Bioshock video on IGN

[A Black Falcon]

which is a typical hallway FPS akin to Doom.

Seriously, did you even watch that video? If so, you weren't paying much attention given how many times Levine (who is awesome, unlike your criticisms) emphasizes that this game is NOT a standard FPS, or a linear succession or cooridors, or a game with only one path through the game... it's exactly what you'd expect from Irrational and its Looking Glass heritage, of course ((listing just first-person games) Ultima Underworld, Thief, TerraNova, System Shock from LGS; System Shock 2, Tribes: Vengeance, SWAT 4, Tribes: Vengance from Irrational), but I doubt that Lazy knows much about those games...

I think it's less to do with pitting enemies against each other and more to do with figuring out how to use the different enemies to your advantage. As the video shows, not every single enemy in the game will come after you with a mindless bloodlust. So, you've got to observe the different enemies types, find out what they do, and then use that information to help you progress in the game.

Say you find a room full of those crazy knife women. Do you go in guns blazing? Try to sneak through the shadows? Cause a distraction with one of your canisters? Or lure one of the big daddies into the room by convincing him that you're one of the little sisters and then having him fight the mutants? It's more than just figuring out how to make enemies fight each other.

Exactly like System Shock 2, maybe Deus Ex, and not a lot else... :)

Comparing that to Turok of all things? Ridiculous... this is more than just getting enemies to fight eachother, as GR says. It's giving the player true choice in how they wish to play through the game. If this game is at all like System Shock or Deus Ex you can avoid a lot of fighting if you so choose, or you can fight a lot... it's all up to the player. Choice, RPG elements, they are central to these games... Comparing System Shock to Turok, of all things... :barf: (not that Turok is bad, but it's a completely different genre! Simplistic FPS vs. FPS/RPG hybrid adventure... absolutely no comparison...)

Or System Shock 2.

Or System Shock 1, actually, but yes. :) This is a continuation of one of the best and most original first-person game serieses there is... (note that I don't call it an FPS, because it's not really one, like most of Looking Glass's games... I know that SWAT 4 and Tribes are more conventional FPSes in some ways (though each is original in its own way, Tribes:Vengeance with a great, deep story and lots of open level designs and SWAT with... uh, never played it so I don't know but I'm sure there's something... :)), but this is System Shock, so it's not going to be even that conventional.

It will surely have some strong horror elements though, given that the System Shock games make a strong effort to scare the player... System Shock 2 was truly scary for a lot of people for good reasons.

I agree with you on most of those points lazy but I think you may have missed one aspect I was noticing. It may be that I just haven't played the right game yet, but the gameplay aspect I'm most interested in is the fact that everything that isn't you isn't always something you need to kill. Or, to be more accurate, it's like instead of having a bunch of "enemies" running around, you have a bunch of actual characters running around that you can interact with in a number of ways, more importantly, they aren't just standing there, or occasionally fighting each other, they all seem to have their own goals they are currently attempting to accomplish and react to your character in different ways.

At least, some of them are like that. The random psycho creature flipping out and throwing knives did not instill confidence that all the creatures were like that...

System Shock (1994, Looking Glass Studios), System Shock 2 (1999, Irrational Games/Looking Glass Studios), and Deux Ex (2000, Ion Storm/Eidos) are the main three standard-bearers of this style of game. All three are exceptional, make an effort to at least try the demos!

... hey, and I got all three of those dates right without looking them up, too... :)

It's kind of FPS/RPG, as I said. There are situations you come across, and you have to decide how to solve them... through a puzzle of some kind (like using the powers in this game, or hacking a terminal and causing a distraction, or something), through just running in shooting, or whatever, it's (usually) up to you...

imo it needs imaginative weapons; A good FPS or FPA takes each weapon type in to consideration. You have a weapon that generates alot of heat, so the enemy shot by it acts like its burning to death, sets on fire, etc. The weapon is electricity based so the enemy gets shocked and convulses. I mean here we have a game where water is everywhere, electricty would make a great dynamic such as luring enemies on to the water and then electrifying the water, or how about dip in to a little James Cameron and add a mechanic where you get a device that controls and manipulates water, making watery walls or the Abyssian water tentacle to be used as a spy to steal items. Ever seen those drills that use high pressure water cannons? They cut through solid steel, how cool would it be to have a high pressured water cannon that uses sea water to give you short bursts of laser-esque offensive capabilities that at long range pushes the enemy back and at short range can litteraly slice them up dynamically.

I found this depressing. Someone watches a BioShock video (supposedly) and all they can think about is wanting cool guns? If that's all you can think about, this isn't the right game for you, that's for sure... :(

And besides, the gun in the video is cool! Various modifications for different situations and all..