BioShock
BioShock is a first-person shooter video game by 2K Boston/2K Australia (previously Irrational Games). On January 9, 2006, Take-Two Interactive announced that they had acquired Irrational Games, and would be publishing BioShock under their 2K Games publishing label. The game is a Games for Windows and Xbox 360 title.[5] It was released on August 21 2007 in North America and was released on August 24 2007 in Europe and Australia.[6]
Taking place in 1960, the player assumes the role of a plane crash survivor named Jack, and must explore the dystopia of an underwater city called Rapture and struggle to survive against the mutated beings and mechanical drones within it. The game incorporates elements found in role-playing and survival horror games, and is described by the developers as a "spiritual successor" to their previous title System Shock 2.[7]
Gameplay
BioShock is a first-person shooter with RPG customization elements to the game, similar to that found in the spiritual predecessor, System Shock 2. A 14 minute video showing gameplay and some of the game's AI was released on September 20, 2006.[8]
The player collects weapons, health packs, and Plasmids that give him special powers such as telekinesis or electro-shock, while fighting off the deranged population of the underwater city of Rapture. The player at times will need to use stealth to slip by security cameras and foes, and can also hack into security stations to turn automated drones to his side.
The main resources in the game are ADAM, EVE, and Money. ADAM is used for character growth, EVE (which is similar to "mana" in fantasy RPGs) allows the use of Active Plasmids, and Money allows the purchase of special items and ammunition as well as bribing, or effectively 'buying off' security bots and turrets.
To adapt and advance their character, the player can spend ADAM to gain Plasmids to modify himself and give himself new or enhanced abilities and weapons. These are grouped under the Combat, Engineering, Active, and Physical trees. The "Active" Plasmids are essentially alternate weapons, activated by the player in order to be used. The other classes of Plasmids (referred to as Tonics) are passive ability-boosters. One Tonic (Camouflage) causes the character to become invisible when he is not moving.
The developers encourage the player to use their super-powered plasmids imaginatively. Plasmids are versatile, and the player can use them in concert with each other and the environment to great effect. For example, one of the first bosses the player will face is a crazed surgeon. The player can use Incinerate to set him on fire, then as he tries to put himself out in a pool of water the player can use ElectroBolt to electrocute the water. While he is stunned and convulsing, the player can hack a nearby medical station so that it will poison the surgeon when he tries to heal himself. Telekinesis can be used on anything not nailed down; not only can the player catch grenades or rockets and throw them back at an enemy, he can also pick up a burning object and throw it to set an enemy on fire, or even defuse and re-set traps. The player has a limited number of slots to use on different types of Plasmids, so they have to decide which ones to arm themselves with and which to put into storage.
It is hinted that some (if not all) Plasmids alter the character's appearance (some screenshots show the character's hands with a texture similar to some of the splicers' skin), keeping up with the theme of "sacrificing your humanity" referenced by Ryan in one of the game's trailers.[9] In all, there are over 70 plasmids and tonics.
There is also weapon customization. The player can alter weapons to hold bigger magazines, to augment firepower, etc.. The player can also equip each weapon with three different kinds of ammo (for example, the revolver can shoot normal, anti-personnel and armor piercing bullets). There is also a camera in the game that can be used to learn an enemy's weakness.
The player also has access to a type of vending machine called U-Invent, where the player can combine bits of scrap found around Rapture to create ammo, traps, hacking devices, etc.. Instead of reloading a saved game state if death occurs, the player will simply respawn at the nearest Vita Chamber.[10]
Story
Setting
The game takes place in 1960 in a fictional large underwater metropolis called Rapture, built on the seabed in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. Built in 1946 by the industrialist Andrew Ryan, Rapture was designed to be entirely self-supporting, with all of its electricity, food production, water purification and defense systems powered by undersea volcanic openings. During the early 1950s, Rapture's population peaked at several thousand, and was composed of people Ryan viewed as the best examples of mankind. A large and tiered economy grew among the people, catering different quality products to different levels of the society.
A scientific discovery upset the balance of the society. A young German scientist named Bridgette Tenenbaum discovered a species of sea slug that could secrete pure stem cells, later called "ADAM". These could be used to enhance one's body, improving physical or mental capabilities, curing diseases and healing injuries. ADAM was developed in a series of generic modifications that could give humans special powers (which used a serum called EVE) and additional innate abilities. Dr. Tenenbaum created the Little Sisters as a ways to recover ADAM from Rapture's dead, converting the material within their body back into a usable form.
However, the discoveries came at a cost. The society of Rapture was faced with internal power struggles as many began to politically and financially challenge Andrew Ryan's rule of the city, and the widespread use of ADAM caused many people to start to go mad. The entire society collapsed on New Years Eve in 1959 as those injected with ADAM broke out into riots and razed the rest of the population.
Plot
The player takes the role of Jack (taken from the name on the package he holds), a passenger on a plane that suddenly crashes into or explodes over the Atlantic Ocean near Rapture in 1960. Descending into Rapture via a bathysphere terminus, he discovers the city has fallen into chaos; a year earlier, the genetic mutations that had been the rage has caused the populace to go insane, with the few that remain called "Splicers" that scavenge for ADAM from other dead corpses. As Jack arrives, a man called Atlas, communicating through a short-wave radio, directs Jack to safety, while Ryan watches Jack's every move, thinking him to be a CIA or KGB agent, and sends his Splicer troops after him. Atlas tells Jack that the only way he can survive is to inject himself with plasmids to use their abilities, and to kill Little Sisters, the results of Dr. Tenenbaum's research, and to drain their ADAM in order to become more powerful; Dr. Tenenbaum, who is also watching Jack's progress, insists that Jack only kill the sea slug so as to rescue the human girl within each Little Sister.
As Jack works his way through the city, he learns through audio journals and diaries of the deceased left about Rapture that prior to the collapse of society, Ryan's power was challenged by other groups. Frank Fontaine, a mobster that worked at smuggling goods into the city, had sufficient power, money, and supporters to fight against Ryan. Atlas himself was a leading political figure in an uprising group; as a result, Atlas's wife and child were kidnapped from him and locked away in a bathysphere, and the only way to free them is with Jack's help. Unfortunately, as soon as the two arrive, Ryan sadistically causes the bathysphere to explode; an enraged Atlas tells Jack he must find and kill Ryan. Jack moves through the wreckage to Ryan's residence, well guarded by the Splicers.
Eventually Jack makes his way to Ryan, who has stopped putting up any resistance to Jack's efforts. Instead, he reveals to Jack why he is here: Jack was actually born in Rapture (and revealed in an audio diary from another character to be Ryan's illegitimate son with a hooker and sold to Fontaine for scientific experiments, presumably prenatally), trained to be an assassin by Fontaine to perform and kill on verbal commands. Before being put into the surface world by Fontaine, Jack was further subconsciously embedded with instructions to hijack a plane and crash it near Rapture's surface entrance, and to seek out and assassinate Ryan. Ryan calmly demonstrates this by ordering Jack to kill him, using the trigger phrase "Would you kindly...". Jack realizes that Atlas has been using the same phrase since he arrived in Rapture, and after Ryan is dead, Atlas reveals himself to Jack as Fontaine. With Ryan dead, Fontaine no longer needs Jack, and leaves him to the security system of Ryan's residence, though Jack is saved by Dr. Tenembaum and her Little Sisters.
After recovering, Dr. Tenenbaum assists Jack in getting to Fontaine, working out how to block Fontaine's control of Jack. Dr. Tenenbaum reveals that the only way to approach him would be to assemble a Big Daddy suit and follow the rescued Little Sisters through passageways only they can access. As Jack approaches, Fontaine, who had not done any genetic enhancement to his body to that point, injects himself with all the ADAM he had stored up, becoming an inhuman monster. Jack and the Little Sisters are eventually able to subdue Fontaine.
Depending on player actions before this point, one of two things will happen. If during the game the player rescued every Little Sister as requested by Dr. Tenenbaum, the Little Sisters swarm Atlas/Fontaine and stab him to death with their ADAM needles. The Little Sisters are shown leaving Rapture. Tenenbaum goes on to explain that thanks to Jack, they can live normal lives in the outside world. The last scene is of an elderly Jack on his death bed, comforted by the now-adult Little Sisters.
On the other hand, if during the game the player killed any Little Sisters as urged on by Atlas/Fontaine, Jack is overcome with his lust for ADAM and snatches the nearest Little Sister when Fontaine is dead. The first person view ends and Tenenbaum begins a monologue in which she discusses how disgusted she is with Jack for his cruelty and lack of control, implying that he killed the Little Sisters. At the same time, a silent cut scene takes place in which a naval submarine surveying the downed plane's crash site is surrounded with bathysphere pods from below. The sailors on the submarine's deck gawk as the dozens of bathyspheres pop open and splicers jump out. The splicers slaughter the submarine crew, and the camera halts on one of the onboard ICBMs before fading to black.
Enemies
Four main categories of enemies are encountered:
- Aggressors (Splicers): Deformed, genetically modified Rapture citizens who are now remnants of Ryan's army, the Aggressors cannot survive without ADAM due to their extensive biological modifications. Early Splicers seem to be referred to according to their weapon preference, such as "Leadhead" for those who prefer guns. There are five types of Splicers: Houdini; which can vanish and reappear, and throw fire or ice balls. They seem to be the only splicers capable of using offensive plasmids. Thuggish; which wield pipes, wrenches and other melee weapons. Nitro: which use grenades and petrol bombs. Spider: which can crawl on walls and can throw hooks at the player, and Leadhead splicers which use guns. They wear little or no armor, and normally roam the levels of Rapture, searching for other inhabitants to kill and steal ADAM from. As their name would suggest, they are aggressive and quick to attack, and will use their enhanced physical strength, group tactics and, sometimes, semi-biological weapons to kill all in their path. In order to hide their now-deformed facial features, many of the Splicers wear masquerade ball masks from the 1959 New Year's Eve party, the year during which Rapture fell into disrepair.[11] Splicers will sometimes play dead; surprising the player as they approach them.
- Gatherers (Little Sisters): The Little Sisters are genetically modified prepubescent girls.[12] The Gatherers, whom Dr. Tenenbaum created as a solution to the ADAM shortage, extract the inert ADAM from the dead (which they call "angels") using retractable needle syringes and then consume it, their bodies reprocessing it into a usable form. The BioShock team designed these characters in order to draw out an emotional response from players, who face an ethical choice between saving or murdering little girls to obtain a much-needed resource. Nevertheless, doing so is severely difficult due to their symbiotic relationship with the Protectors. According to lead designer Ken Levine, the Gatherers have a direct link with the main character. In a recently released audio file, Levine clarifies that the player cannot physically harm a Little Sister directly, but can "harvest" the ADAM from them (a process which they will not survive), by forcibly extracting the sea slug from within their bodies. This will be presented via audio, and a black screen.[13] Players are also given the option to "rescue" the Gatherers, which nets only half the ADAM of a harvest, but makes an ally of Dr. Tenenbaum, who presents herself early in the game to provide the tools needed to rescue these creatures, along with promises of future compensation. This compensation, among them plasmid upgrades few other inhabitants of Rapture possess, makes rescue a desirable long-term strategy. Ultimately, the player's decision vis-à-vis the Little Sisters will influence the game's ending.
- Protectors (Big Daddies, or Mr. Bubbles and Mr. B as the Gatherers call them, also called Metal Daddies by Splicers): Mute, lumbering bio-mechanical monstrosities, created to protect the Gatherers. They are heavily armored and wield either a large drill ("Bouncer"s) or rivet gun ("Rosie"s). Their armor somewhat resembles a large diving suit. These diving suits seem functional as a Big Daddy can sometimes be seen outside Rapture walking along the ocean floor. Most of the inhabitants stay out of the way of the Gatherers and Protectors. They will not attack the player unless provoked and according to lead designer Paul Hellquist: "Once you mess with them, you find out why no one messes with them." In a recent trailer/commentary for BioShock, it was revealed that, despite their size and typically slow movements, they become incredibly fast once engaged, in some cases quicker than the player character. However, the player can defeat them easily enough if the correct plasmids are used, such as shooting bolts of lightning at a Big Daddy standing in a pool of water. There are two types of Big Daddies: Rosie's and Bouncers; Bouncers are the close combat type with different detachable arm-mounted weapons, one of which is a drill. Rosie's attack from long range due to the large rivet gun they are armed with. Later in the game, they become Elite Bouncers and Elite Rosie's, the Elite Bouncers charge you incredibly fast, and the Elite Rosies have incredibly powerful rivet guns. A Big Daddy that has no associated Little Sister to defend will plod about and look in decorative art-deco holes in the wall where Little Sisters are known to hide. If the player gets in their way while they search, then the Big Daddy will casually swat the player aside without a second glance and continue investigating. If the player kills a Protector that is associated with a Gatherer, the Little Sister will run to the corpse, crying and pleading for it to get up.
- Security Bots: Throughout the city of Rapture, they are called via alarm by various security cameras. Security bots hover and fly using rotors and are armed with machine guns. When disturbed, the security cameras' siren will sound and an unlimited supply of security bots will pour out for a limited time. There are three ways of taking down security bots: the player can attempt to destroy them, shut off the security system by paying the money demanded to access a Bot Shutdown switch, or manually hack into their systems. Alternatively, the player can also hide and avoid them altogether using Natural Camouflage until the alarm stage ends. Hacking bots and other mechanical devices prompts a mini-game resembling Pipe Dream. A successful hack results in the bot following and protecting the player. The security system can also be suborned using the "Security Bullseye" plasmid on an enemy, prompting security bots to attack the designated target.
Development
Influences
Levine has stated in an interview with gaming website IGN that the project has drawn on many influences, mostly from utopian and dystopian literature; "I have my useless liberal arts degree, so I've read stuff from Ayn Rand and George Orwell, and all the sort of utopian and dystopian writings of the 20th century, which I've found really fascinating." He also states that he wanted to confront challenges that face the modern world such as "stem cell research and the moral issues that go around".[14]
In an interview appearing in gaming magazine EGM, Levine states:
As a kid, I was obsessed with 1984 and Logan's Run. I love exploring what happens when good ideas fall apart.
One reviewer compared BioShock to Orson Welles' 1941 film, Citizen Kane, both of which were set in post-war America.[15] The character Andrew Ryan is noted for having a physical appearance very similar to that of the film's title character, Charles Foster Kane.[citation needed]
Similarities to System Shock series
According to the developers, Bioshock is a spiritual successor to the System Shock games, and was developed by former developers of that series. Levine pointed out many similarities during his narration of a video initially screened for the press at E3 2006:[16] There are several comparable game play elements: "Plasmids" serve the same function as Psionic Abilities from System Shock 2; the player needs to deal with security cameras, turrets, and drones with the abilities to hack these; ammo conservation is stressed as "a key gameplay feature", and audio recordings serve as the same storytelling device that email logs did.[16] The "ghosts" from System Shock 2, phantom images who replay tragic incidents in the places they occurred, also exist in BioShock, as do modifiable weapons with multiple ammunition types.
Engine
BioShock was initially developed using an enhanced version of the Vengeance engine, the highly modified version of Unreal Engine 2.5 technology used by previous Irrational titles Tribes: Vengeance, SWAT 4, and SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate. In an interview at E3 in May 2006, Levine announced a switch to a modified Unreal Engine 3.0. Levine emphasized the enhanced water effects, which he claimed would be very impressive: "We've hired a water programmer and water artist, just for this game, and they're kicking ass and you've never seen water like this."[17]
BioShock utilizes the DirectX 10 feature set when available, but it will also run on older DirectX 9 hardware.[18]
While industry rumors suggested that there might be a PlayStation 3 version of BioShock, based on the presence of text referencing the PlayStation 3 in the PC demo's configuration files, Ken Levine has denied that there is any PS3 version in development. The demo is reportedly from an older build of the game, and an exclusive deal has been signed with Microsoft since then, limiting the title to Windows and Xbox 360.[19]
Demo
A free demo was released on Xbox Live Marketplace on August 12, 2007.[20] The PC demo was officially released on August 20, 2007. The official version of the PC demo is available for download from FileFront, FilePlanet, and GameSpot, and is also made available through the digital distribution program Steam (activation required).
Larry Hryb (also known as Major Nelson) chatted with Ken Levine on his podcast about the BioShock demo.[21] The demo contains the first 45 minutes of the game and includes a beginning cinematic that established a setting and beginning plot lines. The demo also introduced a few weapons, such as the pistol and the machine gun, along with powers that can be used by the main character, such as ElectroBolt and Incinerate; some of these would normally be found later in the game, but were added in the demo in order to give players a taste of the full game.
Reception
Publication | Score | |
---|---|---|
Xbox 360 | ||
1UP.com | 10/10[22] | |
Eurogamer | 10/10[23] | |
GameSpot | 9/10[24] | |
Game Informer | 10/10[25] | |
IGN | 9.7/10[11] | |
Official Xbox Magazine UK | 10/10 | |
PC | ||
PC Gamer UK | 9.5/10[26] | |
PC Zone | 9.6/10[27] | |
Compilation review site | Aggregate score | |
Game Rankings | Xbox 360: 96% (36 reviews)[28] PC: 96% (16 reviews)[29] | |
Metacritic | Xbox 360: 97/100 (41 reviews)[30] PC: 96/100 (19 reviews)[31] |
Pre-release awards
At E3 2006, BioShock was given the "Game of the Show" award from various online gaming sites, including GameSpot,[32] IGN,[33] GameSpy[34] and GameTrailers's Trailer of the Year.
Reviews
BioShock has received, to date, "universal acclaim" from critics and has received some of the industries' highest ratings.[35] The game has been cited as having an "inescapable atmosphere",[36] "inconceivably great plot" and "stunning soundtrack and audio effects".[37] The gameplay and combat system has been praised for being smooth and open-ended.[25][11] Overall, reviewers have noted that the combination of the games elements "straddles so many entertainment art forms so expertly that it's the best demonstration yet how flexible this medium can be. It's no longer just another shooter wrapped up in a pretty game engine, but a story that exists and unfolds inside the most convincing and elaborate and artistic game world ever conceived."[23]
A few points of criticism have come across so far. The recovery system through Vita-chambers, which restores the player's health but does not alter the enemies', raising immersion-breaking questions and possibly making the game too easy for more experienced gamers.[38] In the PC version, IGN noted that switching between weapons or plasmids is easier using the mouse than the radial menu in the Xbox 360 version, as well as the graphics being slightly better with higher resolutions.[39]
Technical issues
Widescreen format criticism
With the release of the PC demo, several players noted that BioShock "seemed to use a cropping method for its widescreen display, cutting down on the vertical view rather than expanding the horizontal width."[40] This display method seemed to contradict a previous statement made by 2K Boston lead programmer Chris Kline in May 2007 that "The game will render in full 16:9 aspect ratio, with no letterboxing" and "You will see more in widescreen. We use a different projection matrix; there is no squashing or stretching of the image involved."[41]
Ultimately, 2K Games stated that the field of view (FOV) was designed this way intentionally, and that the "stretching" criticisms were due to a decision to heighten the FOV in the 4:3 ratio, versus releasing a la letterbox with black bars, allowing 4:3 users to see more of the screen.
Minimum | Recommended | |
---|---|---|
Operating System | Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista | |
CPU | Pentium 4 2.5 GHz (single core) | Intel Core 2 Duo Or AMD Athlon 64 X2 |
System RAM | 1 GB | 2 GB |
Video card | DirectX 9.0c compliant card with 128 MB RAM (NVIDIA 6600/ATI X1300 or better, excluding ATI X1550), Must support Pixel Shader 3.0 |
DirectX 9.0c compliant card with 512 MB RAM (NVIDIA 7900GT or better) or DirectX 10 compliant card (NVIDIA 8600 or better) |
Sound card | 100% DirectX 9.0c compliant card | Sound Blaster X-Fi (Optimized for EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0/5.0 compatible cards) |
Internet connection | Required for activation | |
Hard disk space | 8 GB of free space |
2K Games also stated that they would be looking into allowing the FOV to be changed manually by users.[43][44] On August 23, 2007, 2K Games announced that they will release a patch that will allow PC users to change the FOV value.[45]
Shader Model 2.0 problems
The game's graphics engine uses Shader Model 3.0 and does not work with older video cards. A user created work-around for cards supporting only the older Shader Model 2.0 has been created by community members. It is still a work in progress.[46]
Issues with SecuROM activation and copy protection
When BioShock was released, the client only allowed for two installations and required an Internet connection in order to activate the product. Due to criticism, this limit has been increased to five activations. After the five activation limit is reached, the user must manually activate the product again via telephone support due to a new version of the content protection system known as SecuROM.
2K Games has responded to the criticism by stating that a special-purpose pre-uninstallation utility that will refund activation slots to a user will be developed and made available in the future.[47] If the yet-to-be-released application is not used before uninstalling the game, SecuROM considers the player to still be using the game, and the activation is unrecoverable without contacting SecuROM and sending them a picture of the DVD and the booklet with the CD key in order to get a new key or deactivate old installations.
The SecuROM system has also caused reported problems with running system utilities such as Microsoft Process Explorer and other games that use similar protection systems. Microsoft's RootkitRevealer software tool also identifies SecuROM as a possible rootkit due to the insertion of null keys into the registry that cannot be removed via normal means such as the Registry Editor.[48] These keys remain on the system even after BioShock and SecuROM are uninstalled,[49] with SecuROM currently providing no means to completely uninstall the application. However, it has been shown that what is installed on the user's system is not a rootkit.[50]
SecuROM has also been reported to be responsible for a cancellation of a midnight release in Australia due to downtime of the 2K Games servers on August 23, 2007, as the game would be unplayable until they were back up.[51]
The Bioshock demo also installs SecuROM.[52] The SecuROM software remains on the system with no option for uninstallation, even if the demo itself is removed.[53]
Ken Levine, lead designer for the game, stated that the game's copy protection will be removed at some undisclosed point in the future.[54]
Limited/Collector's edition
On March 29, 2007, Take-Two Interactive responded to a fan-created petition for a special edition. Take-Two stated that they would publish it if the petition received 5,000 signatures. The number was reached after five hours. Subsequently, a poll on the Cult of Rapture website was posted where visitors could vote on what they would most like to see in a special edition, and the developers would take this poll into serious consideration.
On April 23, 2007, the Cult of Rapture website confirmed that the Collector's Edition (UK)/Limited Edition (NA) would include a 6" tall Big Daddy figurine, a "Making Of" DVD and a soundtrack CD. The soundtrack CD was reduced to an EP titled The BioShock EP and contains three tracks from the game remixed by Moby and Oscar the Punk. The tracks are "Beyond the Sea", "God Bless the Child", and "Wild Little Sisters".[55] The box features an embossed graphic designed by a graphic competition winner Adam Meyer.[56]
Art book
On August 13, 2007, "BioShock: Breaking the Mold" was released for free by 2K Games on their official website. Containing artwork from the game, it is available in both low and high resolution PDF format.[57][58] 2K Games has stated that a printed version of the art book will be sent to owners of broken Big Daddy figurines as compensation for the time it will take to replace them.[59]
Soundtrack
On August 24, 2007 2K Games released an orchestral score soundtrack on their official homepage. Available in MP3 format, the score composed by Garry Schyman contains 12 tracks from the game.[60]
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{{cite web}}
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- ^ Cult of Rapture Orchestral Score Released for Free