[Siberys]

With the new forum open, I thought I would answer some quick questions and post them as a small FAQ on this forum. Feel free to comment on any of this.

What is Bioshock?

Bioshock is a Science Fiction computer game in development by Irrational Games, for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. It is intended to be a true 'spiritual successor' to System Shock 2. It has been in development since late 2004 (and in planning for some time before that). On January 9, 2006, Take-Two Interactive announced that they had acquired Irrational Games, and would be publishing Bioshock under their 2K Games publishing label, "planned for release in early 2007" [1]. According to an article in the march 2006 issue of Game Informer, development for the PlayStation 3 has not been denied.

The game uses an enhanced version of the Tribes Vengeance engine, the highly modified version of Unreal Engine 2.5 technology. Used by previous Irrational titles Tribes: Vengeance and SWAT 4 and SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate. The "rendering engine and lighting has been completely re-written", according to Ken Levine [2]

Bioshock is said to include a great deal of interactive environments and player-driven choices, called emergent gameplay by the developers. While the term has been used for a variety of games, such as the popular Grand Theft Auto series, most believe this gameplay will borrow highly from System Shock and System Shock 2.

---Wikipedia

Where does this all take place?

BioShock takes place in a mysterious genetic laboratory. Other than that the complex is strewn with corpses (also for reasons unknown), nothing is clear to you. From what you can tell, the laboratory complex is apparently a holdover from World War II--you'll see remnants of the war as well as peeling paint throughout the complex. Something apparently happened back then that caused the complex to be abandoned by whoever was using it. In fact, the complex has only recently come back into use by the scientists circa the early 21st century, and advanced, top-secret contraptions used for arcane biotechnology experiments have been hastily bolted into the rotting walls of the complex.
You'll explore the complex from a first-person perspective, similar to System Shock 2 or Deus Ex, and you'll find it inhabited by three primary "castes" of creatures, which Irrational is currently referring to as "drones," "predators," and "soldiers"--creatures that might once have been human. We were shown a few concept images of creatures that were part human, part monster. Exactly how these creatures came to be this way isn't clear, but Irrational has suggested that some of them are actually fused with human anatomy: human lungs are grafted onto their bodies to breathe, and the human arm dangling off to the side can still hold and fire a gun.

Yet instead of being controlled individually by different kinds of artificial intelligence, these creatures apparently comprise what the developer calls an "AI ecology." Essentially, Irrational decided to try to create an instinctive behavior in the creatures that inhabit the game in lieu of creating individual characters with scripted lines (because characters like these have a tendency to be misused by players in unexpected ways, and eventually they will break down). Instead, each of the three creature types is driven by overriding motivations--a concept that was inspired by, among other things, watching wildlife TV shows with animals and insects that have comprehensible, biologically intuitive, but decidedly non-human behaviors.

---Gamespot

What is the Release Date

So far, according to a number of sources including gamefaqs and gamerankings, it is sometime in 2007. I will be more exact when I find more information.


When more information is found, I will add to this.


In my honest opinion, this game looks like it has some serious potential, I’m really hoping they take their time on this game to get the best out of it.