Techtite's PC Game Reviews!

"In a summer filled with movies half as good as they were hyped to be, here is an interactive gaming experience which is twice as good as every summer movie this year combined."

---from the review

-----------------

Sidebar :

-----------------

Pros: Everything a fan of "System Shock" ever wanted and more; awesome power ups; fabulous graphics that more than make up for that high end PC you paid for.

Cons: No multiplayer, which would've rocked!

Those copy protection whines. There's an ongoing gripe about the game's copy protection. In short: you can only install the game five times, without uninstalling it first. If you want to re-install the game, you had better un-install it, or else it won't re-install. This "dilemma" sounds a bit odd, since of course, it's unlikely anyone would re-install a game without uninstalling it, right? Yet some allegedly law-abiding consumers "accidentally" discovered they could not install the same copy of the game to more than five completely separate PCs at a time. Uh-huh; sure they did. Yep.

To us this sounds like a bunch of kiddies who felt that they could pool their milk money into buying one copy of the game, and then share it among themselves. Well, in the words of one of this game's characters; that's just too bad, kid. You can't share video games; so why share software? It took many people to make this game, and they need to be paid, so by all means; buy the game! Maybe you can play rock, paper, scissors to see who gets to play the game first, and then uninstall it, and then give it to your friend. I'm not calling this a non-issue; I'm just annoyed at software pirates who keep jacking up the price of games because they share one copy of a game to a hundred of their friends. After all; isn't the whole reason we never had a "System Shock 3" because its parent company went bankrupt? You want Bioshock2, here's a tip: Buy as many copies of the game as it takes for your friends to play it legally. I'm just sayin'.

-----------------

Feel free to contribute. As always, review submissions are accepted!

------------------  

Bioshock

Click picture to order this PC game

A Techtite Review

Renee Zellweger was made famous with the line, "You had me with 'Hello'." Bioshock had me with: "the spiritual sequel to System Shock." That initial tagline was as intriguing as it was ominous. Before its release, a gamer may have found Bioshock rather cocky to dare compare itself to a classic, cult-hit game like System Shock. After playing it, it's clear the reverse is true: being compared to Bioshock is the best praise System Shock could receive. Bioshock is, quite simply, magnificent.

For those unfamiliar with System Shock, here's a general rundown to the gaming-coolness of Bioshock. This isn't a mere rubber stamp "shooter" where you grab a game gun and let the game bullets fly. There are any number of ways to "survive" in this game, each with their own pros and cons. On the one hand you have a weapon, which can be upgraded. On the other hand (literally) you have plasmids (sort of like "super-powers," on steroids), which can also be upgraded. In addition you have hacking skills, which can allow you to hack into the nearby security systems, making all those turrets and whatnot work in your favor. So: do you go in with guns blazing, with super-powers flying, or: do you just hack into the nearby security system and let the security bots attack your enemies for you? You can even learn to "hack" into machines nearby, allowing you to get ammo and plasmid power-ups for half price. The options are surprisingly numerous, and they're all up to you.

It's the location of the game which is totally cool: an underwater city. The story is that sometime in the 1960's, a bunch of crazy scientists made a haven underwater, where they could conduct various controversial experiments in peace. As you would expect: this was a bad idea, leading to very few survivors and a whole underwater "ghost town," of sorts. It is up to you to discover what went wrong, who was responsible, and perhaps, of course, save whoever is still alive.

Upon descending (literally) into this underwater city, you see another reason this game is so beautiful; it simply is. The graphics are extraordinary. Shoot an enemy with an ice blast and they don't merely stop moving; they literally have a shiny opaque sheet of "ice" covering them. It's a simple detail, yet enhances the realism of the game experience to a whole new level. Shoot fire at ice and it slowly melts away, revealing a once frozen door behind it. Shoot flammable items and they slowly catch fire, and often explode, with nearby objects flying. Add to all of this the location of the game ---an underwater city--- and you can tell your graphics card is going to have to toe the mark. If your graphics foot the bill, however...wow.

Adding to the fun: all those "plasmid," genetic-alterations that Rapture was working on. Feel free to inject yourself with them at every opportunity. Wield electricity, fire, freezing, telekinesis: you name it. As you progress in the game you'll come across Plasmid dispenser machines, which upgrade your powers...for a price. The bad news: the price is not exactly "cash."

Here's where the game gets a bit controversial. You see; Rapture's scientists were really sick puppies. They found that ADAM thrived when contained in a living human...specifically, a young child. These mutant children, or "Gatherers," are sort of like "Children of the Corn," only creepier. What's more; they're never alone. By now you may have noticed that behemoth on the game box. He's called a "Big Daddy," and: he...is...tough. In case you wondered; no, you can't just sneak up to a Gatherer, grab the child, and run. You have to defeat each Big Daddy to get to the child; preferably, to save their life (more on that, next). These are intense, strategic, delightfully challenging "mini-boss" battles throughout the game. What's more; they can be done at any time. You can attack each daddy as you find them, or better yet, re-visit any level you wish, and save the Gatherers when you are more powerful.

The real controversy of this game element is obvious: children in harm's way. It gets more complicated, though. See; these children are basically walking batteries. You can save their life and return them to their mortal form...or, well, choose to "harvest" them for an energy boost, like every monster/mutant roaming these dark corridors. If you're a pro gamer looking for the best challenge, however, you'll cure every Gatherer, and return her to normal form...at a cost. You saved a life yet you gain less energy for doing so. However (spoilers notwithstanding) the saved girls make it worth your while, by leaving you gifts for every three (or so) girls you save. You go, girls!

Yet what makes even the most minor battle in the game so fun, is the brilliant A.I. Even in "easy mode," enemy A.I. is, pun intended, pretty darned brilliant. If you set an enemy on fire, they run for water. If you allow an enemy to flee, they'll dash for a healing station. Some enemies even fight in packs; others can be mind-controlled to fight alongside you! Some enemies even have their own plasmids, making them immune to whatever power-up they have (fire, ice, or whatnot). So; don't be surprised when your favorite "fireball" spell barely tickles an enemy with the same power-up. It's all brilliantly challenging yet not aggravatingly so. Even better; this is no mere "console-itis" game, allowing you to quick-save at any time, seconds before any big battle. Yay!

Spoilers intact, one may wonder if the journey is worth the trip. While I will not spoil anything in this review, let's just say that there are three endings. What makes these endings so inspired: they reflect the game you decided to play. If you played the game creepily, harvesting Gatherers while humming "Hakuna Matata," well, get ready to reap the ending you've sown. If, however, you are the sort of Marine-minded gamer where "Everyone goes home, or nobody goes home," your ending will be far different...and to this gamer, just plain awesome. It's all up to you. Play the game any way you want, and get an ending appropriate for that unique approach to the game!

You can forgive this game for no multiplayer...well, sort of. There's just so much going on, and the story is so brilliant. It may be, in fact, the game of the year for the PC. If it isn't, and there's actually a game for computers better than this one...wow. That's all I can say.

---Techtite