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BioShock 2 launched last
week and Ten Ton Hammer has
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80983">reviewed it. Is it
an improvement of the first game? Ben de la Durantaye hopes so. Find
out his beef with the first BioShock
and some important elements of game design that, if left out, could
make the whole ship sink. Today, in
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80996">Loading... Size Matters.
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I may be the only person in this hemisphere that didn't like
style="font-style: italic;">BioShock
(the original). It's not something I normally readily admit but I've
kept it pent up inside for far too long. Some of my coworkers found out
not too long ago and have ridiculed me ever since. Scared of what the
general public might think, I decided to keep it to myself after that.
But after talking with a close friend this weekend I realized that my
dislike of BioShock
(original) is just who I am, and I should be proud of it. We're going
on a parade next week--all three of us in North America who didn't like
the game.
So it was no mistake that I passed up the opportunity to review
style="font-style: italic;">BioShock 2
that was released last week. I had such prejudice against the IP from
the mind-numbingly boring experience I had with the first
style="font-style: italic;">BioShock
that I didn't see how I could go in with an open mind. Sure, I probably
will try it out myself at some point but in the interim we asked Matt
Lowery to check it out and
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80983">write a review.
Matt was able to do two things I wouldn't have been able to do. 1.
Write an open-minded review for the game and 2. Be able to play it for
more than 10 minutes before convulsing from horrible flashbacks of days
wasted playing the original.
It's not that the first BioShock
was a horrible game by any means. I just found it lacking in
enviroments and *gasp* story. I know the premise of the game didn't
really allow for too much variation in the environment. After all, how
varied can a man-made underwater city really get? But come on. You
pretty much saw the whole game after you ran into your first Big Daddy.
There was nothing new in terms of interesting models or level design
after that. And as far as the story went, I just found it annoying. You
weren't ever allowed to actually complete any part of the story because
there was always some annoying "plot twist" that would come up just as
you were about to finish something that informed you that you were
wasting your time and now you needed to do something else which was
usually completely unrelated to anything you had been doing up to that
point. It wasn't unlike the early days of my adolescence when I'd wait
until my mother went shopping and I'd look through the bra section of
the Sears Catalog. I knew I'd never really
find what I was looking for, but it was the closest I was going to get.
But, that was then. Maybe the new BioShock
2 would be able to keep my interest.
The whole experience I had with that game back in 2007 emphasized to me
the importance of environments and a good story line in the games I
play. This may very well be a fundamental part of why I enjoy
well-crafted MMOGs as much as I do. I need to have variation and depth
in the world. Luckily for me, a lot of games are pulling this off now.
Some less than others but in the industry as a whole developers also
seem to realize the importance of different areas and themes and some
good stories to keep their players captivated.
It doesn't look like that momentum is going to slow down any time soon
either. Star Wars: The Old Republic
is promising incredible depth. Final
Fantasy XIV,
given that it's of the Final Fantasy IP, will in all likelihood be
captivating and rich. Older games continue to launch expansions, such
as EverQuest 2's Sentinel's Fate
that launches tomorrow, which only expands on the already massive lore
of the universe in which the game is set.
This makes me particularly happy since today's market seems hell bent
on making games primarily single player with some grouping options. If
I'm going to be playing alone with others, I need to have a good story
and an amazing world to explore. And for the love of Rapture, don't
stick me in a tiny tin town, submerge it under water and call it an
epic adventure.
How much does the story and world affect your enjoyment of the games
you play? Let us know
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=49615">in the
forums.
Shayalyn's Epic Thread of
the Day
From our /OOC
(Off-topic) forum
Happy
Valentine's Day!
While
many of us were busy snuggling our significant others or spooning them
in blissful slumber (and others were snuggling their pillows and
spooning Ben & Jerry's into their lonely mouths) AngryBeaver
visited the Ten Ton Hammer forum to wish us all a Happy Valentine's
Day. Join
the thread for some belated fun and perhaps a bit of the unexpected.
==============================
Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread
" Did ya get the wrong link there or something Beaver? Wearwolves?
On Valentimes day? "
- Beerkeg
"Nothing says I <3 you like werewolves!"
- AngryBeaver
==============================
Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=32559">Tell
us!
New and Exclusive Content
Today at Ten Ton Hammer
7 new Ten Ton Hammer
features today! 63 in February! 178
in 2010!
REVIEWS & PREVIEWS
Bioshock 2 PC Review
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80983
Bioshock 2 was released to
eager fans on February 9th. Is it everything
Bioshock fans have been hoping for? Mattlow put the game through its
paces and returns with his report.
Star Trek Online - First Impressions
http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto/features/first_impressions
The Star Trek intellectual property is a game maker's dream.
The
geeks of this beloved franchise number in the millions and pleasing
them all will be no easy task. Can Cryptic Studios succeed where so
many others have failed before with Star Trek Online?
EQ2 Battleground Preview
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80976
EverQuest II introduces their
latest attempt at giving top tier players
something to froth over and many awaiting casual PvPers are left
wondering, do Battlegrounds have what it takes to win them over?
Battlegrounds launch later this week in a game update along side the
Sentinel's Fate expansion, but
Savanja made her way to the test server
to get first hand experience in how Battlegrounds work and what they
have to offer hopeful fans.
WoW: U.I Mod Review - ArkInventory
http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/uimods/reviews/arkinventory
ArkInventory claims to be able to make your inventory management easy
as pie, while allowing for a bit of quick player customization. Will
this bag and inventory mod hold up to its claims, or will it fall into
oblivion like so many other World of Warcraft mods? Join Mem this week
as he tries out this mod to find out the answer!
GUIDES & FEATURES
Global Agenda Questionnaire -
Which Class is Right for You
http://www.tentonhammer.com/globalagenda/editorials/whatclass
Without a doubt you can do it all in Global
Agenda. You can heal, you
can slay, and you can support. The question is... how do you want to do
it? With so many options, picking your first class can be a daunting
task. Fortunately we've got you covered here at the Hammer with a quick
little interactive questionnaire you can take to decide for you!
World of Warcraft Lunar Festival
Guide
http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/seasonal/lunar
It's time for Lunar Festival, World
of Warcraft's answer to the Chinese
New Year. Our Lunar Festival guide has been revamped with instructions
on every elder in the game, how to deal with the beefed up Omen, and
walkthrough of every achievement. So don't struggle to find the Elders,
take on Omen, and get your achievements. Read our revamped guide to the
Lunar Festival.
WoW: Guild Advancement in Cataclysm
http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/editorials/guildadvancement
Announced at Blizzcon 2009, Guild Advancement is one of the most
talked
about of the changes coming with Cataclysm. Many are looking forward to
this system which will give rewards to guilds, while others are more
skeptical. This week Mem takes a look at what we know about the system
so far, and how it may affect the way players play
style="font-style: italic;">World of Warcraft.
Today's
Hottest Articles and Guides
- style="font-weight: bold;">Bioshock 2 Review
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/globalagenda/editorials/whatclass">
style="font-weight: bold;">Global Agenda Questionnaire - Which
Class is Right for You - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto/features/first_impressions"> style="font-weight: bold;">Star Trek Online - First Impressions
- style="font-weight: bold;">EQ2 Battleground Preview
-
EVE
Online
Sins of a Solar Spymaster #38: Self-Immolation for Fun and Profit - Top 10
PvP MMOGs -
Top
5 Single-Player Games That Need To Be MMOGs href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80771">
- Daring
to Dev -
The Journey from Fan to Game Designer -
Star
Trek Online href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto/captains_blog">Captain's
Blog #2 - Decisions and Directions -
Allods
Online
Archetype
Interview
Series Part 1 - The Warrior
Thanks
for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer
network!
- Benjamin J. de la Durantaye
and the
Ten Ton Hammer team
