...and theres TWO Kid Icarus games...

 Reply

Exactly. I keep thinking how neat it would be to have a FEAR-style team of swat guys go down there in 2011 after it gets discovered, but then quickly realize it would be stupid to have modern weapons laying around, or really, to even have ammunition that is still useable after 40+ years in that atmosphere.

 Reply

Guess thats why it won all those game of the year awards. For being such a below average shooter.

 Reply

I took Bioshock from, probably, a very much different perspective. Looking around and seeing Avant Garde typefaces, authentic Art Deco architecture, etc. It was like a graphic designer's dream world. They paid such close and perfect attention to so much of the minute details that it really made the world come alive. The game was fairly linear, but the story was great and the action was terrific fun. Bioshock deserved every single bit of praise that it got.

 Reply

I totally agree with you, and I think the art direction is what took it from just a good game, to a great game.

The colours, the lines in things, the music... it was all perfect. I truly felt as if I had gone back in time, and yet, was still 'modern' as if all this was cutting edge to me. It was a very strange feeling. Like if I was watching something on the history channel that somehow felt like it was advanced to me, or science fiction.

My favourite things were those huge red plaques, and the banquet/dance/dining halls you came across, where you found remnants of old masks and parties of days gone by.

And the audio logs. Oh how I loved listening to the audio logs.

 Reply

My suggestions:

1) More variety in the weapon and plasmid upgrades. I was dismayed to have "maxed" out every stat in the original game in a single play through.

2) Make the little sisters "choice" more morally ambiguous. Clearly killing a little girl is a terrible thing to do, and saving them is the kindest offering. There is no advantage gained by killing them, and as such there is really no reason at all for the choice to be there.

What would have been better, is if the game put players in a position where killing a little girl might actually be the "better" option. What if, by killing the girl, a number of other innocent lives were saved? Or if you were too weak to progress past an area and absolutely needed the extra adam? I can't help but feel the original Bioshock never gave players tough decisions, instead simply asking "are you a saint or a sinner?".

3) More variety in the enemies. Big daddies were memorable, but the splicer fights making up the other 90% of battles were not.

4) More logical level designs. Why were there binoculars in Arcadia to look at the plants 10 yards away? Why was there a highway that stretched for a grand total of about 50 yards? How come a restaurant only has one table in it? Why is there only four apartments in what is meant to be a residential area?

While I appreciate that the game was meant to be claustrophobic, it was also meant to be an entire city. It felt more like a small town to me.

-----

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. I also agree about giving it a different setting though. Instead of under water, maybe it could be set above water, on a giant "ship" of sorts that lacks any engine and just floats around the middle of the ocean?

 Reply

Its also cool to ride the hype train with your eyes closed listening to the conductor shout out what you'll be 'coming up to, soon!', from what I'm told.

 Reply

No way. Remember the Matrix? Everybody loved the first one, and then when the sequels sucked, it restrospectively rendered the original pure shit.

 Reply

The trick is to take the second and third movies and use an editing program to mash them into a single movie.

And then pretend like your eyes didn't see all the horrible Keanu Reeves CGI they overoverOVERused.

 Reply

Actually, most developers DO think in terms of 'Lets get this game done first before we even dare to think about another game after it'.

They weren't discussing Resident Evil 3 with the public before Resident Evil 2 was even out.

Did I say I didn't want sequels? No. Being the fan of System Shock that I am, I'm glad System Shock 2 happened. But one way to kill a hype machine for me is knowing that even before they deliver a sequel to me, they're already thinking about how they're going to follow THAT up. As if this sequel won't simply be enough to satiate my every need.

Which also means I'm probably going to get stuck with a fucking stupid cliffhanger.

 Reply

BioShock was truly a complete experience. That means it had proper closure. I get sick of seeing stuff get milked. I was already disgusted at the idea of a BioShock sequel. Hearing about sequel to an unreleased sequel, honestly, just guarantees I won't buy either one. Call me crazy, but you probably just can't understand my point if you do.

Mr. Ken Levine, your BioShock story is all I need to have experienced. The other tacked on crap can kiss my brown bottom.

 Reply

In the back of my mind I suspect Bioshock 2 will be an "invisible war", but I'll try to remain optimistic until I can properly judge it.

 Reply