Bioshock : The Collection

[SirSullymore]

http://www.examiner.com/article/bioshock-collection-boxart-leaked-1

A collection of one of my all time favorite series? Yes please!

Though, even though the link says it's included, I'm a bit nervous for Bioshock 2.

 

[CritialGaming]

I have these games on steam so it better come with some cool swag before i start to care. I love me some cool ass swag.

 

[DefunctTheory]

I, too, have all three games on Steam. It hasn't been long enough since the initial release of Bioshock for a decent re-mastering, so I'll opt out of this.

 

[Fox12]

Is it some kind of fancy collectors edition? Because I'm pretty sure Bioshock infinite came with the original game.

That's some beatiful box art, though, and it's a great opportunity for someone to play the games who hasn't before.

 

[Zombie Proof]

Great news, although I wish they could somehow omit Bioshock 2 from cannon. It's the Godfather 3 of the Bioshock series.

 

[SirSullymore]

Great news, although I wish they could somehow omit Bioshock 2 from cannon. It's the Godfather 3 of the Bioshock series.

I think it was sorta, BSI had the whole multiverse thang going on and the first Big Daddy bonded to a little sister was not Delta in the universe Elizabeth explored in Burial at Sea.

 

[Silvanus]

Great news, although I wish they could somehow omit Bioshock 2 from cannon. It's the Godfather 3 of the Bioshock series.

What's so bad about it? The characters generally fit fairly well into the world, and the gameplay's just as functional as it was in #1 (sometimes more so).

OT: Like that box art.

 

[B-Cell_v1legacy]

Bioshock games are extremely mediocre and dull. not interested.

 

[SirSullymore]

Great news, although I wish they could somehow omit Bioshock 2 from cannon. It's the Godfather 3 of the Bioshock series.

What's so bad about it? The characters generally fit fairly well into the world, and the gameplay's just as functional as it was in #1 (sometimes more so).

OT: Like that box art.

I'm actually of the opinion that, in terms of pure gameplay, 2 is the best in the series. It's the worst story-wise, no doubt, but that still makes it's story pretty good compared to most games.

 

[Zombie Proof]

Great news, although I wish they could somehow omit Bioshock 2 from cannon. It's the Godfather 3 of the Bioshock series.

What's so bad about it? The characters generally fit fairly well into the world, and the gameplay's just as functional as it was in #1 (sometimes more so).

OT: Like that box art.

Everything is a huge step down from the first Bioshock.

The first Bioshock had an amazing controlling idea and juggled dual essay's on the failures of Objectivism and the illusion of free will. These elements were seamlessly integrated into the narrative, characters, and overall journey. The second Bioshock had none of that poetry and nuance. None.

The level design also fell a few notches. The first game felt like an actual place that people coexisted and lived in before falling into disrepair. The second game was little more than battle arenas interconnected with hallways. Yuck.

The art design fell by the wayside too. Bioshock 1 had these amazing shafts of light everywhere that bled through smoke and mist to create some really nice atmosphere. There was also a filter placed over the textures to soften them and make them feel more organic. You can see all of this at play in Bioshock 1's rose room.

Bioshock 2 feature none of those atmospheric generating effects.

It wasn't only the art design that was devoid of nuance though. The writing, characters, story, and how all of it connects with the player journey and gameplay was a joke compared to the first game. In fact, I'm hard pressed to remember ANY characters in Bioshock 2. I absolutely hate it.

 

[Zombie Proof]

Great news, although I wish they could somehow omit Bioshock 2 from cannon. It's the Godfather 3 of the Bioshock series.

What's so bad about it? The characters generally fit fairly well into the world, and the gameplay's just as functional as it was in #1 (sometimes more so).

OT: Like that box art.

I'm actually of the opinion that, in terms of pure gameplay, 2 is the best in the series. It's the worst story-wise, no doubt, but that still makes it's story pretty good compared to most games.

Yeah, the gameplay was great. If I simply wanted great twitch fps gameplay though, I'd just boot up Hard Reset again. I go to Biohsock for much more than that. The journey, atmosphere, and narrative that was so fulfilling in the first game was completely absent in the second.

 

[Zhukov]

Cool.

I mean, I have no need of it since I already own the games and they're not old enough for me to want a HD update or whatnot. (Is this even an update or just a collection?)

Nice cover design though.

 

[Silvanus]

Everything is a huge step down from the first Bioshock.

The first Bioshock had an amazing controlling idea and juggled dual essay's on the failures of Objectivism and the illusion of free will. These elements were seamlessly integrated into the narrative, characters, and overall journey. The second Bioshock had none of that poetry and nuance. None.

Well, firstly, the illusion of free will idea in Bioshock 1 hinges on a single moment involving a twist. After doing it in the first, it would be genuinely impossible to recreate it, because that twist has been revealed and the exploration is impossible without it. It's not fair to hold that over a sequel.

The failures (and hypocrisies) of an Objectivist government is an extremely strong theme, but so is the kind of spiritualist-collectivism in the second. It's not as strong, and lacks much of the iconography present in the first, but it's a fair political exploration nonetheless.

The level design also fell a few notches. The first game felt like an actual place that people coexisted and lived in before falling into disrepair. The second game was little more than battle arenas interconnected with hallways. Yuck.

[snip]

It wasn't only the art design that was devoid of nuance though. The writing, characters, story, and how all of it connects with the player journey and gameplay was a joke compared to the first game. In fact, I'm hard pressed to remember ANY characters in Bioshock 2. I absolutely hate it.

Well, mileage varies. Can hardly fault you there.

I'm actually of the opinion that, in terms of pure gameplay, 2 is the best in the series. It's the worst story-wise, no doubt, but that still makes it's story pretty good compared to most games.

I would probably agree with you. I'll defend Bioshock 2, but it's still the weakest in terms of story. I just feel it's still relatively strong, even as the weakest link.

 

[Aerosteam]

Holy fuck, that lighthouse is massive.

 

[Zhukov]

Everything is a huge step down from the first Bioshock.

Agreed.

I suspect I liked it more than you, I think it had its moments and the shooting was pretty good (rocket harpoons!).

But the sparks that made Bioshock great simply weren't there.

 

[Zombie Proof]

Everything is a huge step down from the first Bioshock.

The first Bioshock had an amazing controlling idea and juggled dual essay's on the failures of Objectivism and the illusion of free will. These elements were seamlessly integrated into the narrative, characters, and overall journey. The second Bioshock had none of that poetry and nuance. None.

Well, firstly, the illusion of free will idea in Bioshock 1 hinges on a single moment involving a twist. After doing it in the first, it would be genuinely impossible to recreate it, because that twist has been revealed and the exploration is impossible without it. It's not fair to hold that over a sequel.

The failures (and hypocrisies) of an Objectivist government is an extremely strong theme, but so is the kind of spiritualist-collectivism in the second. It's not as strong, and lacks much of the iconography present in the first, but it's a fair political exploration nonetheless.

Yeah, my disappointment in the second was't in the fact that it didn't repeat the philosophy in the first, but in the fact that it's execution wasn't even in the same literary hemisphere. There's a way to make collectivism interesting and write strong characters to help propagate that. My disappointment stems from the fact that they didn't.

 

[DeliveryGodNoah_v1legacy]

So...is it just a collection? Or is there some kind of update to the games?

I mean, hopefully on PS4 and Xbox One the game is scaled up in quality from the original console versions, but what could this possibly offer me on PC that I don't already have on Steam? A pretty box maybe?

 

[Zombie Proof]

Great news, although I wish they could somehow omit Bioshock 2 from cannon. It's the Godfather 3 of the Bioshock series.

It'd be way better if they skipped Infinite.

I couldn't disagree more. I loved Infinite. It was an amazing adventure to partake in.

 

[Zombie Proof]

Great news, although I wish they could somehow omit Bioshock 2 from cannon. It's the Godfather 3 of the Bioshock series.

It'd be way better if they skipped Infinite.

I couldn't disagree more. I loved Infinite. It was quite an amazing adventure to partake in.

Yeah, I know. Some people loved it. There's a disney princes in it! But there's also a weak terribly bad arena shooter that starts and stops all the time. With the two gun system and shitty weapons that did not feel satisfying to shoot from and silly bullet spongy clockwork enemies, that were not satisfying to shoot at. I'd rather have it as a Telltale game, really.

While I think it's reductive to merely regard Elizabeth as some "Disney Princess", what I really find baffling are critiques against Infinite's game play. I absolutely loved the guns. All of them. They have a satisfying "snap" and they gel perfectly with the Vigors. Not to mention how invigorating that skyline is to use. If I had a critique it would be that there should have been more of those.

I also can't identify with the whole "start and stop" critique. I've seen it aimed at several games I love including Infinite and Max Payne 3. I've always seen it as a shift in gears as opposed to being a "stop" to the experience. The storytelling and character development plays just as important a role as game play dynamism in those games, especially when I find the story and characters so compelling. In fact, I love the storytelling sequences in Max Payne 3 so much that I've never skipped them and I've gone through the game several times.

There are plenty of games whose game play balance has little emphasis on story and are big on the dynamism. Why not just play those instead of criticizing games with more story in the balance of their design simply for having it?

 

[B-Cell_v1legacy]

Great news, although I wish they could somehow omit Bioshock 2 from cannon. It's the Godfather 3 of the Bioshock series.

It'd be way better if they skipped Infinite.

I couldn't disagree more. I loved Infinite. It was an amazing adventure to partake in.

My friend, Bioshock infinite make first bioshock feel like system shock 2. bioshock infinite is more of straight forward game than first bioshock and having the worst shooting mechanic ever.