(UPDATE: GamerTagRadio is reporting that the 100 GS Secret Achievement is “Bulletproof - Complete the game on Hard difficulty without using a Vita Chamber”. Great, like I’m going to be going to be getting that anytime soon. Not dying even once on Hard, pfft, yeah, sure, why not.)

BioShock seems to share a lot in common with the city it’s set in. What started out with a vision ended up blowing up in their faces somewhere down the line. With fans screaming bloody murder over the activation fracas, widescreen display issues and broken patches, it looks like at least one of those problems will be going away for good. In an update that’s been promised to come out soon, 2K Games will fix the widescreen issue once and for all, which we assume, was serious enough to render one of the greatest games ever made totally unplayable.

But wait, that’s not all. It looks like the game will also be seeing its first DLC along with the update, since we’re now seeing that the gamerscore for the game has been upped to 1100, with a new Secret Achievement being listed for 100 GS. It’s anyone’s guess as to whether the DLC will be free or not, but we should at least get a couple of new plasmids that were cut from the original.

PC owners who are still ripping mad about the activation issue, you still have to march some more in front of the 2K offices to get what you want. Hey, at least be thankful you’re not in the PS3 club, clutching at straws and marching day and night by the big cooling tower.

We mean it! For real! Or at least the powers that be do. After days of screaming, abusing and outright rioting at the Cult of Rapture forums about the seemingly infinite delays the BioShock PC demo was facing, word has finally come down that the demo will be available today at 7 PM EST, or around 4:30 PM IST. The demo should be available across all major download servers including FileShack, FilePlanet, GameSpot, etc., in addition to good ol’ Steam.

For those bastards who don’t give a rat’s ass about the demo because they were lucky enough to pre-order the full version via Steam, well, you will get to play it in approximately 1 day, 13 hours and 21 minutes… while the rest of us rot silly waiting for the retail PC and Xbox 360 versions. Be warned, we’ve got voodoo dolls in your likeness and we’re more than happy to use ‘em! In the meantime, here’s some sagely advice from Ken Levine:

If you’re going to buy the game this week, I highly recommend you stay away from any forums that might have spoilers until you play the game through. Our goal in making the game was to thrill and, often, surprise you.

Please don’t ruin other people’s experience by revealing secrets in unmarked threads, and if you want to enjoy the game to its fullest, stay away from any threads that might ruin the fun for you. With a game like BioShock, it will really make a difference.

Best,
Ken

That’s right, spoil the game for us and we’ll hunt you down and strip every piece of flesh from your bones.

Let chaos reign! In the aftermath of a couple of Toys ‘R’ Us store leaking copies of the much anticipated shooter BioShock, the frenzied consumers around the US have started going positively crazy (as should be expected with such an awesome title) trying to find the game at the nearest TRU outlet. In the meantime, one frenzied gamer at The7Gamers.com tried to do everything he could to find out if BioShock’s release date was being advanced to today, one week earlier than the original street date. After a YouTube video showing BioShock commercials with the words “Available Now” went up, people started going even more berserk, calling up Microsoft, Take-Two, their local TRU store, Jesus, Allah, Zeus and half a dozen other people just trying to get more information on how they can get their BioShock goodness.

After someone finally got through to Take-Two, the claims of BioShock releasing today have been (as of now) officially debunked, with Take-Two insisting that the game is still set to ship next week and they will most probably impose a $5000-per-unit-sold fine on the TRU outlets that broke the release date. As of now, some TRU personnel are still continuing to sell them at stores in the US, whereas others, including GameStop, Walmart and Best Buy insist that the game will not be sold before the 21st, even though they have the copies available right now.

Expect an official statement from Elizabeth Tobey of 2K Games or Ken Levine at the Cult of Rapture website soon enough about this whole mess. Surprising how Irrational’s vision causes widespread confusion and chaos both in-game and in real life. We’re half expecting to see pictures of people out in front of their TRU stores wearing signboards that read “Rapture is coming!” Anytime now…

BioShock Early Release Confirmed? [The 7 Gamers]

“Welcome to Rapture”. How long have I waited to hear those words! I don’t know what the 2K Boston studios are feeling right now, but I am positively bouncing off the ceiling and the walls here, having played the newly released BioShock demo over and over and over again. Has the mega download been worth it? Yes, every little kilobyte and every little second of it. From the second this game starts up and shows off the main menu, to the very last panic-stricken second of the nearly half an hour long demo (much longer for me, since I just ran around exploring every nook and cranny of this underwater dystopia), BioShock has delivered all that it has promised over the years, and then some. Make no mistake about it, BioShock is, single handedly, the most brilliant looking game on the Xbox 360 when it comes to lighting, atmosphere and, Sweet Jesus, water effects.

(more…)

First, it was the internet forums at TTLG and the Cult of Rapture. Then it was the Official Xbox Magazine. Followed by the German software ratings bureau USK, which spilled the beans by rating it. Yup, after months of denying that there were any plans for it, it looks like the BioShock demo is finally upon us. Weighing in at a hefty 1.35 GB, the demo has gone up on Xbox Live Marketplace for the entire world to, pardon the expression, drown themselves in. Can’t say for sure what’s featured in it, but it should most probably be the one that was showcased at the last E3 and LGC.

Of course, with a multi-platform blockbuster like this, we’ve got a billion PC gamers screaming their collective heads off at the Cult of Rapture and TTLG forums with some choice, unfriendly words about being left out of the demo. Trying to appease the mob that’s baying for their blood, Irrational and 2K, (err, or is that 2K Boston and 2K Games) have announced that a PC demo should eventually come out.

For those of you who are looking for a BioShock demo on the PC, it is in the works and will be out later this month. I’ll give you more details about it tomorrow.

Later this month? As in during the LGC at the end of the month? I don’t think the PC crowd would be too happy watching the Xbox 360 “jerks” lording it over them for 2 more weeks, even as the PS3 camp stands by and wishes both PC and Xbox 360 owners spontaneously combust. Well, what better way to start my day than by calling up a “dedicated PC gamer” friend and telling him the good news? Sure, I had to listen to lots of curses, as well as the rants about how he is planning to boycott BioShock, Call of Duty 4 and all Starbreeze games just because they went the way of the Xbox 360, but I know him, he’ll be the first in line to get the games, cursing all the way from the store to his home. Good ol’ Mumbley!

Having little to do in the way of activity, the events of the day resulted in much searching, reading and contemplation of various recent and past events in the gaming scene. Chief amongst these is Bioshock, and how strikingly it’s similar to System Shock 2. This is no trade secret by any length of the imagination. At E3 2006, Irrational’s General Manager Ken Levine gave a brief interview and overview of Bioshock; in his comments he noted that there were many similarities between the two games, especially in terms of Mechanics.

Everything, from the old abilities upgrade system to hacking security systems and even the way your lead through Rapture by the instructions of its creator, Andrew Ryan is very, very reminiscent of SS2. Not that it’s a bad thing, mind you – SS2’s formula was a successful one, and to not recycle it into something new yet still unique (despite its age) would be an utter shame. The heart still yearns for a true sequel to SS2 after all, but seeing its spirit live on in Bioshock is more than successful.

However, mechanics aside, the observant fan of SS2 will be able to pick up on the clear -and somewhat terrifying – echoes to SS2’s story. Although mechanically, the resource Adam has replaced nanites; its nature echoes a more sinister villain from SS2: The Many.

The influence of Adam on the citizens of Rapture is extremely similar and reminiscent of the The Many’s influence upon the crew of the Von Braun in SS2. Both objects drew in their victims with the promise of Glory, Improvement and most of all; the Glory of the flesh. Each was created by a being that desired something akin to Godhood, playing with the very nature of life itself - albeit, in different ways. Still, despite their different methods of creations, their end results are eerily similar: Zombies and Mutants, taken over by their desires for glory, but reduced to nothing. However, as similar as they may be, The Many were a sentient organism, while Adam is but a substance. Still, despite this other echoes do exist.

One example of such is the settings of the two games. Comparing the city of Rapture to the Von Braun is creepy in its own right. The VB and Rapture share similarities in their origins and fates that are undeniable. Each one acts as a prime example of humanity’s greatest achievements, and desires to expand – yet at the same time, a horrifying warning of the consequences of going too far, and attempting to play God. Where the VB was destroyed by The Many, Rapture has fallen to Adam. The conditions we see in the videos of Rapture are striking; with the sea leaking in, corpses lying everywhere, the entire area in disrepair – it all smacks of a location plunging deeper and deeper into chaos, much like the VB was till we arrived. However, unlike the VB, the fate of Rapture at the protagonist’s hands is unsure, so more parallels from that angle cannot be drawn at this point of time.

But still, there are more echoes – this time in philosophy. Andrew Ryan’s opening statements in the cut scenes bear a striking resemblance to one of SHODAN’s desires: the desire for perfection. Although by no means an uncommon desire, the coincidence between the two is too much to discard – especially when you consider what happens later on. In what one could call a ‘traditional’ battle, like in SS1/SS2, in Bioshock too there is a clash between between creator and creation: this time namely between Andrew Ryan, and the founder of Adam, Tenebaum. Ryan eventually won out over Andrew, much like how SHODAN won out over The Many, and humanity over her even before that. More than that; much like SS1 and 2, Bioshock looked ready to bring back the old issues of the ‘petty morality’ of playing God, especially with human life and genetics.

Still, despite these similarities, there are differences. Where The Many had been eliminated, Tenebaum still exists, alongside Adam, which is in turn where the Protagonist appears. There is no SHODAN, nor is there a single opponent in all of this. Unlike SS2, which had a straight-forward plot, the protagonist of Bioshock appears to have the choice of morality in what he can do.

Irrational has, in essence, borrowed heavily from System Shock 2 – but it is not a bad thing that they did. They have taken the best elements from SS2 and combined it with new elements, stories and choices to make something incredibly unique and interesting. We may never have another SHODAN taunting us along our cybernetic paths, nor will we have The Many enticing us to join in the Glory of the flesh; but their spirit lives on in the conflicts between Rapture and Adam, and our choices within it.