Preview
Platform:
Xbox 360Developer:
Irrational GamesPublisher:
2K GamesPreviewed by
Brian J. Balsan on 2007-06-26
Editor in Chief Richard Brownell and I recently took a trip to sample two of 2K's upcoming games,
The Darkness and
BioShock. To begin describing the visit to 2K Games in earnest, I would have to explain the introductions leading up to our preview of
The Darkness, but Rich already handled that in
his blog covering The Darkness.
The focus on this preview, then, is for a game that we won't be seeing on store shelves till August. We've already seen the videos and screens of
BioShock (they've been around for some time), but this is the first chance we at GAF have had to play the game.
The Darkness preview wrapped up and Mr. Andersson took his seat, allowing Nate Wells,
BioShock's Technical Art Director, to continue the show.
BioShock starts underwater, a better spot than any for a game that mainly takes place beneath the depths. We hear a man struggling to breathe. This is our 'nameless hero', and he is clamoring to make his way to the surface. Eventually he does, only to find the surrounding area in a raging inferno. Our protagonist has just survived a deadly plane crash; the only remnant of the airplane that carried him is the tail, sticking out of the ocean. Surrounding our victim are barriers of fire, endless miles of water, and a strange, tower-like structure looming in the horizon. Well, land-ho, we guess: time to swim to shore.
This is when the player gains control of the character for the first time. The fire barriers pretty much ensure you that you're swimming in the direction of the structure. Thankfully, the guy swims like a dolphin as he makes he way to land.
When we do reach land, the structure appears submerged, as the water leads right up to a flight of stairs. Climbing up to the top of these stairs, we find a door that is slightly ajar. It is dark inside, but having nowhere else to go besides back in the water, we bravely enter.
And the doors close behind us. Quite the 'Scooby Doo' moment, but suddenly lights begin to flicker and turn on. More lights turn on ahead, as if guiding you to a certain destination. Music that can best be described as 'festive, yet creepy' can be heard in the backdrop. The atmosphere feels almost like an abandoned carnival. Ruh-Roh.
Eventually we are guided to what looks like an opened bathysphere. Upon entering the sphere, the chamber automatically seals shut, and the sphere begins to dive.
During the ride, a screen comes down and a slide-show begins. Our host is one Andrew Ryan who, fed up with state of the world after World War II, decided to create his own capitalist utopia beneath the ocean. When the slide-show ends and the screen rolls back up, we are introduced to a beautiful 1930's art-deco city. But as in most cases, beauty is only skin-deep, as within the city's walls lays the very textbook definition of Hell. Welcome to Rapture!
Having arrived at the drop-off point, with the bathysphere still closed, we witness a sadistic human-like creature tear an innocent victim apart. The creature then focuses on the man in the bathysphere and begins climbing over it. Explosions are heard - the creature's trying to break into the sphere! One final explosion, and everything falls silent, until an on-board radio starts to sputter. A man begins to speak, referring to himself as Atlas. We are prompted to take the radio, and the bathysphere finally opens. The game, in earnest, can begin.
As you make your way through this now-decrepit city, protest signs on the floor indicate an uprising against the city's founder, and the crazy people you meet may show evidence that this 'Andrew Ryan' person is not everything he makes himself out to be. We take a flight upstairs to a balcony of some kind, as old-time music crackles through the speaker system. At the top of the stairs is a 'Plasmid' vending machine. Plasmids can be considered a type of genetically-engineered magical attack, which come in the form of giant hypodermic needles which our character must inject into himself. Upon giving himself the first injection, our hero goes into a fit and falls over the balcony. While unconscious, we get to see some of Rapture's more evil creatures, including a mentally insane masked-person, and a little girl, joined by her lumbering "Big Daddy" partner. The protagonist eventually comes to, and now wields his first plasmid: Electric Shock.
Progressing further on reveals that the city is starting to collapse in on itself. While walking through a tunnel that looks out onto the underwater city, the glass breaks and water begins to rush in. We run towards the nearest airlock before the entire area fills. Safe for the moment, we continue forward, and eventually get to notice a 'Big Daddy' lay another unfortunate suspect to waste. At about this time, you're also getting your first 'physical' weapons. Similar to
Halo 2, you can attack with either the L or R triggers. The L trigger (left hand) allows you to wield plasmids, while the R trigger (right hand) lets you use guns, monkey wrenches, and whatever other physically-damaging weapons you may find. So it's possible for one to, say, stun an enemy with the electroshock plasmid and then bludgeon him to death with a few whacks of the monkey wrench.
At around this time, Mr. Wells mentioned that the enemy AI has the ability of knowing when things aren't kosher. For example, when the enemy catches on fire, it will run to the nearest pool of water to douse itself. This was also a good opportunity to discover that the player can also use the surrounding environment to his or her advantage. A bit of plasmid electricity on that same pool of water can lead to particularly deadly results to whoever (or whatever) happens to be standing in the puddle at the time.
As we wrapped up our demo play-through, Wells opted to show us a bit of the gameplay from the second area, as that introduced more vending machines and helicopter turrets. See, as you kill people in
BioShock, you can loot their bodies of any health packs, ammunition, and money they may have. In turn, you can take the money to vending machines to stock up on items, including alcohol. Alcohol acts similarly to health packs, but as excessive drinking affects performance (or rather, reduces the energy you have for plasmid attacks), it's not highly suggested. Still, it's a cheaper alternative if you can't get the health you need.
Then, there were the flying security bots. Normally, these little guys buzz around trying to kill you, but it is possible to get near them, de-activate them, and then 'hack' them so that they work for you. The bot we found was blocking a doorway, making for a particularly useful first-run tutorial on these interesting contraptions. If you attempt to hack them, a mini-game not unlike
Pipe Dream begins, and you have to make the proper connection before the helicopter turret will work for you.
We were told that since the puzzles do get tougher over time, later areas will actually allow you to use your money for an 'instant' hack, further adding diversity to a game that's already teeming with it. Later bots may also activate the security system, sending more active bots after you, so be careful.
If you die though, all is not lost. Located at convenient spots throughout Rapture are Vita Chambers - pods that will revive you when you die. But unlike other games in which you have to try again from the beginning of the situation you just failed at, BioShock's action continues at the moment you left off. We only saw one example of this, but it looks like this could produce some interesting results when dealing with difficult portions of the game.
With this, our time with
BioShock came to an end. We came out incredibly impressed with the amount of detail that went into the graphics and sound. The controls worked wonderfully, and they were amazingly easy to pick up. Ultimately, the variety in the choices you make throughout the game will determine whether or not it will stand above other FPS Adventure/RPGs of its type (I'm looking at you,
Deus Ex!).
Do we have any regrets? Only one. We did not get to take on any Big Daddies, which Nate described as being like the bosses of the levels. But be prepared, Big Daddies - when BioShock comes out, we'll be ready for you.
BioShock is expected to be released on the Xbox 360 and PC August 21st. But I sorta miss it already...
