Overcome-ances is totally not a word.
I am finally playing Bioshock.
I downloaded the demo when I first got my PS3, and was intrigued by the art-deco steampunk feel of Rapture and the story. What I didn't like, and frankly, it's what I never like, is when games try to scare me.
Okay, seriously, video games. I'm 28 years old. I've lived on two continents where much of the wildlife is actively trying to kill you (like mosquitoes in Canada, and everything in Australia bar some of the sheep). I have enough actual phobias to fill a textbook. You don't need to foist a fear of the dark, fear of creepy children, and fear of disfigured monsters into my head. It won't all fit, like when I took that home-brewing course and forgot how to drive. But I digress. FEAR, that's it. Basically, video games, creepy children and disfigured monsters don't scare me. They won't scare me. So you shoving them into my face going "See? SEE? You have to harvest the Adam while horrible clown people try to eat you." is just annoying. I feel like I have to wade through the attempt at scaring me to get to the actual game.
So the game, and the titular sliding scale. Bioshock, you are a good game. Sometimes. However, you are also an extremely difficult game. Even on Normal mode. Ammo is scarce and occasionally non-effective. Your plasmid attacks use so much of your meter that you only get a few shots before you're out. I didn't discover the fine aim/zoom button until 6 hours in. Hacking the machines is hard and frustrating. And if you DON'T hack, you're killed by rapid-fire machine-gunning robots. The respawning system seems to choose a point at random when it brings you back, so you have to spend ten freaking minutes going "No, it wasn't this destroyed, dripping corridor, it was another destroyed dripping corridor." Early in the game, you have only two plasmid spots. One is electric, the next is fire. Then you're offered a telekinetic one. "Cool, says I, "I'll switch out for a second and if I don't like it, I'll switch back." WRONG. Once I swapped out the electric, it was gone. And did I mention electric is the handiest non-hacking way to kill the robots? Because it is. And now that's gone.
I also reached breaking point when facing one boss (the doctor). I fought him, dying 5 or 6 times, then running back and attacking, then dying again. He'd regenerate health in between. There was a point where I stopped and realised that I had little-to-no-health, little-to-no-Adam, no first aid kits, no syringes, no ammunition, and no money. I actually, physically sat back on the couch and said "No, I don't want to do this." and turned off the game.
Later, as I was playing again (shut up), I fought a Big Daddy for the first time, dying 7 or 8 times, then running back. Happily, he did not regenerate. I defeated him. "YES!" thought I. "Now where's that Little Sister?" She was gone. I combed the level, but all I found was another Big Daddy, who happily began to slaughter me again. WTF, Bioshock? I beat your hurdle, and then you glitch out my reward? You know what? Fuck you!
So anyway, I found, like I said, some bits of the game to be immensely satisfying. The minute you get the shotgun, the fun multiplies. I've also heard from others that the upgrade system late in the game is interesting. But why do I have to grind and grind through endless frustrations to get to the fun?
I had a similar moment in God of War 3. It's a game I've come back to a few times, play a bit of, then put away for a few months. This latest time, I was slashing along, having fun, when suddenly I get to a puzzle. Most puzzles in God of War are hard, but you can work them out.
This was not.
This was a version of Guitar Hero, using a controller. You have to get 45 consecutive button presses correct, including some two-button presses. Any mistake knocked you back to the start.
After 15 attempts and not getting more than halfway, I walked up to the TV, put down my controller and turned the game off. It's now sitting on the shelf, mocking me. I know that any time in the future that I want to play that game, if I want to progress the story, I'll have to beat the stupid mini-game.
Frankly, I couldn't be fucked. There's a moment Tycho from Penny Arcade describes in one of his posts about WoW, where he refers to the moment of transfer between leisure and obligation.
I've transferred.
3 comments:
Yep. I got the same thing from bioshock.
Though a few things that may help (not sure if they're in the console version):
You can change plasmids, there should be a kind of vending machine dotted about that lets you change them in and out.
Respawning takes you back to the nearest biochamber.. Looks like a giant test tube with blue/green electricity arcing through it.
The upgrades for the guns though? Careful how you take them. The vending machines where you get them close permamently once you use them, so you can only get one upgrade per machine.
Those are all coming from the PC version though, so maybe there are differences. I agree with pretty much the rest of it, excepting he shotgun. I didn't really like any of the weapons and usually just resorted to setting things on fire and letting the fire do the work for me..
Kill it! With Fire!
I know the biochambers are the respawn points, but it seems to be random which one it sends me too. Irritating. Also, the early-early gatherers gardens don't let you buy more slots or swap out yet. I've just gotten to the first one that lets you spend aAdam, and there's no "buy another slot" or "switch plasmids" thing. :(
I suspect that the difficulty might have something to do with the options a player takes. I didn't find Bioshock TOO difficult, although I remember almost running out of ammo a few times - basically, I certainly don't remember too many easy points.
This is going back a few years, so I will have to play it again, which I might do. I seem to remember that there was shock ammo available which did nicely vs machines. Maybe it was only available later on.
I do remember enjoying being rewarded for being conservative with my supplies and thinking about how to apply them effectively, though. Nyer?
...
Nyer. But we'll see if I eat my own words on my second playthrough.
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