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THIS IS THE REVIEW 2K Games DOES NOT WANT YOU TO SEE - REDUX...4

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: September 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Let's keep this sweet, organized and fair.

UNDISPUTED FACT:
BIOSHOCK will only install for a limited number of times (it was 3 but - after a deluge of eMails and bad reviews - it was upped to 5). So, if you install it you will be reluctant to uninstall once finished and will have to carry those 9GB on your HardDrive for a long time. On top of that, its resale value is down the drain the moment one pops the box open...
One has to ask: even after paying $50 for it, WHO ACTUALLY OWNS MY COPY?

UNDISPUTED FACT:
The game utilizes an overzealous version of SecuROM 7. They either activated all its available options or had a special version custom made. No other game company dared behaving in such heavy-handed way. This means that the game will not even install if you operate virtual drives and will block certain non-DRM certified Drives.

DISPUTED FACT :
It has been widely reported that BIOSHOCK installs a RootKit. Both MICROSOFT's ROOTKIT DETECTION TOOL and AVG ANTI-VIRUS detected either the RootKit or its actions. Recently, AVG was made to release a special update (just for BIOSHOCK) to ignore this alert.
In hacker lingo, to "take someone's Root" means to insert a procedure that "will allow the intruders to maintain root access (highest privilege) on the system without the system administrator even seeing them" (Source: WIKIPEDIA).
Official BIOSHOCK announcements (and their "unofficial" reviewers here at AMAZON) will try to persuade everyone who would listen that there is nothing there, so stop looking and don't even mention it.
Understandable reaction since, the existence of a RootKit would be a solid basis for class-action litigation.
Weight the facts and judge for yourself.

UNDISPUTED FACT:
BIOSHOCK effectively revokes our Administrator rights on our own computers. Here is what happens: even after completely uninstalling the game there is a mystery folder that canNOT be removed, no matter what!
On WinXP it is located here:
"C:\Documents and Settings\[User Name]\Application Data\SecuRom"
As administrators, we could (unwisely) delete even Windows System folders - yet BIOSHOCK's mystery folder apparently claims a higher authority level? What this folder does and why should it get placed into OUR computers so that we cannot remove it even as Administrators, is beyond me. And I, for one, do NOT appreciate it one bit. (A quick internet search revealed a number of suggestions on how to get rid of it, ranging from clearly unsafe to catastrophic...)
True, almost every game leaves one or two folders behind after uninstalled - but this NEVER REVOKES OUR ADMINISTRATOR RIGHTS to delete them!

I do understand that there are production and publishing costs to get recovered as well as profit projections to be reached. Companies that wish to protect their investment will always try to fight piracy. This is only reasonable and expected.
However, with BIOSHOCK, as it is currently available by 2K GAMES, it gets WAY OUT OF HAND & WELL BEYOND RIDICULOUS!!

No one in the game-publishing industry seems to learn from past mistakes: every security system eventually gets cracked and every "OnLine activation requirement" eventually gets bypassed. So, utilizing an overly intrusive, inconvenient and possibly dangerous security kit only serves in penalizing the people who actually paid good money for their product - and manage to shoot their sales in the foot at the same time.
Look what happened with HALF-LIFE 2: legitimate buyers still have to put up with activating the game every time we want to play - and of course VALVE paid the price: unprotected HL1 had sold TWICE as many units as STEAM-"secured" HL2 ever did (8million and 4million respectively, Source: THE WASHINGHTON POST)

Since I would NEVER install a contraption such as BIOSHOCK onto my computer and wished to have hands-on experience before I reviewed the game, I asked around and a colleague of mine had already made the mistake of purchasing it and installing on his laptop.
THIS IS NOT A BAD GAME.
The environments are well designed and have a pleasant retro patina; the graphics are very nice, even though they do not meet the hype. They are subpar even to older games such as HL2 (not to mention STALKER).
You see, dark is not always moody, and blurry cannot always be mistaken for dreamy.
I did love the music though! Both the collection of happy-go-lucky and romantic 1940's songs (contrasting with the bleak environment) as well as their smart timing, added to the overall experience.

It was the gameplay I was the least impressed.
Totally linear - as it is has come to be expected from any FPS today I am afraid. To be fair, I cannot imagine a Single Player holding a storyline without being more or less linear (even "free"-roaming FAR CRY did not escape this curse) - but then again, that is why I am not a game designer. And unless the publishers release their creative suffocation of the true game artists, there is no hope for a worthy successor to SYSTEM SHOCK 2.

The controls are not hard to get used to; if not, they are remapable; nevertheless, I would love to have an inventory: cycling between which plasmid and which ammo for which gun can get pretty frustrating. Fast.
And, finally: dying. Regeneration chambers turn the game into a check-point one - and I hate checkpoint-games. Most often than not, they are chosen in order to artificially augment the gameplay duration (having us replay the same segments over and over - instead of saving wherever we feel like it). Moreover, when progressing, you usually end up getting killed just before the next regeneration chamber (and having to repeat quite a distance from the previous one) whereas, when facing a Boss, regeneration takes away all the suspense. Keep respawning, you will eventually get him, his health does not increase if you do.

So, all in all, BIOSHOCK IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH WORTH ITS TROUBLE.
It is only a slightly above-average game; and if 2K GAMES did not have the guts to publish it for PCs (and is hiding it within an intrusive security Kit) it should have stuck with X-BOX.

Even BIOSHOCK designers acknowledge there is a serious issue with the security measures forced upon them by the publisher. These measures are hurting their game and, so, THERE IS AN UPDATED VERSION COMING IN THE NEAR FUTURE TO FIX THIS!
Don't take my word for it. Google for "Ken Levin-Interview" and "BIOSHOCK-Fixed-Version" and see for yourself. (I tried to add links but Amazon, apparently, does not allow them)

BIOSHOCK has it all: temperamental and Limited number of Installations, overzealous Drive-Blockers, possible cloaked RootKits, irremovable folders...NONE of which is Clearly marked on the product description!!

As it is, it will come NOWHERE NEAR MY SYSTEM!

I would advise waiting for 6 months, they will either clear it up or it will find its way to the clearance bins...Just last week I bought RISE & FALL: CIVILIZATIONS AT WAR for $2.99 (less than 8 months after its release) - and that nugget featured STARFORCE of all things!

Would you kindly play this game?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: September 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

How's this for a story? A man becomes annoyed with the current world, a world where the great are taken for granted and told that their toils are either for the people, for God or for the government. In response, he creates a fantastic environment, free from all of these turmoils. A place where all the great men and women of the world can create their own inventions without fear of consequence. In this place, men and women could do what they wanted.

If this sounds like Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, you'd be correct. However, in this particular case, it's also the background story behind Rapture, the under-water city that takes centerplace in Bioshock. Many words have been bandied about about video games and their ability (or inability) to become art; you have folks like Roger Ebert saying the medium as a whole can never attain that goal. My personal thought that was that, as a medium, games haven't made enough strides toward that lofty goal. But Bioshock certainly takes a huge step forward.

Andrew Ryan is a visionary the likes of which his namesake Ayn Rand would possibly write about in Atlas Shrugged. He exemplifies the qualities of a Randian hero and showcases Rand's philosophy of objectivism. He created the city of Rapture and filled it, much like John Galt in Atlas Shrugged, with the visionaries of his land. Rapture soon was a thriving city that emphasized science and growth and the importance of the individual. They dabbled in creating plasmids that changed a person's DNA, enabling them to do feats the likes of which had never been seen before.

Then something happened.

Flying over the Atlantic sea, you are Jack, a person who was destined for greatness, if you ask his parents, and whose plane is now crashing into the sea. Jack is apparently the only survivor of the plane wreck and swims to a lone building, a light house it seems, that beckons him onward. Eventually, he goes into a blathysphere and enters into the world of Rapture. But this isn't the Rapture originally envisioned in the pre-recorded film he watches as he journeys into the city. It is a city comprised of deadly machines, once-human monstrosities named Splicers who are insane and, of course, the Big Daddies and Little Sisters.

Bioshock concerns itself with the gray area between right and wrong. This dichotomy between right and right is what fuels everything in Rapture. Roaming the landscape, the Little Sisters are twisted abominations of little girls who locate corpses (which they call "Angels") and harvest Adam from them with a long needle. More grotesque is that bottle at the other end of the needle that the Little Sisters drink from. Dutifully following them are the Big Daddies, giant brutes in ancient diving gear. These...things...are at the heart of the story and Jack's survival depends on them and whether he can harvest the Little Sisters or set them free.

The conscience of the gamer is represented in two mysterious figures, Atlas (another allusion to Rand) and Dr. Tenenbaum. Atlas seemingly wants Jack to save his family and explains that the Little Sisters are anything but the human girls they appear. He nudges Jack to put them out of their misery and take the Adam they harvest so he can survive and save Atlas and his family. On the other shoulder perches Tenenbaum, another mysterious individual who created the Little Sisters and seems to want to do anything possible to save them. They are the obvious angel and devil sitting on Jack's shoulder, but the question is...which one is the angel?

To go into further detail would be to spoil this amazing story. Along the route, twists and turns abound with moral, ethical and philosophical questions aplenty. What's interesting is the way Bioshock presents a stark opposition to Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. Rand's heroes always contain the same qualities that Andrew Ryan exemplifies. But here, the artists behind Bioshock seem to be questioning these qualities by presenting a situation so familiar to Atlas Shrugged, and yet, so far removed.

It is literate, thoughtful, disturbing and moving. Even if the gameplay didn't live up to the story, Bioshock would be worthy just for this reason.

Luckily, that's not the case. For the gun hungry, sure, Rapture is filled with guns aplenty and even presents opportunities for you to craft your own upgrades. But that is just scratching the surface. Everything goes back to the story. Plasmids are located across the ruined debris of Rapture and contain the keys to recreating your DNA. Some early examples of Plasmids are the ability to shoot electricity from your hands to being able to set things on fire to telekinesis.

But these plasmids aren't only used for fighting. Minor puzzle-solving crops up, some of which require plasmids in the same way as gear in Legend of Zelda. The biggest puzzle is how to take down the game's variety of enemies. While you can definitely charge in, guns blazing and sometimes survive, cases will present themselves where such tactics will end with you on the bad end of the Big Daddies' drill. Instead, you can create your own traps and war zones. Using plasmids, the environment and, of course, your weapons, you can create elaborate traps that will bring a smile to your face.

A lot of games coming out right now that use the Unreal 3 engine don't look as spectacular as they could. In particular, character models tend to look shiny and/or completely ugly. This is not the case with Bioshock. Everything comes together, from the disturbing scenery, the art deco architecture to the the insane creatures and characters populating the world.

Shadows and lighting also create a sense of atmosphere that drips heavily, much like the water pouring down the walls. It's stunning. The only complaint (and it is minor) is that the frozen portions you can melt don't look very convincing. When things melt, they don't leave anything behind. The only reason it sticks out is that the rest of the game is absolutely beautiful and amazingly crafted.

None of this would be as effective, though, without superior sound. And Bioshock has that (mostly) in spades. The voice work is stunning throughout and the actors provide a great sense of dread. The audio diaries do an exemplary job of providing the backstory, but also work the best in crafting dread and terror. Some of the most disturbing things occur listening to them. Unfortunately, sometimes the characters' lines are repeated too often, ruining the disturbing nature of their dialogue.

Musically, the game is also amazing. It flits into the picture at key moments, increasing the tension before it will flow away. You might not even notice it's there, but that's why it's so good.

You know, the funny thing about hype is how people react to it. Game journalists can go blue in the face trying to get people interested in forgotten gems such as Psychonauts, Beyond Good & Evil and Stranger's Wrath, and since they weren't financially successful they become these gems. When a game sells incredibly well and is hyped to the max (both of which fit Bioshock), people say "over-rated."

Ignore the hype machine. I know you're tired of hearing about it. But give Bioshock a try, if you haven't yet. Download the demo for your PC or try it on Xbox Live. It is a game that's definitely worth everything that's been said about it and more.

It is art. And no words by ignorant movie critics will change that.

BIOSHOCK is Beautiful and the Story is Great!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: May 12, 2008
Author: Amazon User

In my personal opinion this game is beautiful..If you have a powerful gaming system. I think the game is very fun to play. I have been waiting for a very long time to have somebody release a game for the Windows Vista that I thought was fun. But then again with Windows Vista, you really need a powerful system just to run any type of game.
If I were looking for a game that is very fun and yet different, I would shot for BioShock.

Hype = Fun? ....lies and deception, I tell you!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: May 06, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I literally just finished Bioshock less than 10 minutes ago and I am almost ashamed to admit I played it. The graphics while mind numbingly gorgeous and the effects incredible, a game needs more than simply being pretty to be entertaining. The voice acting is also very well done with lines and voice-overs that aren't the typical "CUTSCENE! TURN OFF THE SPEAKERS QUICK!" type. However, the combat system is terrible, the creatures take tons and tons of ammo to kill, but ammo is very hard to come across. So for the majority of the game you carry a wrench around trying to hit things that are running and shooting at you. The "adaptive learning" system that was so boasted about showed nothing different in my play experience. The creatures still ducked/bobbed/weaved the same as the beginning. After the 10 hours I just spent, I demand a refund or raincheck for those 10 hours wasted. Bioshock gets nothing more than a 3 out of 10.

An Amazing Take on Story & Gameplay

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: April 30, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is a really awesome game. The story starts off with a bang and does not stop during the rest of the game. It continues to keep you on your toes. Graphics are nice. You get more powerful through upgrading plasmids which are the highlight of the game. It really is true that you and your friend will play the game completely different. So many choices make a replay just as good as the first time around. I have had no problems with running it, just make sure you meet the recommended requirements and you should be fine. Have a friend who plays it on a PIV 3Ghz, 7900, and it runs fine. It depends on more than just graphics card and processor though. As for the activation problem, I did not have any problem. But not too good if you do not have internet. I know it will probably make the pirates mad. Excellent game, you have to experience the game of the year.

Say That You Shock Me

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: April 28, 2008
Author: Amazon User

You were always meant to do great things, but sometimes that means terrible things along the way. So it goes when you embed a golf club into a poor sap's head.

I knew *BioShock* was going to be a good shooter from the get-go. Developed by folks behind the System Shock series, it crash-lands the player into a modern day Atlantis... and the middle of a civil war.

Built as a capitalist utopia, the city of Rapture fell into a Darwinian dystopia. For Rapture is also the test bed for radical stem cell technology. Unregulated use devolves the inhabitants into half-mad Splicers, while armored Big Daddies escort genetic scavengers.

Up front, *BioShock* isn't a revolutionary shooter. Every gameplay element has been done a dozen times before. And like all FPS titles, *BioShock* follows a predictable game path: there is one way forward, it ends at a gate, and you'll be betrayed, ambushed, captured, or lose your weapons en route. Along that route, you'll see bloody tableaus, leaping monsters, and dark corridors.

Sitting in my dark office, different pieces of the game suddenly turn out to be part of a single hidden puzzle, which reassembles the story. And this is only one of a series of themes, turns and adventures which kept me playing from dusk to dawn. As derivative as the game is, the execution means *BioShock* isn't your typical trapped-in-a-maze shooter.

Rapture clanks and hums with vending machines that supply health and equipment--all of which cost money to buy. And when your wallet is slim--as it will often be--players can gather components to assemble at crafting stations. Most critical, however, are the Plasmids and Gene Tonics that boost the player character's body. These systems introduce economic, mechanical, and genetic strategy, which in turn affects the player's tactics.

In most shooters, the enemies beeline for the player as if they can see through walls; but in *BioShock* you can actually sneak up on enemies, or evade them altogether. Gene tonics even provide abilities such as camouflaging or backstabbing bonuses, though I was disappointed the player couldn't teleport as some NPCs can. Cameras, bots, and turrets can also be outmaneuvered, destroyed, or even hacked to join your side, while you can seduce Big Daddies into protecting you with the right plasmid. So I like the tactical options given to the player.

For the most part though, the gameplay is old-school FPS. You can't lean, lie prone, pistol whip your enemies, or use alternate fire modes (though you can select different ammunition types). Monitors display still pictures instead of FMV, there's no GUI interaction with computers, and the skyboxes are limited to 2D mattes. The design scheme is further reminiscent of the darkness of *Doom 3*, but ups the shadowy ante by omitting a flashlight altogether.

Like D3, the game world is a hermetically-sealed community, divided into a series of theme-levels, such as The Medical Pavilion or Fort Frolic. Though similar to Mars City in principle, Rapture doesn't feel claustrophobic or monster-populated to an annoying degree like *Doom 3*.

Yet the design is even more conservative. I wondered at the absence of escalators, ladders, cables, and bridges. There are no vehicles to ride or combat; the bathyspheres act mainly as level exits. And for a submarine environment, I was surprised the game never puts the player onto the ocean floor. Indeed, we are blocked from any body of water deep enough to submerge in.

Otherwise, BioShock displays more mastery in atmosphere than just about any game I've ever played, on both subtle and garish ends. To begin with, the game never breaks from the first person view until the end cinematic. The comical vending machine recordings juxtapose with period music and propaganda announcements. Realistic water leaks into the maps in a variety of forms, from drips, to steady streams, to outright waterfalls; the fire and electrical effects are mediocre, but fog and smoke effects look great. Even the footwork is good, as splicers scrape their bludgeons on the floor, and diving suit monstrosities shake the floors with their stomps.

Explorers will get the biggest dose of this environment, for the developers added extensive side rooms and even whole buildings filled with loot, battles, and tableaus. Fort Frolic is a particularly artistic exploration, if also chilling. Moreover, players can backtrack to most of the levels in the game.

Finally, the gradual revelation of back-story ties up the experience. Tape diaries, radio logs, and enemy chatter provide this illumination in period slang and voice inflections. Several of these logs chart the fates of denizens at various caste and class levels, and they also accompany many of the tableaus, thus functioning as subplots.

However, *BioShock* strikes me as an alienating game. It teases the player through brief interactions with a cast of otherwise intriguing characters. Whenever the PC does meet up with an NPC, a barrier tends to stand in between. This alienation, in which the player can only experience other characters at arm's length, creates a psychological message that would not register in a game that simply didn't have friendly characters. But it also dampens the heroics. At one point, a villain questions why the PC is trying to save Rapture. I had to agree because the game establishes too little connection between the plight of the city and the plight of the character.

In my review for *Doom 3* I wrote, "It is awesome when it isn't repetitive." I gave it three stars. For all the RPG elements, *BioShock* is also a horror-survival FPS, yet the overall effect is a four-star performance. And far from repetitive, it immersed me in an obsessive weekend of gaming. That's as ringing an endorsement as I need to give.

5 stars for fun, 0 stars for Gestapo practices

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: April 22, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is a fun game, no doubt. But it does create a counterfeit-protection registry alteration the you cannot get rid of. While it's not really a root-kit, it is darn close. I don't pirate games and I don't appreciate my system being infested with gestapo software to foil a few pirates.
I would have bought this game today if it was clean. Since it isn't, the game stays with them and my money stays with me.

beautifully designed and great gameplay

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 5
Date: April 17, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The underwater art deco world that the game takes place in is absolutely gorgeous. I find my self sometimes just standing there and looking at the fishes or dead bodies floating by the glass. The game play is immersive and compelling and there's a short learning curve. I just love the use of the X-box 360 controller in this game as well.

The Thinking Man's Shooter

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: April 15, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Do not miss out on one of 2007's best games. There is no multiplayer, co-op mode, and it takes a beefy PC to run this game well. Those are the cons to BioShock. The pros are a great storyline, with characters and environments that ooze depth, a customizable arsenal, and the ability to splice your genes to wield electricity, fire, ice and much more against your enemies. The real sandbox aspect comes in the form of choices.
Choices set BioShock apart from many other run-of-the-mill Shooters. Players will frequently be confronted with so many choices it's fortunate the game has a pause button. In any given foe battle, a player can choose whether to set a trap with trip-wires and mines, perhaps turn an automated turret on an enemy, or harness your character's spliced genes to set your enemy ablaze with a snap of the fingers, only to electrocute that foe after he or she dives into a pool of water. And that is only the beginning of the rabbit hole of choices.
I am running BioShock on a 2006 factory Dell machine with minor RAM and video card upgrades. My single 2.2Ghz AMD processor, 1.5 GB RAM, and my GeForce 7600GT (256MB) graphics card run BioShock, on the highest settings, quite adequately with minor dips in frame rate. With my PC falling well under the $1,000 mark, don't let skeptical gamers tell you that BioShock demands a monster PC.
If you're a shooter fan who loves eerie environments, non-stop, non-linear, shooting action (with VERY limited need for backtracking), and creepy, retro Art-Deco interior design-- BioShock is for you. The replay value is better than most shooters and FINALLY voice acting is superb. If it wasn't for Call of Duty 4, I would easily give BioShock my game of the year nomination.
At BioShock's current lowered retail price you'd be "Atlas Shrugging" off a can't miss game.

Buggy Game, Horrendous customer service

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: April 09, 2008
Author: Amazon User

BEWARE! Although there are several good reviews about this product, I played this and got stuck in a buggy loop. I contacted the customer service and they assigned a case and completely ignored me. After 10's of e-mails, they just went silent. I even told them that I'll send them my save of the game so that they can play it /fix and it , but no hope.
There are several bugs with the games 2K manufacturers and if you're unfortunate enough to get stuck in one of them mid way through hours and hours of play you're doomed. They don't even have new and proper patches for these bugs. How can they, if they don't listen to customer issues.
It's too unfortunate that they're getting all these good reviews. The game is reasonably fun to play. But not as much as fun, when you get stuck after playings for 10's and 10's of hours and have to forfeit.

I'm never buying games from 2K games again.

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