Ripten Videogame Blog » 2K-Games

BioShock 2 Sinclair Solutions Test Pack DLC Announced

Chad Lakkis — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:12:26 +0000

You’re on the couch, plugging away at your BioShock 2 sequel and asking yourself how the experience could be better. It’s got more action, more options … sure, some may say that the story is not as good as the original, but how about a new DLC? See, you’re feeling better already.

2K Games announced the “Sinclair Solutions Test Pack” today, and it’s prepared to take your multiplayer experience to a new level. Max player rank will jump to fifty and rank rewards will also be added. In addition, new weapon upgrades, two new playable characters, five new masks, and twenty new trials (some level limits apply here) will see there way into the game courtesy of this add-on.

You can look to pick this bad boy up for $4.99 (or 400 MS points) on Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network sometime this March. If the single player mode is more your cup of tea, 2K promises new content for that aspect of the game in the near future as well. Sit tight.

Third Borderlands DLC “The Secret Armory of General Knoxx” Doubles The Size of Previous Two

Chad Lakkis — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:59:32 +0000

Prepare yourself (and your wallet) for The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, the third installment of Borderlands DLC coming to Xbox LIVE on February 23rd (tomorrow), and the PC and PlayStation Network two days later on the 25th.

Size matters, and because 2K Games knows this, they are promising that this latest add-on will double that of the previous two, complete with new weapon classes, vehicles, and villains — oh my! Just how much will this gigantic heaping of goodness run you? You’re looking at $9.99 (or 800 Microsoft Points). Let us know what you think of it if you happen to pick it up.

BioShock 2 Review Flood Gates Begin To Open

Chad Lakkis — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:48:00 +0000

While most publications are still waiting patiently for their review copy, a few have already published their BioShock 2 review. Our phone call with the developer wrapped up yesterday and you can look for our BioShock 2 review to go live shortly after the game’s release on the 9th. In the mean time, here’s what the early bird outlets are giving the 2K Marin sequel.

IGN (91/100)
IGN UK (90/100)
PlayStation Magazine (100/100)
PSM3 UK (93/100)
PC Gamer (90/100)

Amazon.com PS3 BioShock 2 Pre-Order Offer: Recieve Nicest Big Daddy Suit No One Will Ever See (PlayStation Home)

Chad Lakkis — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:54:33 +0000

Amazon.com is giving away a PlayStation Home Big Daddy suit for gamers who pre-order the Special Edition BioShock 2 game for the PlayStation 3. Access to the stunning piece of virtual attire will be granted to you via a code you’ll receive within “ten business days” after the game’s release.

All in all, the suit looks nice and I guess you could wear it at the bowling alley along with the seven or so other people that manage to find the time to sign in to Home.

[Source Amazon Thanks Jeff]

BioShock 2 Will Last At Least 10 Hours

Dylan Duarte — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:14:47 +0000

The latest episode of Qore, the PlayStation Network’s subscription based online magazine, reveals that Bioshock 2 will be at least 10 hours in length.

In a Bioshock 2 preview segment, Qore host Veronica Belmont said the following:

“At the start of the game, you wake up a mystery. And for at least the first ten hours or so, you remain a mystery.”

At first I wondered if she meant 10 hours in game time, but that really wouldn’t mean anything to us at this point because we don’t know how the game time unfolds. I assume she must be talking about play time.

Bioshock 2 hits PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on February 9th.

VG247

Spec Ops: The Line – Details, Trailer, First Images

Chad Lakkis — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:00:48 +0000

Spec Ops: The Line, a new shooter being developed by YAGER and published by 2K games, had some details surface today in the form of a press release.

Described as an “original and innovative single and multiplayer’ experience, the story revolves around the concept of a thin “line” between death and duty that soldiers walk. The perspective you will take, is of U.S. Army Colonel John Konrad and his team, as they make their way through ruined city of Dubai, protecting stranded citizens caught up in the “cataclysmic sandstorms” which have taken it over.

It’s pretty evident in the Spec Ops Video Game Awards debut trailer (and the alternate trailer that surfaced just before the award show), that not all stranded individuals will make for heart warming rescue material. The VGA trailer opens up with a voice that asks:

“Do you still intend to rescue me captain? Now that you’ve seen what I’ve done. I admit, my methods are … unconventional, but they are necessary.”

Sounds like this could be at least one of the “lines” you will have to decide whether or not to cross during the game. Will you continue rescuing all those stranded without bias, or will you hunt down the mad man who appears to be torturing your men and desecrating your country.

Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K, issued the following statement about the game and how it fits in to the overall 2K philosophy:

“Spec Ops: The Line is the epitome of a 2K Games title and incorporates all of our gameplay values: immersive experiences that draw you in, unique and innovative features that make you rethink the way you play them, and an amazingly high quality bar that is synonymous with the 2K name. By meeting these core values, I’m confident that Spec Ops: The Line will be a great experience that people will enjoy playing for years to come.”

An interesting feature in the game, revolves around the sandstorm itself, creating an ever-changing landscape with terrain that can shift from high to low ground, sending players plummeting to their death or crushing them under mountains of sand. The aspect reminds me a lot of the terrain altering interactions in the game Fracture developed by Day 1 Studios and published by LucasArts back in October of 2008.

Here’s a look at two high res images, the Video Game Awards featured trailer (that I think had a very Gears of War feel to it), and the full press release issued today.

2K Games Announces its Next Big Shooter – Spec Ops(R): The Line

Narrative-driven military shooter features intense combat and gut-wrenching decisions set against the backdrop of the sandstorm-ravaged city of Dubai

New York, NY – December 14, 2009 – 2K Games, the publisher of the critically acclaimed BioShock® and Borderlands™, announced today that Spec Ops®: The Line™ is currently in development at YAGER for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. Spec Ops: The Line is a provocative and gripping third-person modern military shooter that challenges players’ morality by putting them in the middle of unspeakable situations where unimaginable choices affecting human life must be made.

“At the heart of the 2K DNA is the creation of intellectual properties that provide consumers with compelling narrative, heart-pounding action, and worlds that come to life around them,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “Spec Ops: The Line is the epitome of a 2K Games title and incorporates all of our gameplay values: immersive experiences that draw you in, unique and innovative features that make you rethink the way you play them, and an amazingly high quality bar that is synonymous with the 2K name. By meeting these core values, I’m confident that Spec Ops: The Line will be a great experience that people will enjoy playing for years to come.”

Spec Ops: The Line unfolds within the destroyed opulence of Dubai. Once the playground for the world’s wealthiest elite, Dubai has fallen victim to a series of cataclysmic sandstorms. The city’s ultramodern architecture lies half-buried under millions of tons of sand. The very sand that blankets the city plays a marquee role in altering combat situations and serves as a powerful but unpredictable force that will both help and hinder players throughout the course of the game.

While most people have fled the now-barren wasteland before the sandstorms swept through, U.S. Army Colonel John Konrad and his loyal squad remained behind to protect those incapable of escape. Unable to reach anyone in Dubai after the storm hit, the U.S. Army feared Konrad and his team dead until they picked up a weak distress signal and launched a rescue operation. As U.S. Army Captain Martin Walker, you and your elite Delta Force team are sent to infiltrate the treacherous region to bring Konrad home. Players will experience “The Line”, that razor’s edge known only to men who deal in war. It is the line they cross when death and duty become one and the same. It is the end — of self and sanity — when their duty is done and only they remain.

“The production of Spec Ops: The Line has been a tremendous experience for YAGER,” said Timo Ullman, managing director at YAGER. “Our close collaboration with 2K Games over the course of this production has allowed us to achieve our goal of giving players a unique and exciting gaming experience in Spec Ops: The Line. YAGER’s goal is to always push the boundaries of what is possible and exceed players’ expectations in every production.”

Spec Ops: The Line underscores 2K’s commitment to deliver original and innovative single and multiplayer experiences to current generation consoles and PCs. Spec Ops: The Line will take that commitment to the next level by providing players with a new and exciting multiplayer experience that offers a unique perspective on the single-player storyline.

Spec Ops: The Line is not yet rated by the ESRB. The title is planned for release during Take-Two’s 2011 fiscal year, which begins on November 1, 2010. For more information, please visit www.specopstheline.com.

New 2K Shooter Spec Ops Mission Set in Dubai

Chad Lakkis — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:05:48 +0000

Here’s an alternate take on the mysterious 2K shooter teaser trailer revealed a few days ago by Spike TV to promote their years 7th annual Video Game Awards. The trailer below features several soldiers making their way through the war torn streets of Dubai as the track “Storm” performed by artist Björk sets the mood.

Notable moments include several explosions, lots of sand storms, soldiers zipping from choppers, an execution, camera skull reveal, and an ominous figure strumming his fingers through a hanging collection of dog tags. My money says he’s a bad guy.

VGA 09 Set To Reveal Ten Unnannounced Titles, Including A New Shooter From 2K Games

Chad Lakkis — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:09:43 +0000

In response to a question thrown his way on Twitter, Geoff Keighley, host of the 7th annual Video Game Awards, revealed that there are about ten unannounced games we can expect to see for the first time at VGA 09. One of these is a new shooter by 2K Games.

The teaser for this new game (shown below) opens with several shots of what appears to be the city of Dubai in a war torn state. The narrative comes from the perspective of a stranded soldier, who mentions a failed evacuation attempt and cites a high number of casualties as the camera pans by several individuals hanging from highway street lights. We possibly get a glimpse of the character we’ll be playing as in the final seconds of the clip.

My guess is, anything big enough to hang you from a street light is definitly not human. Could this be a sci-fi type battle set in the future? You can catch the event live on Spike TV December 12th. Don’t forget to get your voting in before then!

Talented Bioshock 2 Fan Artist Ben Mauro Made It Big, 2K’s Loss Is Insomniac’s Gain

Chad Lakkis — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:41:07 +0000

Way back in March of 2008, we reported on a pretty impressive Bioshock 2 fan art collection by then student Ben Mauro. The art was so well done that it caught the attention of 2K Games Community Manager Elizabeth Tobey. That was just the beginning for a kid who “never expected anything to come” from his school assignment.

Shortly after discovering our post, Elizabeth contacted us asking how she and 2K could “track down the artist, and thank him for his work”. We happily helped out and suggested they thank him by offering him a job. In fact, my exact words were:

“I’d love to be able to report that this talented kid was able to land something with your team. Even if it is just an internship. He is very talented and humble as well.

When I told him you were looking to contact him he seemed shocked and said he never expected anything to come out of his assignment.”

A few months later I shot an email over to Elizabeth asking if they ever pulled the trigger on hiring Ben. She responded letting me know that they “didn’t hire him or anything but he did get some big kudos from [the team].”

Unfortunately, kudos don’t pay the bills. As it turns out though, Ben got his break anyway. According to his updated blog, portfolio site, LinkedIn profile, and countless other social networking interweb devices sure to be monitored from this point forward by news hungry bloggers, Ben is working on some pretty exciting game related projects.

Two projects under the client “Insomniac Games” titled “RCF2″ (most likely likely Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time) and “R3″ (guessing Resistance 3 on this one), recently caught the attention of Joystiq’s Ludwig Kietzmann. Ludwig then proceeded to contact “the parties concerned” at which point Ben wisely removed the info from his personal blog.

Well, I’m happy to say that I finally got to report on the successful hiring of Ben Mauro. Sure, it wasn’t for 2K as I had originally hoped, but as the title says, 2k’s loss is Insomniac’s gain. On that note, I look forward to the possibility of stomping around in a Ratchet & Clank Future 2 or Resistance 3 Ben Mauro inspired level with weapons blazing.

Congratulations Ben, you deserve it.

New Single Player BioShock 2 Trailer Released

Chad Lakkis — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:16:37 +0000

2K Games released a new BioShock 2 trailer full of bolts, bullets, blood, and gallons of upon gallons of water. The hands-on preview embargo lifts Thursday so look for more in-depth opinions then. Sleep now … your day is done.

DRM Prevents “Accidental” Borderlands PC Sales from Activating Before Official Release

Chad Lakkis — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:54:32 +0000

Yes, you may be one of the few people posting pictures and video of yourself holding a PC version of Borderlands on the web, but the laugh’s on you if you actually try to play it. It seems that a few retailers out there jumped the gun and “accidentally” sold the title to PC hungry gamers (and maybe a few unsuspecting parents with good intentions) before its scheduled October 26th North America and October 30th International release dates.

In response to this news, 2K Community Manager Elizabeth Tobey, wrote the following on the company’s official forum:

Hey guys,

Yesterday we learned that a fraction of the PC copies of Borderlands were accidentally sold to consumers in some countries but that gamers could not activate their copies yet. Since we learned of this problem, we have been looking into the issue to find the best possible solution for everyone.

I’m going to be completely honest with you guys right now. It is not possible for us to move the planned release date of the game forward. We could not possibly get the games into stores worldwide and out for digital distribution any earlier than planned. Less than 1% of all copies were sold, and if we unlocked the game today, illegal versions would most likely appear on torrents by the evening. I am sure all of you want our PC launch to be as successful as possible, and we simply won’t be able to manage that any earlier than already planned.

I want to apologize for those of you who have gotten the game ahead of our release date, and ask for your patience and understanding. The game will be ready in the US and Canada at midnight eastern standard time on Monday, October 26th, and internationally by Friday, October 30th.

-Elizabeth

This is truly unfortunate if you believe the majority of the consumers who forked over the cash were clueless to the actual PC release date. I personally don’t but hey — to each their own. Moving forward, we should push to implement rights managed payment options. Money that doesn’t become spendable until we are satisfied with our purchases. Sounds good to me.

Source: forums.2kgames.com

PS3 Bioshock to Get Post Release Graphics Patch

Chad Lakkis — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:10:53 +0000

If you have been following our coverage of fan reaction to 2K’s PS3 Bioshock demo, then you are well aware of some gamers voicing complaints about a pixelated Daddy and unsatisfactory graphics (although I frankly find it a bit much), and you are also aware that 2K has responded to the collective cries for help.

Well, a few hours ago they responded again. This time, the post by 2K community manager, Elizabeth Tobey, promises a patch for the game. Anticipating that the public would want to know the exact release date of the patch, Tobey proactively stated:

I do know this will not be until after the game’s launch, and I will update you with details on that date as I receive them.

Tobey adds that a complete list of fixes has yet to be finalized, but assures the community that the texture/pixelation and white bar issues are definitely on the list.

Hit the jump to read her full statement.

UPDATE (October 14):

Hey guys,

I have good news from the dev team about a patch for BioShock PS3! They have been working on a patch to address the concerns some of you on the forum have talked about. As work is in progress I do not have a definite date for when this patch will be released as it needs to be tested and clear certification with Sony before it is scheduled and released. I do know this will not be until after the game’s launch, and I will update you with details on that date as I receive them.

I’ll be releasing the entire patch list when it’s all finalized, but for now I’m sure you’ll be happy to see that these two fixes are included:

Big Daddy Bouncer and Elite Bouncer Textures Appeared Pixelated
Fix for an issue where large blocky pixels would show up whenever viewing the Bouncer and Elite Bouncer variants of the Big Daddy.

White Bars
Fix for an issue where white/discolored bars would show up at the right and bottom sides of the screen during the plane crash / water scene at the beginning of the game.

I’m sure many of you are eager to see what Big Daddy looks like after this fix, so here are two screenshots of him in his patched glory!

Source: forums.2kgames.com

2K Responds Again to PS3 Bioshock Complaints

Chad Lakkis — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:51:59 +0000

A few days ago we reported that 2K Community Manager, Elizabeth Tobey, had responded to complaints voiced by gamers on their forum regarding the visual quality of the company’s PS3 Bioshock demo. Specifically, there were concerns that the textures in the PS3 version were not on par with that of the 360 version.

Last night, Elizabeth issued an update to her initial post, following up with readers and giving them some additional insight into what was being done to resolve the issues.

Her full statement, complete with in-game screens presented to help better illustrate the final state of the game, is available after the jump.

A message from the team about the visuals in BioShock PS3

Hi there,

Last Friday some of you expressed some concerns and asked me some questions about the BioShock demo, and how BioShock would look on the PS3. I promised that the team was looking into all the issues brought up on Friday, and now I am reporting back with the latest news. Everything below is directly from the team – they took the comparison screenshots for me and we talked at length about all of these issues, and those conversations are exactly what I am reporting to you now.

Many of you wondered about BioShock’s graphical performance on the PS3, and whether it was comparable to the 360 version. The team wanted BioShock to be the same experience on the PS3 as on the 360. Of course, the PS3 is a very different machine to code a game on, and so the team used a combination of optimization and filtering to maximize the overall visual experience of the game. These optimizations improved frame rate and added the slight “blur filter” that some of you have pointed out in comparison screenshots. This solution offered the best performance benefit with minimum visual cost or change from the 360 version.

When making the decision on how to balance game performance and visual quality, the team did a lot of research, which included looking at implementation strategies and gamer reactions for other games that had brought a title to the PS3. One of the major goals for the team in creating the PS3 version of BioShock was to match the visual experience of the 360.

Below are a few comparison screenshots of BioShock on both the 360 and PS3, taken by the team. I have included the Big Daddy texture that concerned so many of you on Friday. However, the Big Daddy texture is not a good measure for the entire PS3 experience, and so I have a handful of other comparison shots of the 360 and PS3 version of BioShock.

Another issue people asked about was the appearance of “white bars” when using certain settings on certain TV configurations. This is a legitimate bug, and we are currently working to fix this issue and plan on distributing that fix along with the Additional Content game update. For the short-term, some have recommended changing the TV’s overscan setting as a workaround.

Also, some of you asked about the resolution of BioShock PS3. The team decided to include 1080 support for the game specifically for the benefit of some older-model HDTVs that don’t correctly respond to 720 and force the user to play on 480 instead. Our 1080 implementation is a scaled version of what you see in 720p, so therefore, the discerning gamer may notice the visuals are a bit less sharp when compared to the 720 mode. We did investigate rendering to true 1080 mode, but were not able to support it given the game’s memory demands.

We believe the BioShock PS3 demo fairly represents the performance and user experience of the full BioShock PS3 game, and is an accurate representation of the final product. We will continue reading and looking into any new comments that come up on this forum. I hope this post and the following screenshots help clarify some of the questions asked last week. Again, thank you for your diligence and devotion to the game.

The images shown above also came with the following note:

Note: These images were taken from the final game. There is a slight discrepancy in some shots because for the 360 version the images were taken before the patch was applied, which means they are using the original widescreen format, but the PS3 version ships with the 360 patch’s widescreen change.

Another user on the forum then asked for clarification regarding the “blur” overlay that many have noticed on the PS3 version, to which Tobey responded:

i’m sorry if i didn’t explain this well enough in the original post, but it’s not just a blur “filter” applied to the graphics. based on how this game works with the PS3 hardware, and our desire to make the best graphics without sacrificing gameplay or framerate, these graphics are what resulted. when compared to the 360, you will notice it looks slightly “blurred” but this is not a simple blur “filter” that we overlayed on the graphics. it is just a result of how we developed the game on this new and unique piece of hardware, trying to keep framerate, gameplay, and graphics optimal and true to the game’s vision.

Personally, I think the game looks great, and as a PS3 owner myself, I would have no problem picking up the title when it hits stores. That said, it’s refreshing to see 2K taking the time to respond to the concerns of their community with such a high level of detail.

Afterthought: What say you? Was this a non issue in your opinion, or where you grateful for the response?

Design the Next Bioshock Shirt, Win Some Swag

Wade Larson — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:52:45 +0000

HEY. You there. Reader. Fancy yourself an artist? Do you like BioShock? If so, 2K Games has got a deal for you.

Now is your chance to win some sweet customized BioShock swag in honor of the release of the PS3 version of the deep sea dystopian adventure. Hit the jump for details on this awesome contest.

2K is looking for gamers to design an image that represents BioShock, Rapture and the Cult. Use any imagery from the game you want, but make sure its an original work. No screen caps, you lazy surface dwellers!

Submit your design to BioShockContest@2KGames.com with the subject line “Cult of Rapture T-Shirt Design Contest” before July 25th to get your name and your design in the running. One grand prize and two three runner-ups will be announced at the end of July.

Of course, any contest is only as good as the shit you can win, and this one is a doozy.

Here it is, straight from the Big Daddy’s mouth. (Do they have mouths? I’m going to assume for the sake of this they do.)

GRAND PRIZE: Winning design displayed on the Cult and shirts made for devoted members, two exclusive BioShock figurines, 10 of the winning shirts (you choose the sizes), a BioShock artbook, and a limited edition BioShock poster signed by 2K Marin.

THREE RUNNER-UPS: Designs made into wallpapers and downloadable on the Cult of Rapture, a winning shirt in the size of your choice, and a BioShock artbook.

In case you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, here are a couple designs from a previous contest to get those creative juices flowing.

Also, official contest rules. To make sure you do this legit.

Now, equip that artistry plasmid and get cracking!

Source: Cult of Rapture

Fuhgedaboutit: New Mafia 2 Screens

Andrew Podolsky — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:17:07 +0000

The original Mafia game was a bit overlooked in the wake of GTA3 and its ilk, but I thought the old-timey setting, vintage cars and weapons, and Scorcese-like story were pretty awesome. Now, long overdue, comes the sequel.

These screens are jaw-dropping. Of course, I bet if GTA4 was rendered on a high-end PC, it’d look pretty stunning as well, but I am holding out hope that this serious open world crime game will live up to my fond memories of the original.

In the original Mafia, you could drive outside of the city limits and into the countryside for spectcular shoot-outs, and this was ages before San Andreas. One mission had you speeding through abandoned city streets at night in an ancient Formula 1 racing car, just so you could sabotage it for a race the next day. Even the ending stayed with me for a long time, because of its last, great twist. Enjoy these screens of Mafia 2.

Mafia 2 screen

Ken Levine Talks About VGAs: It’s all Gravy

John Kershaw — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 03:57:08 +0000

When Gamecock stormed the stage at the Video Game Awards earlier this month, they prevented Ken Levine, lead designer of BioShock, from giving his acceptance speech after winning the award for Game of the Year. For the first time since the event, Levine has given a short interview on the matter.

When asked about what was going through his head during the incident Levine responded:

All I really gave a crap about was that the judges (who were all top journalists) chose us from the field. The rest is kind of gravy.

When asked what he was hoping to have a chance to say, before he was so rudely interrupted, Levine said:

I had a tireless, amazing team who was on a mission to make BioShock great. We didn’t have 300 people or five years. We had an insane amount of passion. I’d like to thank the people who made it with me, the families that patiently waited while we did our thing, the publisher with the guts not to make us change it, and the fans who showed that gamers have a much broader range of interest and intellect than anybody in certain parts of the media or the political space is comfortable giving them credit for.

Read the full interview by 1UP here.

When PR Stunts Go Bad – Gamecock Interrupts Ken Levine at Spike VGAs

Andrew Podolsky — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:58:22 +0000

With mega-company Take 2 taking home top honors at the Spike Video Game Awards, indie publisher Gamecock was desperately vying for attention. But what’s sadder than “Game of the Year” body art? How about crashing Ken Levine’s acceptance speech in red capes and masks?

Check out the video– the surprised and subdued crowd reaction says it all. Gamecock has since apologized for the stunt, saying that they’d rather have crashed the Fueled By Mountain Dew category instead.

We know these guys want to stand out from the crowd, but upstaging one of gaming’s greatest designers was maybe not the smartest move. Gamecock will rise someday, perhaps, but it might take a bit longer thanks to this stunt.

[youtube width="425" height="335"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIDDAtVLRZw[/youtube]

Via: Joystiq

Top Ten Most Badass Weapons in Gaming History – #2 The Darkness

James Fleming — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 02:49:46 +0000

Our next, slightly controversial entry on this list has led me to question what exactly constitutes a weapon. The Darkness, the evil entity that spawns from our anti-hero Jackie Estacado in the game of the same name, is a living, breathing thing. It’s biological, despite its supernatural origins. It has a voice and a full range of emotions (anger, malice, rage).

So what exactly are the requisites for a badass weapon? It has to cause pain (check!). It’s got to make onlookers gasp in horror and/or inspire fits of uncontrolled vomiting (check!). But on that token, doesn’t Britney Spears’ MTV Video Music Awards performance qualify? The answer: Yes, but, the Darkness can kill you, and until some long-term variable controlled studies are conducted to prove the contrary, Spears’ music hasn’t been documented to be life threatening.

The Darkness isn’t really that much unlike the Mafioso strong men it so viciously slaughters. It loves eating Italian (or “Italians” rather), gets off on controlling people and favors the use of colorful language. The two elongated eel like appendages that jut out of Jackie’s love handles are some versatile killing machines, that much is certain.

Feel like turning a Bowery hitman into a human shish kebab? Well, it’s just one button click away. Want to knock out the lights so that your prey can only hear the snarl between your razor sharp teeth before causing a permanent case of deadness? No problem.

Hell, you can even develop a gravitational field powerful enough to engulf electromagnetic radiation as stated in Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Black holes sure are fun. The Darkness doesn’t just make you feel stronger; it makes everyone else seem weak. Most games have you fighting monsters. This game transformed you into one.

The Darkness is a freight train of suffering powered by the devoured hearts of its victims, with Mike Patton of Faith No More providing the creepy voice. And let us not forget that Faith No More was the band responsible for the video “Epic”, which depicted a landlocked fish gasping for air as the closing keys carried out on a somber piano. The fish, as it turned out, was the pet of Icelandic pop sensation Bjork.

So there you have it, folks. The Darkness tortured Bjork’s goldfish. And for that simple fact, it makes its pure evil way near the top of this list.

Top Ten Most Badass Weapons List: 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1

E for All Preview: Civilization: Revolution

Andrew Podolsky — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:50:11 +0000

“Cleavage-Patra” – Scientists now know what the pyramids were modeled after…

Allow me to paint you a picture: First came the wheel, then the alphabet, followed soon after by television and the Internet. There were horses and camels and elephants, which were mostly used to raid barbarian villages and wage wars between nations. Precious gems were extracted, rice and wheat were traded, and Civilization was born.

Excuse me if I’m glossing over the details. Human history is a little too complicated to encapsulate in one limited experience, but the Civilization games have been doing just that since the series began in 1991. Formerly only found on PCs, Civilization begins anew on nearly all current consoles with Civilization: Revolution, featuring sixteen classical civilizations and a slew of gameplay changes.

If my rundown of human events over the last ten thousand years or so seemed overly simplified, you should probably expect that same level of reduction from the console version. To streamline the controls and gameplay, Civilization: Revolution will hasten the speed of mankind’s development to a furious pace. Blink, and you might just miss the Renaissance.

There are certain advantages to tinkering with Civilization’s grand scale, like enabling a three or four hour playthrough from chariot wheels to tank treads. Playing through human history on the couch could get tiring faster than playing from an office chair, so shorter games could be an advantage here.

Also, some of the more difficult to manage aspects of running a civilization, like corruption, pollution, and forced revolution have all been dropped. It’s funny that a game called Civilization: Revolution would drop the ability for your subjects to overthrow your imposed system of government, but apparently the scientists working at Take Two have discovered irony.

The cultural impact of your civilization has also been overhauled, as you can now gain a cultural victory by accumulating great people. When your high culture score causes an unhappy competing city to join your civilization, you’ll end up converting the unhappiest city regardless of their distance from your borders. These kinds of changes could disrupt the finely tuned balance of the series, but with Sid Meier on board as the lead designer, hopefully these changes won’t cause Civilization to crumble.

Civilization: Revolution looks like it holds a lot of promise for a streamlined console version, and the game should play the same across all systems regardless of graphical power or interface. Bonuses like a standardized Game of the Week for online competitions on the Xbox 360 and touch-screen control for the Nintendo DS seem like they might even make the game worth checking out on multiple platforms. We’ll have the complete story on this new era in gaming when Civilization: Revolution comes out next year.

Xbox 360 Review: Bioshock

Andrew Podolsky — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 22:19:55 +0000

“Who’s your Big Daddy?”

There hasn’t been an enemy character in a first person shooter for a long time that carries the same impact as Bioshock’s Big Daddy. They’ve got loads of health, a disorienting roar, and a powerful rivet gun that will make you go through every last first aid kit, but the Big Daddy makes a big impression before they even come into view.

That’s because with Bioshock’s extraordinary attention to audio detail, you can hear the whale-like song of these lumbering creatures from several rooms away. Every thud of their heavy metal boots rumbles your eardrums, and if you’re close enough, the controller too. They’re the protectors of the Little Sisters, who are your key to unlocking more abilities and resources in the underwater mega-mall of Rapture. And they’re the defining characters in a utopia that placed perfection over humanity. In this way, the Big Daddies are the perfect combat foes, and the Little Sisters are the perfect victims.

The plot of Bioshock is fairly straightforward and linear, with little deviation in the way abilities are achieved but a great deal of strategy in choosing what to use, when. The security system of Rapture, for example, is easily hackable (with a Pipe Dream style minigame that is a nice distraction from the action, if a little simplistic), and there’s no greater joy than watching chaos ensue from a Big Daddy fighting off three or four hovering security bots. You can even cause the Big Daddies to fight each other, with a plasmid power-up that causes one Big Daddy to protect you as they would their Little Sisters.

Compared to the Big Daddies and Little Sisters, the other enemies you encounter are fairly limited and plain. There are splicers that carry wrenches, guns, bombs, and hook-wielding enemies that climb on the ceiling. You can research these foes with a camera, but most of the time you’ll end up shooting them on sight. Other than the splicers and the occasional human boss fight, the best encounters are between the Big Daddies and the environment.

Oil, water, and even bees are the elements which contain most of the fun of Rapture’s firefights. You can light objects aflame, use telekinesis to rearrange traps, or fool enemies into fighting each other. You can also shock water, sting with insects, and booby-trap health stations. This all adds up to one of the most cleverly designed combat arenas in recent memory.

As close as Bioshock comes to being a perfect game, there are still a few minor problems which keep it from achieving a perfect score. The plot, while mature and engrossing, is still extremely linear, with little room for exploration or alternate paths. The major branching path in the game comes from whether or not you exploit the Little Sisters, but in gameplay terms the result is almost the same (you get half the resources for “rescuing” as you do for “harvesting”).

As beautiful as the game’s interiors are, setting the entire game in Sea Lab means that there’s not a grandiose sense of scale or adventure. Many times you are forced through arbitrary gates that open and close only upon reaching certain objectives. As great as the scripted story moments are, it would be nice to see less scripted action and more player-defined moments.

Another thing which keeps this game from achieving absolute perfection is the absence of multiplayer. While Bioshock is without a doubt one of the best single player experiences available so far this year, what keeps the game from infinite replayability is the lack of underwater multiplayer deathmatch. The traps, environments, and weapons seem well suited for melee matches, and perhaps we can hope that a sequel or spin-off allows for some type of online play.

Still, the production values are top notch in Bioshock and it plays like a dream throughout. There are many disturbing moments, several stunning revelations, and one of the most compelling stories ever seen in a game, much less a first person shooter. It’s right up there with Half Life 2 and System Shock 2 in terms of a complete gameplay experience told through a first person narrative.

The great thing about scoring a game in the upper eschalon of the review scale is that it invites endless debates about what would work better, what little tweaks or changes could possibly make it truly perfect. I’ve suggested a couple here– multiplayer mode and a more open environment– but every player who experiences Bioshock will likely come away with their own take on the subject. Perhaps the game relies too much on scripted events, or the audio logs, to tell the story, but it’s still a story that goes so far beyond “saving the princess” or “stopping the terrorists” that it qualifies as thought-provoking entertainment. From start to finish, and hopefully long after, Bioshock deserves a place on your shelf and in your Xbox 360.