HL2 Vs. Bio Shock...No Comparison

[Druckles]

Yeah, I can't remember where I was, but there was certainly stairs involved and it was a rather awesome, if not slow battle, watching the Big Daddy/Big Daddy. I'd run up to it occasionally to bonk it with my wrench, just to get some extra health.

 

[FeliX 450]

bioshock was one of the reasons i bought 360, because i dont want vista on my pc, say no to vista...anyways i did not like the game, i rented it first and im glad i did bedcause i would just waste my money. i agree the game is great, just i dont know i did not get much into it, and it got sort of repetative to me. after playing all Half Life games, no other game seems to satisfy me. even COD4 was not as impressive to, maybe i just expect to much from these games, but more likely that Valve as set the bar so high with half life that no one comes close. resistance fall of man was a fan game and i liked it a lot, but still not as good as hl2. i biught halo 3 for the 360 and its just sitting there collecting dust because it does not interest me that much, though i will beat it, i just need more time off from work. also i just got metal gear solid, mgs2 and 3 to prepare myself for 4

 

[Operational]

bioshock was one of the reasons i bought 360, because i dont want vista on my pc, say no to vista

BioShock doesn't need Vista :|

 

[FeliX 450]

BioShock doesn't need Vista :|

oh wait thats right LOL!!! its my video card, because when i downloaded the demo my when i was in water it would lag like crazy. and for the price of good video card i could get a 360. and im selling my pc becaus im barely using it because i just got a new laptop not to long ago

 

[Kdizzle]

bioshock was scary! i almost stopped when the door closed behind me in the tower afeter the plane... too many nightmares. and that doctor guy. god i killed him with my eyes closed. (in fear) o well. hl2 pwns

 

[nokori3byo]

Having just finished Bioshock, I can say there was a minute there when it seemed like it might eclipse HL2 for me. The whole confrontation with Ryan 2/3 of the way through was pretty mighty, I thought. Much more than the so called "twist" involving identity, the introduction of mind-control into the plot really added depth to the narrative. Specifically, in light of the fact that many contemporary games straddle the line between narrative and gameplay, I thought it was very cool that the issue of free-will vs. outside control was introduced.
The main thing that separates games from other visual narrative media is the degree of control the player has over the plot. But what happens when the player character discovers that another character has been been using him as a plot device all along? That blew my mind. Featuring a philosophical head-scratccher like that in the culturally-lowly medium of video games was ambitious. That Levine et al. pulled it off was praiseworthy. That they allowed the whole thing to be dragged down by a hackneyed conclusion is just puzzling. I mean, they obviously went out of their way to create deep environments and gameplay designed to foster emmergence, but then they go and stick a friggin' boss battle onto the end.
In the end, Bioshock was a solid 9/10 for me. Absolutely a must-play for gamers of all stripes [well, the Cooking Mama crowd might get a pass actually]. But the HL2 series is just tighter and more coherent in it's presentation and mechanics. I also find their style of narrative exposition far more interesting. Rather than using a single medium to present elements of the backstory (read: audio-logs), they offer clues in a myriad different forms.
Levels in HL2 are also far more scrupulously designed than Bioshock's. With the exception of the intro and the escort mission at the end, every BS level is just a nerve centre with a bunch of different hallways leading out from it. As much as I enjoyed exploring, I thought the endless fetch quests were a transparent and shoddy way to create gameplay and move the plot along. I suppose for people who think "linear" is a dirty word must, these open areas might be prefereable to HL2's funneling. I disagree.

Aristotle said "The end crowns all," and I have to agree. Ep. 2's ending was the best I've ever seen in a video game. Not necessarily the most enjoyable, but certainly the most effective. Bioshock really dropped the ball in its conclusion. If you're gonna drop the ball, 2K, don't do it at the end of the game.

Edited for grammar

 

[ríomhaire]

Spoiler

What I don't get in Bioshock is how after you get freed from the mind control nothing changes at all. You still have no choice in anything and follow a fixed path. It's just that you're taking Tenembaum's orders now instead. The mind control makes it all so bloody clear as to why you've been blindly following Atlas the whole time, but now you're free, except for the fact that you must do everything Tenembaum says.

 

[Sneaki]

I loved Bioshock, the story was excellent. It's definately up there with the HL series.

Spoiler

What I don't get in Bioshock is how after you get freed from the mind control nothing changes at all. You still have no choice in anything and follow a fixed path. It's just that you're taking Tenembaum's orders now instead. The mind control makes it all so bloody clear as to why you've been blindly following Atlas the whole time, but now you're free, except for the fact that you must do everything Tenembaum says.

Spoiler

Yeah the fact that Tenembaum seemed to have control of you confused me as well. Maybe they're leaving a bit of space there for a sequel.

 

[XAVIER]

i loved bioshock, i loved the atmosphere, the plasmids are realy cool, and rapture just seemed so awesome...

i do like half life 2 more though, and honestly i dont realy know why i love half life... its just so damn fun!

Bioshock is awesome!

Half Life 2 is Awesomer!

 

[FrostXian]

Does the first post spoil anything? I couldn't get myself to read.

 

[Druckles]

There were no spoilers as far as I could tell in the opening post. Not anything big, at least.

 

[nokori3byo]

Did anyone else notice an odd little similarity Bioshock had to HL2. Ep. 1? In the Rapture Central Control area, security photographs of the player character, Jack, can be found. IIRC, an image of Gordon (and possibly also one of Alyx) be seen on a Combine data screen near the core early on in Episode 1.

I don't make much of it; I just thought it worth mentioning for some reason.

 

[Druckles]

Did anyone else notice an odd little similarity Bioshock had to HL2. Ep. 1? In the Rapture Central Control area, a security photograph of the player character, Jack, can be found. IIRC, an image of Gordon (and possibly also one of Alyx) be seen on a Combine data screen near the core early on in Episode 1.

I don't make much of it; I just thought it worth mentioning for some reason.

As I didn't notice the latter, I didn't find it worth mentioning the former

 

[Dynasty]

I thought HL2 was flawless, it was so defined, so typically Valve in the quality throughout, just outstanding.

But I have to admit, because I want a story and characters to suck me in and lose myself in the game's world, Bioshock won me over. Theres one level in Bioshock, Sander Cohen i think the guy's name was, which was hands down, THE best performance by any character ive ever come across in any game, ever.

Scenes like when you walk into the theatre and the guy's playing the piano, shouting out at him to stop; 'Just let me go you sick ***k!' *Boom*, just made me FEEL and get emotionally ATTACHED to the game.

HL2 had a great story yeah, but it wasnt original, it was simply continued from a previous game and we were turning pages in the book as it were. Bioshock started and finished, HL2 keeps going, and for that, for now, I choose Bioshock over HL2.

BUT its like comparing ice cream and pizza, both are awesome but they really shouldnt be put together. Ones an FPSRPG, the other is an FPS. You cant really compare, and its all down to what you play games for.

Story: Bioshock.
Gameplay: HL2 probably
Graphics: Probably Bioshock JUST
Innovation: HL2
Replay Value: Bioshock
Great moments: HL2

Its a mix and match really.

 

[halfgixxerbill]

I do want to chime back in that after beating Bio Shock there was some cool parts of the game that were fun and definetely worth playing but in the end HL2 is still a better game.

 

[Nibwoddle]

There's no denying Bioshock is awesome, but Half Life is better.

Now if only my sad Nintentard friend would believe me on that one.

 

[Jeron]

Ep. 2's ending was the best I've ever seen in a video game.

Yeah, the ep2 ending is in my top2.
Best ending ever for me is Hitman: Bloodmoney.