3oh!3

The Frey

Blink 182

Evanescence
hamstergeddon

BioShock is easily one of the worst games I own. Its biggest problem is that it is a recycled version of System Shock 2, but that in itself would be a pretty good thing. The real problem is that they have cut or dumbed down most of the things that made Shock 2 awesome, like the complexities and the horror, and they have played up the thing the worst part of Shock 2 - the combat.

BS is a brainless run 'n' gun corridor shooter with a story which is identical to SS2's in almost every way, right down to the character archetypes and hell, even the setting is practically thematically identical.

The roleplaying elements are dumbed down to the point of pointlessness. For instance, when you hack, the game pauses so you are in no real danger. If you fail the hack, you lose some health - and that's it. Meaning you can keep on trying over and over with no real penalty (as health is in abundant supply). Plus, the helicopter drones are very easy to circumvent - essentially, the security system is on your side.

Another example might be the weapons upgrade stations. In Shock 2, you have to chooce which weapons to keep (as your inventory is limited) and which of those to upgrade (as upgrade rods are limited). What this means is you build a character unique to you, tailored to your preferences. In BioShock, every weapon is carryable and upgradeable, and the only reason to do so is to bring you on par with the (inexplicably) more powerful splicers later in. No choice, no development.

And then there's the fact that God mode is active by default. I had an enormous amount of respect for Ken Levine and Irrational for their contribution to System Shock 2, but had the skills and knowledge to make a masterpiece and instead they decided to make pointless kiddy crap with a recycled story that is, besides a minor B story, identical to the letter.

Huge, huge disappointment. And that it's so highly regarded by almost everyone really hits a nerve with me. I just wish more people had played System Shock 2 so they knew just what they were missing.

Anyway, complaints aside, onto what I liked about the game: Sander Cohen.

fatshodan