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Joystiq hands-on: BioShock PS3 'Worlds of Hurt' DLC
click to enlarge Just didn't find BioShock PS3's Survivor difficulty, well, masochistic enough? Then you'll want to give the game's DLC – coming to PSN on Nov. 20 – a spin, if only for the utterly insane "Worlds of Hurt" challenge room. We had a chance to brave it ourselves and found that we needed every ounce of courage and knowledge of Rapture's workings to make it through even a bit.The scenario has you battling through several rooms of increasing difficulty with the ultimate goal of freeing a Little Sister. It starts off with a single Splicer but soon tests every strategy-forming inch of your grey matter. %Gallery-36570%
BioShock PS3 DLC priced at $10, detailed
2K Games today confirmed the November 20th release date of the PS3-exclusive BioShock "Challenge Rooms." The add-on content will be sold through PlayStation Store for $9.99 (in North America) and includes three, self-contained scenarios: A Shocking Turn of Events: A Little Sister is trapped atop a Ferris wheel. Players must create electricity to power the Ferris wheel and bring the Little Sister to safety. The I in Team: Using limited resources, and an even more limited arsenal, players must negotiate traps and find a way to defeat a Big Daddy. Worlds of Hurt: Players must battle through eight rooms of Big Daddies, Splicers and "the worst that Rapture has to offer." Accumulate Adam, build an arsenal of Plasmids, Tonics and Weaponry, and fight through to rescue the Little Sister. While sparse, and seemingly devoid of any explicit narrative tie-ins, the content should provide some insight into 2K Marin's design prowess (plus, it's got Trophies). After wrapping up the PS3 port of the original and this modest expansion, the studio can now be found tinkering with the BioShock sequel. [Update: Wouldn't you know it, a 2K spokesperson just let us know that "the rooms were primarily created by 2K Boston." Looks like we'll be waiting for that sequel for any insight after all.]%Gallery-35950%
BioShock PS3 demo surfacing Oct. 2
As the most stubborn person alive, you've already dismissed BioShock's numerous awards and rapturous reception, chalking it up to a juvenile and easily swayed media. "They'll stick a ten on any old thing these days," you say, rolling your eyes at all the games-as-art debates arising in the first-person shooter's wake. The word-of-mouth may be exceedingly positive, but the word coming from your mouth is, "No." "No, I'll play the demo first," you declare, "and then I'll make my decision." You flip your official and slightly unsavory Big Daddy calendar to the October page. "Ah, October 2nd. That's when the PlayStation 3 demo is due to arrive on the PlayStation Network!" You circle the date in one swift, confident stroke ... but suddenly feel a tinge of unease trickle down your spine. "Wait a minute ... how did I know that? It's like ... someone else is putting these thoughts directly into my mind, dictating my very character from afar. Oh crap, was that a hyperlink?"[Thanks, Chris]
2K Games, would you kindly release BioShock PS3 on October 21?
Well, that was easy. 2K Games has complied with our subliminal request that it release the PlayStation 3 version of sublime, submerged shooter BioShock in North America on October 21. There was some mental resistance to our suggestions of a worldwide release, however, so you international folks will just have to make do with October 24. BioShock comes to the PlayStation 3 sporting the same aquatic utopia-turned-dystopia that made the game one of 2007's best, along with Trophies, a new "Survivor" difficulty level and challenge rooms, to be released as downloadable content "shortly after launch."%Gallery-23874%
Ken Levine: BioShock film won't be a stinker
Speaking to videogaming247.com, 2K Boston's Ken Levine did his best to allay the fear that the upcoming BioShock film will be a turkey. "You're always going to be worried that in that first meeting they're going to be, like, 'OK, it's Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey on a desert island hunting for pirate treasure,' but it's not going to go that way," said Levine. The film's director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) "gets" BioShock according to Levine, and he assures fans that Verbinski and script writer John Logan "will very much honour the dramatic and thematic elements of the game." Considering Verbinski managed to turn a theme park ride into a decent set of films, we're hopeful that Levine's faith is justified. Then again, the last time someone made a game movie and claimed to really understand the source material, we wound up Silent Hill.Fingers crossed.
BioShock being 'optimized' for PS3 by Digital Extremes
2K Games has announced a partnership with Dark Sector developer, Digital Extremes, to aid in the completion of the PlayStation 3 version of superb submerged shooter, BioShock. Digital Extremes is the fourth studio to join the project -- 2K Marin, 2K Australia and 2K Boston have already dove in -- and aims to give PS3 players a "fully optimized experience," complete with new features and content. And trophies, probably.James Schmalz, CEO and founder of Digital Extremes, noted that the decision to work on the critically acclaimed project didn't even require a brain. "When 2K approached us to assist with development on BioShock for the PLAYSTATION 3 system, it was a no-brainer," he said. "You really can't ask for a more exciting, technically impressive world to work in than Rapture, and the incredible knowledge and talent between the 2K studios and our team at Digital Extremes is unprecedented." Apparently, when it launches this October, BioShock will make the PS3 "sing with Big Daddy goodness and Little Sister 'thank you's'."%Gallery-23874%
Warren Spector believes 100-hour games are on the way out
Making blanket statements is never really a good idea, because then things like this happen. Warren Spector recently made the statement that 100-hour games are on the way out. If that's true then somebody better tell the millions of online gamers who've spent (and will probably continue to spend) anywhere between 100-500 hours on various MMOs that they're not supposed to be doing that! All right let's remove our tongue from the inside of our cheek. We all know that some games take more time from our lives than others. While World of Warcraft and Age of Conan may absorb upwards of a hundred hours of play, other games like Portal and Bioshock clock in around seven-to-twelve hours at best. So does that mean Warren is right? No, because we're pretty sure that Warhammer Online -- a game that isn't even out yet, mind you -- will be a fairly immense timesink for tens of thousands of players at the very least. Between the free-to-plays, the subscriptions and the coming hybrids -- 100-hour games probably aren't going anywhere anytime soon.
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%
First screens of BioShock on PS3
Click to "Big Daddy" size 2K Games has released the first (teeny-tiny) round of images from BioShock on PS3, following up on this morning's official announcement of the game. And ... it looks like BioShock. On Xbox 360.As mentioned in our previous post about the game's PS3 debut, developer 2K Marin is looking into ways to enhance the game for Sony's platform, but stopped short of providing any hard details. The latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly reports that the game essentially looks indistinguishable from the 360 original, and that the only "enhancements" at present are the plasmid additions and bug fixes that were pushed out to the 360 release via Xbox Live. 2K Marin has told EGM that it is working with Sony on more substantial enhancements, but at present they remain as murky as the sea enveloping Rapture.%Gallery-23874%
BioShock surfaces on PS3 this October
During the month of Halloween, you PlayStation 3 owners will finally have the opportunity to wield blunt instruments and bludgeon a pack of masked weirdos. Especially if they're between you and a PS3 copy of BioShock, which has been slated for release in October. Having wrenched free from its Xbox 360 and Windows exclusivity, the waterlogged dystopia sim hopes to win those Game of the Year awards all over again, especially with the aid of "new features and content that will make this a must-have game for its new audience, as well as for those who enjoyed it on the other platforms." We're not sure what developer 2K Marin plans to add, but we hope it's less upsetting than our idea of SixAxis-powered Little Sister shakin'.
Get creative with BioShock vending MP3 downloads
Major Nelson and Elizabeth from 2K Games just partnered up to offer a few short, sweet and completely downloadable audio clips from everybody's favorite Big Daddy adventure, BioShock. The audio clips are all master tracks taken from Rapture's quirky odd talking vending machines. As an added bonus, once you play but one of these audio clips, we guarantee that you'll be instantly taken back to your Rapture gaming days. Ahhh ... Rapture ...Now, you may be asking what the heck you want with a few random (yet very yummy) audio samples from BioShock's vending machines. Well, if you were a creative fellow, you wouldn't be asking that now would you? Use them as a ringtone, apply them as your computer's error message, mix some samples into a full fledged song or just keep looping a clip while you sleep at night. Be creative and share how you'll be using your newly downloaded BioShock vending clips.
Milk it! BioShock MMO, mobile, and movie are 'potential opportunities'
As predictable as adapting moody, atmospheric shooter BioShock into a movie is – hell, if they're squeezing a mobile game out of the "franchise" a movie hardly seems far-fetched – we weren't quite expecting to hear that owner Take-Two is considering a BioShock MMO as well. (Also listed as an "MMOG/Online Gaming" opportunity: Civilization.) Maybe Take-Two's just really into alliteration and thought the two extra Ms made slide 24 – titled "Potential Untapped Opportunities" – of chairman Strauss Zelnick's presentation at the 2008 Smid Cap Conference today that much more attractive? Or maybe it wanted to show shareholders that Take-Two has everything it needs to compete with the likes of EA in-house, including big-name brands that can be milked to exhaustion. Might we suggest sure-to-be-lucrative BioShock Big Daddy mittens ... or perhaps BioShock "Plasmid brand" malted milk balls ... [Via Massively]
Gorgeous but totally unofficial BioShock 2 art
As a preemptive warning to those searching for any BioShock 2 news, details or leaked assets. This concept art isn't real. Well, actually, let us re-phrase that. This concept art is real, but is not tied to the yet to be announced BioShock 2 and is actually the work of a talented artist by the name of Ben Mauro. The reason the artwork looks very BioShock'esque is because Mr. Mauro actually took inspiration from BioShock to create the concept art and a BioShock 2 "pitch" for his college architecture course. We think everyone can agree that it's lovely art and it makes our head ponder what will be in the BioShock sequel ... what ideas we have.[Via CVG]
Levine: Wii Bowling is the 'ultimate gateway drug'
Ken Levine, that dude who made that Bioshock game all of the kiddies went crazy over last year, recently spoke with GamesIndustry.biz about his stature in the industry now that he's made what most consider to be one of the greatest games of this console generation. But, Levine did take some time to touch on what he thinks about the casual market and how Nintendo is introducing new gamers into the fold.You see, Levine is embracing the changes that Nintendo and their Wii console are looking to bring to the industry. "Wii Bowling is like the ultimate gateway drug and God bless them for figuring that out because there is no barrier of entry," he explains. "Hey, can you go like that?" [swings arm] That's what you do in bowling, that's what you do in Wii Sports." Levine sees those that would otherwise ignore gaming as getting into it, commenting "I think there's a much better chance of people who wouldn't normally be interested in games going in and thinking "I'm interested in the history of Rome. I'll buy that strategy game," whereas before they would have been overwhelmed by the very concept of it." And, Levine, you're not the only one. We're excited about the future of gaming and how the Wii will help shape it, too![Via Go Nintendo]
BioShock's Big Daddy just wants to have fun
While trolling the 4chan image boards the team at Bits Bytes Pixels Sprites stumbled upon this a gorgeous wallpaper depicting the Big Daddy and Little Sister having, as our own Dustin would say, "good times."Ripped from the narrative of the award-winning BioShock, the Big Daddy and Little Sister are central characters in the great underwater city of Rapture and have inspired everything from fan art to developer discussions on the importance of simple stories in games. This beautiful piece deserves to be added to your desktop, so would you kindly download it.
GDC08: Ken Levine says to keep the story simple
"Details seem like the hard work, they seem like they important part, but they're not your friend. They really just drag you down."It's a surprising message from BioShock developer Ken Levine, who spoke this morning at the GDC. But despite how intricate his game was, he said that plotting details are (with a few exceptions) best left out. He says that the best storyteller is the one that might seem the most benign: The world."What is he engaged in all of the time? What's right there in his face? He's engaged in the world," he said.%Gallery-16573%
BioShock flick is a go ... no
Early last month Joystiq reported the rumor that an unnamed Hollywood studio was in talks with Take Two Interactive to secure the rights to a film based on the best selling 2007 title BioShock.While its been quiet since the rumor surfaced, an article on The Cult Scene, a gaming blog on Variety's website, claims that even more studios have shown an interest in creating a film based on the game. "You'd be hard pressed to find a production company, studio, or agency with at least one videogame savvy employee that isn't interested in Bioshock," blogger Ben Fritz says, "Take Two has been bombarded with requests from producers and studios interested in obtaining the rights [to the game]." While we love BioShock, we're not too keen on sending it to die on the silver screen with other games like Street Fighter, Super Mario Bros. and BloodRayne. Besides didn't they already made a Big Daddy flick?
BioShock nabs 'record-breaking' 12 nominations from AIAS awards
Not content with manhandling the Spike VGAs, the BAFTA awards, the AP game of the year (and we're sure other acronym-determined awards), BioShock has dominated the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' list of nominees for the Interactive Achievement Awards, to be held at next month's D.I.C.E. Summit. The underwater corridor crawler racked up a reportedly "record-breaking" 12 nominations, with Call of Duty 4 bringing up a close second place.Though we doubt the winners will be announced to the world via a lineup of bare-chested women (ahem), the IAAs will be hosted by Jay Mohr for the third year running and broadcast by both GameSpot and Comcast (through their video-on-demand service). Previous Game of the Year winners have included the GoWs, God of War and Gears of War. [Via Gamasutra]
Kindly check the mail: Big Daddies are en route
If you've got a Big Daddy figure who's been suffering from Drill Dysfunction, you'll be happy to hear that we've heard from several tipsters that replacements for the figurines are being sent out, just four short months after the game was initially released. Not that you've forgotten, but you'll also be treated to the BioShock-themed art book "Breaking the Mold."Sadly, you'll no longer be required to send in your old Big Daddy as verification that he was, indeed, a DD suffer. We say sadly because we can't shake the image of a broken-drilled Little Daddy staring out the window while your new one flies around the room with cries of "To infinity and beyond!" Let's try to remember who was in your hearts first and make him feel included, OK?
Bioshock team looking for PS3 developers
2K Boston, the team behind the wildly success Bioshock, is looking for a number of PS3 programmers. "PS3 and production experience using Python or Ruby will be highly regarded" for the Tools Programmer position. "Experience with PS3 development is highly desirable." for the Senior Console Programmer position. "PlayStation3 experience highly desirable" for the Programmer position.Something has us thinking that the 2K Boston team is making a PS3 game. Just call it a hunch. Of course, this is in stark contrast to previous rumors that they were avoiding PS3 altogether. Could the sequel to Bioshock be coming to PS3? Considering 2K's acquisition of the team, we say it's very likely.[Thanks, Matthew P.]
