[Moogs]

http://www.macworld.com/article/1381.../bioshock.html

Looks pretty damn twisted / the product of a fairly sick mind but OTOH, pretty cool for a FPS. More storyline, etc. Anyone have the PC version? Any good? I know some people thought Black and White was the shizzle but I found it fairly boring if a unique concept. Thinking this might be too far in the other (psycho) direction.

[Dorian Gray]

Maybe not a bad move by the developer. It's the kind of game that might just appeal to Mac users, with beautiful graphics and lots of pretentious talk about moral choices, etc. I've never played it, but I downloaded a trailer back when it came out. The undersea world was incredibly beautiful, with a quality of art that I've certainly never seen in a computer game.

[tomoe]

Would you so kindly?

[scratt]

Originally Posted by tomoe Would you so kindly?

You should have wrapped a spoiler around that!

[Mugge]

How fortunate.

I meant to get Windows for my MBP in order to run it, but then I got busy with other things. It would be very fine if I could avoid that hassle.

[nikstar101]

I played it on my PS3. Yes the graphics are good and everyone seems to love the game, but i didn't like it that much. I am not one for spooky games (so i am not sure why i bought it) by i just didn't find it interesting. Creepy yes, compelling no.

But then again the rest of the world seems to love it, so it might be just me

[Moogs]

Sort of like the new version of Resident Evil I'm guessing?

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by Moogs Sort of like the new version of Resident Evil I'm guessing?

I'm not sure I'd compare it to RE. I've only played the demo, but it didn't really feel that way to me.

[wecallitfall]

I played it through on XBox 360, one of the few games i have completed.

I loved it, although it did have a tendency to make me feel nauseous, i dont know if it was the colour schemes but i couldnt play it for long without having to turn off

[Luca]

I think it's better on consoles. I have the PC version only, and even though it's an FPS, it has a bit of an RPG angle to it. And the PC version was not translated too well - I'm thinking it was originally designed as a console game that also happens to have a PC version.

The biggest problem I had was related to the audio. First it got stuck in stereo mode even when I had 5.1 surround speakers, and then got stuck in surround mode when I had stereo speakers and kept trying to play sounds through an invisible center channel (resulting in any sounds from directly in front of me to be muted or much quieter than normal). The other problem is that the mouse tracking is a lot more jittery than most PC shooters.

The shooting doesn't need to be very precise in the game anyway, so I think it works better as a console game. That and it's very demanding - it's not going to work very well in any computer with less than a GeForce 8800 or Radeon 3800-series GPU, so that counts out just about every Mac. I guess it might be passable on GeForce 8600 or Radeon 2600/3600-series GPUs.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

BioShock was one of my favorite games of '07 , which was an excellent year to be a gamer. Glad to hear it's finally coming to Mac, but I wonder if it'll get released before BioShock 2 comes out?

[Luca]

I honestly don't know why there are still so many games being ported to Mac. If you boot into Windows, games are faster on equal hardware and they cost less. A copy of WinXP Home or Vista Home Premium for use with Boot Camp pays for itself once you've bought three or four games (assuming the price difference between the Mac and Windows versions is $20-$30).

I suppose Mac users don't tend to be serious gamers (with good reason), so they don't buy enough games for it to be worth the money or the hassle.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Luca I honestly don't know why there are still so many games being ported to Mac. If you boot into Windows, games are faster on equal hardware and they cost less.

Because it's bloody annoying! I'm going along, doing my thing, and I just want to play a quick bit of game and get back to work. But I can't because that would mean rebooting, which interrupts everything else I'm doing. I've got a couple games that I rarely play (Warhammer Online and the Orange Box) not because I don't like them, but because I just wanna play for a bit then get back to what I was doing. I still play WoW even though all of my friends have switched to Warhammer because I can just fire it up, play for 30 minutes, quit and be right back where I was.

[Luca]

Dave, that's why I added that comment at the end. It's nice for casual gamers who don't play all the time but who want the convenience. Furthermore, I'm thinking most Mac users are casual gamers (any Mac user who is also a serious gamer would probably build a separate gaming PC).

[nikstar101]

Originally Posted by Luca Furthermore, I'm thinking most Mac users are casual gamers (any Mac user who is also a serious gamer would probably build a separate gaming PC).

Or just buy a console. I think the latest consoles are actually helping the Mac. OK this is getting a little off topic but, i think that one of the things that held back the Mac for so many years was is lack of games. But as consoles quickly catch up, in terms of power, graphics and variety of games, it think that people are buying consoles for games and then think well i can have a Mac for net, email etc...

With so many console exclusive games these days more serious gamers either have an Xbox or PS3

[Luca]

Yes indeed, consoles are great for a lot of people. However, there are still some things consoles don't do well (if at all):

- FPS. This is debatable. I am actually fine with FPS games on consoles, but a lot of people really have to have a keyboard and mouse.
- MMORPG. This I don't care about. I don't find MMORPGs even mildly entertaining so it makes no difference to me. But a lot of people do like them and the fact is there are very few good ones on consoles. Almost all of them are for PCs. Probably the most popular PC-only genre of gaming.
- RTS. This is the big one. There are really no RTS games for consoles, and they're more dependent on a mouse than FPSs are. Personally, I suck at RTSs, but I still enjoy some of them when I play multiplayer. So I'm glad I have a powerful computer.
- Flash games! People don't usually think of this one but it's a big one for PC gaming. Consoles have little time-killer games, but they cost money (most PC ones are free) and actually require more time and effort to play.
- Exotic or specialty games and other game-like stuff. Things like hardcore driving sims (not Gran Turismo, I'm talking hardcore), flight simulators, open-source multiplayer games with community-made content, or any game with mods.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Originally Posted by nikstar101 Or just buy a console. I think the latest consoles are actually helping the Mac. OK this is getting a little off topic but, i think that one of the things that held back the Mac for so many years was is lack of games. But as consoles quickly catch up, in terms of power, graphics and variety of games, it think that people are buying consoles for games and then think well i can have a Mac for net, email etc... With so many console exclusive games these days more serious gamers either have an Xbox or PS3

I game on consoles because I don't want to deal with upgrade & driver headaches. Plus, XBox Live makes MP quite the fun experience.

[Mugge]

Originally Posted by Luca (...) I suppose Mac users don't tend to be serious gamers (with good reason), so they don't buy enough games for it to be worth the money or the hassle.

There's nothing wrong with your reasoning, Luca. But as I grow older I find it very hard to stay on top of the curve. There are suddenly other things that take priority and if I have to fiddle with Widows on top of that then I just don't bother. The Mac game porters probably owe their business to slowpokes like me.

I guess I'm not a serious gamer. Not considering a Wii for that reason, though.

[Luca]

It's true - a lot of people (regardless of what computer or OS they use) are switching to consoles anyway to avoid DRM and other computer-specific issues. Even though I have a pretty good computer, I almost always buy the 360 version of a game if there's a choice.

[Mugge]

And then PC ports will survive because of PC using slowpokes who don't like thumb joysticks.