Thoughts on the Bioshock series?

YeeCop

YeeCop

Just a Sweet Irradiated Transvestite
Ok so I'm mutually a big fan of the Bioshock series since they and Fallout go hand in hand (both having dystopian premises and design and such,
even though Fallout is more post-apocalyptic but you get the idea) I played bioshock 2 first, and I really liked it. I played the first one and loved the hell out of it. Bioshock Infinite is my favorite out of the series, especially because of how it ties into the first game. I noticed some of you really hate Bioshock Infinite. Why is that?
 
With Bioshock Infinite, Ken Levine had climbed so far up his own ass, I simply could no longer bear to wade through the shit and continue to follow. My personal favorite would be Bioshock 2 because there's actually a competent shooter there where as the entire "game" aspect of the original Bioshock was complete ass, not to mention the game's narrative isn't as smart as it wants you to believe it is. I also feel that Alien: Isolation and even the new Prey are far better spiritual successors to System Shock than the Bioshock series ever was... but there are worse games out there.
 
joevonzombie said:
With Bioshock Infinite, Ken Levine had climbed so far up his own ass, I simply could no longer bear to wade through the shit and continue to follow. My personal favorite would be Bioshock 2 because there's actually a competent shooter there where as the entire "game" aspect of the original Bioshock was complete ass, not to mention the game's narrative isn't as smart as it wants you to believe it is. I also feel that Alien: Isolation and even the new Prey are far better spiritual successors to System Shock than the Bioshock series ever was... but there are worse games out there.
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pretty much this. I have no idea why people hate Bioshock 2 and think it's a cash grab, the story is decent enough and the combat is a major improvement as well as the combination of plasmids made the entire thing fun as all hell. The only thing that I wish they improved on in BS2 was the plasmid effects, an example like most of the plasmids being a stun spell than anything truly unique.
 
I'm gonna be that guy and acknowledge that this thread should be under Gaming.

Anyway, I enjoy Bioshock more aesthetically than anything. Rapture and Columbia look great even if the gameplay has a lot to be desired. I enjoyed the whole "mind control" aspect of the first one but they dropped the ball after you disable it. Why not give the player a huge selection of choices afterwards instead of being forced to go after Fontaine?
 
I actually only have a problem with the Burial at Sea DLC which is among the single worst pieces of shit ever written for those who actually liked the series.
 
I'm not a huge fan of stories in all games, I love the story in Homeworld and like listening to it in the game.

In Bioshock I more-so just enjoyed its gameplay and cool enemies and settings.
 
I loved the original Bioshock. Never played Bioshock 2 or Infinite, since I knew they could only disappoint after Bioshock had blown me away. The horror elements that the original Bioshock had worked really well with it's environmental storytelling, in a similar way as Amnesia: The Dark Descent. As with many series, the first installment is like reading a piece of literature. The sequels tend to miss that refinement that would make it art.
 
Apollyon said:
I loved the original Bioshock. Never played Bioshock 2 or Infinite, since I knew they could only disappoint after Bioshock had blown me away. The horror elements that the original Bioshock had worked really well with it's environmental storytelling, in a similar way as Amnesia: The Dark Descent. As with many series, the first installment is like reading a piece of literature. The sequels tend to miss that refinement that would make it art.
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I would highly recommend you try Bioshock 2, Minerva's Den is worth it alone.

On a side rant: Amnesia: The Dark Decent is one of the most overrated games of the last 20 years. Frictional created one of the greatest lovecraftian video games of all time with Penumbra: Black Plague and then had to figure out how to sell it to idiots: enter Amnesia, a game that is far too focused on getting the player through it and its core system is completely broken. To my understanding, when an enemy killed you in Amnesia, it's supposed to respawn elsewhere, that never happened during my play-through. They just went away, never to be seen again which completely ruined it for me. I honestly thought I accidentally put the game on easy mode somehow and restarted it only to find out that's just how it is.
 
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joevonzombie said:
I would highly recommend you try Bioshock 2, Minerva's Den is worth it alone.

On a side rant: Amnesia: The Dark Decent is one of the most overrated games of the last 20 years. Frictional created one of the greatest lovecraftian video games of all time with Penumbra: Black Plague and then had to figure out how to sell it to idiots: enter Amnesia, a game that is far too focused on getting the player through it and its core system is completely broken. To my understanding, when an enemy killed you in Amnesia, it supposed to respawn elsewhere, that never happened during my play-through. They just went away, never to be seen again which completely ruined it for me. I honestly thought I accidentally put the game on easy mode somehow and restarted it only to find out that's just how it is.
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that and how they instantly spawned as soon as you solved a puzzle was just bad level design.
 
Bioshock 2 as mentioned before is probably the best Bioshock out there. The first one was great but the gameplay was kinda meh and after the reveal about the mindcontroll it was just boring. First 1-2 times the game was fun not i can't be arsed.
Same with infinite.

CT Phipps said:
I actually only have a problem with the Burial at Sea DLC which is among the single worst pieces of shit ever written for those who actually liked the series.
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Hey! The 2 DLC's where the best part about Infinite! >:|

joevonzombie said:
I would highly recommend you try Bioshock 2, Minerva's Den is worth it alone.

On a side rant: Amnesia: The Dark Decent is one of the most overrated games of the last 20 years. Frictional created one of the greatest lovecraftian video games of all time with Penumbra: Black Plague and then had to figure out how to sell it to idiots: enter Amnesia, a game that is far too focused on getting the player through it and its core system is completely broken. To my understanding, when an enemy killed you in Amnesia, it's supposed to respawn elsewhere, that never happened during my play-through. They just went away, never to be seen again which completely ruined it for me. I honestly thought I accidentally put the game on easy mode somehow and restarted it only to find out that's just how it is.
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I played like 15 min of amnesia before removing it forever. Boring overhyped piece of shit!
 
One of the worst things about Bioshock Infinite was how you could only carry two weapons at once. Like what the fuck?

CT Phipps said:
I actually only have a problem with the Burial at Sea DLC which is among the single worst pieces of shit ever written for those who actually liked the series.
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I liked it okay, more so cause you could get a glimpse of Rapture before it went to shit.

Apollyon said:
I loved the original Bioshock. Never played Bioshock 2 or Infinite, since I knew they could only disappoint after Bioshock had blown me away.
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Bioshock 2 is like an answer to all your questions during playing Bioshock, quite literally sometimes. The altruistic, collectivist Lamb is a polar opposite of the selfish, Objectivist Andrew Ryan. Like the first, it tests your morality much like the first one. I'd say it's just as good.
 
For me, the DLC shit upon anyone who actually liked Infinite's characters in Booker and (especially) Elizabeth.
 
Bioshock 2 was the best for me, gameplay wise.

1 was kinda an experiment to see how the game mechanics could work, and they were refined in 2, and dropped in 3...*Sigh*

I have no idea why they 'consolised' 3, when 1-2 were console games...
 
Wait Booker and Elizabeth had character? Booker felt like nothing more then a guy that kills things that came for the mcguffin and Elizabeth was some Disney princess that was glad not to be caged up anymore. Infinite was one of the worst games I've ever played and Ken Levine is a hack. Bioshock was just trying to be like System Shock.
 
MercenarySnake said:
Wait Booker and Elizabeth had character? Booker felt like nothing more then a guy that kills things that came for the mcguffin and Elizabeth was some Disney princess that was glad not to be caged up anymore. Infinite was one of the worst games I've ever played and Ken Levine is a hack. Bioshock was just trying to be like System Shock.
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I think Subject Delta had a lot of character for a mutant with a fishbowl on his head.
 
Bioshock is the most overrated game I've seen in a long time. Not to say the most pretentious. I can't name ONE thing that I particularly like. Well, the first 15 minutes of Infinite or so. I thought that they had learned from Half Life, a 2004 game, on doing a batter narrative without so many audiologs and more optional narrative. Then Booker starts killing people, and never stops. Granted, BI is a beautiful game, but it won't let you appreciate it.

CT Phipps said:
For me, the DLC shit upon anyone who actually liked Infinite's characters in Booker and (especially) Elizabeth.
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Oh man, what's next. The deep and troubled character of Buffy the vampire slayer?
 
Arnust said:
Bioshock is the most overrated game I've seen in a long time. Not to say the most pretentious. I can't name ONE thing that I particularly like. Well, the first 15 minutes of Infinite or so. I thought that they had learned from Half Life, a 2004 game, on doing a batter narrative without so many audiologs and more optional narrative. Then Booker starts killing people, and never stops. Granted, BI is a beautiful game, but it won't let you appreciate it.



Oh man, what's next. The deep and troubled character of Buffy the vampire slayer?
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Hahah when I think of the beginning of Bioshock Infinite I think of "Wait a minute that card...".
 
Arnust said:
Oh man, what's next. The deep and troubled character of Buffy the vampire slayer?
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*Obi Wan Voice* "Who is the more fool? The man who cares about the characters or those who stops to complain about those who care?"

Also, I used to be a huge Buffy fan.

MercenarySnake said:
Wait Booker and Elizabeth had character? Booker felt like nothing more then a guy that kills things that came for the mcguffin and Elizabeth was some Disney princess that was glad not to be caged up anymore. Infinite was one of the worst games I've ever played and Ken Levine is a hack. Bioshock was just trying to be like System Shock.
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Well, Booker is a half-Native American man who participated in massacres against Native Americans in hopes of passing himself off as whiter-than-white than joined a millennial cult to become Comstock/didn't join said cult to become a drunk but still violent detective. He's a selfish awful person who actually isn't a hero with a heart of gold but an abusive awful murderer. The only way he can redeem himself is by dying because he is THAT much of a piece of shit. Elizabeth IS a Disney Princess and the whole point of the story is gradually crushing that idealism in the face of the fact people are violent, awful, and horrible.

I mean, you have to be a moron to miss there's an actual character arc and personality to both.

The problem with Bioshock: Infinite isn't the protagonists but the nonsensical quantum mechanics/greater universe B.S. that drowned out what's a fairly effective little story about time travel. Also, that Ken Levine doesn't actually understand how Christianity or Baptism works despite the fact it's a central plot theme.
 
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CT Phipps said:
Well, Booker is a half-Native American man who participated in massacres against Native Americans in hopes of passing himself off as whiter-than-white than joined a millennial cult to become Comstock/didn't join said cult to become a drunk but still violent detective. He's a selfish awful person who actually isn't a hero with a heart of gold but an abusive awful murderer. The only way he can redeem himself is by dying because he is THAT much of a piece of shit. Elizabeth IS a Disney Princess and the whole point of the story is gradually crushing that idealism in the face of the fact people are violent, awful, and horrible.

I mean, you have to be a moron to miss there's an actual character arc and personality to both.
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Well Infinite is so enigmatic (not in a good way, necessarily) I barely wrapped my head about what's going on before Elizabeth starts drowning Booker. What.

I loved the depictions of segregation, institutionalized racism, and white supremacy in the game. You're playing the first 15 minutes and thinking "Wow, what a lovely city> Everyone is so cheery and-- Hold up, I only see white people." And then you get to the part where you have to throw the ball at the interracial couple (before shit hits the fan).
If Levine was trying to make a game criticizing white supremacy, jingoism, theocracy, and ultra nationalism, he did a great job.
 
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