By Jim Rossignol on October 22nd, 2012 at 9:00 am.
Bioshock Infinite has seen a few high-profile members of the team leave of late, but that doesn’t seem to have caused it to waver from its February 26th release date. The latest trailer shows off happenings of light and fury, with lots of combat. The skyline, Elizabeth, and the Handyman baddy feature heavily. If the original Bioshock was a colourful and visually offbeat shooter, then we’ll need to dust off rarely used 19th-century adjectives for this one. Go take a look.
22/10/2012 at 09:06 marlin says:
Looking good – great soundtrack for 9.00 am too….
22/10/2012 at 09:10 abigbat says:
I’ve seen a lot of people complaining about the soundtrack – I think it works great, superb trailer.
22/10/2012 at 09:27 Cytrom says:
Not surprising. I expected something much more sophisticated, or at least fitting to the era when the game takes place in.
Whether you think the music is good is entirely subjective, but it doesn’t fit the material at all imo.
22/10/2012 at 11:42 jplayer01 says:
I think it fits just fine. This is completely subjective as well.
22/10/2012 at 13:57 Naum says:
Depends on what ‘fits’ means in this context. Here are some suggestions:
(1) The music could have been made in Bioshock’s world. Objective, doesn’t fit.
(2) The music could have been made in the era Bioshock’s world is based on. Objective, doesn’t fit.
(3) If the people of Bioshock’s world had the technical possibility to make the music, they would make it. Objective, don’t know enough about the world.
(4) Had the people of the era Bioshock is based on had the possibility to make the music, they would have made it. Objective, probably doesn’t fit but I’m no expert.
(5) The music explores themes that play a major role in the world of Bioshock. Objective, don’t know.
(6) The music evokes emotions similar to those that one experiences when playing Bioshock. Subjective.
(7) Music and pictures in the trailer complement each other nicely. Subjective.
22/10/2012 at 15:36 Carbonated Dan says:
1) & 2) you are mistakenly assuming that there is one moment in history which informs the entirety of this, or any, fantasy fiction
3) & 4) music is never independent of cultural history: Nico Vega’s most immediate ancestors, say the White Stripes and the Black Keys, trace their influences back to the Rolling Stones, whose work is informed as strongly by blues as it is by their english heritage
given this relationship to an enduring moment, it is not a stretch to imagine that modern sounds could have developed from common ancestry before diverging from our timeline – particularly in fantasy with Bioshock’s peculiar technologies
5) You aren’t listening – the song is about solidarity and community within american society during a period in which the established order undergoes a sea change (the beast lain down in the morgue) – Bioshock dealt with similar themes and it is safe to assume, given their choice of music, that the Rapture/whateverthiscityis aims to be a microcosm of current concerns as well as a self-contained world
6) it’s a trailer, not the finished product: this is pretty much the only ‘objective – we don’t know’ that you could reasonably have applied in your criticism
7) meh
22/10/2012 at 13:32 woodsey says:
It fits exceptionally well if you listen to the lyrics and know a little bit about what’s going on in the game. The crazy tone is pretty reflective of a place that’s both an insane piece of construction and whose inhabitants are apparently off their rocker.
22/10/2012 at 16:31 Pindie says:
I think the strong soul music influence is an anachronism.
22/10/2012 at 16:02 Bhazor says:
… how can you have historically accurate music for a fictional setting?
Do you think in a world with robots, floating cities and bizarre genetic experiments they’d still be listening to ragtime?
22/10/2012 at 17:19 Donjo says:
Yes, they should have used future music or that elusive infinitely present music of now.
22/10/2012 at 20:13 The Random One says:
They’d be listening to Cabaret Voltaire, obviously.
22/10/2012 at 20:23 Bhazor says:
@lenny
a bit of Diablo Swing Orchestra would also go pretty well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsmAF9cVPm4
22/10/2012 at 21:18 crinkles esq. says:
Agreed. I would’ve chosen more of an early folk music thing, like this one of Woodie Guthrie and Leadbelly doing Stewball: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxdKzQDX-7M. Bet on Stewball, and you might win…
22/10/2012 at 12:29 Crazy Horse says:
At first the humming beats of the soundtrack reminded me of Bastion, what with narrator sounding similar and all, and I was pleasantly surprised. But then it took a very different turn and went all Team America.
22/10/2012 at 15:37 Carbonated Dan says:
no it didn’t
22/10/2012 at 16:47 Fattsanta says:
hes right you know, it didnt.
22/10/2012 at 17:26 LennyLeonardo says:
Yes, I can confirm that it didn’t.
24/10/2012 at 01:56 The Random One says:
Did anyone say music that reminds one of Bastion?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtdLl05UcRU
Folk song feel, check
Thundering mellifluous male voice, check
It’s even about a wall!, check
22/10/2012 at 09:15 GallonOfAlan says:
It’s a ganseyload better than fucking dubstep again, that’s for sure.
22/10/2012 at 09:19 marlin says:
No lub for wubwub?
22/10/2012 at 10:02 Harlander says:
Philip K. Dick predicted the coming of dubstep, you know.
In his short story, Beyond Lies the Wub.
22/10/2012 at 10:15 Matt says:
Let’s hope it eats itself, then.
22/10/2012 at 14:21 Jody Macgregor says:
Don’t let it wub you the wrong way.
22/10/2012 at 10:27 HexagonalBolts says:
That’s for sure – I think the problem is when games trailers attempt to use dreadful over-the-top popularist music that masks how bland the gameplay is. This just about works, but I think the playthrough trailers are what have me the most excited, the atmosphere of this game looks incredible.
22/10/2012 at 11:30 Toberoth says:
Popularist? You mean popular, surely.
22/10/2012 at 16:12 Bhazor says:
Presumably. Unless he’s a Roman.
22/10/2012 at 09:28 AngoraFish says:
Not yet sure what to make of the game, but the soundtrack rocks…
22/10/2012 at 16:46 bear912 says:
Whether or not it fits the fiction, I’d say it’s a pretty fine song. It’s definitely got some White Stripes feel to it, which always a good thing as far as I’m concerned. I’ve been introduced to an embarrassing amount of music through trailers and internet videos. I do believe I shall be listening to more of Nico Vega in the future.
22/10/2012 at 17:38 Vandelay says:
I’m on the train, so not actually watched the trailer, but just as I read your comment ‘Conquest’ by The White Stripes started on my phone. From the little I know of this game, I would imagine that might be an apt song to close the game with.
22/10/2012 at 21:24 Universal Quitter says:
I thought the music made the trailer kind of cheesy, but a generic orchestrated track or choir wouldn’t have been any better, The game itself looks exciting, though.
22/10/2012 at 09:10 Flukie says:
Why do you link to a source that links to a source that also links to a source which also links into another source, just curious tis all.
22/10/2012 at 16:48 Dances to Podcasts says:
Journalism(tm).
22/10/2012 at 09:15 Drayk says:
Hey…Isn’t the first image the entrance to Rapture ?
22/10/2012 at 09:39 luukdeman111 says:
It definitely isn’t the same lighthouse as the rapture one, but that scene really intrigued me…
22/10/2012 at 10:29 Muzman says:
My intrigue was more : “I hope this tie-in with the first game isn’t as shoe-horned as it seems”
22/10/2012 at 13:55 Grey Ganado says:
To be fair tough, a lighthouse in the middle of nowhere is probably the best hidden entrance to a flying Utopia.
18/01/2013 at 22:35 diestormlie says:
They don’t seem to be treating Bioshock as a plot or a continuity. They’ seem to be treating it as a way of doing things. Notice how the Bioshock games always seem to deal with political ideology.
22/10/2012 at 09:21 crinkles esq. says:
To be honest, I’m not really sure what to make of this game yet. The environments are just jaw-dropping. We’ve seen glimpses of scenes like this from old black and white photos, but not in glorious, resplendent (how’s that one, Jim?) color and scale. And not amped up to Jules Verne levels of fanciful technology. I just want to walk around and live in that world for a while.
But, then the manshootery barges in, breaking down the immersive wall like a steampunk Kool-Aid Man, and I’m a bit shellshocked. Will this ultimately be Infamous with grander set-pieces and a top hat?
22/10/2012 at 09:30 Pemptus says:
Well, that’s pretty much what I thought of Bioshock the first.
22/10/2012 at 09:30 jha4ceb says:
Exactly — I’d be so much more excited about the stunning visuals if it weren’t for the realisation that most of this will probably be “manshootery”, as you put it.
22/10/2012 at 09:42 Xardas Kane says:
The Bioshock games are about the destruction of a unique utopia. What do you expect, a hiking simulator? I really don’t get your point, the games do a marvelous job of justifying what’s happening on screen.
22/10/2012 at 10:01 sonson says:
Bioshock is a decent game but it’s narrative is wholly at odds with what you do after the Medical Wing. You go from sneaking around hiding from deranged lunatics and terrifying robot monsters to activley hunting Big Daddies and committing Splicer Genocide in the space of *One level*.
The implied narrative of Bioshock is a failed utopia, the hubris of man, the dangers of extremism. The actual narrative is “I own Rapture and killed it’s population more or less”.
22/10/2012 at 11:01 kyrieee says:
You’re right, that’s a common problem with games too. There’s even a word for it, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludonarrative
22/10/2012 at 11:40 Mordsung says:
It would be more dissonant if the story didn’t explain that the main character in BioShock is basically a genetically engineered killing machine with deeply subconscious programming in how to kill, and who to kill.
In the first level, he doesn’t even know this, he thinks he’s just a regular dude.
Since most of his abilities are genetic and subconscious, it could literally take only a few minutes for his programming to kick in and for him to go from afraid to killing machine.
And, don’t forget, every time Atlas asked him to do something starting with the words “Would you kindly…” the main character had no choice but to do what Atlas asked.
So, in a sense, he was a terrified man fuelled by hypnotic and genetic programming.
22/10/2012 at 12:14 sonson says:
You know, I’d never actually thought about it that way, good point. Although it still seems like a poor way to excuse fairly generic FPS behaviour through narrative.
kyrieee: Thanks for the link. It’s a phenomena I’ve noticed a lot of late in games, good to know it is a recognised concept. Games which manage to avoid while being ambitious it tend to be truly exceptional experiences-Dishonored, Witcher 2 good examples of games in which the character never feels bigger than the world they inhabit and it is incredibly rewarding to play them as a result, truly immersive.
22/10/2012 at 12:23 Mordsung says:
The interesting thing is that the game really portrays this well.
You, the player, get startled and scared by all the scary stuff but you’re also a gamer with your natural reflex shooting skills, so it really does emulate the feeling of being a terrified dude with near-subconscious killing skills.
I can’t remember how many times I would literally jump in my chair from being surprised only to also land 3 head shots before my butt hit my chair on the way down. We’re both afraid, vulnerable boys and girls and trained killers (in the virtual world).
22/10/2012 at 22:01 TsunamiWombat says:
I also think it’s worth noting absolutely no one ever gives Half-Life shit for turning a Phd into a super soldier with no explanation of how or why.
22/10/2012 at 22:02 Sheng-ji says:
Apart from his hazard suit of course
23/10/2012 at 00:01 Rise / Run says:
Funny, I always read the “Would you kindly” thing as a pretty explicit criticism of the FPS genre (or rather, any highly scripted game). That said, Bioshock is a prime example. But that, at least, was a “witty once” kind of thing.
22/10/2012 at 16:40 fish99 says:
You can level that criticism at a lot of games. If you set aside the sport and puzzle genres, pretty much everything left has you finishing the game with an enormous body count behind you (whether that’s humans, monsters or animals), and it’s pretty rare a game justifies it well.
TBH though I didn’t notice the big transition you mention in Bioshock, you were after all killing splicers right from the off. The big problem Bioshock had was the game fizzling out after a certain character dies (up until then it was pretty good), the cheap reuse of the ‘twist’ from SS2, the poor last few levels, the way they forgot the game was underwater, the terrible and totally out of place end boss fight, and the way the story ended.
22/10/2012 at 09:44 ferdy says:
Indeed, such a waste of their environments. I’m so tired of entering beautiful and well-crafted worlds only to play the sick bastard that kills everything.
22/10/2012 at 09:53 f1x says:
I dont see the problem with the shooting really,
Of course if you dont like FPS, then this is not your game as it was marketed as FPS since day 1, and the previous games were FPS aswell, but as Xardas said, you are not playing a hero, just someone caught in the middle who finally struggles for survival (in bioshock1, bioshock2 came a bit different… more like a fairy tale)
On the other hand, it looks like it could be a proper FPS, if they do sort of “open” maps like in Bioshock1 + hook traveling, verticality etc,
I say it “could” because I have yet to play it to believe it, of course
22/10/2012 at 21:30 crinkles esq. says:
No, I don’t have a problem with FPS games. But this game teases at something more poetic and then seems to deliver something guttural. It’s like making an episode of Downton Abbey where the members of the household suddenly resolve their problems through combat to the death. There’s a dissonance.
In any case, I’d much rather have an open world that exists whether I am there or not, where I can choose to fight or choose to drink my whiskey and watch the world tear itself apart. I don’t want to be yet another world’s Superman. Can’t we get beyond power fantasies in games?
22/10/2012 at 10:01 Rawrian says:
Surely there will be a Sightseeing Simulator mod.
22/10/2012 at 10:05 zoombapup says:
I completely agree with you.
I think AAA fps games have adopted the formula that “designer knows best” so much that the will of the player is simply disregarded.
They don’t present you with a world anymore, instead they present you with interactive scenes in between cutscenes and scripted sequences. You get to shoot a bit, but then you have your control whisked away for yet another cutscene that explains the “plot” in some poor attempt at cinematography.
I blame the success of games like uncharted.
22/10/2012 at 15:40 Carbonated Dan says:
um, Dishonored?
22/10/2012 at 15:45 x1501 says:
Um, what about it?
22/10/2012 at 16:26 Carbonated Dan says:
It’s a AAA game designed by people who know some very good things and it doesn’t subsume the will of the player, so that’s one of several exceptions
worse is the assumption that a designer directed experience is a bad thing – but of course conflating a shallow summer blockbuster with a paul anderson film because they both have directors will result in mistaken assessments
22/10/2012 at 17:44 x1501 says:
Well, I disagree about Dishonored. Despite the insistence that it can be played however you want, when you actually try to play it without staying stealthy and non-lethal, the game always makes you feel like you’re being punished by playing it “the wrong way”.
Did you, a professional soldier, just kill a murderous thug, a sadist, or a “weeper” zombie? Did you just kill a regicidal traitor to the throne instead of torturing and ultimately turning him into a weeper? Did you just kill the Lord Regent’s mistress instead of kidnapping and forcing her to be some anonymous masked guy’s lifelong captive and likely sex slave? Oh man, you’re baaad. High Chaos, bad ending, and more rats in the city for you!
It was utterly ludicrous.
22/10/2012 at 18:29 Carbonated Dan says:
that’s not restraining player agency, that’s responding to player behaviour – pretty much the opposite of the funneled crap OP was railing against
22/10/2012 at 18:37 Arkadion says:
@x1501
Dude, that means there are consequences in the game. Of course the ending will be darker and the city will have more rats, you just killed lots of people! More corpses = more rats.
The game lets you play the way you want, and presents itself differently for the way you play it. Nothing is quite free as that, and more games should use that style of design.
22/10/2012 at 19:43 x1501 says:
I admit that I often can be overly critical, but on the other hand, some people are just too damn easy to please. Present such a man with a couple of superficial choices within the fixed and unchangeable main narrative, give him a couple of carefully predetermined paths in the otherwise static and self-contained miniature stage sets, leave him with an ultimately meaningless choice of killing two carefully placed scripted NPCs on the roof or choking three just as carefully placed scripted NPCs in the basement in order to achieve what is basically the same predetermined result, and he’ll sing you praises for “not subsuming the will of the player”, “responding to player behavior”, “allowing us the freedom to do as we will”, etc., etc., etc.
Frankly, I don’t get such people. My first response to this reaction is always: “But didn’t we see dozens of games with more player freedom and gameplay complexity back in the age when 300MHz Pentiums with 64MB RAM and 16MB video cards still roamed the Earth?” When I was playing Deus Ex back in 2000, if someone had told me that this what “true player freedom” (or a respectable stealth game) would look like in 2012, I would have laughed my head off.
EDIT: Speaking of pretending (as if the original quote and the context didn’t make my meaning clear), fixed an obvious typo.
22/10/2012 at 20:27 Carbonated Dan says:
given that you think ‘subsuming the will of the player’ is a good thing, I honestly don’t believe that you are able to understand my argument at all, so I’ll just ignore your false impression that I am easy to please
I too love Deus Ex, it’s my favorite game ever, but you’re pretending that its brilliance is nothing to do with the skill of the designer and that dishonoured’s incredible, far more refined level construction is somehow less valuable because the devs have decidedly offered even broader options
I prefer DX to DXHR and Dishonored despite the more recent games’ improvements to pure mechanical gameplay – I believe DX’s greatest accomplishments are its remarkably human characters and moments within the stupendously overblown social commentaries and setting
22/10/2012 at 10:23 JackShandy says:
I don’t mind killing some men, I just hate that you have to kill every man. The splicers in rapture seem like they’re meant to be people, but as soon as they see you they rush forward and attack relentlessly until death. No talking, no trading with them, no kind of social space at all. That’s the worst thing Bioshock lost from Deus Ex and the like.
Maybe Infinite will be different. They seem to have some shots of the hero walking next to characters who aren’t trying to kill him. I hope that’s not just a cutscene.
22/10/2012 at 10:35 HexagonalBolts says:
yes, exactly this, I wish there was still a bit of humanity left, some beings you could fight alongside some time, not this whole giant world whose single purpose seems to be to kill you
22/10/2012 at 11:01 Nordom says:
Same here. STALKER is an apocalyptic shooter set in one of the most dangerous areas of the planet, but that doesn’t exclude the existence of non-hostile groups of humans (which add a lot to the game atmosphere),so I’m inclined to say that FPS and everyone-is-trying-to-kill-me are not exactly the same thing.
Besides it’ll be nice to have some exploration with just the threat of combat like in STALKER or System Shock 2.
22/10/2012 at 23:56 Bart Stewart says:
I think I would say that BioShock is much closer to System Shock 2 (or the original SS) than either is to STALKER.
Deus Ex and Half-Life 2, 2.1 and 2.2 improved storytelling by including friendly NPCs. DX took this even further by allowing you to solve some challenges through dialog instead of tools, crates of boom, or murderdeathkill. BioShock didn’t really have such interactable characters, and so was actually a pretty faithful “spiritual successor” to the System Shock games.
It’s telling that BioShock Infinite introduces at least one character with whom you can interact in a non-murdery way for better storytelling, and who can also help solve gameplay challenges. In that, it moves the Bio franchise closer to games like Deus Ex and STALKER. That’s a Good Thing.
22/10/2012 at 11:43 SanguineAngel says:
God yes.
22/10/2012 at 16:52 Synesthesia says:
Yes! It’s one of the elements that made you feel as a part of that space, that existed regardless of where or who you were, not just an unstoppable force tearing through it. It was all about the space. And god knows bioshock knows how to make its spaces work. Let’s hope they have realised that.
22/10/2012 at 11:42 SanguineAngel says:
I’m 100% on board with you on this one. I mean, I do enjoy FPS games but really, with such a remarkable aesthetic I would really love to see some inventive new style of play that doesn’t rip the carefully built lore, character and presumably the narrative to shreds with generic, pointless out of place whack a mole shoot everyone you see. As kyrieee says – Ludonarrative. This looks like the perfect environment for a game NOT about killing thousands of people.
22/10/2012 at 18:28 The Random One says:
While I by and large agree with this thread’s general sentiment, I can’t help noticing it’s essentially the old “If only you could talk to X!” meme played straight.
22/10/2012 at 14:03 Jackablade says:
I’m glad I’m not the only one who gets this feeling. In Bioshock and even more so in Dishonored I just wanted to be able to get out and see the world, chat with the folks, do something a little bit more sophisticated than waving a gun around. They’re such interesting settings, it’s a pity that they’re only window dressings for the killings.
To put it simple “If only you -could- talk to the monsters.”
22/10/2012 at 17:01 HisMastersVoice says:
Only it never really works. Believe me, you don’t want your games to turn into a shallow imitation of reality that is The Sims. Better they remain an equally shallow fantasy of being a badass and preserve some sliver of tensions and conflict that makes the worlds of Dishonored or Bioshock tick.
23/10/2012 at 01:55 MrUnimport says:
Thank you, I completely agree with this. Bioshock would not have been able to present its themes of solitude, madness and ruined utopia if there’d been humans around to exchange a few canned remarks with. Half the point is feeling isolated from all the madmen around you. When you step into a store in an RPG, do you REALLY feel immersed in the social space or are you just trying to offload all the rat tails you picked up?
I’m all for diversity in video games but I also feel that there should be room for developers to make the best FPS they can. There’s boundaries to be pushed in “pure” FPSes, not just in genre-blending. Whether Bioshock Infinite will push them remains to be seen, but I’m a little bit tired of RPS types going “ohhhh, what a lovely game, pity it’s yet another manshoot”. May I suggest people think of it as an FPS with the addition of a fantasy setting, and not a fantasy game that’s lacking a social component?
23/10/2012 at 08:56 Jackablade says:
Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy these games, but I’d still love the chance to play a game in the same settings – perhaps a little earlier in their histories in both instances where I can really get involved with the NPCs and the world before they’ve completely fallen to rack and ruin.
I want the game where you’re a Dickensian street urchin living it rough in Dunwall before working your way up into high society.
22/10/2012 at 14:40 pilouuuu says:
I couldn’t agree more! I’m bored of violence in videogames. I mean, it’s fun, but games can be so much more, especially in this generation where developers have been able to build amazing worlds for us to visit. It’s a shame that even in a RPG like Skyrim we can’t simply live in the world.
I truly hope that Dishonored is the beginning of a new kind of game. One in which we can discover amazing new worlds, enjoy the amazing landscapes and meet people in those places. And if some of those people ask for it, then and only then we kill them.
22/10/2012 at 09:43 PC-GAMER-4LIFE says:
Looks heavily scripted to me more yank the player away from the controls like RE6 (which is shockingly poor BTW). Bioshock 1 was ahead of its time graphically & set the tone for future UT3 based games but had terrible gameplay. 75% off Steam sale from me 2K are not a publisher I trust at all so no full price purchase from me I can wait a year or so.
22/10/2012 at 11:42 wodin says:
Well they have said it isn’t scripted even though it appears to be…
22/10/2012 at 13:38 PC-GAMER-4LIFE says:
Hmm who to believe the PC gamers who can clearly see the scripting & non human player events from the released media or the publisher looking to create hype/sales!!
22/10/2012 at 13:42 reggiep says:
Millions of people thought Bioshock had innovative and fun gameplay. Who would not have fun springing traps on a Big Daddy? And yet you speak about “terrible gamplay” like it’s a fact. Meanwhile, there have been numerous games that copy that gameplay — including Dishonored. Point is, you ignore all of this and still expect people to take your opinion seriously?
22/10/2012 at 13:52 JackShandy says:
He’s entitled to his opinion. You don’t need to pull a million people out of your arse to combat it.
How does dishonoured’s gameplay copy bioshock? Is it just that you have two hands with different stuff in them?
22/10/2012 at 14:28 MistyMike says:
Nobody is entitled to their opinion, did you miss the article in the Sunday Papers a week or two ago? Opinion doesn’t mean anything unless it’s backed by some arguments. Making sweeping statements like ‘terrible gameplay’ without even trying to explain why is just spam and should be treated as such.
22/10/2012 at 14:35 JackShandy says:
But come on, saying “Literally millions of people thought bioshock’s gameplay was excellent, therefore it was.” is the same level of discourse.
If you’re genuinely interested, we could have a conversation about why Bioshock’s gameplay was terrible. The conversation as it stands is just trying to shut down the negative opinion.
22/10/2012 at 14:55 MistyMike says:
Yeah, I’m not defending the ad populum argument, which is out of place as usual.
But comments along the lines of ‘durr, [popular game] X sucks azz, I’m so above you all’ is something we really need less of.
22/10/2012 at 17:18 Nogo says:
“But comments along the lines of ‘durr, [popular game] X sucks azz, I’m so above you all’ is something we really need less of.”
Would you mind pointing this post out? Because I can’t find it anywhere
22/10/2012 at 17:21 elmo.dudd says:
If the measure is two hands with stuff in them, perhaps we could look to Clive Barker’s Undying? Left hand is your spells, right hand is various physical weapons, you can change out the ammo in the guns for a variety of effects, as well as firing modes, and you can also level up your spells – many of which aren’t directly combative.
22/10/2012 at 14:11 PC-GAMER-4LIFE says:
How long ago was that almost 6 years…………. Don’t know about you but to me 6 year old gameplay is not something I consider worth buying at full price do you?!
This looks heavily scripted & the gfx are not all that either its still using UT3.5 & once again 6 years ago that looked SOTE………
22/10/2012 at 14:21 x1501 says:
Just to make sure, are those the same millions who also think that Apple invented tablets and MP3 players, view the Call of Duty series as the pinnacle of FPS design, and regard something like The Hunger Games as not only good but original as well? Just because many believe so, it isn’t necessarily so.
22/10/2012 at 09:48 Meat Circus says:
Beast by Nico Vega says Shazam. I like it.
22/10/2012 at 10:44 HisMastersVoice says:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEBwKO4RFOU
15 minutes of gameplay and Booker doesn’t shoot anyone for half the time. Not to say the whole game looks like that, but it’s certainly a far cry from the meat grinder of the trailer above.
22/10/2012 at 11:40 Pindie says:
Then when he starts shooting it is terrible.
The original had cinematic sequences too. The question everybody asks is “does the combat suck”.
This time around the story might suck too, dialogue does not impress in the released footage.
It’s hard to be negative and hate it when the game has such great design and atmosphere. I love the character design but as soon as they open mouths I expect to hear a cliche and cringe.
22/10/2012 at 11:42 HisMastersVoice says:
Maybe, just maybe, FPS games are not your thing then?
22/10/2012 at 11:48 Pindie says:
Modern, mainstream, AAA FPS are definitely not my thing. It would be sad to see all this artwork wasted on one.
You can still enjoy them, have fun.
22/10/2012 at 12:54 HisMastersVoice says:
I wonder which FPS game do you hold as the golden standard. Just please, no Deus Ex or System Shock.
22/10/2012 at 13:11 JackShandy says:
You can’t tell people how to respond to questions you’re asking. That’s not how conversations work.
“How are you? Please answer with ‘Fine, thanks’.”
What’s wrong with holding Deus Ex and System Shock as the golden standard?
22/10/2012 at 13:54 HisMastersVoice says:
Quake, Doom or BF are FPS games. They’re all about shooting people in first person perspective.
Deus Ex has elements of an FPS game. It’s not an FPS game however. Classifying it as such is a disservice both to DX as well as all the genre classics like the aforementioned Quake.
Not to mention DX and SS had mediocre gunplay.
22/10/2012 at 15:53 JackShandy says:
You must have some definition of the genre other than “Shooting people from a First Person view.” That’s fine, but you have to assume that you’re talking to people who don’t share that definition.
22/10/2012 at 16:22 Pindie says:
@HisMastersVoice
System Shock and Deus Ex have one thing in common: they are not actually FPS.
They are FPS/RPG hybrids with some stealth sprinkled on top.
I did not argue Bioshock should become a better FPS. I am arguing less FPS in Bioshock would benefit it since the FPS element really is the weak side of the series.
FYI: Bioshock was a spiritual successor of System Shock 2. Down to medical stations, vending machines, zombies, turrets and pretty much EVERYTHING lifted from the game. I can damn well compare the two if I want to, Bioshock was severely inspired by SS2.
Even then let’s go back to the FPS genre itself: it has been done better. The trailer shows very post COD-3 style FPS. It’s derivative and stale.
Even as an FPS game Bioshock looks bland in the trailer.
I sense a response coming “b-but it’s just a t-trailer…”.
Trailers are aimed at an audience.
They’ve shown you the shooting segment because they are pleased with it, they think it represents the good side of the game. This is their vision, what they want you to buy the game based on.
22/10/2012 at 16:45 HisMastersVoice says:
@ JackShandy – No. Shooting people in first person perspective is the only definition I find relevant. That’s Quake and Doom and CoD and a host of other titles. You’re free to present your own.
@ Bioshock was a spiritual successor of System Shock 2.
With emphasis on gunplay and direct confrontation rather than multi linear approach to objectives, vulnerability and research/customization. Having med stations is not enough to be a successor and every time some PR twit uses the term spiritual in relation to a venerated classic a kitten is crushed by a truck.
Feel free to compare those games, just don’t expect me to treat that comparison seriously.
Now back to you presenting your opinions – you find the FPS elements bland. Fine. I like them way more than most modern FPS shooting galleries. Verticality, relatively open playing fields, speed – that’s what I like in my FPS and that’s what I see here.
And yes, it’s just a trailer. Dishonored was presented in multiple trailers as a CoD style slaughterfest of epic proportions. That’s not what the game turned out to be.
22/10/2012 at 17:00 Synesthesia says:
“No. Shooting people in first person perspective is the only definition I find relevant.”
http://extra-credits.net/podcasts/genre/
22/10/2012 at 17:04 HisMastersVoice says:
Sorry, I’m not going to listen to a 1.5 hour long podcast to formulate your input into this conversation for you.
22/10/2012 at 19:48 The Random One says:
Defining first person shooters as all games in which you shoot from first person is as useful as defining adventure games as all games in which the main character goes on an adventure.
22/10/2012 at 12:10 dee says:
He’s right about the combat looking awful in that trailer. What’s more, I’m pretty sure the initial sequence is just an exposition, there’s a little branching visible but it’s almost a cinematic.
22/10/2012 at 12:56 HisMastersVoice says:
He (and you, I guess) thinks is looks awful. I’ve yet to hear why.
22/10/2012 at 17:29 Nogo says:
Looks like a mess and I haven’t seen anything that makes me say “ooh, I wanna do that.” Looks generic and doesn’t seem very visceral or responsive.
22/10/2012 at 12:43 wodin says:
I’m looking forward to it..it’s something to look forward too after Xmas and all that. Plus I’d have my fill of the recent spate of games by then. Well I’d have had my fill well before then but thats just me.
22/10/2012 at 13:35 Totally heterosexual says:
I think this might have the problem that dishonored kinda did. Trailers have too much “MURDER THESE GUYS” even though the game has more to offer. I hope that is the case.
22/10/2012 at 13:39 12kill4 says:
I feel like this would have benefited from being released before Dishonored… this looks comparatively sluggish against that blinkathon.
22/10/2012 at 14:23 MistyMike says:
No collapsing buildings in the trailer? Like 100% non-scripetd mechanical real-time collapsing buildings, honestly? I am dissapointed.
22/10/2012 at 14:25 bill says:
Well, it made me buy the song at least.
22/10/2012 at 18:55 Emeraude says:
I’ll never get the love for Bioshock.
It had some examples of *good* level design, I’ll grant it that. But overall it was a rather conventional and predictable affair masquerading behind great production values.
Which is more than enough to make a decent game. Not a great one – not what I was expecting from the critical reception the game got.
What I couldn’t forgive, though, was the way gameplay elements and narrative were going at cross purpose. Liberating little sisters should have felt like a sacrifice. Instead it was more efficient than harvesting them. Just broke the whole point of the experience for me. (your mileage may vary)
Will probably sit this one out unless I read something of interest about it.
22/10/2012 at 22:07 Kevin says:
It may have had bugs up to the earballs and a frustrating combat system despite its brilliant character editor, but I don’t think Arcanum’s take on the Industrial Revolution can be beat by any game in the forseeable future.
23/10/2012 at 12:29 575 Kilted Shark says:
The thing I don’t understand, is why doesn’t every new trailer just use music from The Heavy?
It would make things so much more streamlined.
23/10/2012 at 22:02 VileJester says:
Good music.
Good trailer.
18/01/2013 at 22:52 diestormlie says:
Here: Someone’s mixed the version used in this trailer into the original. It sounds pretty good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eheESgRNJKc
I’m hoping that this is MORE than shooting and skyrails. I want a world. I want characters and walking and talking and watching.
I want a World.
I am both glad and annoyed that Dishonored came along: It raised and set the bar, but it’s released a gas that could turn everything around it stale.