Re: Bioshock Remastered - GoG free

On Mon, 11 Nov 2024 11:12:07 +0000, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

On 10/11/2024 15:27, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Sun, 10 Nov 2024 11:43:11 +0000, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
 

On 08/11/2024 16:44, Ant wrote:

Ant <ant@zimage.comant> wrote:

JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

If anyone wants this I've put the code on the Steam group.

>

Me please as shown in here and there. ;)

>
Ooh, I see and got it. Thanks. :D

>
It's not a bad game but I found it difficult to enjoy as I fell for the
hype about how it played when in reality it's just a solid FPS shooter
in a different environment. I'm pretty sure that it was the last game
ever that I pre-ordered, still it came in a nice metal case so there's that!

 
The hype for this game (well, the original edition) was enormous on
release, with many claiming it would be the next sandbox-sim like
"Deus Ex" and "System Shock". But it was so limited in comparison that
these claims pretty much fell apart once you played it. I often
hesitate to make claims of 'consolitis' being the cause, but I think
in this case it would be quite merited; the hardware of the time
(especially the limited memory) resulted in a much weaker experience.
 
"Bioshock" wasn't without its good points; it's take-down of Randian
beliefs was on-point, the game's aesthetics were impressive (if not in
the least bit realistic) and the water effects were top-notch. But the
gameplay was unspectacular, with far too much reliance on the "ooh,
there's an oil pit I can light on fire" environmental trickery to
carry the game.
 
The "Remastered Edition" was incredibly disappointing, since it was
largely bringing the console editions up to the quality of the PC
version. On the PC, it's hard to even notice any changes. It's still
the better version to play but if you've the older edition already,
there's no real need to go out and replay the newer.
 

>
One of the disappointments that stood out was the early gameplay footage
showing the interesting use of traps and the environment. The problem,
it was just easier to shot them in the face so why bother!

That was frequently a problem in many games that used environmental
traps. Sure, they were neat when you could use them, but too often the
enemies wouldn't co-operate and you'd either have to work to get the
bad-guys into position so you could 'trap' them, or you'd spring the
trap and it wouldn't be as effective -whether in times or resources-
as just shooting them.

   [I'm suddenly reminded of that scene from the movie 'Austin
    Powers', when big-bad Dr. Evil insists on trapping the hero
    in a small room with sharks, while his son insists, "Just
    shoot them!"]

The alternative, of course, is to make the traps so obvious and common
so the enemies /can't/ avoid them because they're all over the place
(a tactic used by "Dark Crusaders of Might & Magic") but then the
ridiculous world design destroys any immersion (who lives in a house
where every floor is covered in oil and every wall covered with
spikes?)

Too often environmental traps become a game's core gimmick, and
frankly, it's not a very exciting or novel gimmick at that.
Ultimately, all those traps aren't much different from the old
exploding barrel trope that has been with us since 1993. The only
difference is that instead of just shooting the barrel and watching
the gibs fly, you have to switch to a specific weapon or tool to
trigger the trap. It's just more effort for the same effect.