I've been playing this too and I'm surprised there isn't more love for it here; it's a truly special game.

It's almost like two games in one actually: the linear story FPS and the free-form, "emergent gameplay" Big Daddy hunting.

Wonderful stuff and, yes, it looks beautiful.

Played the demo, and really didn't enjoy it at all.

The 50s/nautical inspired architecture is pretty amazing it has to be said, genuinely an achievement.

The visual design and effects are both great in fact, but they don't fit together very well. The visual design is probably the strongest element of the game, and some of the effects distract from that. I would rather have had it toned down a bit, understate the design a little.

What I didn't enjoy at all, from the demo, was the horrendously average FPS that sits underneath. Some reviews reckon the opener is the strongest part - have I seen the good bit already? You'll have to explain the Big Daddy Hunting, but this seems like yet another completely tedious console fps.

As a peculiar aside, technically there is also something badly wrong with the combination of ropey frame rate and narrow field of vision - after 30 minutes it literally made me feel ill, and that has never happened to me with a video game before. I went back to the demo a week later, and after 30 mins felt queasy again - weird.

That is odd. I get motion sickness with about 50% of all FPS games but this one has been rock solid for me.

The Big Daddy hunting is the best part of the game. They're so strong and so fast that you have to be really clever about how you kill them. You can set traps for them, manipulate other enemies into fighting them and all kinds of other stuff. It's pretty neat.

based on the demo, this game is generic fps bilge, exactly the kind of derivative tripe I stopped playing fps games for.

the premise is spot on, the execution is embarrasing, and you should all be deeply ashamed of yourselves for being won over by its cripsy unreal engine visulomics.

hillariously, it "extends" the fps genre by ingeniously giving an fps player, basically, force powers, as if thats something clever.

I'm basically stone cold dead to this game, simply because the art design is so good. That art design, within a decent, interesting mechanic and not its 2 dimensional, patronising guff gas its delivered.

but hey, that's based on the demo, maybe they've completely overhauled the entire game from start to finish between releasing the demo and stacking the shelves.

P.S. I don't care for the genre. Asteroids for the win!

Nah, if you've played the demo then you'll have a good idea of what the whole game constitutes, apart from the aforementioned Big Daddy hunting, which really is a test of the player's imagination.

Overall though, Bioshock is really an exercise in well executed style and presentation rather than gameplay mechanics. It's the sort of game where you'll end up talking about particular "moments" more than anything else. In that respect, it's great but probably not something for those who seek genuine innovation.

Much like killer7, the game is either "style=context" or "style over context" depending on your view.

This I can half understand... but...

Killer 7 at least tried to change up the game enough for it not to be a tedious riff on survival horror. Also the visual design was superb, unique, and consistent.

Bioshock doesn't really make it on any of those.

Not that I'm saying it is terrible, based purely on the demo, just the game itself is very average. You'd be playing for the visual set pieces alone, surely.

While the level design, graphics and art direction are first rate, what I really like is, unlike in The Darkness, the way you never see the character you are playing. At first I tried looking for my reflection in water and hunting for mirrors, but eventually you are forced to imagine your appearance - something that becomes great fun towards the end of the game. The way I approached the story just felt so right through out and the ending was pretty much perfect. Total joy of a game and due to some great save points I'll be going back to rapture from time to time for a visit. Might even play through again on hard...
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When's 'Wii Carlton' coming out?

Completely agree with that; it's one of the few FPS games I've played where you can tell the developers really thought about how to best make use of the perspective.

Hmm Interesting. I should probably give the demo a whirl. I know I'll never have enough time to devote to this, so the demo will probably fill my needs perfectly (something which happens a lot with the 360).

Interesting comments about your avatar or lack of in-game. This looks like the reverse approach to Mirrors Edge which was covered in the last issue of EDGE. Makes me want to play Breakdown even though it's supposed to be pants.

In general pretty visuals can only hold me for so long. There has to be something under the hood something going on in there to keep me playing. As a result I think there's a real tendency for me to approach every story-driven fps with a degree of suspicion as there are just so many of them that have no soul.

The whole genre actually has taken an interesting direction over recent years. I'd almost call it the 'Half Life Effect'. Valve release something that moves the bar up a notch and then everyone wants to develop a fps with strong narrative and some 'unique' feature. There's a real paucity of good arcade based fps games now. Something which is clear when you look at how popular Resi 4's Mercenary mode is on this forum. What the genre badly needs is an exceptional arcade syle offering with well balanced weapons, tight and focused level design, rapid pace and above all else a proper scoring mechanic. Live Arcade would be ripe for something of this ilk.

You'll be wanting Haze and The Club, then. Although the latter is third person but they're both super arcadey in their own way.

I dunno man, I mean Haze sounds pretty generic. It's story driven and has a 'unique' feature as per my earlier post. I'd be interested to see what Mirror's Edge turns out like actually as at least that is trying something genuinely different. My hopes are not high though.

I think I might give Red Steel a whirl when it comes down in price.

Yeah but it's a unique feature that pervades the entire game and directly affects the gameplay.

The Club though - it really is like Resi's Mercenaries but with cyclical levels.

Just finished this myself on easy as I had to get through it quick because the console and game were lent to me. Suffice to say I didn't quite get to enjoy it as I would have liked but I saw enough in there to make me want to go back and play through on a harder difficulty when I get my own 360 and copy of the game. Lots of stuff I want to try out like the plasmids I neglected and harvesting the little sisters rather than saving them.

Not quite met my expectations, but then they were rather unrealistic to begin with. Still, managed to get sucked into the world of Rapture and I did enjoy exploring the little nooks and crannies searching out the audio diaries and whatnot.

I would have liked to have seen more deus ex/system shock elements, less of the fetch quests and more freedom. Ideally without loading screens or minimal ones at that, perhaps masked cleverly in some way.

Without having played alot of this years most vaunted titles, I wouldn't be able to say for sure but it certainly is a contender for my game of the year.

That's high praise indeed. I really should give the demo a punt based on the comments in this thread. I'll pop it on for download tonight.

Graphically this game is stunning, but I tend to agree with Paper on the particle effects etc. They seem to clash badly with the overall aesthetic: like confetti at a funeral.

I didn't finish the demo, but it reminded me a lot of Half Life 2 a game which didn't captivate me tbh. There's no doubt that the scripted events and the presentational polish in Bioshock are leaps and bounds ahead of most titles. The game is going to live or die on the strength of the story as from what I can see it's a fairly linear fps romp. I don't have a problem with that, provided the difficulty and pacing are perfect. What pisses me off ultimately with these games is watching the same scripted event over and over when you keep getting killed and restarting from the last save point.

I'd like to see some opinions from some System Shock 2 fans (a game which I do have, but never got into). SS2 in my very limited experience had more depth in terms of the RPG elements. I guess what I'm driving at is if I was to invest time into a game of this ilk which one is my best bet? System Shock 2, Deus Ex, Half Life 2 or Bioshock?

I finished the game recently and I'd recommend it to everyone, it's just brilliant in almost every area.

The comment about the start of the game being better than the latter sections does hold some water (arf), but bear in mind that that's still 15 or so hours of incredibly well designed areas to explore. Bioshock is a very big game and although some have said the quality dips at the tail end, I personally disagree as I thought it was excellent throughout.

The plot is indeed linear and it sends you on a direct path, but each section of the game is so detailed and packed with areas to explore (many of which you do not need to see) that makes the experience feel more natural than many games of its type. There are no artificial barriers in Rapture that break the spell, such as invisible walls or inconsistant impassable objects. In these non-essential areas, there are loads of audio diaries to hear (also non-essential) which is where most of the plot is explained. You get a great sense of time passing as you slowly learn the order of events that brought the city to the state we see it. It's a very interesting plot device and no game has ever done it as well this - Bioshock can count five or six characters that are so well realised they will almost certainly be remembered for years to come. The depth is quite stunning in the plot, and although the story itself is fairly simple, it is told in a way that really pushes gaming that little bit further forward. The writing and in particular the voice acting, is absolutely spot on.

A generic FPS with force powers? No no no! It opens up more and more the further you get in. It's not about the famous "one two" of shock and wrench, its so much more than that. The Big Daddies also add a whole new dynamic - roaming boss characters that you can use to your advantage or make an area a whole lot harder depending on what you are doing. They litterally roam about too, you can follow them about around entire levels, meaning that sometimes they walk into a room at the worst possible moments.

I cannot recommend the game enough, and if you were put off by the demo then I really suggest renting a copy to try it out. I think you may be surprised. The game isn't perfect by any means (some parts of the gameplay could have been explored more), but I can't think of any other single player adventure as well constructed as this. I think it even tops Resi4 and Half-life2, personally.

Mad - you said you don't like scripted games due to reloading saves and having to replay them. Not so in bioshock - when you die you respawn at set locations, much like in an online shooter. Everything you've achieved - including the damage done to enemies - is carried over. This brings other problems to the gameplay (basically, you cannot die), but its certainly less frustrating.

As for best game out of Deus, Sys2 or Bioshock...I suggest starting with Bioshock as it is the most accessable. The combat is also much more refined than any other game in this sub-genre (it would stand up as a bog standard shooter). All three games are absolute stunners though, give them all a try (though I suggest skipping Deus Ex 2, which is good but not in the same league).

Well I can't argue with your passion for the game Fuser. You've done a good job of selling it to me. I don't think I have the time to play this one now, but rest assured I'll be keeping an eye out for a budget release later on.

Hmm. I'm a fan of those games. I'd say go for System Shock 2 or Deus Ex. That being said SS2 is starting to show its age now but still remains one of the most atmospheric and scary games I've played. I'd definitely say there's more depth to it than say Bioshock, which has similar elements but is more streamlined. Deus Ex is another one I'd suggest too it's a bit newer and has similar gameplay to SS2.

I'm trying to play this at the moment, started last night... though after the Dead Space experience I might have mellowed to this kinda of gamexperience. Think I can only manage an hour at a time... the hacking of devices and the just plain embarrassing PipeMania stuff just really weird, who thought that was a good idea?

Also trying it on Hard to fluff up the engagement.

There is something incredibly PC about it... down to the very very very bland menu system and the apparent inability to change the controls. Its 7/10ths an Xbox 360 game, giving more of an impression of a mod... which it effect is.

Its a struggle.

Strangely I've seen quite a lot of this game, right up to the first 'little sister' decision. Interestingly that resulted in a bug where the player got stuck on the edge of a desk and couldn't move.... Hmmm

The reason I say 'seen' is because I've been a spectator. It's aight I suppose, Next to Dead Space I don't think it pulls off the atmosphere quite as well. In part I think this is due to the level of hand holding over the first hour or so. Everytime a new element to the game is introduced the game takes over, tells you what it is and what to do with it. Dead Space by comparison beyond the first 10 minutes pretty much lets you get on with it apart from the needed objective sign-posting.