BioShock PS3 Hands On

So yeah, how about that delay? While you’d think most people who really wanted to play Bioshock would have done so by now, there are obviously enough out there who (gasp) don’t own more than one console, and therefore haven’t experienced this compelling tale of a failed utopia. So if you fall into that bracket, prepare for some thrills, frights, barrels of intrigue, and a couple of frustrations.

First thing’s first: I hate compulsory installations. I play console games so I don’t have to deal with the joys of installing programs onto my PC. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an avid PC gamer – I just like to keep things separate, and consoles are supposed to represent ease of use. I stopped bothering to time the Bioshock installation time when it got over 10 minutes. Why can’t more games be like Soul Calibur IV, which has an optional install button?

When I finally got into the game proper, I had an acute sense of déjà vu. This is because the game, so far as I could tell, is practically identical to the previous versions in almost every way. The gameplay’s obviously the same, but even the graphics hadn’t changed. This is fine – both the gameplay and graphics of Bioshock are all good with me. One thing I did notice was a bit of framerate stuttering, particularly when the view distance was large – hopefully it’s just a result of the work in progress build I had.

Trophies are included in this version, and they’re much the same as the 360 achievements. Of more importance is a new Survivor difficulty mode. Those who found the original version too easy may appreciate this one – it makes enemies much harder to kill, and you’ll need to ration your bullets and eve powers very wisely if you want to survive.

Beyond that, there really wasn’t much else to report on. If you’ve been tempted to pick this one up, by all means go ahead – despite a few flaws, Bioshock still tells an interesting story, and simply drips with atmosphere. Keep an eye out for our full review soon!