MovieChat Forums > BioShock (2007) Discussion > For all the Ungrateful bastards whining ...

For all the Ungrateful bastards whining that 'It's Overrated'...

posted 16 years ago by larsinii
18 replies | jump to latest

*beep* You!! *beep* You!! *beep* YOU!!!
The Imdb score speaks for itself, one of the few times that the people that vote on here actually got it right, but then again maybe gamers on here are smarter than the movie watchers... If you think this game is overrated, one more time *beep* You!!! You're either someone that's just brain dead, or one of those butt-hatches that wonders why the Great Pyramid was one of the wonders of the World. Jackasses!

"Why So Serious?"

[–] Fork_Q 16 years ago

*Cough* Overrated *Cough*

Seriously though, IMDB scores matter for sod-all. Fanbois and fangoils will always inflate their favorite films and games. Even you don't seem to trust scores (except when they suit you that is).

People who play games aren't smarter then those who watch films. Given that the average gamer today is probably spoilt 13 year olds on too much Ritalin and with an Xbox live account. The last part is certainly true. Multiplayer is SO much better when everyone else is muted.

If you think this game is the pinnacle of the gaming medium, then either you were born in the 1990s or have a very short memory. Or just recently lobotomized.

[–] running_blind5784 16 years ago

overrated or not, the game certainly does not suck. it's almost an undisputable fact....

it's a pornography store. i was buying pornography.

[–] Creighton_Duke 16 years ago

It's definitely in my top 3, possibly even number 2 of all time.

As far as how it looks/sounds, the overall atmosphere of it, it's #1. But it really incorporates a lot of things that I love. Things that appeal to me. I can see people not caring much for it though. Personally, I don't like games like Call of Duty. They take a realistic situation and turn it into something surreal. Whereas BioShock is surreal from the get-go. Therefore, it has more freedom to bend certain rules or even make them up as it goes along. It's one more reason I like it.

Really, the only thing that's keeping it from #1 overall is the final boss. I thought it was too typical which really didn't fit with the rest of the game. That's not to say the game didn't employ elements typical of most games. It's obviously a FPS with a linear path but the elements that WERE typical were coated with at least a couple layers of uniqueness. And these things were easily acceptable because of the environment they were found in, which is, as I mentioned earlier, the thing I love the most about this game. I could watch someone ELSE play for hours. Just walking up to a Gatherer's Garden and hearing that little jingle that plays makes things inside my brain tingle in way nothing else can. And the juxtaposition of a Little Sister and a Big Daddy throughout the game is just a fantastic piece of art in and of itself. Seriously, if I were a bachelor, I'd have a painting hanging in my living room of a Little Sister and Big Daddy walking the corridors of Rapture in search of an ADAM filled corpse.

Everything about the game is either perfect or damn-near perfect, in my opinion. I can't wait for the sequel. I'm not expecting it to be better than BioShock because that's asking a LOT. But if it even comes CLOSE to reproducing what the first one did for me, I know I'll love it.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Creighton_Duke 16 years ago

How/why is it overrated? Based on what?

Every review I've read gives it high marks and praise and the gamers seem to agree. I don't see how it's overrated based on that.

If you mean you THINK it's overrated, well that's fine. But you're stating it as fact and saying "end of story" etc...

I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything, I just want to know why some people think it's overrated instead of saying "I just don't like it as much as everyone else."

[–] Fork_Q 16 years ago

I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything, I just want to know why some people think it's overrated instead of saying "I just don't like it as much as everyone else."

That's exactly what overrated means! It sure as hell didn't deserve the accolades and the deep-throat blow-jobs from the press it received.

The ratings from Metacritic puts it at 96% (WTF?), I have to say that the ratings off fellow gamers (86%) is much closer to the mark. There's a whole shopping list of things that could be improved before it hits 90% (less linearity, more interesting characters and varied enemies). Even so, it still wouldn't exactly be hugely original (except in design, of which of course it deserves 10/10).

[–] Creighton_Duke 16 years ago

I agree with all the things you think could be improved upon. However, those things can be said for almost all games. That type of thinking would keep any game from achieving 90+. I prefer to look at what a game DOES as opposed to what it DOESN'T do. There's not a game idea out there that can cater to the expectations of EVERYONE that will play it.

Also, almost ALL "great" games are overrated when it comes to critics. They're basing their opinions on a plethora of things whereas users can be anyone (whether they've played the game or not) posting whatever score they want. A lot users base it on how much fun they had compared to other games. If one user was looking for a fully-open environment and a non-linear story, well they're not going to like it much and will rate it poorly because it didn't meet their expectations. We're talking about hundreds of thousands of votes here. You're naturally going to get a lower score in the end.

I mean, look at the top games on Metacritic. Every one of them has a higher critic's rating than user's rating.

It really all comes down to what you expect out of a game and what the game does to go below or beyond those expectations. Sure, it COULD'VE used more varied characters but I didn't think it was necessary to this particular game. The linear path IS necessary because you NEED to do certain things in order for the story to play out properly. This game plays more like a movie than a game. That works for some and not for others. It obviously works for the critics.

[–] Fork_Q 16 years ago

This game plays more like a movie than a game

I think that pretty much sums up what is wrong with this game. Overly cinematic pretensions, same thing IMHO is what crippled the Metal Gear series. It isn't a film, it's a game with a bit of an identity crisis. If it followed through with it's lofty goals, it would be so much improved with the addition of more non-hostile NPCs.

Not designed for non-linear play? Hmm, not too sure about that one. Deus Ex and SS2 are the most comparable titles to Bioshock; D-Ex certainly was much less linear and more open, SSH2 a lot more claustrophobic, but it could be excused as it was set on space ships and not a self-sufficient underwater city.

I agree on one thing, we should base games on genre expectations (can't really blame turn based RPGs for being slow or racing games for no depth), but what has BioShock really given to the FPS genre that is genuinely new? The spiritual predecessors pushed the boundaries, I say BioShock neatly sits in the space those games left without actually going that bit further.

Another thing that bugs me is that the combat isn't 'meaty'. But that's really not the game's fault (Deus Ex and every other FPS/RPGs suffered from this).

[–] craig63 16 years ago

"Another thing that bugs me is that the combat isn't 'meaty'. But that's really not the game's fault (Deus Ex and every other FPS/RPGs suffered from this)."

'Meaty'? Explain...

'Cos I think I might know what you mean.

But then again maybe not.

[–] Fork_Q 16 years ago

The weapons feel like like peashooters and do just as much damage, they don't have that satisfying feeling when you pull the trigger (like in COD4 or GoW).

Even when you do upgrade them fully, there is just something not a little off when you line up the target to the cross-hairs, I'm not too sure what it is, I think it is to do with the almost randomness of the bullet's accuracy, specially at longer distances (the same with Fallout 3).

[–] johnmacca87 16 years ago

I agree the weapons are not that great. Killzone 2 kicks this games butt

[–] Fork_Q 16 years ago

Nah, Killzone 2 represents everything BAD about modern FPS: totally unoriginal and inconsequential storyline that could have been written by a 13 year old, the antagonists are all a patchwork of different cliches, as are the heroes, levels are really a choice between different trenches and dark buildings and it was obvious that it was made really with one goal in mind: to be a 'Halo' killer. If your goal is to beat another game (which wasn't exactly that great) then somethings gone wrong.

The only thing it's got going for is also the worse thing about it. Sure it looks nice: if you are into looking at varying shades of the same two colours. And with developers concentrating all concentrating on the graphics and making the game look as cinematic as possible, it comes at the expense of genuine creativity.

[–] southparknscrubs 16 years ago

I agree that IMDB scores are completely off but I disagree. Bioshock deserves its score. Just look at all of the magazines and websites (the professional video game ones like "ign"). They all gave Bioshock around a 8.5/10 - 10/10 (It's average I think was 9.5) Bioshock truly deserved its ratings, except from all of the haters. I don't understand them at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPcuwZlJShE
RYAN STARTED THE FIRE

[–] Fork_Q 16 years ago

The game industry's ratings don't matter. Especially from websites. The industry is pressured to give inflated ratings because they depend on game developers for advertising revenue, access for interviews, early design builds to preview and pre-release copies to reivew.

There's a lot more then just the game quality that comes into the review. The relationship between the game makers and media is a lot more political then you might give credit for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Gerstmann#Termination_from_GameSpot

The only people you could trust are the more upper crust games reviewers (like Edge magazine), the indie crowd or even ordinary people. People who are less likely to give into the hype and marketing BS.

[–] southparknscrubs 16 years ago

You're right I don't care. But if you think it's overrated, can you not keep repeating it. ege it. we know you think it's overrated. The word overrated is overrated itself. It's actually just annoying.

Do you like Bioshock btw? ou can like something and think its overrated

I love Kanye West and KNOW he's overrated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPcuwZlJShE
RYAN STARTED THE FIRE

[–] Fork_Q 16 years ago

Do you like Bioshock btw? ou can like something and think its overrated (sic)

I would answer that question, if I were to also act in accordance with your previous instruction, then I cannot:

But if you think it's overrated, can you not keep repeating it. ege it. we know you think it's overrated. The word overrated is overrated itself. It's actually just annoying. (sic)

[–] southparknscrubs 16 years ago

it's a yes or no question. Do you like Bioshock?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPcuwZlJShE
RYAN STARTED THE FIRE

[–] Phanatic77 16 years ago

I think there are two ways at rating games. One is basing it on expectations and the other is based on realistic parameters and looking objectively at what the game brings to the table in terms of immersiveness, appeal, fun factor, replay value, soundtrack and overall game as a whole package.

I think that if you want to give games true ratings, then you should not base it on expectations; that would be biased. Much like rating movies, it should ideally be objective, no? So personally I believe it should be rated objectively according to a set of different categories that encompass all possible aspects.

If I'll go by expectation (my own) then I will give that game a solid 9.0. However if I go by objectiveness I will have to give it a 9.5. Reason being is because I'm not too big of a fan of the old days, and didn't personally like the era it was chosen to be in; but that is subjective. I didn't find it as-scary as I thought it would be, rather bizarre for a proper choice of words. To me the characters, even the sane ones (not the splicers) seem disjointed in demeanour and connection to reality. The scene with Andrew Ryan's 'a Slave Obeys' felt creepy, but somewhat wooden. And yes, like someone else said, you don't get the same gratification when drilling someone with the guns as you do with other games. Half Life is one of those games that every single weapon you get; from the gun, the Magnum to the Rocket Launcher, gives you a whole different gratification from using it. In Bioshock, many times I felt that I was switching weapons because I felt they were wasted in the game without use. The Flame, Liquid Nitro, and Electricity thrower is a waste of a weapon when you have the Plasmids that do the same, and much quicker. As in contrast with Half Life-2 or Halo, or even games like Black, I switched weapons because I had the desire to do so. There is definitely something missing in that department, a slight emptiness. Maybe they don't feel as heavy as they should, or grounded, or maybe the AI reaction from the Impact detection on the characters you shoot at. It feels many times that the splicers don't react properly to being shot...

However, with that said, everything else in the game is brilliant. The fact that you have to chose different ammo for effectiveness, hack into machines, bots, cameras and health Stations is very original. The AI is not too bad actually. The Physics engine is fairly well (again, nothing like the realistic feel of HL-2), the visuals are out of this world; the story is immersive, unique and shocking and fits the era. And the Water Effects are just flat out amazing. Plasmids are a good highlight as weapon use. And just the way the upgrades of new plasmids that follow with a little 'old times' ironic video description is something else. The insect swarm, Ice Blast... and seeing your character's hand affected according to the plasmid choices is something else all together. The Little Sisters, Big Daddies, the Splicers, research camera...

For all the game's flaws, there are virtues that outweigh the flaws to the point where they're not even an issue. This game objectively deserves a 9.5 for being what it is and delivering exactly what it set out to be; a deep, beautiful, bizarre, creepy, disturbing and compelling First Person shooter adventure with a deep underlying human commentary.