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5/5 |
Great game, dubious legality
(September 30, 2008) |
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So I've had a few of the sound problems that people report and one crash, but it's probably no worse than many other games I've played over the years. Its general structure should be familiar to anyone who played system shock and system shock 2, some of the best games of their time! Great atmosphere and visual design and very creepy. What is worrying however is the issue of re-installation. If it's true that you can't do this more than 5 times, then the company really is renting this to you rather than selling it! And it's far from the only company with legality issues; Half-life 2 ran into legal problems in Germany, I recall, with their peculiar registration system. How is it that games companies are apparantly above the law? several have marketed unfinished, unplayable games with online patches and updates to make them work-useless for anyone with no internet connection! I'd suggest a group legal action against a company doing this, asking for damages of 20-30 million pounds - that would stop any other games companies taking their customers for a ride! |
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5/5 |
Flawless
(September 28, 2008) |
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Well, in my opinion, I think Bioshock is the most intense First-Person Shooter for the PC that I have played so far.
Firstly, you start out as a survivor of a plane wreck, you land out of sea, and have to swim to some island. Little do you know that the island is Rapture - An underwater city surrounded by splicers, ADAM, robots and security robots, big dadies and even little girls.
Everything is done really cleverly. Robots and turrets can be hacked to obey you, you can obtain Plasmids (gadgets or spells) to set traps, kill enemies, get to places on the objectives, or just to have some fun. There are a mixture of about 9 weapons to choose from, first starting out with a wrench. Corruption and chaos has now transformed this once beautiful underwater.
The game will scare you from time to time, at times it will make you feel confused, but everything makes sense at the end. The storyline is the biggest chunk of the game, it is heavily relied on to make the game work. Anyone who loves to get engrossed within a deep storyline, will definately want to wet their beaks a little with this one. But anyone who prefers just aimless killing, no storyline but just pure crazy fun might want to reconsider. Im a fan of both.
Graphics are stunning. Blood, and textures, and water effects are highly detailed and makes you feel like you are in the game itself. Everything is life-like. You will find yourself scouting in most places for extra items, or tools or upgrades. Gameplay length is fairly long, enough to satisfy anyone for at least 12+ hours for the average gamer. It is extremely replayable, and the hardest difficulty will be sure to challenge you. Physics are also amazing, and effects are brilliant, as well as enemy AI. Soemtimes, enemies will attack in clusters, they will charge at you, and will be very persistent at attacking and wanting you dead. Some enemies may even drop down from the ceiling and it you when you least expect it.
All in all, a very, very good game indeed. Since the game is compatible with the 360 controller, it will suit both keyboard users and controller users. The only downside, is that 2K have added the option of placing install credits on the game (there are only a limitd number of times you can install this game) 5 times is the maximum. It is an attempt to reduce piracy, but many people would be left feeling violated by this. Although it is appauling by Windows standards, it doesn't bother me, because i only have one computer to play it on.
I advise you, if you get this game, make sure you buy it new, because the install credits could have been used up before.
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1/5 |
DRM: PC Games are supposed to be a product sold to fans, not a service rented to criminals
(September 16, 2008) |
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What do i think of Bioshock:
It is great fun, but..............
Do you regularly upgrade your PC?
Do you regularly reinstall your OS?
Do you frequently find yourself without an internet connection?
Do you dislike the idea of being dependent on an internet connection?
Do you like revisiting old games long after the parent has gone bust?
Do you dislike the flakey & undependable online support mechanisms used by the games industry?
Do you like to be able to archive patches for that "hmmm, lets have another go" moment years later?
Do you like to think of the games you purchase as a product you own?
Do you dislike being treated as a criminal?
Do you dislike your favourite developer have the above attitude forced on them by the publisher?
Do you have a great deal of respect for Stardock for their Gamers Bill of Rights?
If the answers to any of the above are "Yes" then do NOT buy Bioshock, it will leave you feeling dirty, used, and abused. Thanks Take Two. |
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5/5 |
Fantastic and a classic
(September 07, 2008) |
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And for all the reviews that say it isn't HL2/System Shock/Deus Ex, wow, really? There I was buying Bioshock and I was expecting an expansion pack of all of those games and it turns out Gordon Freeman isn't in it. That or if you want to enjoy this game take it as being Bioshock and not another title you liked and be aware it isn't trying to be another game.
The graphics and lighting are stunning and have the Far Cry effect of actually making you look around for no other reason than to just look and it also manages to avoid the pointless darkness of Doom 3 whilst still having low lighting. How this will be affected by computer spec I can't comment as I have a gaming machine and it plays like a dream on max settings, so consider this relative to your PC. The sound is fantastic as well, both effects, the ramblings of Rapture's inhabitants, the Little Sister dialogue and Big Daddy rumblings.
Gameplay wise it is admittedly a standard FPS with genetic manipulation upgrades along the lines of System Shock and some of them do seem redundant, and with standard issue weapons of pistol, machine gun, etc. But this doesn't matter as Rapture is an immersive world of its own and this is what makes this game so worth playing. Hacking autoturrets and security systems to defend yourself whilst simplistic is also enjoyable.
I have played it both on XP and Vista and completed on XP, but was unable to get past the Medical Pavilion crash on Vista (search Google for all the threads on this). I can't recommend the game for Vista owners as it seems to be unplayable, although this seems a common software theme for Vista. There are some bugs that I came across with sound, but on XP I can't remember any crashes or major glitches having played it through.
As for the DRM, whilst I dislike all copy protection that interferes with legitimate purchases, I am not aware of any problems with installation, playing etc. I can only say the 1 star essay rants that focus solely on this aspect have a problem per se, not just with Bioshock, and should largely be ignored as this isn't a general message board/forum for this to be aired on. Check other DRM affected products, Mass Effect, Spore, etc. for more rantings.
So, for Vista owners, rabid DRM haters, owners of PCs that may not have the spec required and fan boys looking for the next instalment of HL2/System Shock/Deus Ex I am afraid this will be lost on you. For the rest who are looking for a great game that you will want to replay on all 3 difficulty settings and at this price, go for it.
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5/5 |
Great game.
(August 29, 2008) |
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Ignore all the people emo-raging about Bioshock and the "difficulty" installing it. Its very easy to install and works well on my mid range 5 year old pc as well as on my new mid range pc.
Bioshock is unique. It has superb graphics, an absorbing story line and excellent AI.
I found that playing Bioshock in the dark with headphones on made the experience that bit more frightening and gripping.
The copy protection is a bit irritating but i was willing to go through it to play the game.
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