BioShock 2 PC DLC comes out before it's ready

@Prboi

As if releasing the DLC MONTHS after the original release wasn´t enough to not give a damn..........

@Prboi

I forgot there was pending DLC for the PC version of this game. I doubt they could have handled this game much worse on PC. (2K... don't take that as a personal challenge)

@Integral

Well 2K generally doesn't like supporting the PC so it's no surprise that they are doing this

@Ranko

They WEREN'T going to do it at all, and people bitched then.

This DLC already released ahead of time. The fact that it doesn't work, while undesirable, doesn't warrant your kind of reaction.

@Ranko
A valid point, but some companies know they can make money either way. At least a 2K rep was generous enough to offer a statement, even if it shouldn't have been released yet.

@Lerkero
Oh I agree. My only gripe if I do put money down for a product, I do expect it to work or semi work because I understand that in this day and age, with DLC and digital distribution there's bumps on the road. I just don't understand why they would do this.

@PointlessPuppies
So... we should just grovel at their crotch because they gave us anything at all?

Please. If this wasn't intended to be released yet (Why does the Marketplace even have it then?) that's one thing.

But if this was "finished" then by all means it warrants that reaction.

I'm sick of the apologists out there for game companies. They're a COMPANY. We give them MONEY. We expect things to WORK.

@Mmmmz Nobody's being an apologist. I was first in line to bitch when they snubbed the PC version because apparently our money wasn't good enough, but it makes no sense to bitch for the sake of bitching (i.e., "why release it if it's not going to work").

It's being released ahead of time and it doesn't work. Does it affect you? No, because you were already expecting it at a certain date. If that date arrives and it still isn't fixed, then bitch away.

@Dr AwesomeMAN96 No, no they didn't! Don't go look for it, and certainly don't play it. IT DOESN'T EXIST.

@Sleeping Lesson

Damn, that bad huh...

Lol. I was trollin. It was pretty bad

@KungFuChaosNinja

*they

What if I were to tell you that, with a few exceptions (i.e. the lineage of the main character) and the time setting the story is almost word-for-word System Shock 2. How would that make you feel about BioShock's "story" ?

@KungFuChaosNinja

I didn't hate it, I just thought it was incredibly dull.

@Drakkenfyre

Not only that, both games have a wrench!

But seriously, BioShock's story is loved just because of that one very important part that didn't exist in SS2. Actually, I'd say that the games' stories have nothing else major in common than the fact that (Does this really need a SPOILER ALERT anymore?) your guide and ally turns out to be the bad guy. It's not like that twist is exclusive to these two games anyway.

As for BioShock 2 then, I liked it. It's a very good game once you stop comparing it to the original and appreciate it for what it is. There are plotholes and you don't really feel like an unstoppable killing machine until near the very end, but at the same time the level design is top-notch and some of the characters are very well written (Lamb is a million times more interesting villain that Fontaine). Most importantly, it manages to get the moral system work just right which sadly seems to get ignored.

Your character has a loss of memory, ends ups in the middle of where some really bad shit went down. Is helped along by a mysterious person who uses radio to contact you. You are modified, and upgrade your modifications as you go. Due to your modifications you see "ghosts". As you go, you find audio logs recorded by the people who used to live where you are. You trip security systems, but can hack them and shut them down. If you die you are revived at a vitachamber. You collect money as you go to buy equipment and more from machines, including food and alcohol, which can have a positive or negative effect on you. As you go along, you find out the person who is helping you isn't who they say they are, is really a bad guy, and has been having you do everything according to their plan. You don't want to go along with it, but have no choice. You have another bad guy you have to fight.

The only things that are different are the locations, the time, the way some of your upgrades work, and the family relations your character has to the bad guys. Remove the mention of the previous game, change the aliens with the splicers, and there you have BioShock's story.

Anyone who says the stories aren't similiar is an idiot. And considering the same people did both games, they reused the storyline.

BioShock's story is not original.

@Drakkenfyre

The real difference is that Bioshock took place in Ayn Rand's waterlogged vagina.

@Drakkenfyre

Well, sir, System Shock is one of my favorite franchises of all-time, which also includes the original that Mr. Spector worked on. The sequel is, of course, even better in my eyes, though. SHODAN is easily one of the best antagonists in gaming. The Von Braun provides a haunting and chilling atmosphere that doesn't have many comparisons in the game space. However, even though my love for System Shock goes deep, my love for BioShock also goes deep, and your argument has been placed many times before and it lacks some originality.

@KungFuChaosNinja

My point here is when people praise BioShock's story for it's "originality", they need to know the story's been reused.

It's the same company. They ran with a good formula. But to the people who played System Shock 2 prior, it smacks them and they say "What the hell? I've played this already!"

And before I get jumped by people saying "Looking Glass Studio is closed!", I mean it's some of the same people.

@Drakkenfyre

Most of that wall of text lists gameplay elements, except for the "your helper is a bad guy"-part, which I already acknowledged.

Did the protagonist in SS2 really suffer from amnesia? I don't remember that being in any way important to the plot at least.

@Lucky The Fox

Get over it. They recycled the plot. The head guy worked on both projects. My point is it wasn't original. Don't praise BioShock's story as being original.

And yes, your character in System Shock 2 did suffer memory loss. As part of the process of going into stasis, your short term memories are transferred to a computer, and before you are revived, they are transferred back. When your character is being revived, the computer malfunctions, and doesn't transfer them back. That's why your character has no idea what's happening or what has happened. It's part of the intro video.

@KungFuChaosNinja "Thief: Deadly Shadows"

I wish I could hate you to death. When I heard Deadly Shadows was coming out, I played through Thief 1 and 2 again to reimmerse myself in one of the deepest, most enjoyable games I've ever played.

I have never felt so violated, my precious memories of a game series so throughly destroyed, as I did when I loaded up Deadly Shadows and played through that travesty - and that includes Deus Ex 2. I finished it out of some twisted sense of loyalty and haven't had the heart to play a Thief game since.

Also re: SS2, completely true. It wasn't something I noticed when playing Bioshock, but it's blindingly obvious when someone points it out.

@Drakkenfyre

I *really* wish they'd bring back System Shock.

+1.

@Drakkenfyre

Well, yeah, of course there are similarities, as Ken Levine has always stated that BioShock was a spiritual successor to System Shock, hence the "Shock".

Anyways, I've heard your argument a million times and it wore thin a long time ago. It's almost as if someone said Eternal Darkness had no originality in terms of storytelling because its psychological aspects were used before in games. While, yes, there are tropes in all games mentioned, that doesn't mean the games are completely void of any originality. To make such a blanket statement, it only hurts this medium as a whole, and furthermore condemns any game for not being original enough, which is asinine, IMHO.

Now, excuse me, I'm going to go play some unoriginal games and have fun. *steps down off high horse*

To the other poster:

I reject the notion that Deadly Shadows was not excellent. However, you're right about Invisible War.

@AMonkey Its more likley to be the other way around, PC support is rare because of piracy.

@LEONLEONLEON and people pirate because of a lack of support. Nobody is gonna pay for a half-hearted effort.

It's like nobody making games or publishing games listens when Valve says "we see pirates as potential customers, we have to give them a reason to buy", then wonder why they run over half the market

@LEONLEONLEON No, it's not the other way around. Historically, the games with the worst DRM are the ones with the most piracy rates, mostly to spite the companies stupid enough to do stuff like "need a constant internet connection in a single player game".

Lazy developers just use piracy as an excuse to not support the PC version. That's really all that it is. It's an excuse, not a reason.

@LEONLEONLEON While there are a few douchebags who pirated no matter what and don't plan on buying the game simply because they feel entitled, most pirates are influenced by the way the publisher acts/treats its customers products. Good publisher/good product=less piracy. Bad publisher/over hyped game=more piracy. Forcing your game to use GFWL, having terrible PC optimisation and not releasing DLC is a good way to encourage piracy.

"Nobody is gonna pay for a half-hearted effort."

Then don't play it, that's your choice. But don't use it as a justification for stealing a product.

@RobLink There is, of course, a difference between attempting to justify our own actions and providing explanation of the actions of others. I don't pirate games, except when it's a game I've already bought and it's simply impossible to make it work correctly without pirating.

However, piracy on PC is fairly rampant not simply because people can, but because publishers (and sometimes developers) seem hell-bent on making the lives of legitimate gamers miserably should they choose the PC as their platform of choice. Things get released broken or with ridiculous DRM (see: Assassin's Creed 2). The lack of support and service encourages piracy.

Don't believe me? Well, the most popular and successful developer in the world is a PC developer, who doesn't have much problem with piracy. Sure, it's partially because that developer is Valve, and Steam is a good DRM system, but Valve's other "DRM" system is providing good service. For instance, Gabe Newell once noted that their piracy rates dropped dramatically in Russia when they started releasing localized games at the same time as the English versions. In other words, once they provided a reasonable level of service, most of the people who were going to buy did buy.

But, sure, blame pirates for the kind of crap 2K pulls.

The correct response to bad service/poor product is not purchasing that product, it is not theft.

@RobLink Good thing piracy isn't theft.

@AMonkey That's a ridiculous response and you well know it. Taking a product which is only available for purchase without paying for it is theft, whether it's a tangible item or a digital product. You can justify it however you like, but if you're downloading them in order to use them without paying, you're nothing but a petty criminal. End of.