Bioshock

Ross Hendrie · #1 August 24, 2007, 4:47 PM

Has anyone else played this game yet?

Ive only spent about two hours on it so far, but it's quite impressive to say the least.

Recurring Villain · #2 August 24, 2007, 9:12 PM

Is a man not entitled to the sweat from his brow?

No! says the man in Washington; it belongs to the poor*.
No! says the man in the Vatican; it belongs to God.
No! says the man in Moscow; it belongs to everyone!

I rejected these answers. I chose something different. I chose the impossible.

I chose... RAPTURE.

* If this was set in any time later than the 1950's this would be the most ironic statement ever.

Danny Stewart · #3 August 24, 2007, 9:49 PM

I've heard it was impressive, but no, I haven't played it yet and I've barely seen any video from it either. Wonder if it's on the big green demon...

Recurring Villain · #4 August 24, 2007, 10:42 PM

Don't pirate it. Buy it.

This game is worth your money.

Danny Stewart · #5 August 25, 2007, 10:42 AM

And So RV Hath Decreed.

For the record, I generally pirate all games, see if they actually are "worth my money," then if so, I do tend to go out and buy them.

Dalek104 · #6 August 25, 2007, 1:48 PM

This game looks really good! I'm downloading the demo now.

I can't be bothered waiting for 6 GB to download...

Ross Hendrie · #7 August 25, 2007, 2:27 PM

I love how the city has a 1950s look to it but it's still so advanced.

What part are you at RV? Ive just entered Neptune's Bounty on my way to meet Atlas.

Danny Stewart · #8 August 25, 2007, 3:00 PM

Okay, I've just watched a gameplay video. I want it.

Chris Britton · #9 August 25, 2007, 5:48 PM

This game is frikking awesome! It blows TES IV out of the window, visually stunning, free ended, twisty, scary, fun and definatley immersive. I will recommend this to anyone who loves a game where they take control form the start! You will be hooked =D

Danny Stewart · #10 August 25, 2007, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by Chris Britton

It blows TES IV out of the window

I dunno about that... I mean it may be (and admittedly probably is) better, but I'd hardly say it "blows it" anywhere.

Recurring Villain · #11 August 26, 2007, 1:16 AM

Originally Posted by Ross Hendrie

What part are you at RV? Ive just entered Neptune's Bounty on my way to meet Atlas.

I beat the game last night. I'm planning to play it through again 'cause I don't think I discovered all there was to discover. So many questions!

I have a love/hate relationship with the storytelling style in this game. You have to actually make an effort to discover the full story, with very little spoon feeding. I think this is a great way to present the story, but it's left me with an awful lot of questions.

Originally Posted by Danny Stewart

Okay, I've just watched a gameplay video. I want it.

Check out the reviews for it. I haven't seen one below 9/10 yet. Crazy.

Originally Posted by Chris Britton

It blows TES IV out of the window, visually stunning, free ended, twisty, scary, fun and definatley immersive.

I agree with Danny. They're both very good games, but they're also both very different. It's difficult to compare them, really. Oblivion is wide-open and epic, Bioshock is claustrophobic and sinister. It's not so much a matter of quality as it is a matter of taste.

Also, Big Daddies are so badass it makes me want to cry.

Danny Stewart · #12 August 26, 2007, 11:29 AM

Originally Posted by Recurring Villain

Check out the reviews for it. I haven't seen one below 9/10 yet. Crazy.

I've seen.

Originally Posted by Recurring Villain

I agree with Danny. They're both very good games, but they're also both very different. It's difficult to compare them, really. Oblivion is wide-open and epic, Bioshock is claustrophobic and sinister. It's not so much a matter of quality as it is a matter of taste.

Exactly... I realized I should have said as much in my original post after I made it... that's exactly what I meant.

However, I'm afraid I now want Bioshock considerably less than I did before. I spent two hours last night researching Bioshock, but instead of reading about Bioshock itself, I ended up reading about the heinous copy protection scheme the game uses. I've heard reports that the game installs a rootkit to mask its SecuROM copy protection engine. (Even the demo installs SecuROM. WTF? There's no f*cking disc for the demo -- it's FREE!!!) In addition to that, the game comes with an activation system that only lets you install the game a limited amount of times, ever. I reformat my computer all the time, and with this kind of copy protection, I am essentially renting the game. I absolutely will not endorse a copy protection scheme like this. Copy protection should prevent piracy of a game, but be transparent to legitimate buyers of the game. This is the opposite. I can guarantee that it will be cracked, but it's a nightmare from hell for people who actually pay for the game. In my opinion, Steam is the perfect copy protection system. It's absolutely rock-solidly uncrackable, but legitimate users (99% of the time, barring Steam issues) couldn't have an easier way to get to their games. I still want Bioshock, but I don't want to have to deal with their overly aggressive copy protection scheme, which is why I'm tempted either to just wait for the crack, or maybe to buy it through Steam, so even though I'll still have to deal with the activation, at least I'll be spared the SecuROM BS.

Chris Britton · #13 August 26, 2007, 2:40 PM

Ok, im eating Humble pie

Recurring Villain · #14 August 27, 2007, 2:17 AM

You can activate it 5 times without uninstalling it first, every time you uninstall it you get your install back.

It's a pity such a great game has such a convoluted copy protection scheme. It's stuff like this that encourages piracy, not discourages it. The pirated versions already allow you to play it without having to use the SucuROM bullshit.

I bought it for the 360, so this doesn't effect me. However, it is disappointing that the people who actually buy the game are the ones being treated like pirates.

Oh, and the SecuROM thing overrides Steam's DRM from what I've heard.

Danny Stewart · #15 August 27, 2007, 8:44 AM

Originally Posted by Recurring Villain

You can activate it 5 times without uninstalling it first, every time you uninstall it you get your install back.

It's a pity such a great game has such a convoluted copy protection scheme. It's stuff like this that encourages piracy, not discourages it. The pirated versions already allow you to play it without having to use the SucuROM bullshit.

I bought it for the 360, so this doesn't effect me. However, it is disappointing that the people who actually buy the game are the ones being treated like pirates.

Couldn't agree more with all of this.

Originally Posted by Recurring Villain

Oh, and the SecuROM thing overrides Steam's DRM from what I've heard.

According to the FAQ on the 2K web site:

How does activation and security measures differ between steam, IGN, and retail copies of this game?
They all use the same product activation method. In addition to the product activation, retail copies also have a disc check and Steam uses their own security.

That would seem to imply that the Steam version contains the activation only, and lacks SecuROM as it has its own security.