Paris. I just feel Jordan Thomas may be good at levels but that doesn’t automatically equate to being good at universes.
14/05/2009 at 18:38 Lewis says:
No matter how I look at it, I cannot understand the notion that either consoles or linearity are inherently bad. It’s total, nonsense prejudice, and the relevant people should stop it.
14/05/2009 at 18:50 Big Daddy says:
You could only harvest the Little Sisters once Tenenbaum threw you a special unnamed plasmid (or tonic?) canister, which seemed like the devs kinda shoehorned it at the time as there wasn’t really any proper explanation as to what it actually was (no name or anything, like ‘Harvester’s delight’).
Also, this plasmid was never mentioned again in the first game, so you can’t really be expected to believe that it was widely available and all the splicers also have the ability to harvest the Little Sisters.
14/05/2009 at 18:56 Bhazor says:
Reply to Big Daddy
Well remember your genetics were custom tweaked and it’s possible it was a tonic that only you could use. Now maybe the standard splicers have spliced themselves to a state they can use it. What makes less sense is why she didn’t use mind control to get the Daddies to just fetch the damn girls to her.
14/05/2009 at 19:03 Bhazor says:
Reply to Big Daddy
No silly, Atlas tells you to harvest the munchkin before Tenebaum tosses you the plasmid and tells you it’s an alternative. Which means any splicer can bleed the girls dry but your tonic allows you to not kill the chick in draining them.
Sorry about the double post but the chance to edit the last comment had ended.
14/05/2009 at 19:07 Charlie says:
Look at Red Orchestra and Insurgency for cool mouse aiming. I wish other games would try it.
14/05/2009 at 19:25 JonFitt says:
As I see it the problem with consoles is two-fold:
1) As a gaming device it’s the controller. It’s unsuitable for fps games and rts games. Both of the most popular genres on PC. I wouldn’t flay a plane with a mouse, and I wouldn’t play TF2 with a controller, nor hammer a nail with a spanner. Sure it would work, but it would be a terrible experience.
2) And most relevant to RPS, it’s the console owners (that’s MS and Nintendo not you). They restrict who can release games and what the content can be, and they charge astronomical fees to get a game licensed through normal channels.
Which means you couldn’t have games about a:
headfuck of ambient gloom or
submissive lesbianism.
There’s not a lot of love around here for consoles.
As for the game footage: Looks spiffy. I’ll have to wait til later to get it with sound.
14/05/2009 at 19:27 Big Daddy says:
@Bhazor Ah yes I see now, thank you. The only question that is left unanswered is what the fudge do you actually do to them when you harvest them and why would the invinci-slug allow you to?
14/05/2009 at 19:37 Funky Badger says:
Is that the bloke out of Dead Space in the first picture?
14/05/2009 at 20:34 Funky Badger says:
Also:
“set many years after Bioshock 1″
and
“you are the first Big Daddy”
?
Also, also: wot no Giant Haystacks references?
14/05/2009 at 20:58 Bhazor says:
Anyone willing to bet this character is Jack from the first name with amnesia?
14/05/2009 at 21:15 Jason Moyer says:
You could only harvest the Little Sisters once Tenenbaum threw you a special unnamed plasmid (or tonic?) canister
You could only save the little sisters once given that plasmid. I doubt you needed Tenenbaum’s assistance to rip their guts out, tbh.
14/05/2009 at 21:18 Reality says:
Hi! “Press this button to see Ending A” and “Don’t press this button to see Ending B” does not qualify as a moral choices.
14/05/2009 at 21:34 SirKicksalot says:
Hey, can someone explain why there’s always people which think that the first Big Daddy doesn’t make sense because the game is set many years after BS?
No matter how hard I try I can’t figure out their twisted logic.
14/05/2009 at 21:45 Roadrunner says:
That bottom video is broken :<
14/05/2009 at 22:35 JonFitt says:
“Press this button to see Ending A” and “Don’t press this button to see Ending B” does not qualify as a moral choices.
@Reality I see you’ve never played Minuteman Tycoon.
14/05/2009 at 22:48 waffles says:
@SirKicksalot, im guessing the assumption is, given the average lifespan of big daddies i met, the odds are he would have died by then.
Personally, im guessing the little sister is actually the character from the first game, and the big daddy you play as is actually phone.
Best twist ever.
14/05/2009 at 23:40 Jeremy says:
Yeah, I didn’t quite get the “1st big daddy” thing, either. Didn’t the story say there were lots of problems creating them in the 1st game? Not like they had their own will, but that they kept dying (going insane and committing suicide, I believe). So it’s not likely you’re actually the 1st.
@ Jeremy: I’m the Jeremy with a link in his name and no photo :) Some time ago, I couldn’t remember if I used this name or my usual handle to comment on RPS, so I’ve just been doing it this way.
14/05/2009 at 23:47 paneon says:
Eh, I’m placing my bets on at least “Tenenbaum is your mother”, however, I do have a certain sentimental fondness for “Tenenbaum is actually Big Sister”.
You know, somehow… these LGS-descended games aren’t quite as much fun… well… knowing that there’s going to be a twist somewhere. I spent my first playthrough of Bioshock literally grinding along, thinking… “Is it that moment yet?”
(Mind you, the twist in the cult level of SWAT 4 was nicely surprising – even if I did lose interest in finishing the game shortly afterwards.)
14/05/2009 at 23:47 Angel Dust says:
The underwater stuff looks great, although I am a little worried about murmurings that these sections will be entirely hazard free. While some kind of underwater splicer would be pretty daffy surely they could think of something so it’s not always a safe zone?
I really do not like the escort side of things and not for the usually reason that ‘escort missions suck by definition blah blah etc’. What I don’t like is that they become this triggered sequence. I was hoping it was going to be more of an open world type thing where what happened each time you went to harvest Adam was not pre-scripted and was instead based on actual splicer behaviour. So if there are none in the area, nothing will happen but if there are some they might come and attack upon hearing the little sister harvesting. This with a STALKER like system of spawning groups of enemies, somewhat randomly, at entry points of the level would be great and then you would never know what direction the enemy, or indeed what enemies, would come from, if they did at all. Add some dynamics to what you can do with the little sister in attack situations – eg you can pick her up (but there is a danger that certain weapons like explosives will damage her if they hit you etc), move her somewhere ‘safe’ while you take care of the splicers – and I think you’d have some great escort gaming action.
I was pretty meh on Bioshock (6/10) but I think this could be better, especially if they
A) Don’t cock up the plot.
B) Give the weapons some more ‘ompf’. That was my biggest issue with Bioshock. I was perfectly happy to play a more action orientated FPS/RPG but the action just didn’t have the punch that a great FPS did which meant I found it to be a little lacking. It looks like they’ve got the drill down so I’m hopeful!
The dual weapons and different options for plasmid combinations (cyclone + fire looks pretty cool) might help the action side of things too.
15/05/2009 at 00:00 Valentin Galea says:
This is better than sex!
15/05/2009 at 00:00 Skye Nathaniel says:
BIOSHOCK HAD A UNITY OF THE FICTION WITH THE SYSTEMS OF PLAY BENEATH IT THAT HADN’T REALLY BEEN SEEN BEFORE AND IT ALSO OFFERED HARD CHOICES TO THE FIRST PERSON SHOOTER PLAYER
I am going to hunt Jordan Thomas down and explode into a million exasperated pieces directly in front of his face.
15/05/2009 at 01:01 An Innocuous Coin says:
A meaningless moral choice of ridiculous black and white proportions was hard? Please.
…I could never kill the adorable mutated little scamps. ;_; Kinda sucks that its still an “x for good, y for bad” choice, but at least now there’s an actual difference between the two. Kinda headshake-inducing that they’re acting like its a huge leap in improvement, but then what else are you going to say if you’re trying to sell it?
e: Oh, though I do like how invulnerable one seems against the Splicers. And instead of a pistol, you get a giant gun that shoots ratchets! I approve.
15/05/2009 at 01:04 Chemix says:
It seems you were put to sleep, and given you appear to be quite full of adam at the beginning, so that when the big sister needle jabs you, you simply don’t die, so maybe all the adam in your system kept you alive.
Also, the presence of the big daddy has something to do with the vulnerability of the little sisters.
15/05/2009 at 01:22 apnea says:
Mmm, I’d say something about Bioshock, but I admit the atmosphere in this thread is a bit creepy.
Feels like swarms of body snatchers are just waiting in the aisles, ready to hiss ‘ANGRYYYY’ at unsuspecting Donald Sutherland-lookalike PC game enthusiasts. (Game idea for indie platformer: the tumble ride of comment threads etiquette and peer pressure on RPS, with hammer-wielding End Boss Alec Meer.))
15/05/2009 at 01:35 Muzman says:
Who run Splicertown?
SisterBubbles runs Splicertown.
I’d be interested to hear more about the story. Original games can be more easily about larger things, which was one of the best things about the first one. But sequels are more often than not the fiction talking about itself, since they aren’t usually planned for thoroughly from the outset.
So I’m skeptical they’ll be able to make it as interesting in that regard. But it’s also a hard thing to sell “Uh, our writing and themes will be… uh, good. Really.”
15/05/2009 at 02:06 Z says:
You know, I missed Jilloff the first time it appeared. I mean, I saw it, but I didn’t play it.
God. Damn. You.
39m44s. The 50 jump spider room actually broke me. After so many tries, I finally get on top of the block to get out and my arrowkey finger twitches. Death, again. It took me nine tries just to get back into the room after that, but I was filled with… emptiness. Truly, JillOff is the Planescape: Torment of our time.
Back to your regularly scheduled “Bioshock!” “No, you mean Biosh!+” “You smell” “Your mom eats Adam”.
15/05/2009 at 03:20 Adventurous Putty says:
To reiterate what I say in every Shock 2 thread: would’ve been cool left alone, cautiously optimistic at the team’s work ethic, concerned about the integrity of the story in the face of sequelitis.
15/05/2009 at 03:48 Skye Nathaniel says:
For whatever it’s worth, I have read RPS for a very long time, and Dracko and I usually hate each other publicly on a forum we both frequent. However, I strongly agree with his dramatic vitriol in this case, even when he quotes me without credit (asshole).
For one thing, RPS is in general an overenthusiastic and undercritical collective voice, which is not something that game journalism needs in the slightest. For another, it looks like you guys censored his post above, which is extremely uncool.
Bioshock is embarrassing, and this sequel looks to be moreso. It’s nauseating to bear witness to the extended hype and praise for this series and its developers when single player FPS experiences like Half-Life 2 and Call of Duty 4 are rarely spoken of any longer with regard to criticizing newer releases.
It’s not simply an issue of PRESS A TO HARVEST / PRESS B TO ADOPT bullshit masquerading as moral choice and meaningful gameplay. It’s not even about the ridiculous non-interactive first-person cutscenes that wrench control from the player so that we can watch ourselves unbelievably jam a gigantic needle into our arm and fall off a balcony. Even beneath these absurdly obvious problems, the game is just loose and clunky as hell to play. This is a game where the player sees a rigid arm tossing a wrench about and patting it into his other hand in the same pattern over and over regardless of camera movement or whatever else the player is doing. This kind of amateur work hasn’t been acceptable for ten years, I’d say.
The only thing for which I respect Bioshock is the level of detail within its environments, but that alone is of very little worth. I’m tired of people hiding behind the strength of majority rather than engaging in actual conversation about this game.
15/05/2009 at 04:59 Muzman says:
I wonder what your adopted little sister does when you find another one? If you adopt the second one does she get jealous and try to push her out of the nest, so to speak? (a hilarious on going hypodermic bitch fight on your very back!)
Alternately, what happens if you meet a new playfriend and, for want of dorsal real estate, elect to EVISCERATE HER BEFORE THE OTHER ONE’S VERY EYES! gargling and groaning like a delighted whale as you wring out that last drop of sweet sweet adam?
15/05/2009 at 05:02 El Stevo says:
Conversation?
A: “I don’t like this game.”
B: “I do.”
A: “You’re wrong.”
B: “Go away.”
BioShock was released nearly two years ago. This post is about BioShock 2, which (the great many) people who enjoyed BioShock might be looking forward to and might like to speculate about.
15/05/2009 at 05:27 Jeremy says:
Why do we assume Tenenbaum is actually Tenenbaum? Is there a point in any of the interviews and schtuff that said she was in it for sure? I’m just wondering, since they’ve done it before. Maybe she’s been dead for 10 years.
As for the whole “WTF MY RIGHTS?!” shenanigans… get over it? Seriously, let’s not start a civil rights movement. You apparently crossed the line, and I’ll assume that is the case since the actual number of censored comments I’ve seen here hits around the two mark. Personally attacking everyone here and RPS surely isn’t going to make your point more convincing.
We’ll stop pretending we’re not as obvious as every other “outlet” as soon as you stop pretending you’re not as insipid as any other nameless troll to hit the net. You hate the mainstream? Shocking.
I would hardly call this thread a call to praise for Bioshock 1, we actually were engaged in discussion about Bioshock 2, strange little thing that it is, and were just opining on that, not Bioshock 1. So, maybe we can get back to that little discussion, but only if it’s okay with you and Dracko. What say you?
15/05/2009 at 05:42 Clockwork Harlequin says:
Dracko, Skye Nathaniel: There were some articles on RPS a while back that dealt with journalism, objectivity, reviewing and related issues. The upshot being that at least one of the RPS crew (can’t remember which) recognizes that total objectivity is a myth. And so, while censorship does suck, it’s no more valid for you to hate Bioshock than for others to love it; let’s at least act pleasant about our opinions:)
[Edit] Jeremy: what you forget, my friend, is that RPS have all !CONFESSED! to being in publishers’ pockets. Like every other games journalist. They’re part of the conspiracy. The horror!
15/05/2009 at 07:07 Skye Nathaniel says:
Clockwork, I already know of those articles and reject the conclusion that objectivity is a myth. It is an ideal to strive for, and if one has a mind to evaluate game design and refers with the benefit of hindsight to past works as examples of successful and failing ideas and implementations, there is no good reason why we can’t reach towards an objective point of view. There are different and equally legitimate schools of game design, but those who are cognizant of their favored principles need not fear bias.
Jeremy, this video about Bioshock 2 mostly compares the sequel to the original game. I’d say that discussion of its predecessor is very relevant. Also, the video opens by laying down a baldfacedly bullshit claim regarding the supposedly novel, deep, and successful relationship between the game and narrative elements of the original, which is just infuriating when you consider that there have been brilliant games that this charlatan apparently refuses to recognize.
I would like to point out that fully half of this video’s content appears to be of the type of non-interactive cutscene I described earlier. I will watch it again and try to describe which sequences seem to be forced player movement. But more importantly, the PRESS X TO HARVEST / PRESS Y TO RESCUE ‘choice’ of the first game clearly has received no formal thought since. I can’t stand this. Imagine the impact it might have if, rather than killing a girl in a frozen menu moment, you actually aimed your weapon at her and pulled the trigger using the very same game mechanics through which you tear apart splicers. And, conversely, imagine the impact it might have if rescuing her similarly took the form of a mechanical action. As it is, these moments are analytical and false, regardless of whatever repercussions they may have on further gameplay and story. This was one of the biggest offenses in the first game for me, particularly since so bloody much was made of this gigantic moral decision.
I know that the rigid seaweed has been mentioned, but doesn’t it bother anyone else that the furniture and even the air bubbles appear suspended in time during the underwater segments, even moments after the Big Sister floods the room with a huge torrent?
15/05/2009 at 08:11 Grey_Ghost says:
I upgraded my Video & CPU, and Bioshocks sound stopped working. It just sends out crazy loud screeches to my speakers. Found out browsing the inter web that this game is riddled with sound problems that they have never fixed.
I worry the sequel is going to have the same problem!
15/05/2009 at 09:01 Gnarl says:
I think that most Bioshock haters really wanted to love it. They got all excited about it, looked forward to it, held their expectations high, pushing through the first parts of the game. They tried, but Bioshock let them down, betrayed their enthusiasm with false promises and disappointing gameplay. It came so close to love but fell to hate.
So when the sequel comes along, and looks a bit different we briefly have hope in our hearts. We look at the trailers and feel a glimmer. But it’s too soon, the hurt’s too raw and we can’t help but remember the pain. Some of us realise that, and try to keep quiet of feelings unshared.
But you must see? That bitch’ll turn on you too at some point. Then you’ll rave in threads too.
15/05/2009 at 09:50 Alec Meer says:
Nathaniel – of course we’re not objective. This is an independent project run by four gamers in their spare time – we post about what personally interests us. We don’t post about what doesn’t. Oh, and Dracko got censored because he’s a troll, not because he doesn’t like Bioshock. Differing opinions are fine, but not when it drags threads into unpleasantness that spoils everyone else’s fun. Though whinging about the same thing for two straight years also does that.
15/05/2009 at 10:02 phil says:
Would it be possible to introduce a troll dumping ground, where deleted offensive comments could be displayed and responded to (if people could be bothered), or will that effectively remain the Eurogamer forums?
15/05/2009 at 10:05 Malagate says:
@Chemix, at a guess, I’d say either this video is just specifically made as a demo and won’t be used in the game, or it’s representative of the opening “tutorial” area in a similar vein to the recent Metroid Prime games, where you start with some abilities, then lose them somehow, only to slowly regain them. I’d guess the Big Daddy wakes up and is still badass, does his stuff, then meets big sister who sucks out all his strength juice (hurr hurr hurr) and leaves him drained and weak, just so you can spend most of the game getting strong again.
I’m more happy that it seems like it’s easier to use plasmids and weapons almost at the same time, perhaps a bit closer to oblivion so that you can go around doing your normal stuff and don’t have to change weapons to whip out plasmid attacks.
15/05/2009 at 10:29 High Memetic 80s Hero says:
I guess its a pure fps again.
15/05/2009 at 11:31 Dave Gates says:
Not sure about this, looks a bit like they tried to bang it out the door as quick as possible. It has quite good pedigree given the project leader, I really hope it doesn’t nose dive after the big reveal like it did in Bioshock.