Confirmed: BioShock is dope
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Jun 22nd 2007 at 2:58PM }
Some will inevitably pick up BioShock and quickly run n' gun (and pummel and zap and ignite and freeze and distract and clothesline and ... ) past the decaying set pieces and gently placed story devices. Meh, it was a'ight, they'll say, and then set their sights on the next shooter to devour. But for the devoted player, there is an onion to peel back. Seeing first a later stage in the game, where an almost unending stream of engineered freaks must be slaughtered (on-the-fly) by using booby traps, mind tricks, IEDs, telekinesis, and even mini cyclones is overwhelming. But, starting from the beginning, coaxed by a dynamic hint system, you'll slowly tiptoe through darkness until you're forced into the vivid brutality of this perverse underworld. You'll adapt and modify, hack and tinker, and free demonic little girls -- or not. To reveal too much about BioShock would be to spoil an intimate adventure that you should not pass up.
With only and hour and change spent with the game (a work-in-progress build) it's still an easy call: BioShock will be hailed by critics. But even with an early lead (release date: August 21), 2K Games is gonna have a helluva time promoting its game over Halo, GTA, and the general noise Sony and Nintendo will be making about their year-end lineups (commencing next month at min-E3). So do your part, save BioShock from drowning.
Gallery: BioShock
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Matt B @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:02PM
It's a murder and intravenous drug using simulator.
j/k
Stevo @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:04PM
If I could only afford two games this holiday season, it'd be Halo 3 and Bioshock. So many good games are coming out!!!
john @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:10PM
Of all the games this fall, I'm most excited for this one.
deaftly @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:13PM
hmm what to play , this or metroid, yea, real hard choice there.
bioshock
Theta @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:13PM
Very, very, very interesting game. I can't wait to play it. I expect it to be as satisfying as Half-life series.
Jake @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:18PM
This game seems to have great graphics, unique story, and unique gameplay. If it "plays right", it is going to f'ing rock.
It is still 4th on my list of anticipated titles behind Mass Effect, Halo3, and Unreal III, but that is still pretty damn high considering how many good games are coming this summer/fall. It's sick. I can't wait.
Hirsbrunner @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:19PM
hmm what to play, this or Super Mario Galaxy, yeah, real hard choice there.
Super Mario Galaxy
Martin @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:21PM
"4. hmm what to play , this or metroid, yea, real hard choice there."
Why is it a choice at all? Play both you flame-baiting fucktard. (hypocritical, I know, but don't care).
Capt. Castellanos @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:21PM
hmm what to play, this or Super Mario Galaxy, metroid, and super smash bros, yeah, real hard choice there.
Buy them all.
Abscissa @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:59PM
"BioShock is dope"
Ever wonder why people consider gaming journalism to be a terrible joke? (And don't give me that pathetic "We're bloggers, not journalists" cop-out.)
I like to read Joystiq because of the incredible wealth of news, but the quality of the writing is about one step above GameFAQs.
deaftly @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:27PM
nintentards, i mentioned metroid because its coming out the day before this, of course you morons had to start up as usual
Hirsbrunner @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:32PM
Yeah, "flame-baiting fucktard" is just a bit harsh, dontcha think? I know it isn't directed towards me, but jeez louise.
Bioshock looks awesome. If I actually enjoyed first peson shooters, I might pick this up.
But I don't, so I won't.
Martin @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:37PM
You are right Hirsbrunner. Sorry about that deaftly. I shouldn't have taken out my aggressions on you like I did.
Friends?
samfish @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:38PM
"Yeah, "flame-baiting fucktard" is just a bit harsh, dontcha think? I know it isn't directed towards me, but jeez louise."
No, I'd say it's about spot-on, actually.
chris furniss @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:48PM
isn't it kind of counter-intuitive to say the game is "meathead-poof" yet calling it "dope"? Or were you attempting irony?
Theta @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:54PM
Yeah I'll second samfish.
I love morons and their thinly veiled attempts to knock on a video game console to boost their own pathetically flagging little egos.
Happy Friday kids!
Theta @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:54PM
Yeah I'll second samfish.
I love morons and their thinly veiled attempts to knock on a video game console to boost their own pathetically flagging little egos.
Happy Friday kids!
Shagittarius @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:56PM
I love double posting morons...
Shagittarius @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:57PM
I love double posting morons...
cc123 @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:58PM
^^
haha
Theta @ Jun 22nd 2007 4:02PM
Awesome! A double-post joke and a monkey to laugh at it too. Welcome to 1997.
You wanan pick on my spelilng too mister?
Idiots
Mr Khan @ Jun 22nd 2007 4:05PM
Chances were it was going to rock, and i'll be interested to see if the sales of Metroid Prime 3 cannibalize BioShock, if it happens the other way around, or if both sell well
Metroid Prime 2, of course, was cannibalized by Halo 2, and it would be wierd bad luck on Nintendo's part to have it cannibalized again...
cc123 @ Jun 22nd 2007 4:08PM
Actually I was just laughing at Shag's double post.
So pull the stick out of your ass Theta, it's Friday.
You can reinsert it on Monday.
Shagittarius @ Jun 22nd 2007 4:10PM
harhar!
BulletToothTony @ Jun 22nd 2007 7:46PM
it's amazing, how you can get 5 pics and say that a game will be great..
360 has it easy now a days..
instead, for other consoles, even if the videos are great and even real time they'll say that they suck no matter what...
Viridium @ Jun 22nd 2007 4:12PM
My copy is already on preorder.
Theta @ Jun 22nd 2007 4:24PM
Try reading the comments before you reply, 123, it helps.
And I'm already half a drink into the weekend here captain one-trick pony. Enjoy observing other people's sphincters, buttercup.
Cheers!
Shagittarius @ Jun 22nd 2007 4:27PM
It's not a tumor.
C. Grant @ Jun 22nd 2007 4:28PM
Thanks, Abscissa. You're a doll.
Avatar @ Jun 22nd 2007 4:31PM
I pooped.
Just thought I'd throw that out there.
cc123 @ Jun 22nd 2007 4:32PM
Theta = angry drunk
Shagittarius @ Jun 22nd 2007 4:42PM
I just assumed Absissa was talking about the comments... I thought the article conveyed the excitement and setting quite nicely personally.
samfish @ Jun 22nd 2007 4:47PM
samfish = pervert in the bushes masturbating in a clown costume
Shagittarius @ Jun 22nd 2007 4:54PM
I heard clown skeet tastes funny.
Shagittarius @ Jun 22nd 2007 4:56PM
skeet skeet skeet?
C. Grant @ Jun 22nd 2007 4:58PM
Shagittarius: No, pretty sure he was talking about the James' writing. Hey, Abscissa, try reading James' feature on the Pac-Man Championship in NYC. GameFAQs quality, right?
Jake @ Jun 22nd 2007 5:08PM
Not to fuel the quenched flamebait battle that was going on earlier, but I have a Wii and 360 and have to choose between focusing on this or Metroid first, given their basic simeoutaneous launches. And I consider Bioshock to be the easy answer. Just look at the game. I'm almost scared to play it. The shit's real. No knock on Metroid either, I loves me some Metroid and it is one of the main reason I even have a Wii. But the excitement factor isn't quite the same there.
Hell, Metroid may likely be more fun overall in the end. But when they are both sitting there and I've barely played either one, Bioshock on the HDTV with surround and the lights off. Yeah, easy choice indeed. That is unless Mass Effect comes out some time during this friken year. Halo-what?
SoulBlade @ Jun 22nd 2007 5:35PM
I'm going to be playing this on my PC so I can take advantage of DX10 and keyboard/mouse. Don't need a 360 yet... until possibly Mass Effect.
Shagittarius @ Jun 22nd 2007 5:23PM
All console tendencies aside I'd take the following sight unseen over Metroid:
Bioshock
Lair
Too Human
Mass Effect
Haze
Halo 3
Heavy Rain
Hot Shots Golf 5
dvnt @ Jun 22nd 2007 5:25PM
"Half-Life 2, the pinnacle of "narrative" shooters"
My ass Half-Life 2 was the pinnacle of anything. A good game, yes. But it's severely overrated.
synce @ Jun 22nd 2007 5:51PM
Half Life? I was thinking more like an underwater Metroid Prime. And as much fun as that game was the first time around, I never touched it again after I finished it. So do I want to spend 60 or 70 bucks on Bioshock? Not so sure now.
synce @ Jun 22nd 2007 5:51PM
Also, does anyone else smell "sleeper hit"? GTA, Halo, and maybe even MGS4 are releasing this holiday season (just like in 2001 and 2004), and when that happens other games just get ignored.
samfish @ Jun 22nd 2007 5:29PM
Damn, Abscissa – you pissed off the big guy! He carries the Bah Hammer 'round these part, you know.
Not just any ol' Ban Hammer, either. Sure, the other (GameFAQ-esque) writers here have 'em, too...but Chris Grant carries 'round the MASTER Ban Hammer.
The one you have to wander around a forest maze for a while only to find lodged in it's...um...
thingymabobberthatI'mforgettingwhatit'sactuallycalled.
Yeah, that thing.
Gosh DARNIT, I wanna go home right now.
TheRat @ Jun 22nd 2007 5:41PM
Boy, am I glad I got a x360.
My lineup consists of Eternal Sonata, Assasin's Creed, GTA IV, Bioshock, and some Halo 3. It's a good year to own a 360 certainly...
samfish @ Jun 22nd 2007 5:31PM
For the record, the Bah Hammer turns you into a sheep. The Ban Hammer, presumably, gets you banned.
...I should seriously re-read the stupid shit I write sometimes.
syco @ Jun 22nd 2007 5:50PM
This is a title I may very well pick up whenever I get a 360. That might be a while, hopefully it'll be nice and cheap by that point :)
Sonrics @ Jun 22nd 2007 6:07PM
"Boy, am I glad I got a x360.
My lineup consists of Eternal Sonata, Assasin's Creed, GTA IV, Bioshock, and some Halo 3. It's a good year to own a 360 certainly..."
do not forget about Blue Dragon and Forza 2... we prefer 150 worthy titles, then 380 pushed titles...
Abscissa @ Jun 22nd 2007 6:30PM
"35. Shagittarius: No, pretty sure he was talking about the James' writing."
Actually, I was referring specifically to the "BioShock is dope" in the title and completely overstated my point. Too fired up over the Manhunt 2 and NYC bill stuff I guess. There have been times I've been unhappy with some of the writing here, but it's been fine lately. (Though, I do find the occasionally mentioned blogger/journalist distinction to be a bit nit-picky.)
"39. Damn, Abscissa – you pissed off the big guy! He carries the Bah Hammer 'round these part, you know."
If a lot of the console war flamebait I tend to see is tolerated, I'm not particularly concerned about a little criticism. Besides, if I get "bahhed" ;) from comments here, so what? I'll just start up my own gaming news site, with blackjack, and hookers. In fact, forget the news and the blackjack. Ah, screw the whole thing...
Dale @ Jun 22nd 2007 6:47PM
My wife and I both lust after this game and both of us hate FPS games.
Johnny Bloom @ Jun 22nd 2007 7:09PM
If I may...
I have a legitimate question, and I would like a legitimate answer: what is the purpose of insulting video game consoles. Rarely has a blog commentor ever changed anyone's opinions, and I seriously doubt that they ever will. Now, an intelligent debate about the merits of the different consoles and games would be, as those crazy kids say, "hawt." However, this rarely happens on Joystiq, and most other blogs/forums. Why? And isn't fanboyism a wee (no pun intended) silly? The companies and machines will never know that you "love" them, so why not just enjoy them, and not defend them as if they were your children. So today, I challenge everyone on the Internet to be at the very least polite.
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