Reviewtime: Bioshock

Well for those people who didn't know I was planning it - I got Bioshock today. Wow oh wow.

This game is amazing and awesome. I love the huge amount of detail and scale of the game. It has a truly engaging story and interesting characters.

For those who are not familiar with the basic set-up of Bioshock, you play a man who survives a plane crash in the mid-Atlantic ocean in 1960. You find that you crashed at the base of a lighthouse in the centre of the ocean. Swimming to the lighthouse, you find a Bathysphere and descend into an underwater city called Rapture.



Rapture is the brainchild of a man named Andrew Ryan, who obviously read WAY too much Ayn Rand. He gathered some of the greatest minds and business people he could find to build this Art Deco city under the water. Unrestricted by "petty morality" and laws, the scientists create genetic wonders that defy belief. Unfortunately something went wrong... (OMG! A city built on Ayn Rand's philosophy collapsing?! Who woulda thunk?)

Anyway - you find the city in the middle of a genetic civil war. Currently it is hard to figure out the sides of this war, but clearly one side is Ryan's gene-perfected splicers - people who have gone absolutely mad, and worship the ever present "big brother" Ryan.

It has an amazing world where everywhere has the clues of what is going on. Upon arriving in Rapture, you find protest placards everywhere, newspapers strewn about with headlines such as "bloodshed causes demand for mass departures" and the like. Everywhere is evidence of how this city is falling apart.

Unlike most shooters, a majority of the levels are just open plan locations. Rarely is there one route to take - the game provides several places to explore during the play - with a handy map that shows where you can head off to.

I'm just constantly amazed by the scale and scope of things - and how freaking beautiful the game looks. It is just gorgeous. Sometimes I just stop and stare out at the underwater city, or the posters - it is a game that rewards you for taking the time to appreciate the level of detail and work that has gone into the game.

There are literally dozens of plasmids (the genetic superpowers) to choose from, and I'm getting the impression that the game has a lot of other hidden surprises - it isn't just as simple as ten different weapons. There are scores of alternatives and options that make the game truly unique. Learn to watch the environment, as you can take on your opponents via a variety of environment traps (exploding oil slicks, water combined with electricity, gun turret death traps...)

Needless to say, Halo 3 definitely has a hell of a fight on its hands for single player value...

Heck, I'm off to play more now... and then maybe get some sleep before work!

Love and Huggles

Conan

Currently Reading: Changeling: The Lost
Currently Playing: REIGN, WFRP
Mood: Very pleased with his purchase...

Bioshock Vs Halo 3: Battle of the FPS

So it has been a long time since I've really looked at a First Person Shooter (FPS) game. Part of this is because in recent years FPS games have had the problem of giving me serious bouts of motion sickness. What idiot thought that a jerky movement on screen helped with the verisimilitude of a game? People do not sway from left to right so fluidly when they walk... but I digress.

This early 2000's habit of movement really didn't work.

But after playing Oblivion and giving XIII a go, I'm swaying back to the possibility of checking out FPS games if they end up being decent enough to play.

Enter the approaching (and likely, unintentional) war of the FPS - Bioshock versus Halo 3.

Both games are claiming unparalleled story and gaming experiences. Both are claiming to be innovative and new approaches to the genre. My gaming dollar is going to screaming at me when it comes down to picking a game.

Or is it?

Here's the thing. Bioshock has been developed by the same team who made the genre-busting System Shock 2. Remember that game - the creepiness and sheer scale. The AI was disturbing for the time - enemies were [i]smart[/i]! Without SS2, games like Deus Ex may have never seen the light of day.

Halo 3 is being made by the team who made... well... Halo. Which has been a bit, patchy. It may be one of the biggest coups of Xbox, but I played them. They aren't that flash. Halo 2 was plagued by patchy rendering - often character's textures didn't load up until half-way through a scene, enemy AI tended to be pretty limited to "run like buggery at the player and throw everything you've got at him!"

But Halo 3 looks pretty. And the designers are talking about how they are improving on everything that got rushed through for Halo 2.

Well Bioshock comes out this week, about two weeks ahead of Halo 3 - and the news is not looking good for the guys at Bungie. Initial reviews are calling it a miracle. A rare game that earns 100% for not only redefining what an FPS is, but throwing everything you assumed an FPS should be out the window and rebuilding from the beginning to make what is being described as a game that is from two years in the future brought back in time so we can play it today.

High praise.

Bioshock has a living ecology. Players have a vast array of options, and no two games will play the same. The maps are huge and actually designed on real architecture rather than false claims of such. It is not a linear tunnel - you can wander through malls and hospitals in the underwater city of Rapture and take out the enemies as you see fit.

Enemies can be made into allies. The most deadly opponents wont attack you unless [i]you[/i] provoke them. (Although there are suitable rewards for doing so...)

What has Halo 3 claimed? Well, so far, a lot of hype. Unparalleled. Next Gen. Amazing AI. MULTIPLAYER!

But what cool things will I be able to do?

Will I be able to choose the route with which the story unfolds? Will I be able to hack computers to turn the entire level into a death trap for my enemies? Bioshock can.

Halo 3's only saving grace so far is that it has pretty graphics, and multiplayer. However the reports about Bioshock are saying "sometimes multiplayer just isn't necessary when the game is this good."

No doubt you know the decision I've made. Bungie have done a pretty poor job at selling Halo 3 beyond "It's Halo. But better!"

I hated Halo. It had a great story and pretty graphics - when they loaded. But the previous two seemed full of bugs. I have little faith that Halo 3 will be any different.

Bioshock, however, is made by a team who have a history of great products - and has been in development for a while. All the reviews are glowing. The worst review gave it 95% because it didn't have multiplayer and because of the removal of a small sequence from the final game that was deemed a little too risque.

I'm sold. More about it when I get my grubby paws on this game! :D

Love and Huggles

Conan

Currently Reading: Lunars 2e
Currently Playing: REIGN, WFRP
Mood: FPS developers are in my sights!

Love, Sex and Zen

Right, so I'm watching High School Musical and suddenly I find myself thinking - why does Troy like Gabriella?

Furthermore, because it is a Disney Channel movie, they aren't allowed to kiss or do anything that actually could be construed as supporting a sexual relationship - seriously, watch the movie. It's a love story where they never kiss! Except for a rather chaste peck on the cheek.

So, I find myself wondering, why are they at all into each other?

Not solely in a movie, but just think about being a teenager - why did you want to be in a relationship with the opposite sex? (Or same sex, for that matter.)

Love.

Movies, Poets and media tells us that it is this strange and mystical thing that we don't really understand. Science implies, and some scientists out right declare, that it is a form of genetic survival. We gain attraction to the people our bodies deem genetically compatible with our own genes to ensure continued existence of our codes.

Yet we also have spiritual sensations and experiences - which seem to have contradicting genetic explanations.

That has me a little concerned. Because if love is just a chemical delusion created to ensure sexual procreation; and if that leads on to the theory that homosexuality is a form of genetic population control when a species is beginning to overpopulate... what does that mean to us emotionally?

Or spiritually?

I'm a person of feelings - I find that all that conflicts with my emotional experiences.

See, I am always feeling. All the time. I assume that everyone else is too. I feel this sense of it almost broadcasting out of me though, and picking up... sensations. It's hard to explain.

I'm not claiming a sudden psychic power or anything - but rather a sense of empathy. I guess.

Intuition, empathy - these words have a lot of meaning to me, and I'm wondering how love fits into all that.

You see, I could fall in love with a man who I maybe made out with but never had sex. Seriously. I don't get attracted to guys because of sexual reasons. I like sex, don't get me wrong, but I don't really need it.

What I am looking for is a form of spiritual connection and fulfillment. Maybe that is why things have been so hard for me - I'm thinking of love as a form of experience and adventure. A sense of connection and perception.

It's hard to really place in words at the moment. I'm worrying about not finding someone because I'm not really wanting to find someone for sex.

Not that I'm actually meeting anyone at the moment anyway.

What is the universe playing at? What happens if it is all s myth? What would that mean?

Should I just get over it?

I don't feel comfortable with the idea that the world is so purely corporeal. That it is all genetic imperatives and chemicals.

It's not because I'm scared of ceasing to exist - that seems a bit pointless because I would not need to worry once I stopped existing.

No, it's because it feels... inefficient and inaccurate.

Like I said - intuitive.

I'm not really explaining what I'm thinking about very clearly.

It seems to me that we get attracted to people long before our bodies or minds are up for the sexual side of things. So why do we have attraction?

Why do people who have no way of genetically combining also get this feeling? It does not seem to me to be a chemical flaw - it's far to prevalent to be an anomaly.

Which, I guess, brings me to spirituality. I'm not really religious, but I am a spiritual person. I have some very strong, and potentially controversial, views of how our universe operates. Maybe I just want to life to be more like a hollywood interpretation of love.

But is that such a bad thing. People claim that real life isn't like that - but real life is simply how we, as humans, choose to live. The problem is that some humans refuse to allow life to be anything other - because they don't feel that it can be anything else.

However, if we are capable of envisioning another life, then it is possible.

I have friends who are inspiring in their relationships. They might not be living the hollywood love life, but they show that love is not just about something as carnal as reproduction - but rather a complex experience that has its ups and downs.

Wow. I'm kind of lost now. High School Musical is still playing on the monitor next to me too. :D

Zac Effron makes me wish I was 17 right now. LOL. So what does that say about me?

Maybe I am overthinking things. But I'm curious - what is the point of existence? Because it seems to me that humanity has forgotten that question. We're all wrapped up with this system for the benefit of society - but for what reason? What is society trying to improve itself for?

Humanist psychology explored this in the sixties and early seventies. It was proposed in those days that when a society loses sight of why it was created in the first place (to help all the members of the society reach self-actualisation) then those societies begin to collapse in on themselves. The signs of a failing social system that has lost its way are things like increased societal violence, increased depression, abuse, increases of the base levels of human nature as the members of that society struggle to find their way without the guiding goal.

Sound familiar?

It seems to me that we no longer really ask why we are here. We live in a system that was required to help get us from the industrial age (which was a required social structure to help lead to the current social structure) but now humanity, as a whole, doesn't seem interested in moving further socially.

I imagine that a society of self-actualised individuals would be closer to how I perceive things like love existing for. It's like a beacon to help us along that path.

Maybe that is humanity's ultimate purpose - to become self-actualised.

It was a theory that lost favour in psychology - ironically as psychology became more focused on being seen as a science, and more interested in understanding the mechanics of the psyche rather than why we have a psyche.

Which is not to say that we should abandon the modern world altogether - but rather that we should remember why we have this society - and continue to work to improve it for everyone.

That is the purpose of poets, writers and artists - to remind us and challenge us. It is our job as individuals to look into everything around us to find the lessons that the universe is teaching us about becoming self-actualised.

I strongly believe this. And I also believe that the human race is failing, but we're not irredeemable. This sounds harsh, but it isn't enough to say "some people don't care to be self-actualised."

This is simply not true. What actually is the case is the some people are simply not in a position to be able to think about that because there are those people who have lost sight of why society exists, and so simply abuse it to get personal gain - ironically thus denying themselves the benefits of self-actualisation.

So what is a self-actualised person?

Watch the first Legally Blonde Movie. No, seriously. Reese Witherspoon's character in that movie is self-actualised. Not all self-actualised people are blonde and ditzy - but they have the nature she has. They are never "defeated." They succeed because they know that they will eventually succeed. They inspire others to succeed. They win through love and compassion. When they get down or depressed, they bounce back by nature.

It is debatable whether anyone has actually succeeded to be self-actualised in human history - but considering that a self-actualised person is not perfect, they are human after all. But they are able to recover.

Amazing what watching a commercial money making show can inspire. :D

I am thinking a lot about love these days. I worry that I will always be alone.

I'm outgoing in some cases, but I freeze up when it comes to people I like. I am clumsy again because I fear about all the potential directions that things could end up going.

But most of all, I feel the need to hold someone, kiss them and be there for them. Sometimes words fail me. Somewhere in the depths of the projects I've worked on and I'm working on, there are hints of what is within my mind. My heart.

I'm tired now, and the singing has started again on the television. :) I find it hard to feel that this issue is being taken seriously enough. That my feelings on this are taken seriously enough.

Like I said - I have trouble explaining it in a way that doesn't either end up confusing or crazy.

Night all!

Love and Huggles

Conan

Currently Reading: REIGN
Currently Playing: REIGN; WFRP
Mood: Perplexed and Thoughtful

Reviewtime: Overlord

"Hail Suppressor of Free Jester Speech!"

I've been hearing that a lot lately. That's what you get for kicking Jester Minions in the teeth for jingling too much while I wander around my imposing throne room.

No, I haven't gone over the edge, it's my favourite Xbox 360 game that has taken over my life.

Overlord is the highly popular new Xbox 360/PC game of evil domination. You take on the role of a suspiciously Sauron-like overlord who commands armies of gremlin-like minions to help with his quest to subjugate and control the populace of a nice little fantasy realm.

See, the good guys defeated the last Overlord and without anyone to fight, they have fallen victim to the classical seven deadly sins. So while being people of good heart, they have become corrupt and it's up to you to show these goody two-shoes what REAL evil is.

Ironically, you can be "good" evil or "corrupt" evil. Good evil is basically being evil by necessity - the classic, I'm a villain because there needs to be a villain. The people worship you because you get things done, and if it is at the cost of a few freedoms, so be it. At least ghastly little halflings aren't stealing your food anymore and invaders are wary of messing with the realm.

Of course nobody talks about how you massacred the entire halfling population and fed their carcasses to your minions... but, hey, they were grotty little bastards anyway. :)

Or you can go corrupt evil. Rather than having the ignorant peasants cheering you on, they cower at your every step and offer up their daughters for sacrifice - just don't burn their farms and kill their sons! Please!

Overlord is absolutely GORGEOUS to watch. The detail is amazing. Every blade of grass, every flare of the sun, the rippling water - this game is stunning to play. Your overlord avatar is a bit wooden, but he is supposed to have just emerged from a crypt... however the real stars are the minions. They are simply amazing to observe.

There are essentially four "races" of minion - each with their own specialty. Browns are the chaotic fighters, Greens are the expert battlers and assassins, Reds are ranged support and Blues are healers. You are given various loose missions that involve rebuilding your trashed Dark Tower, gathering the four lost tribes of Minions and generally grinding everything else under your heel.

The minions have an amazing AI - they can be controlled at the same time as your own avatar, but they will often interpret their instructions based upon their own personalities. Each race has a certain "trait" of behaviour. Browns are cheeky little buggers who will grab anything they can find to use as a weapon, to the point that they will grab pumpkins and rat carcasses for helmets. Greens will convert weapons into suitable shivs and wolverine type claws, while Reds and Blues will hunt out armour.

While the minions start out all looking the same, it is this cheeky AI that will soon have them turn into a hilarious motley of characters. I'm constantly amazed by the results of their rampages. After one fight with an oversized halfling king, one of the little tykes grabbed his crown and began pushing his way to the front of the horde. Another time saw them trash a kitchen, and I found five or six of the minions running around with an assortment of pots, pans and frying skillets that had been beaten into helmets.

This means that even though the game has a constant need to back-track over previously visited zones, there is always something hilarious and new to see. The minions keep surprising you with their antics - from grabbing beer mugs off tables and getting drunk to riding sheep while batting the animals on the head with clubs, sticks and axes.

Furthermore, combat is rarely tedious. While it is tempting to simply overwhelm an enemy with numbers, often tactical planning works better. Organising your horde into ambush, bait and ranged attack makes for some impressive options.

And all done with an incredibly intuitive control system.

But that's not all. The game also has a remarkable amount of depth with the Overlord himself. See, it's not enough to control ravening hordes of gremlins. After all, what self-respecting Overlord would want to live in a ruined tower? You can customise the appearance of your throne room and external tower segments with spikes and buttresses, imposing statues and a variety of tabards.

Then you can go down to the forge and produce new armour and weapons, with the aid of your ever loyal minions who happily throw themselves into the molten metal to imbue your creations with their dear little essences.

Not enough? Well there is also the grudge match dungeon where you can face off against hordes of previously defeated enemies to gain resources, weapons and life-force with which to create more of your insane hordes.

Overlord is a game that never grows old. There is always something new around the corner. It has a great sense of humour - kind of Fable mixed with a nice sarcastic touch. The opportunity to completely trash hobbiton is incredibly cathartic. Watching the hobbits - er, halflings - flee for their lives as your minions rampage through their town, smash down the doors of their houses and pillage all the gold, weapons and booze before relieving their bladders so as to cause the buxom waitresses to run off screaming is a sight to behold.

This is the game that convinced me to get an Xbox 360 more than any other. Much like Fable convincing me to go to Xbox a few years back, this game is a real stunner! :D

Love and Huggles

Conan

Currently Reading: REIGN
Currently Playing: REIGN, WFRP
Mood: FOR THE OVERLORD!