Better than Half-Life Games?

[zombieturtle01]

I probably will not have the joy of getting this game until like.... may or june.;(;(;(

Is it in anyway better/ more interesting than the Half-Life Series?

just asking because, like most of us, I am hard core fan of the HL series, curious to see if a game (maybe bioshock?) can meet it's match in anyway.

[DeusExMachina]

Is there anything not better than Half Life games?

Besides bad games. Games not called Bioshock.

Yeah, that should answer your question.

[Tyguy]

Assuming you are running it perfectly on high, id say its a contender

[Malfunction]

Assuming you are running it perfectly on high, id say its a contender

In a competition of "best game evar," graphics should not hold that much of a weight in the final outcome, especially not when the games are so spread apart in time of release.

I'm not saying graphics don't mean anything, I'm actually quite the enthusiast. I'm just saying, you can't be superficial with games.

[zombieturtle01]

Is there anything not better than Half Life games?

i do not know why you are on this site...

[Wanted Bob]

read the rest of his post and it'll make sense...

[Steel.Inferno]

From a purely SP perspective, yes I think it's better. There's just more to DO in the game beyond pumping everyone full of lead. (You could light them on fire, follow them to a pool of water, and then shock them, for instance). The melee combat is far beyond HL2, also. Once you get a certain upgrade it is feasible to go wrench-only with only a little plasmid use. (Well, I haven't tried a big daddy, but theoretically...)

I really hope they follow it up with some form of expansion, sequel, etc.

[DeusExMachina]

Yeah that's a good question.

I'll be leaving now...

[Lt. Drebin]

Well, I do believe there is certainly more to the SP in Bioshock. HL2 has a great story, but in the end, it's not much more than a straight shooter. Thus far, I'd say I'm enjoying Bioshock more...activation issues aside...GRRRRRR.

[Tyguy]

In a competition of "best game evar," graphics should not hold that much of a weight in the final outcome, especially not when the games are so spread apart in time of release.

I'm not saying graphics don't mean anything, I'm actually quite the enthusiast. I'm just saying, you can't be superficial with games.

If we are comparing only the single player experiences, I would say that Bioshock is up there with Half-Life 2. Obviously hl2 has much more as far as mods and such

[StardogChampion]

I've heard from non-graphics-whore sources that it's essentially just a basic shooter. Very linear, scripted sequence after another, doors locking - kill enemies in the room before you can progress, moron proof, no inventory, no stealth/hiding, the physics seem to be for show.

It looks like the Deus Ex's and System Shocks of this world are far better. Yet it's no surprise it's getting 95% reviews from the hype.

[Evo]

I've heard from non-graphics-whore sources that it's essentially just a basic shooter. Very linear, scripted sequence after another, doors locking - kill enemies in the room before you can progress, moron proof, no inventory, no stealth/hiding, the physics seem to be for show.



But can't the same be said for HL2 with respect to those points? Not all of them obviously but you know what i mean

[TheAntipop]

I've heard from non-graphics-whore sources that it's essentially just a basic shooter. Very linear, scripted sequence after another, doors locking - kill enemies in the room before you can progress, moron proof, no inventory, no stealth/hiding, the physics seem to be for show.

It looks like the Deus Ex's and System Shocks of this world are far better. Yet it's no surprise it's getting 95% reviews from the hype.

I've heard otherwise. I've been reading how much of a vast depth of exploration this game has if you dwindle from the main quest into other regions of the city. I've also seen that enemies don't have to be confronted whatsoever if you want, and there can be a degree of stealth if you use the right plasmids. Sounds like the person that wrote all of that didn't even bother exploring the games plasmid/weapon inventory or bother straying from the beaten trail. Sucks to be him.

[Kyorisu]

I thought Bioshock was pretty decent from start to just before the final boss fight and I feel the same way towards HL1&2 the boss fights where really crap. Then Bioshock had it's wtf win moment;

After placing 3 photographs in Cohen's masterpiece, classical music fires up and splicers flood into the room. Two Big Daddies where nearby when this happened I hit both with the hypnotize BD plasmid and watched them go nuts killing everything.

[Flyingdebris]

there is stealth, the game just doesn't go out of its way to emphasize it.

The story is linear, that maps themselves, not so much. There is a lot of roaming and exploring. But yeah, there are scripted sequences. Though it seems like the phrase "scripted sequence" gets thrown around like a negative term. If you want to tell a story, you need scripting. Until we develop programs that are ridiculous smart and have a copy of a film director's mind patterns within its code, we will still need scripting to tell a good story. The "doors lock, kill all the dudes in a room" thing is not accurate though. That doesn't happen all that often.

Yeah there's no inventory, the only downside to that is that all that booze, chips, and smokes you find are consumed immediately instead of when you want. Not that big a deal.

the physics are for show till you get telekinesis

[Samon]

I've heard from non-graphics-whore sources that it's essentially just a basic shooter. Very linear, scripted sequence after another, doors locking - kill enemies in the room before you can progress, moron proof, no inventory, no stealth/hiding, the physics seem to be for show.

Aside from the 'kill enemies in the room before you can progress (which I pretty much doubt Bioshock requires), those points aren't in anyway relevant if they prove to be extremely well done. Like Flyingdebris said, there's zero reason why these should be thrown around as negative terms. I'm pretty sure though that Bioshock is supposed to have more exploration.

Getting this tomorrow wheeeeeeeeee

[Warbie]

After playing for a few hours I reckon Bioshock has a very good chance of bettering the original Half-Life, which, along with SS2, is my benchmark for immersion driven fps. It's still too early to tell - we should be asking this question in 6-12 months - and so far i've spent longer gluing my Big Daddy's drill back on than playing the damn game.

[StardogChampion]

I did realise I was practically describing HL2 apart from the physics part to whoever on pg1 said that :P. Although HL2 didn't want to stray from HL1 too much. Bioshock had a clean slate to do anything it wanted.

I got most of the thoughts from here (http://ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116060), here (http://ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115934&page=4) and here (http://crankygamer.blogspot.com/2007/08/cranky-opinions-bioshock-demo.html).

Here's some Doom 3-like AI too - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDzzAvzDTDo

[Kyorisu]

Here's some Doom 3-like AI too - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDzzAvzDTDo

That part is the most blatant and shit annoying section of the entire game imo.

[DeusExMachina]

Really wasn't that annoying.

[StardogChampion]

Edit

[Fliko]

I think Bioshock and Half-Life 2 are just right up to par with eachother.
Combat is more fun in Bioshock in my opinion though.

[Uriel]

I still think hl2 beats it out, and the original is still king. Bioshock certainly has it's orginiality, but if I had to choose between the games it would still be hl2.

Although I'm a huge Valve fan.

I <3 Steam
I <3 automatic updates
I <3 implementing multi core support on existing games
I <3 Gabe

[Laivasse]

Here's some Doom 3-like AI too - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDzzAvzDTDo
Hmm, that kind of stuff drives me nuts.

[Asus]

I like the variety of combat and A.I. in Bioshock. And the game is great, right up there with HL2. But I'd still prefer playing HL2 and it's story. Especially if I had to pick which to play and the other I couldn't.

[Fliko]

Aside from the 'kill enemies in the room before you can progress (which I pretty much doubt Bioshock requires)

I've only encountered this in the beginning, and at respectable parts that involved for the most part; boss battles.

[BHC]

I used Telekinesis a LOT, in fact it's probably my most used plasmid (low eve consumption and high damage).

I would say this game was a contender for the shooter throne, but the anti-piracy software bundled in the PC retail version put it just below the bar. It's a damn shame too because the actual game is one of the best I've had the pleasure of playing.

[Sui]

I think it's hard just to say "Game x is better than Half-Life", because the HL games are such classics. It really depends a lot on personal opinion, and even then, you might still prefer the atmosphere / setting of one game.

Personally, I'm enjoying Bioshock more than Half-Life 2. I think it's probably a better game. However, I jut love the HL universe too much to simply dismiss it as inferior.

[Shift]

The rating for this game are exellent, but I dont know if I like the look of it. I may just buy it anyway to give it a spin, I doubt it wont amaze me as much as HL2 did though.

[Kadayi]

When it comes to great FPS experiences my personal benchmark games are HL (the original), System Shock 2, Deus Ex (the original) and Thief. Each of those games actively raised the benchmark in terms of the FP gaming experience. HL did it through it's use of clever set pieces, smart AI ,immersive approach and puzzle based objectives. System shock 2, through it's clever storyline, excellent sound and inventory system. Deus ex because you could solve the challenges you faced using different approaches as well as impact the main story through your actions. Thief because of the introduction of stealth to the genre.

Although none of those games are at all lookers now,and no doubt feel antiquated today the fact of the matter is, they all brought something new to the table in terms of the FP experience, and significantly altered the face of future game design. With regard to Bioshock and HL2, I think that with HL2 Valve have added depth to the FP experience with the advances they made in the facial technology as well as their smart take on in game physics as an active game play mechanism rather than merely a rag doll generator. With Bioshock however, despite the lush graphics I'm not seeing any real advances upon what has come before, so I can't really say it's a better game than HL2.

[Harryz]

**** it, I'm upgrading.

[Asus]

Here's some Doom 3-like AI too - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDzzAvzDTDoI thought that part was easy (and I'm playing on hard). You have a nice puddle of oil on the ground to use fire with. You just got the bee plasmid for attacking multiple enemies. A few things to throw and explode in the enemies face. A lot places to go to avoid enemy fire and can leave the enemies below when the bees spawn again.

I spawned maybe 5 at a time to see how hard it would be.

[zombieturtle01]

I was over my friend's watching him play it, he pisses straight through games, which is no fun at all, so I can't really judge it until I have played it alone at my own pace.

Killing all those splicers gets old though.

[PoeticRocker]

I just tried the demo. This looks like a really cool game. But damn do I need to upgrade yet again... In someways it reminded me of Doom 3. The only difference is an underwater city is far more interesting than a research facility on mars.

[Baal]

I just tried the demo. This looks like a really cool game. But damn do I need to upgrade yet again... In someways it reminded me of Doom 3. The only difference is an underwater city is far more interesting than a research facility on mars.

I agree with you, but I still enjoyed the research facily on Mars, which says even more for Bioshock! EBgames was sold out of Bioshock for PC all this week, and I never bothered to go out of my way and get it somewhere else. I'm about to go out to another EB across town now to pick it up.