Bioshock infinite "1999 mode"

Post » Sat May 12, 2012 10:24 am

This has really made my day! :smile: ive moaned about developers not giving us hardcoe options for a while now.

http://www.newsarama.com/games/bioshock-infinite-1999-120120.html

it was bout time, first person RPGs need to return to their former glory.

I hope dishonored will have something simular.
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WYatt REed
 
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Post » Sat May 12, 2012 11:06 am

I like the idea, but I'm withholding judgement since we don't really know how upgrades work in Bioshock Infinite, and therefore don't really know all the changes the 1999 mode makes specifically.

If it makes the upgrading more like System Shock 2 without the awful balancing issues (I'm assuming they'll work a lot of that stuff out, since it's such a big budget game this time around) then that would be nice. I just have a hard time imagining them being able to implement a mode that turns a quasi-nonlinear shooter like Bioshock into a full-blown immersive sim like System Shock 2, but if they can pull it off I'll be first in line to buy it.

(not that I wasn't planning on buying the game already, I just had a very different set of expectations about what it was going to be; I was expecting an FPS with a small set of magic powers ala Undying/Bioshock 1&2/Jedi Knight, etc.)
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sam
 
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Post » Fri May 11, 2012 9:42 pm

Yes you are right.

RPS Ken Levine interview on 1999 mode part 1http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/01/23/youre-going-to-suffer-levine-on-1999-mode/#comment-page-3

Levines words are very worrying-
then this guy says “I’ve got a bone to pick with you, Levine!” He’s giving me a hard time, he says “the problem was none of the decisions I made had any permanence to them. I didn’t have to commit to any decisions.” And I was like “oh!” The clouds parted for me. Except for the Little Sisters, there’s no permanence in your choices. It hadn’t really crystallised for me before, the difference between games we had made before, like System Shock 2, and BioShock.

choice and consequence is not the only difference.....

This will only be Bioshock with slightly more engaging gameplay, not another Sshock 2. there is many factors why Sshock 2 is superior, not just choice and consequence- deeper immersion design, deeper survival horror design, having to use your brain in approach to enemy encounters, inventory, environment and character customization....... more gameplay options like mantling, 2ndary fire mode, swimming, 40 psi powers opposed to 10 or so plasmids, the RPG systems based on travellers methodology (I don't know alot about this "methodology" but it sure works well for SS2, balancing issues aside) and interaction, There is tons more factors. I don't see Shock 2 being the superior game just as an opinion, but as a superior design and craftsmanship overall. you can even pick up plant pots for [censored] sake, just to create a more believable and immersive experience. well and it can clog up your inventory if you do not throw it away, but its up to you, the gamer, to do so and not be an idiot.

Thats not to say Bioshock is not to be considered a masterpiece too, but its design has less depth in many ways, and less is certainly not always more.

1999 mode is better than nothing for sure but if the game was originally designed with these kind of systems in mind instead of building it to accommodate the systems already in place only then maybe will infinite be worthy of the LGS legacy. But hey i wouldn't really expect games to evolve better than Sshock 2 and deus ex, those two are are good enough, but it is possible. the legacy got svcked into the mainstream. that's business i know, but i think we are ready for it to return, fallout new vegas is the definitive example of success and depth.
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Rudi Carter
 
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Post » Fri May 11, 2012 8:55 pm

also levine forgot that little MFD game player thing, the one that plays all those gimmicky old school games like minesweeper (swinekeeper LOL) and the hacking, modifying, & repairing all have tons of things that influences your chances of success. makes me sad biosock is so simple and gets all the fame :( but if Sshock 2 was released today exactly the same (except graphics) but under bethesda's name and multiplatform it would sell extremely well id wager.
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Dominic Vaughan
 
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Post » Fri May 11, 2012 8:13 pm

Why wont anyone negotiate a deal with EA for the rights for System shock franchise? Its been 12 years. Maybe irrational will after the inevitable success of bioshock infinite. Then again maybe thats a bad thing, Levine would probably dumb down a remake or sequal :(
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Sunnii Bebiieh
 
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Post » Sat May 12, 2012 1:30 am

EA doesn't own the rights to System Shock, they only own the trademark. The characters, settings, assets, etc. are all owned by the insurance company who got them when Looking Glass went under, and they have no interest in selling them. They'd rather hold out and try to get a cut when someone makes another SS game...as though ANY publisher would go for that crap.
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Suzy Santana
 
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