Two weeks from today and we've got Bioshock in our hands! I took three days of vacation from work to end the week so that I've got 5 full days to just go nuts and play. I haven't taken time off for a game since Doom 3, if that's any indication of how excited I am about this.
I've read the OXM review. If what I've read is any indication, this is almost the perfect game. Dear God in heaven I hope it runs okay on my system. It *should*. I'm way, way far beyond the "can't wait" mark at this point. It's getting very difficult.
I don't want to spoil anything for those who don't want to read the review (and it doesn't spoil much, really, just a few tiny things, not generally plot-related), so I'll just give you the bullet points, along with those from the PCG review plus a few quotes, which will make you wonder just how much longer you can stand waiting for this.
OXM:
* Inconceivably great plot.
* Tough, scary combat.
* Perfect location design.
* Stunning soundtrack and audio effects.
* Endless variety of weaponry.
The Score - 10
A rich and brilliant dystopia for everyone.
PCG:
IT'S
* A horror game.
* A long game.
* A Shock game.
IT'S NOT
* Bugged.
* Demanding.
* About killing kids.
SUBLIME - 95%
Bioshock is a dark and disturbing masterpiece.
Even if you've soaked up every preview and trailer with relish, you haven't scratched the surface of how deep this unsettling meditation on hubris and insanity actually goes. If it were just a thrilling ride through a twisted and remarkable plot, Bioshock would eventually get old. But there's a physicality and openness to its richly systematic combat that suggests it'll stay fresh for a very long time.
... these are the big challenges developers have been struggling to master for decades: narrative, emergence, a sense of place. If another game did just one of these as well as Bioshock, it would immediately qualify as a classic. When a game comes along that does all three, we can only be baffled and thankful.
I spend my career, and my gaming life, waiting for a moment when a game just astonishes me, when I can't believe what I'm seeing, what I'm doing. Bioshock has five.
There's also a mention of three problems that the game has, the last of which is the game's ending sequence, which if Tom Francis is to be believed, sucks. He equates it to watching Citizen Kane with a zombie Orson Welles fighting Agent Smith. That doesn't sound to happy (though I have to be honest with you, I'd pay to see zombie Orson Welles fight Agent Smith just on its own).
Anyway, if none of you have yet ordered the limited edition of the game on PC or 360, get off your asses and
DO IT NOW!
I'll leave you with two more bits of ambiguity: I read today in another issue of PCG that, and I (not entirely direct, but almost) quote: "This is probably the most PC-improved multiplatform game in the history of gaming." Meaning, of course, that the PC version is loaded with interface improvements and general greatness that utterly eclipses those of the 360 version.
HOWEVER, it has also come to my attention via the OXM review that there are going to be extra abilities and such for the game that you can download from Xbox Live that will be exclusive to the 360 game. At least, apparently. If you're a 360 elitist I wouldn't yet hold your breath that they won't make it to PC at some point, and given the depth of what's already included with the game, it sounds like you could pretty well play this for a long, long time without ever seeing everything, rendering downloadable content somewhat less appealing. Still, it's something that might help balance the PC's apparently tremendous advantages in other areas.
Either way, no matter where you play it, it looks like Bioshock is going to be the masterpiece we all knew it could be. And thank God for that.
EDIT -
There's the OXM review if you want to read it.
