I really felt that Bioshock lacked something. The cohesion of the environment had a sore note in it that broke the “spell” that it was trying to weave. Namely the vending machines. The tons of gun dispensing, health giving and weapons manufacturing machines just seemed wrong. People were supposed to live down here, why would they have so much firepower kicking around? Why are all the Plasmids to do with combat?
Sure many of the mechanics were new: the free roaming baddies, the big daddies and the very special moments when you rescue a Little Sister. This I liked, but the manic FPS gameplay was pure Doom and offered nothing new to me when I have since played Deus Ex, BF2, TFC and, especially, HL1/HL2.
The HL2 storyline is flawless. The connectivity of the story they are telling with the environment you are in is amazing. I never “snapped out of it” with HL2 like I frequently did in Bioshock. Many of the moments in HL2 just made me stop and stare in amazement. Remember the facial animations, the running from the Combine in the flats in the beginning, the voice acting, the comedy and especially the ending.
Don’t tell me that Bioshock has a better storyline when HL2 has this:
http://members.shaw.ca/halflifestory/
I guess that I was hoping for Bioshock to be a spiritual successor to Deus Ex, but I got a spiritual successor to Doom. Even the “twist” was something I saw coming, in the sense that I knew I was being fed a false note of some kind all the way through.
HL2 is definitely a grander achievement than Bioshock and while neither of them have the gun controls of say Stalker, HL2?s combat feels more real to me.
Here is a list of things that HL2 had that Bioshock didn’t:
1. A good ending, and by good I mean fantastic.
2. Emotional connections with the NPC’s. Big time. I personally didn?t care about the Little Sisters in so much as I thought the ?harvest? option’s animation seriously disturbed me and I didn?t want to see it again.
3. Fear. That running in fear that pervades the entire first part of the game.
4. A million expansions. TFC rocked, TF2, Counter frikkin’ Strike, The brilliant mod; Natural Selection and many more.
5. NPC’s (IE ones you don?t kill). That you work with. That aren’t fucking you over. BS gave itself away as a Doom 3 clone when I realised that you were not going to meet any NPC’s (outside scripted sequences). From that realisation came the certain feeling that a Scoobie’Doo moment of unveiling was on the cards.
6. Variety of location. Put side by side HL2 has a far more varied locality.
I could go on, but perhaps this list would be better,
Things that HL2 has that Bioshock also has:
1. Atmosphere. In spades.
2. Initial 5 minutes wow factor. Much like meeting a person for the first time and making your mind up in that 3 seconds you shake hands, games either grab you or they don’t. Sure they can slow burn a little and you may learn to appreciate them, but if you don’t immediately go “wow” you will never fall in love with them. The train station in HL2 and the fire-on-water start of BS were both amazing.
3. Automated sentries. Usually used in games to make up for lack of challenge (GRAW 2 I am looking at you) in these two games the sentries server a higher purpose and are both reusable in interesting ways.
4. Interesting weapons. The gravity gun is an example of a very smart design decision. I felt that in BS that the crossbow was by far the best weapon; simple and to the point, but it was amongst many.
5. Alternate fire modes. Grenade!
6. Both take place in the shattered remains of their respective game worlds with you as the redeemer of humanity through superior firepower.
7. Moments of grandeur. “Time, Mr Freeman”. “Would you kindly?”
8. The illusion of open ended play. “Open worlds” is the new buzzword. HL2 and BS show us clearly and we don’t really want true open gameplay, just the illusion of it. The sense of immersion in the choices that naturally leads you to the next stage of the experience without you noticing the gaps and stitches; like locked doors, or invisible walls. This is why such games as HL, BS, Deus Ex, System Shock 2, Operation Flashpoint, etc are great. It is a fine balance. Go too far and you have chaos. Go too restrictive and you have a console platformer fodder.
9. Unscripted encounters. Both games convincingly “fake” unscripted encounters. Giving the AI just enough juice to surprise you. Who can forget the marines in HL1? I won’t forget my first Big Daddy fight, I had already seen the guy smash in a splicer…
10. Full development time. Finally, both games are good examples why you must never rush to release. HL2 was a full year late and it showed. Completeness comes from time. Too many PC games are rushed out.
Basho
Basho & Cesca are traveling with:
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