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Celebrate 10 years of 'BioShock' with a $200 boxset
It's hard to believe, but as of today, the extremely influential BioShock is ten years old. To commemorate the art-deco shooter's birthday, publisher 2K will release a fancy commemorative edition of the claustrophobic, undersea morality tale on November 14th this year. Brace yourself, though, because it won't be cheap. $200 will get you an 11-inch statue featuring the series' iconic Little Sister and her Big Daddy protector along with last year's BioShock: The Collection remasters and a numbered certificate of authenticity.
PS3 BioShock getting 'as-yet-unannounced' bits
While BioShock's October release on the PlayStation 3 may bring visual parity with versions already available, news from the official PlayStation blog teases that the upcoming descent into Rapture may come with a few unexpected surprises. According to 2K Marin exec Alyssa Finley, the game is being handled by four different studios, with 2K Marin sharing kitchen space with 2K Australia, 2K Boston, and another mystery partner "with some outstanding PS3-specific coding chops." In addition, Finley notes that the devs at 2K Boston are currently banging out code for the version's "as-yet-unannounced components," while simultaneously refining the game's physics to take "maximum advantage" of the PS3's inner voodoo. All said, we're more than interested to see how this latest take on one of last year's landmark releases measures up, even as platform zealots prepare to sling mantra to the effect of 'my Big Daddy can beat up your Big Daddy!'%Gallery-23874%
BioShock devs looking for staff with PS3 experience
Would it surprise you to learn that 2K Boston, developers of the highly successful BioShock, are making another game? ... No? What if we were to add that they're currently looking for staff with PS3 experience? No? OK, well, what if we were to tell you that this has lead us to believe that 2K Boston's next game will likely appear on the PS3? ... Wow, nothing, huh? Geez, you're one tough nut to crack.OK, so it's not exactly earth-shattering. And hey, if a BioShock sequel is in the works, this should at least be good news for PS3 owners who still don't understand why their 360 and PC playing friends are always kindly asking them to do things.[Via PS3F]
BioShock DLC available, adds plasmids, achievement points
In addition to the dash update, 360 owners will have another nice surprise waiting for them (as will their PC counterparts): a title update and new DLC for BioShock. The title update includes some small fixes and one big one: A new widescreen FOV, the answer to some specific, antiquated prayers. The new content (just in time to refresh the memories of Game of the Year list makers) includes a plasmid pack (Machine Buster 1 & 2, Vending Expert 1 & 2, Sonic Boom 1 & 2, EVE Saver), the option to disable Vita-Chambers and a new, 100-point achievement called "Brass Balls." To get it, you'll just need to beat the game on hard without using a Vita-Chamber. No problem, right?We know, we know, this news couldn't come at a worse time. You're busy with the only games that ever matter: The ones released in the past three weeks. But don't you want to check and make sure all the daddies are still dead? Don't you want to see if those splicers tried to build a rudimentary society Lord of the Flies-style? If you get a moment to spare, isn't it time you checked in on Rapture?
BioShock patch, free DLC due next week
The Cult of Rapture has posted an update regarding the status of the, erm, update scheduled to seep into your PC and Xbox 360 copies of aquatic anarchy sim, BioShock. A patch (or "title update," as the Xbox Live euphemism goes) is expected to arrive next week, bringing with it free but as yet unspecified downloadable content. The undersea DLC will be bundled with the PC patch's TLC, and should be easy to see (provided you're not still on PCP) via the Xbox Live Marketplace. Expect to read an exuberant and overwrought post on this very website as soon as we ascertain the nature of the mysterious downloadable content. New plasmids? Likely! Goomba skins for Big Daddies? Decidedly not.[Thanks, DiddlyKong]
Gamasutra gives a look behind BioShock
Thanks to decades of hard living and abuse of over-the-counter cold medicine, we're just a couple of months away from completely forgetting BioShock and being able to experience it again for the first time. Until then though, we've had to entertain ourselves with pieces like this one from Gamasutra which explores the classy first-person shooter from its roots.It's a fascinating look at the game's evolution, especially 2K's Alyssa Finley's revelation that the instincts of the team, in many respects, were wrong about how well players would be able to understand the game. It's a reminder that as much as brilliant games are a product of creativity, they're often equally the result of some good old-fashioned elbow grease.
Levine considering DLC in BioShock
Anyone who's played all the way though BioShock can tell you it's a fairly self-contained experience. The narrative has a definite beginning and, after the last Splicer has been ignited, it has a very definite conclusion. That's got Ken Levine thinking about the best way to expand the game with DLC. "I'm not a really big fan of expanding things just by linearly adding to the experience, adding a new campaign, as much as I am of enhancing the original experience and adding replayability to that experience," he told 1UP. He goes on to mention that plenty of plasmids were cut from the game. (Hint, Hint.) The way we see it, anything that gives us a reason to play BioShock again is a good thing, we just hope we're past the glut of holiday gaming goodness when it happens.
BioShock sets download and sales records, sequels to follow?
BioShock has been the hotness ever since it released last month and we're packing the digits and numbers to prove it. During a 2K Games investor call, 2K chairman Strauss Zelnick confirmed that BioShock has already sold 1.5 million copies worldwide, is on track to become one of the best selling games ever and that the XBLM BioShock demo has set new download records for a nine day period. Impressive, no? Zelnick then went on to plant a seed of hope stating that the BioShock franchise might adopt the Grand Theft Auto business model of having a new game release every two years. Yup, it just might be possible that we'll be harvesting (or saving) little sisters every few years for the rest of our lives ... oh joy!It's more than obvious 2K is pleased with what Irrational 2K Boston has done with BioShock and if sequels get churned out every few years we just hope the the quality and the storylines are equally amazing as the original. Congrats 2K Boston![Via Joystiq]
Rein uses BioShock to praise Unreal Engine
X3F readers may recall that Silicon Knights recently started a legal tiff with Epic Games concerning the Unreal Engine 3, which runs Silicon Knights' latest project Too Human. Not long after Silicon Knights made their issues known, other developers spoke publicly about their relationships with Epic (both good and bad). Yes, things looked sour for the Unreal Engine 3, and along comes BioShock as a shining beacon of Unreal success. Epic's Mark Rein, speaking to Develop, has praised the game as an excellent example of the work that can be done with the Unreal Engine 3. Rein noted that Epic is always open to developer feedback and happy to help them "take the most advantage of our technology."It will be interesting to see if the success of an Unreal-powered game like BioShock will have an effect on the battle between Silicon Knights and Epic.[Via Joystiq]
Work at Valve? No BioShock for you!
We can hear the classic conversation now. "Can I have some BioShock? Pleeeease!" "Not until you've finished your Orange Box." "Aw, nuts!" In an interview with CVG, Valve's Gabe Newell made it known that BioShock has been officially banned from the Valve offices. Is it part of some company policy that employees must not touch a competitors product? Nope, BioShock was banned in order to assure that the team properly finishes up work on The Orange Box. In Newell's words: "We had to ban BioShock from our offices," adding, "Nobody gets to play it until Orange Box is done - that's our reward to ourselves as a company; everyone gets a copy of BioShock." Wow. We can tell you right now, BioShock is definitely a danger to anyone's productivity, so we understand the decision. Hang in there Valve! We know you can do it, and trust us, BioShock is worth it.[Via Joystiq]
BioShock's Little Sister killing gets mainstream attention
We knew it was coming. Any game that features little girls as an enemy was bound to eventually draw the attention of the mainstream media. That attention has been brought by the Boston Patriot-Ledger, which argues that BioShock is "testing the limits of the ultraviolent gaming genre with a strategy that enables players to kill characters resembling young girls."Despite the shock-inducing lead, the article goes on to give a more or less accurate description of BioShock's choice between saving and harvesting the creepy Little Sisters. 2K Boston President Ken Levine defends the artistic vision of the game, of course, while a psychology professor tells the paper that young people who play violent games "had lower feelings of empathy and stronger 'pro-violence attitudes''' whatever that means. The conclusion tries to draw a link between BioShock's violence to a stabbing death allegedly inspired by Grand Theft Auto, but the connection is pretty weak.Regardless of any alleged real-world effects, we can't help but feel a little squeamish deciding on life and death for these poor, twisted little girls. So what's your decision? Have you been sparing your Little Sisters, or harvesting them for their sweet, sweet serum?
Investors 'getting carried away' by BioShock buzz says analyst
Following the rise in the Take-Two stock price, Nollenberger Capital Partners analyst Todd Greenwald tells GameDaily BIZ that BioShock is "not the next GTA" and he thinks investors are "getting carried away." Greenwald says he expects BioShock will beat sales expectations (which were originally under 1 million units) and land somewhere in the 1.5 - 2 million range. He says, "However, with the stock up over 20% in the last few days, we have heard of expectations in the 3-4 million unit range, which we believe are unrealistic... keep in mind that Bioshock is only being released on one console platform (Xbox 360), and will likely be limited by its intense, hard-core, first-person-shooter style of game. The game is very dark, very complex, and will have a hard time penetrating the mass market, in our view."But what about Gears of War and its phenomenal success? Greenwald says that was a more "accessible game, had more marketing support, and was released in the holiday window." BioShock sales may come to a screeching halt come Sept. 25 with the release of Halo 3. Most importantly, Greenwald says that he believes the stocks rise can actually be attributed to the expectation that EA (or some other large entity) will acquire Take-Two -- although he doesn't expect it to happen in the next 3-6 months, he also says that management wants to get GTA IV out the door before talking buyout.
2K responds to BioShock PC copy protection issue, ignores PS3 code mention
After watching developers trying to get BioShock up and running (pictured) at the launch party, and listening to a fair share of Vista complaining -- this BioShock copy protection issue is just another straw on the camel's back of fear in meddling with anything that requires a beyond up-to-date PC rig in the Vista era. 2K has calmed the copy protection issue saying simply "the only people who will be concerned about any of these security measures are those who are rapidly putting BioShock on many PCs."Another little tidbit found is that the PC version of BioShock mentions the PS3 in the PC demo code. Currently the game is only confirmed for the PC and Xbox 360, which we're sure sits very well for Microsoft given the buzz and acclaim. We also know that Microsoft isn't afraid to buy exclusive content, specifically with Take-Two. So even if this is leftover code for a PS3 version, that project may have been unceremoniously squashed many fathoms ago -- but there is no way to know at this point if this code is leftover by 2K Boston or Epic in their Unreal Engine 3. Take-Two will not even comment on this issue, and it's a special kind of no comment too. They won't comment to the point where there's not even an official "no comment" to the question of what this coding means.Read: 2K responds to copy protection issueRead: BioShock PC config file hints strongly at a PS3 version
Like BioShock? Thank Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand isn't a name you typically associate with videogames. At least, we never thought it would come to pass before someone finally green-lit the long awaited The Fountainhead: The Video Game. And yet, Wired has taken up the headline that "BioShock owes more to Ayn Rand than DOOM." Given that the pursuit of personal happiness is the ultimate goal of Rand's philosophy, we'd be hard-pressed to disagree. After all, we can't imagine anything making you happier than escaping Rapture alive, right? Just remember, from a Big Daddy's point of view, nothing would make him happier than seeing you dead. In all seriousness, the point of the article is that there is more to BioShock than shooting everything that moves. In fact, if you've been keeping up with the game, you'll know that it is actually heavily influenced by Rand. Still, if you find yourself with an unexplainable desire to become an Objectivist after playing BioShock, now you know why.
BioShock jolts Take-Two stock up 10%
Big Daddy should probably be renamed Sugar Daddy, as Reuters reports Take-Two's stock rose 10% at the close of trading on Tuesday. Wall Street seems happy with the buzz for the game and if Amazon.com's bestseller list is any indication, sales seem strong. The Xbox 360 version of BioShock is currently #2 as of this writing on their bestseller list behind the Wii, the PC version of the game is #5 behind Halo 3 pre-orders and the sexy crimson DS.Reviews for the game itself have been overwhelmingly positive, with random tech issues (especially on the PC version) and the whole widescreen problem bringing most of the hate. Following the delay of GTA IV, it probably comes as a relief to Take-Two that they'll at least have one strong mega-hit going into this holiday season.
What to do with a busted Big Daddy
Before most of you have even welcomed your BioShock Limited Editions into your loving bosoms, 2K Games is warning that the Big Daddy figurine contained within might just be busted. One reader report we received said that his Big Daddy, much like a drunk dad clumsily putting together a playhouse, had a broken drill bit. Luckily, 2K says that they're already on the issue and will have a replacement plan set up soon. While new Big Daddies are being churned out, those with broken figures are going to receive a printed edition of the BioShock art book, "Breaking the Mold." Oh, and 2K's picking up the shipping cost too. While it's an unfortunate circumstance, we're glad to see that 2K is doing the right thing. ... Now about that widescreen issue.[Thanks, Michael]
BioShock launch party at Boston's Felt bar
While there was a considerable lack of Big Daddies at the BioShock launch party -- they were all at The Eagle down the street -- events at Irrational 2K Boston's festivities held at Felt in downtown Boston went down smoothly with shots of "Adam." With syringes on platters, "Little Sister" waitresses went around squirting the "Adam" fluid into revelers mouths -- the alcohol-based substance tasted considerably like Apple-tinis. And no, in reality, it wasn't even close to as scandalous as the Rumble Roses XX injection scenes.Speaking with the people at the party, it becomes obvious Boston is starting to see a little re-emergence as a video game development town, which is what Boston Mayor Menino seems to want for the city -- despite the company he keeps. This year Boston area game developers will have produced major titles like Lord of the Rings Online, Rock Band, SimCity Societies and BioShock.Did we spend any time with BioShock designer Ken Levine? No. We did spend some time with the guy who came up with the idea of the Big Daddies and he said that he always found diving suits scary. We also had to ask him the ultimate motivation-irking BioShock question, "What would possess a man to take a syringe, with no explanation of what's inside it, and jam it into his forearm?"His response: "We get that one a lot. We probably should have had Atlas say something to make it more fluid. But it'll all make sense by the end of the game." Of course, BioShock is out now if you're looking to learn the secrets of Rapture.%Gallery-6188%
BioShock LE busted Big Daddies abound
We're receiving reports that many of the Big Daddy figurines included with the limited edition of BioShock are broken. X3F reader SirUrza noted that he turned away 3 copies at his local GameStop, noticing that the tip of the Big Daddy's drill was broken. SirUrza also notes that the copies with broken figurines were put right back on the shelf, so be mindful when picking up your own copy. Luckily for those that have already purchased a copy with a broken figurine, 2K is aware of the problem and is planning to replace all broken figurines. As a consolation until the new figurines are manufactured, 2K is also doling out special printed copies of "Breaking the Mold," the BioShock art book, to affected customers.If you are one of the unlucky gamers affected by this, keep your eye on the official 2K page for updates on the replacement program.
BioShock widescreen issue causing complaints
On this, a day that many of you have been looking forward to for so long, we hate to squelch any of your BioShock joy, but we figured that this was something you'd want to know about. Some fans on the game's forums have been upset by the way the game handles widescreen. Or rather, how it doesn't. Apparently, the widescreen image is generated by just lopping off the top and bottom of the fullscreen image. Typically, a widescreen image is created by giving the player a larger horizontal field of view. You can see the part of the screen that widescreen gamers are missing out on in the red boxes above in a picture we took on our home setup.There was extra frustration from fans as Chris Kline, Lead Programmer on BioShock, had previously said in the forums, "You will see more in widescreen. We use a different projection matrix; there is no squashing or stretching of the image involved." A 2K staffer has said that they are looking into the issue and we hope to hear more soon.[Thanks, Scott]
BioShock PC demo is now available
Hey PC gamers, are you ready for 1800 MB of critically-acclaimed rapture? The BioShock PC demo is finally out, so you can now tell all your Xbox 360-owning friends to stop gloating.Our friends at GameDaily have the demo available to download here in case you need any more reason to wake up early tomorrow, call in sick for work and hit up your local retailer to grab a copy of the title.
