I like tge way the story is told and how engaging it is It does a few issues that plagues it But overall it has become one of my favourite game series of all time
In my opinion BioShock Infinite is the low point. BioShock was such an outstanding game. BioShock 2 improved on BioShock’s gameplay while telling a good story, and BioShock Infinite has good character interactions but the gameplay is lacking.
Just one thing I missed from your review, is that Bioshock 1 is a critique of the ideas of Ayn Rand. The game shows a city destroyed by her philosophy.
The civil war came about because of Andrew Ryan's philosophy (which is essentially Ayn Rand's philosophy) ... people just following their self-interest in a dog-eat-dog world. Fontaine was simply following that mentality when he tried to undermine Andrew Ryan. Andrew Ryan responded in his self-interest when he hypnotized the populace of Rapture with mind-controlling pheromones and systematically executed and crucified dissenters. If Andrew Ryan really had the philosophy that would bring about the best society, then the "invisible hand" would have worked its magic and all this wouldn't have happened.
Yep, it's a deconstruction of Propertarianism/Right Libertarianism and objectification and how it would result in insane bloodshed and misery. Bioshock 2 is supposedly more a critique of Stalinism (though I didn't play it, it's what I hear). Bioshock Infinite overall has a message of radical centrism and that "both sides are just as bad as eachother" nonsense.
KironVB maybe life needs balance, to much of anything even something good can be very bad. It is a complex issue, after all the main problem in these situations is humans. We are the ones who go corrupt.
I will never forget the first time I played this game. The monologue was amazing but what I remember most is when I saw that first splicer. I was so scared by it that it took me at least five minutes to decide to exit the pod. One of the best openings to a game. Only thing that comes close that comes to my mind is the opening to dead space.
Bioshock accomplished a rare synthesis of tone, story, and style that games often fail to achieve to this day. Great video, that opening monologue really is one of the best game intros ever.
Actually Bioshock similarly to Bioshock Infinite, isn't supposed to be about choice, or give you choice. Its a commentary about the illusion of choice. The multiple ending part was forced upon Ken Levine and his team by the suits.
Actually I thought the ending and story of Infinite was brilliant..but yes, it does have a lot of problems..if Ken Levine hadn't thrown away half the game it would have worked as a great game..instead, its a crappy game with a great story (i'm not kidding!, the guy threw away hours and hours worth of level design!, including a entire rundown district in shanty town, showing where the poor live..a designer worked on it for months, he took a look at it and told the guy to shelve it) What angers me is he decides to get rid of that..yet he keeps the Emporia level!..which has the best and worst level design ever, the fetch quests were terrible too..not to mention..the ghost of lady comstock!...even just the idea, shooting a ghost..is ridiculous..but three times!..ugh!. so the reason why infinite is shit (from a gameplay perspective), other than the combat being incredible wonky, is I think Ken Levine got confused and got stuck between making a film and a game...as it is, infinite is more or less a interactive film (and is more enjoyable when seen from that perspective..still.. a lot of wasted potential). Its strange, because he came up with the DLC Burial at Sea, in a year and a half..and that feels more polished and has better level design than infinite.
I have the unpopular opinion of actually liking the final boss fight. I felt like, throughtout the entire game, I was constantly trying to use my resources to a very limited degree; constantly holding back the fire power so that I wouldn't run out of resources. So when you finally reach the final boss, after stacking up on ammo from the previous room, and hit the save whilst going up the elevator, you finally get to let your true power fly. You are encouraged to use every last bit of ammo and Eve that you have, which feels really good after reserving that fire power.
Finished the game about 10 minutes ago. Exorcised every little sister. The ending nearly made me cry. It was one of the best games I've ever played. Certainly the best FPS by far I've ever played. Such a unique feel that I've never experienced before in another game.
You were merely 10 years old? I was 7! Man what a great game for a great time. I remember my good friend Andy and I in second grade would just talk and talk about Bioshock. We never got anything done, we would go home, play more, then come back and talk about WTF we just experienced. I miss it.
I always found it odd in the Bioshock series that the city founded by the religious fanatic Comstock was named Columbia after the secular incarnation of America while the city founded by the strident atheist Ryan was named Rapture after the Christian (well, some Christians anyway) concept of leaving a fallen world.
As a non-American I really find the philosophy of Objectivism really kind of weird. It seems like such a childish black and white view of the world. Not to mention that the people who speak its praises always sound very fanatically religious about it. Huh, to each their own I guess. :/
People who recently find any new way of thinking tend to sound religious to those who don't understand/agree with it. Its the downside of new passion quite honestly. As a sort of non-commital objectivist myself, I don't necessarily agree this common sort of criticism that it is immature - obviously. I don't believe society, or religion should wield the power over the individuals personal interest through way of THEIR version of morality. Its a clever way the state is able to declare 'good of the state' as the common good, which I disagree. & we see nearly all atrocities are justified through this collectivist duty. Obviously I don't expect the world to adopt objectivism, but I think a mixture of self-improvement and independence is always a good thing on an individual level & it also defends against tyranny. If you're focused on yourself & your immediate family, how likely are you to fight an unjust war for a ruler or suppress other people's opinions?
You are correct with the new way of thinking = sounding religious, but in my experience (at least online) it's also the veterans of the philosophy who also sound religious. Terry Goodkind, Steve Ditko, even Rand herself have an air of religiosity to their rhetoric, especially in their printed work (Sword of Truth, Mr. A etc). I won't get into a long massive ramble about my disagreements with the philosophy. You're happy with what you believe and that's fine :) And I'm also aware enough that this can be a touchy subject for many. But I will raise a couple of things. Firstly, while I do agree that independence is a good thing, I also believe that collective effort can also be helpful. Because not everyone has the luxury of being born into comfort and financial stability. That's why things like social services exist. Secondly, the tyranny thing. This is what I mean by sounding immature. Forgive me for being presumptuous here, but I'm willing to bet you do not live under or have ever lived under a tyrannical government ALA North Korea or Soviet Russia. And I'm suspecting you live a relatively comfortable lifestyle, so the notion of fighting tyranny to me sounds a little hyperbolic. And the last point about wars and suppression, I'd say that ultimately comes down to the individual. Suppression of opinions comes in all forms, regardless of who does it, and people do it for all sorts of reasons. When Nathaniel Branden broke up with Rand back in the sixties, she suppressed him by slandering him, accusing him of 'philosophic irrationality and unresolved psychological problems.' As for fighting wars....well people go to war for a variety of reasons. Some for love of country, some for their government and some for love of their family. Bare in mind, I'm not trying to pick a fight with you. But I do think it is important to consider other viewpoints if you are ideologically committed, regardless or religion, sociological bent, politics or philosophy. Self-reflection is important in my mind, because without it, you can become blinded by rhetoric or arrogance or commitment.
To be perfectly honest Objectivism always came across to me as rather a justification more than anything else. At least at the levels Rand and her ilk took it to it allows one to be fundamentally selfish, acknowledge ones selfishness and imply that being selfish makes them morally superior. If people choose to only care about themselves then so be it but I do not accept that said people can then suggest that they are therefore inherently better for doing so. Furthermore there is a certain egotism to Rand's works, the idea that the world only gets by due to the glorious minds of the Objectivists and will fall apart should they choose to withdraw themselves. This is why I actually prefer Bioshock's tale of Andrew Ryan to Rand's story of John Galt; Ryan took what he felt were the best and brightest (which is to say those that shared his Objectivist viewpoints) into the supposed Objectivist utopia of Rapture...which them collapsed into utter hell. Meanwhile the world at large seems to have barely noticed their absence. Atlas shrugged...and the sky stayed in place.
You have clearly not read the book it seems. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame you, it's a pain in the ass. You missed the key words in Ayn's monologue. She doesn't think helping others is immoral, she thinks that a society which COMPELS its members to sacrifice oneself for others and treats them as evil if they are trying to find another meaning in their lives, much like a church will compel you to live your life for god as opposed to for the real world and your family and your community and yourself, is the problem. She is framing the degree to which we believe in altruism in our CURRENT SOCIAL FORMAT as having BECOME pathological. Not that caring for others is wrong. Again, one needs to read the book to know this. Remember, she is a Russian Jew, we love talking hyper denotatively and in a contrarian fashion.
ChairmanKam I agree with you but the funny thing is that the BioShock infinite dlc shows the schools of rapture teaching kids that sharing and helping each other is bad. So he misrepresented Rand but ended up representing Ryan perfectly.
RedRageGamer Good point. What I think is funny though, is that despite Irrational having a very limited understanding of Objectivism, they did manage to find its Achilles' Heel effectively. A system designed for everyone to succeed, will also allow for the success of the "Parasites". That was what I loved about Bioshock the first, it it managed to tell a useful story about Objectivism without having any comprehension of what it actually is. Kinda like Verhoven's Starship Troopers in that way.
Irish Jester No, simply that compelling people to do so or doing so at the expense of all else was. Like I said, she intentionally used contrarian, dismissive, and overly denotative language, but the content was more devil-in-the-details.
i agree with her look at the world now....we have to live by other peoples feeling and opinions...disagreeing or offending the left sjw's get you fired or arrested....they have made a world where everyone has to think,feel and agree with them....i live for myself ..i will never be forced to live or think like the left sjw's no matter how much they cry..... 2+2 will always be 4 and never 5....i will not live in this 1984 world and will always fight it.
Master Bait Tour // When it comes to politics; I wouldn’t say the left is right (pun intended), but neither is the right giving the good example. Left allows a lot of things, as long as it’s excluding the right (which is ironic and flawed at the same time) and makes everyone believe it’s going for inclusivity, while right always comes of as resentful and against peace, believing to be always on the right side of the facts and ignoring all else. There is a balance to life, fighting against one thing and ignoring the flaws of the supposed side you’re on now is not the answer. Ayn Rand has things I agree with, things I disagree with. That same goes for the left and right. While select industries are still mostly a “lefty” I have to say that most countries are leaning towards right and I highly believe the balance is completely off and that consequences will come sooner or later. We are all definitely not doing the right steps to create a more fair and peaceful world, that is certain.
You should have more subscribers, bro I appreciate your articulation, acumen, and how you inject your personality into it all, instead of being generic. Nice lizard.
Bioshock is deep, it has affected me greatly. I thought about society, downfall of society, and our convoluted needs and wants. The true meaning of life, and how we should act, instead of do.
Really nice video! I would definitely been interested to hear your thoughts on 2 & Infinite! I love BioShock so much it's without a shadow of doubt one of my favourite games and has been ever since I first played it through! So much so it became my first Let's Play on my channel! I can't say I 100% agree with your critiques though of the game. But as you said many of them are subjective and due to that what you found to be an issue I didn't, so fair enough. I did however on my first ever play through find it particularly hard with ammo and health finding myself comparing it to a survival horror in some ways. As for the final boss, I agree was a little lack lustre after everything the game entails and puts you through but at the same time I don't mind it so much! At least for the most part the boss fight was interesting with some interesting mechanics, not ground breaking but interesting!
The final boss is fantastic. You're finally meeting your match someone who uses all the same plasmids you do and it won't last long. It's not like you can stand there and shoot him you have to run jump and throw everything you got. The fight doesn't last longer than 10 minutes
Am I the only one that is tired of branching story lines and games having multiple endings? P.P. There is weapon/plasmid wheel where you can fast switch through your weapons/plasmids instead of cycle through them... You should've known that if you gonna review those things...
I mean bioshock 1 has 3 endings. The good ending is where you adopt the little sisters and leave rapture and raise them as your daughters. The bad ending where jack takes control of rapture and hijacks a us navy submarine with nukes on it. The neutral ending is the same as the bad one except the narration isn't as aggressive.
Great analysis as always, Luke. I didn't know about Ayn Rand's connection to the game so it's really cool to find out something new about one my favorite games.
"No game has done pacing perfectly in gaming history" >Chrono trigger >Quake >The OG fallout Those are games i thought had just the exact ammount of time they needed and they nailed it so perfectly that i keep coming back
I've played Bioshock games multiple times, but, somehow, on my recent playthrough of Bioshock 1 I found myself with almost NO ammo for the entire game. Ammo became such a precious commodity, that I was dreaming about an enemy dropping a few bullets. That had only added to the immersion and the overall experience, making my journey through Rapture a tough experience it was meant to be. Speaking of ammo types, drones (any mechanical enemies) are prone to armor-piercing bullets, so I suppose you can have an anti-robot build. That wouldn't be a great choice, though, as such enemies are quite rare, as opposed to humanoids.
Haven’t played Bioshock in a while but I’m pretty sure that the central message is a critique of Randian Objectivism and the notion of Radical Self Interest. First off, Andrew Ryan is clearly based off Rand for their similar sounding names and ideology. He envisions Rapture to be a Utopia free from the control of a government, but as we see such a hyper individualist society completely falls apart. The people get addicted to plasmids because they only care about their own personal pleasure, and the lack of a central government leads to a power vacuum that is inevitably filled by whoever has the biggest gang (Fontaine). The two endings are meant to further illustrate the dangers in selfishness and individualism- if you’re simply concerned with the short-term and kill the little sisters, you die all alone, while if you save them you are surrounded by loved ones. This is at least how I remember it- Bioshock Infinite makes an argument that both far right and far left are equally dangerous, and the only proper way to live is in the center (lol)
Sure, because people don't do drugs when presented with a morality of self-sacrifice. I take my life seriously, and I don't do them out of my own personal pleasure. Have fun with that center position too. There is no compromise between food and poison, or liberty and tyranny. You do not understand what you are criticizing and it shows
id certainly like to visit and stroll through rapture in its prime but I sure as hell wouldn't want to live there...I think ill pass on living in a glorified fish bowl...I would however like living in Columbia....cuz damn is it beautifull and those views....ya know...if it didn't have the whole Comstock religion thing running the place...kinda felt bad for how badly our character fucks it up going there...cuz unlike with rapture which was already shit when you arrive in columbias case were kinda responsible for a lot of its destruction...granted most of it was in self defense and indirectly through the vox populi who did most of the actual destroying of it but considering we helped them...yeah....anyways I think bioshock ones main issue isn't that it doesn't change things around because lets be real you can only change so much in gameplay without changing the entire mechanics and playstyle of a game let alone something like a shooter but rather I think its issue is that it actually does too much of the same...most of bioshock one simply involves you going around collecting items...collect the things to revive the trees,collect the things to make a bomb,collect the parts necessary to become a big daddy,collect the serum to break fontaines control all ending with the worst thing in any game ever...an escort mission...which are never EVER fun....frankly I would've liked more focus on the actual shooter part and have just gone around shooting splicers in the face as more of the focus...and more interesting and varied bosses would've been nice...the big daddys were nice little optional mini bosses but aside from that and the final boss was there really anything unique or memorable about the other bosses....not really...they were just generic enemies with more health...and I actually liked the fontaine final boss...it was the only unique and memorable boss in the game aside from big daddys...only thing is they could've given him more variety in his moveset and attack pattern...he always does the exact same thing...shoots an elemental projectile then charges...instead of just throwing in generic grunts for assistance in phase 2 and three they should've given him some more variety in his attacks and unpredictability....but its still a decent final boss and the only bioshock game with an actual proper final boss
On harder difficulties you should /have to hoard ammo and use electric rounds vs robots, dadys, military ammo does more dmg to people, armor piecing for daddys, same as witcher unless you play on dm there's no need to use alchemy at all same with quen, but they 2 shot you without it on dm and you deal very low dmg w/o potions :)
Super Awesome Videø about my all time favorite game franchise...... Let me say, I majorly agree with you about the ending..... which In my opinion, is the exact same feeling I have about the ending of every title in the franchise....... Nøne of them have truly EPIC endings to match each one of their totally EPIC introductions...... Hopefully that will cease when "Parkside" or B-4 is released in the, Høpefully........ Not so distant future. Thånx for an awesome videø. B_
Omg, this review is so bad. BioShock 1 is a critique on Ayn Rand's philosophy and the whole BioShock series (1 and infinite) play with the determinism vs free will debate. The fact that your choices don't matter is basically the whole theme.
Bro I watch so many critique channels it’s ridiculous, but u taught me a lot of new stuff about bioshock that I never knew. I found ur channel through ur Arkham asylum video, and u earned a sub for great content and analysis! Can’t wait for your future videos 👍🏼👍🏼
I was really enjoying the video until you got to the part where you started talking about ammo. It was so misinformed and there was so much incorrect information that almost seemed like you hadn't played the game. Still love your videos and keep up the good work
If I sweat and toil to earn five dollars to sustain and better my life it is mine to choose how to use it if I see someone on the street how they got there and why they remain is their business if I choose to share with them it is only out of hope it helps them however if I choose not to I should not feel guilt over my decision but religious insist it is my duty even going as far as to say things like "well look at all God has blessed you with" or "if you give God will multiply it and bless all the more" ....b.s. I went out I worked and I earned what I have and I agree with ayn rand in her view Germany was and is Christian same as Russia, she saw more than she said.
This is an inaccurate interpretation of what Rand is saying. She is saying that man, by serving his own interest, is perfectly welcome to help others, if that is what makes him happy. But nobody should be compelled to feel that they have a moral obligation to serve others. This was the vision of Ryan as well. The reason that it doesn't work out in the story is because Levine is a Marxist and this game, despite being very good (and one of my all time favorites), is propaganda to serve his own political ideology. It's not a flaw in the logic of Rand that caused Rapture to fail. It's the bias of the author of the story.
“anne rand?” U could at least get her name right if you say how influential she was. She was a try hard; men should be less caring and less charitable? She’s an educated joke. Man receives happiness through others especially family. We are already too selfish. Her point is idiotically basic.
Ohh rough Adam count I mincrafted all little sister and upgraded every useful plasmid in the end I had 999adam , rescuing all little sisters I got and upgraded most plasmids and was left with like 200 Adam at the end . So either way you will have useless Adam that won't be worth it at the ending. If you want the good ending save everyone minus bad guys, if you want the bad ending Minecraft everyone you can . Either way you will still meet your fate it just changes a little from a certain point of view.
I'm a recent subscriber -- as of last month I think? -- and I can't get enough of your videos. It's been fun just going through all your videos. Not a single dud. Thank you!
I’m so angry that I just can’t seem to enjoy Bioshock’s gameplay as much as others. The monotony of the missions, the looting and the stupid inventory are just a major thorn in my side when I explore the ravaged beauty that is Rapture. I really want to love the game, it’s a shame I the gameplay is holding me back.
You end up with more Adam if you save the little sisters, it’s bothersome that you supposedly love the game so much but ignore this huge point. The game openly rewards you for being selfless, and this is one of the strongest indicators about the games real attitudes towards Rand’s philosophy, if you agree to be selfless the world rewards you, rather than taking everything for yourself and ultimately ending up powerful but less so than you would have been had you been selfless.
I think your miscalculating - you get 480 ADAM every 3 harvested sisters and only 440 for saving 3 sisters. You do get the Hypno BD plasmids for saving only and other tonics and ammo. But for total amount of Adam , harvesting gives you more. And exploiting the extra sister glitches , increases the discrepency even more.
Ayn Rand wasn't right by any means, not for everything but in at least one thing she was. So called "altruism" and "social consciousnesses", just as much evil in history came from perversions of those. Taking care of a fellow Humans "welfare" leads to control and atrocity in the name of the greater good, people get guilt tripped to ignore their own self interests or punished harshly if the guilt doesn't work. Altruism has done as much harm as greed, at least if the whole of society is constructed around serving self interest everyone would know where they stand, people wouldn't be convinced that they are doing something good when its actually very evil.
Adrian Gonzalez yeah infinite just isn’t a Bioshock game. Downgraded gameplay from the first 2 games with a dumbass story that even if you understand it makes no sense. Game is just objectively bad and it makes sense since it went through development hell
I actually apologize for this bigoted comment. I’ve recently changed my views and I hate all parties equally. Because none of this matters. Ona. Spiritual journey and it’s opened my eyes to a lot of things.
@@britneys4608 You don’t have to apologize, I actually really respect you for replying like that and also agree with you, it’s all a broken system where mostly nothing happens and where nobody wins at the end of the day (well not the average citizen anyways).
@@TitaniumTurbine Yes fortunately for people likeminded like you and I we all know we will die one day and NONE of this would’ve ever mattered.... the system is for sure broken and evil lingers on both ends. Thankyou for being so kind to me! ❤️
What do you mean it would take too long to figure out which gets more Adam. Read a walk through... LAZY AS FUCK, now I actually understand how you do so many of these. You don't put in nearly as much effort as other people do for these analysis videos.. You get more for not killing them and the reward does lean way too heavily to "Good" choices. This was the start of the games that ignored bad choices and that trend continued into Mass Effect. Far more people play as good, hence why it gets focus. People want the moral choices because they like being told they're good by comparison, it is self indulgence. Just like these crappy videos you do.