BioShock review

Having played the game through and gone a fair bit through my second attempt I felt compelled to give my final assesment of BioShock.

Definatley a slow burner, I was initially convinced the game was never going to live up to all the hype. The demo really didn't do it justice and only really showed off the excellent graphics.
The game really comes into it's own after a few hours when you begin to immerse yourself in the world of Rapture, an underwater city created by mad idealist Andrew Ryan. The story is very cleverly unfolded by tape recordings left lying around allowing you to try and piece together to the various causes of the city's downfall and the inhabitants. The voice acting is very good and really helps to develop a great story. Story is definatley a key element in this game and it feels very much like an interactive work of fiction. Deserving of it's 18 certificate, the game is dark and disturbing but has a strong enough plot to justify the shocking events as opposed to games like as manhunt which just use gore and mindless violence for the sake of it.
There have been a number of technial issues with the game and a few reviews have been critial of this in their scroing. For me the game does struggle to run reliably on the PC but I have had no issues playing it on the 360. Graphically the two versions are virtually identical and unless you have a very beafy PC (at least Geforce 8800) then XBox version will provide a much better experience especially at 1080P.
The sound in this game is very good and played through decent 5.1 THX system sounds incredible. The low rumbles of the Big Daddy as he moans and his heavy footfalls really test the subwoofer. Gunshot sound a little weaker then I would like but otherwise I can't fault it.
In conclusion, certainly one of the best FPS ever it not the best, a very close contest between it and Half life 2. Bioshock definatley has the better and more involving story but Half life 2 has better puzzle and gameplay elements.
95%

Halo 3 goes Gold

Halo 3 is done and gone to manufacturing.

Never been much of a halo fan but will probably pick this up.. gonna be an expensive couple of months.. Warhawk is out today on PS3 (PSN Download) Heavenly Sword, Lair..

Link

If you would kindly...

I have decided, BioShock is THE best game ever!
Last night I defeated Ryan thinking that was the end of a very enjoyable game.
Oh how wrong I was...
I'm struggling not to say anything to spoil it but I'm still grinning inanely over what unfolds. I was blown away.
Can't wait to get back to Rapture tonight to find out how it continues.
Never has a game had me so absorbed. Half Life 2 comes close but has a very predictable storyline in comparison.
I remember reading some review saying that there were some key moments in the game that made the reviewer sit back in awe, defeating Ryan is definatley one!

Gamer Chat welcomes The Badger!

Chris Blandford becomes our newest member and has just got himself an XBox 360 Elite.
So what do you think Chris was it worth the extra money?

Killzone 2

New screenies from Leipzig, looking awesome.

Gamer Chat 100 posts and going strong

Looks like Mal recieves the honour of being the 100th poster.
Shame it had to be about some irrelevant PS3 news!
Only kidding Mal all gaming news is welcome! ;-)

Still not sure about the site name though, might be time for a little makeover.
Any suggestions?

Lord.. Why do you mock me so?

Today I have a day off work, because I have an interview later. I'm doing my preparation etc and the post comes and what do I find?



Great.. I'm supposed to be reading up on the company, instead I'm sat down looking at my copy of bioshock (didn't see the limited edition on Play.com) trying to justify opening it now and beginning my tour of Rapture...

Help!

PlayTV

Superb! Record TV onto PS3.. series link etc. Transfer it to PSP for when your on the move.. 2 1080p tuners as well! Count me in.

Hopefully the turnaround for PS3.. there are even some games due in the next few weeks as well!

Link

edit: Woo! Gamer Chat 100th Post!

360 Price Cut

All models of the Xbox 360 are dropping in price in Europe, after a similar drop in the US.. the new Elite model will be £299 now when it comes out here on Friday (confirmed by Game)

Its a swift kick in the nads for Sony, who really need to get some PS3 momentum going.

Link

Bioshock Figurine

How cool is this? Picture of the figurine that comes with the collectors edition of Bioshock, it has some other stuff like a music cd and a making of DVD that no one ever bothers with, but the figure is cool.

Think i might preorder it! Look great on my desk at work

For some idea of scale its 6 inches tall apparently.

7000 gamer points and counting

Sorry had to mention it.
Thanks to "The Darkness" I'm another step closer to the 10K mark, and I reckon with BioShock, Stranglehold and Halo 3 around the corner I'm going to enjoy trying to reach it!

Bioshock demo

Bioshock demo has gone up on 360 Marketplace, im stuck in farnborough for the week, someone give it a go and let me know if it lives up to the hype! Can't wait to try it.

Tried Blue Dragon demo at the weekend, quite dissappointing, really really wants to be Final Fantasy but just doesnt quite cut it.. felt like it was aimed at 10 years olds too, shame.. Graphics were nice tho, oh well, roll on Final Fantasy XIII *drool*

A new member of the Red Ring of Death club!

As you can see the "Bat Cave" is coming along nicley but apart from the mess, whats the problem with this picture?
Lots of blue lights except for the flashing red ones around the 360 power button thats what!
Just recieved a new update on the 360 last night and when it restarted got that lovley ring of red lights that signals no XBox gaming for a while!

Oh well, good job Bio Shock's almost out, guess I 'll be getting it on the PC then!

Warhawk goes Gold

Eagerly awaited multiplayer online shooter Warhawk is done, can't wait for this one, went down a storm in the beta. In a previous existance being a big fan of the Battlefield series on PC this one is right up my street.

August 28th for the US, Unknown in Europe as yet, interestingly will be available as an online download for $39.99 or on Blu-Ray disc with BT Headset for $59.99, i already have a headset and im a lazy arse so i'll be getting it online!

GTA IV Delayed

Grand Theft Auto IV has gone back to a Q2 2008 release.

Link

PGR4 Environment shots... Seriously.. Wow

No more words... Halo 3 and PGR4.... There is a God

This holiday season is going to be immense on the 360 with the sheer depth of quality in the titles being released, not just multiformat either, there's some massive exclusives due as well... Time to quit my job and dedicate my life to a state of gaming nirvana...

Bioshock reviews begin trickling in... Prepare to part with cash...

E3 2007: BioShock Update

Irrational gives us another glimpse of Arcadia.

by Charles Onyett

<A HREF="http://de.ign.com/event.ng/Type%3dclick%26FlightID%3d61869%26AdID%3d66779%26TargetID%3d11666%26Targets%3d11708,6743,7873,7697,8633,10619,11666%26Values%3d25,30,46,50,60,72,83,90,100,110,150,152,218,225,227,240,268,469,806,1187,1404,1481,1503,1591,2190,2522,2662,2679,2721,3480,3887,4056,4295,4525,4799,5302,5666,6612,6744%26RawValues%3d%26Redirect%3dhttp://www.direct2drive.co.uk" target="_blank"><!-- --></A>

US, July 11, 2007 - 2K showed off the Arcadia level for BioShock again today, something we'd seen at a Pre-E3 event recently in San Francsico. Ken Levine was on hand to demo all the different ways enemies can be wiped out in the game. The action started off by loading what's known as a Lazarus Vector into an irrigation system. The appropriately named compound would eventually revive a grove of trees that lay beyond the control room in which we were standing. In the meantime, we had to kill quite a few enemies.

This action in the demo was said to be about seven hours into the game so some advanced weaponry was available. A mine launcher, crossbow, and flamethrower were available. Not only will the flamethrower be able to belch flame, but can also be loaded up with liquid nitrogen for flash freezing, and liquid gel, a craftable item that stuns and electrifies enemies. We also saw an upgraded shotgun, with a rotating pulley system strapped on for increased reload speed, as well as augmented shell capacity.

Crafting items in the game is accomplished at special vending machines. They'll list the items that can be constructed and eat up money and items from your inventory. Other craftable goodies include special bolts for your crossbow that are much more resistant to breaking, which are apparently quite pricey to create. We also saw a trap bolt, which is basically an electrified wire that can be slung across hallways to surprise and shock charging foes. Ken was using the Telekinesis plasmid to properly situate the trap.

As enemies charged in at us while waiting for the trees to turn green, the most interesting attack we saw involved setting wind traps. With this plasmid you place small vortexes on the floor that fling anything that steps on them upward. Ken dropped a few on the ground, then stuck two mines up on the ceiling. When two enemies charged through a door, they hit the traps, hit the ceiling, and were killed by the ensuing explosion.

Then, like we've seen before, Ken demonstrated how enemies standing in water get electrified if you shoot a lightning bolt at the liquid. If you ignite someone or some environmental object, like oil spilled from barrels, with the fire-spewing plasmid, the object or body will set whatever it touches on fire as well. If the engulfed enemies fly to water to douse the flames, you can always shoot an electro bolt into the pool to put them down for good. Telekinesis can be tossed around pretty much anything in the game. Like before, it's clear the amount of variety to this game's combat, in addition to its storyline and slick graphics, of course.

Irrational told us the game is pretty much finished at this point on Xbox 360, and they're still doing some tweaking for the PC. With increased media attention since E3 2006, Irrational is particularly excited about BioShock's release, specifically for what it means for games in the future. "All I want to do is be able to create more games like this," says Ken Levine. "That's all I care about in my career is just make more cool games, be able to break down some barriers, things that aren't World War II shooters. That's what I want for the industry, it's the games I want to play and the games I want to make. If BioShock's successful, that to me is a ticket for making more games like this. We're not going to mention any of the story elements in the game, because honestly, they'd be better to find out for yourself when the game releases later this August.

10/10 in OXM and 95% in PC Gamer

Review scans can be found here

Forza 2 DLC races onto Live (see what I did there?)

Forza 2 DLC Races onto Xbox Live

First downloadable content pack features three new Nissan cars.

by Rob Burman, IGN UK

<A HREF="http://de.ign.com/event.ng/Type%3dclick%26FlightID%3d61869%26AdID%3d66779%26TargetID%3d11666%26Targets%3d11708,6743,7873,7697,8633,10619,11666%26Values%3d25,30,46,50,60,72,83,90,100,110,150,152,218,227,240,268,469,829,1187,1404,1481,1503,1591,2522,2662,2679,2721,3480,3543,3887,4056,4295,4525,4799,5137,5666,6612,6744%26RawValues%3d%26Redirect%3dhttp://www.direct2drive.co.uk" target="_blank"><!-- --></A>

UK, August 1, 2007 - A brand new downloadable content pack for Forza Motorsport 2 featuring three Nissan cars - the 2007 Sentra SE-R, Altima and 350Z - is available for free from Xbox Live Marketplace today.

To celebrare, Microsoft and Nissan have teamed up to run a series of Forza-themed events in the US, the first of which is an Xbox Live tournament in which competitors can only drive the Sentra SE-R. The second is a customisation contest, with budding car-tists encouraged to create the most stunning paint jobs imaginable. Entries will be judged by members of the Turn 10 dev team and Nissan, but as yet there's no word on what the prize for best design will be. More details about both competitions will be announced on the official Forza website in the next few weeks.

Finally, joining the Nissan trio of cars on the download list is the Peugeot 908 race car, which costs 50 Microsoft Points and is the only "paintable" race car in the game. Head over to Marketplace now to get behind the wheel of any of these four gas guzzlers.

Halo 3 = 4 player online co-op

I just cried tears of pure joy...

I'm just going to post the full thing and allow people to revel in this news

The Tru7h About Co-Op in Halo 3

Posted by lukems at 7/31/2007 1:49 PM PDT

It’s time for us to sack up and tell you what’s what regarding online co-op.

So you were probably wondering why we didn’t want to commit to two player co-op online over Xbox Live. We certainly got plenty of mail asking, no, demanding that we make it happen. Of course we were working on it, but we were also working on something better. Not two player co-op. Not three-player co-op, but up to four player co-op. Online. On Xbox Live, or sure, System Link if you prefer.

That is correct – up to four player co-op in Campaign mode on Xbox Live or System Link.

We’ve been playing it for quite some time, and bluntly, having some of our greatest ever Halo experiences. We wanted to make sure all our “t”s were crossed and our “i”s dotted before unveiling this important new part of Halo 3’s Campaign mode.

Apart from the horrifying network challenges this new mode presented us, were the various gameplay balance issues it adds to the fray. So we got it all together, polished it, and that’s why we’re revealing it now. As a result, you’re going to want to play co-op as hard as you can stomach it. We’d certainly recommend Legendary, but we’ll be revealing some more ways to make the game more interesting and challenging for multiple players in the very near future.

Acting as a team is a fantastic new twist to the Campaign gameplay – something that works as well on foot, in close confines as it does on the battlefield, with large scale vehicle mayhem. Scared of Jackal snipers? Send out a scout to see what dangers lie ahead. Terrified of an open field? Flank your enemies and swipe their rides. The combinations and scenarios are endless – and you’ll be able to enjoy them time and time again in Saved Films of your co-op exploits.

We mentioned that we’ve been having a blast. We have a lot of stories. Many of them would require that we explain some of the reasons replay will be a big factor, but not quite yet. Soon, we promise.

Like every other aspect of Halo 3, this mode is chosen from a Lobby. Simply select Campaign, choose your network (Xbox Live or System Link) and invite your friends to join you, or they can simply join your session once it’s set up and in a lobby (but they cannot join a game once it’s in-progress). They will pop into your lobby instantly, and when you have all the players you need (anywhere from one to four) you can begin the game from the beginning – or from any of your saved checkpoints.

Split-screen co-op is as ever, limited to two players per screen – but they can if they wish join two other friends online or via System Link.

For fictional reasons, we decided to avoid Halo’s slightly surreal compromise of two identical Master Chiefs and rather, use this opportunity to expand the Halo universe just a little bit. Player one will control the Master Chief, player two will control the Arbiter and players three and four will get the chance to control two brand new Elite characters.

Allow us to introduce them:

PLAYER 3 (Sangheili)

Name: N’tho ‘Sraom
Affiliation: Fleet of Retribution/Special Warfare Group/Special Operations
History: N’tho ‘Sraom is the youngest member of his Special Operations unit and is one of a growing number of human sympathizers amongst the Sangheili youth. He is a fairly typical young male adult Sangheili—he began compulsory military service at the end of adolescence, and remains unmarried with no close, non-familial relationships outside of his martial order. N’tho Sraom refused to stand idly by while the Prophets replaced Sangheili units with Jiralhanae packs, and now bears deep resentment toward those Sangheili politicians who landed his kind in their current predicament.

Although N’tho ‘Sraom’s romanticized nationalism is emblematic of all Sangheili, he has developed a healthy respect for humanity—not for their physical abilities or martial prowess, but for their audacity and resolve.

PLAYER 4 (Sangheili)

Name: Usze ‘Taham
Affiliation: Fleet of Retribution/Special Warfare Group/Fleet Security
History: Although Usze ‘Taham was born into a respected merchant family he was fathered by Toha ‘Sumai—one of the preeminent swordfighters of this age. Usze graduated with honors from the top War College in the Iruiru region of Yermo, Sanghelios (a distinction he shares with Rtas 'Vadum). Shortly after receiving his first post within the Covenant Navy he was offered a place on the Prophets’ Honor Guard but he declined citing “lack of practical experience”. In truth, he had no desire to be part of a largely ceremonial unit, and at the end of his third combat tour, Usze ‘Taham again refused the post—even though his superiors warned him such behavior could be misinterpreted as apostasy.

Since that time Usze has evaded countless punitive actions, at least two assassination attempts, and served with distinction for two additional tours before the Schism. Following the dissolution of the Covenant, he was approached by the Ascetics to become one of their liaisons within the Navy.

---

Every player will have identical abilities – only their appearance and weapon starts are different (Elites will start with Carbines versus Battle Rifles for example, depending on the mission). So there you have it. Mystery solved. Internet dramas ended. Four player online co-op it is. And a special thanks to the test, engineering, production and design teams who worked incredibly hard to make this feature happen.

Bam!

By Eck! GT5 Prologue Screens

New GT5 Prologue Screens.. Its not even the full GT5 either, the final car list is apparently going to be 10,000 too! altho not all available from the start.