Spotlight
VideoVideo: Gaming's creepiest children
The kids aren't alright (they're scaring me please help).
VideoVideo: Games that made us feel like terrible people
This waah of mine.
VideoMinecraft welcomes you to Rapture
BioShock world meticulously recreated.
Digital FoundryXbox 360 vs. PS3 Face-Off: Round 15
BioShock, Dead Space, Pure, Midnight Club, Spidey, Star Wars.
Key events
4th August 2014
28th January 2014
4th December 2012
Free BioShock 1 with BioShock Infinite PS3 is a US exclusive offer
11th September 2012
Impressive fake DayZ, Sleeping Dogs, BioShock, Secret World, Lollipop Chainsaw movie trailers
20th March 2012
Why BioShock Vita was announced before development had started
11th July 2011
4th November 2008
4th November 2008
16th October 2008
16th October 2008
16th October 2008
2nd October 2008
22nd July 2008
16th July 2008
28th May 2008
22nd May 2008
11th March 2008
29th January 2008
10th December 2007
4th December 2007
3rd December 2007
11th September 2007
16th August 2007
23rd March 2007
1st March 2007
A deep dive on BioShock's underwater city to celebrate its 10-year anniversary.
It's now 10 years since we first plunged deep into the Atlantic Ocean and were beguiled by BioShock and the submarine city of Rapture, one of the finest environments in games.
Editor's note: Jordan Erica Webber is co-author with Eurogamer contributor Daniel Griliopoulos of the weighty tome Ten Things Video Games Can Teach Us: (about life, philosophy and everything), out this month. We've asked her to write a few thoughts on video games as works of philosophy. Beware: there are spoilers for Soma, the Mass Effect and Fallout series ahead.
FeatureKen Levine's next game will be "more challenging" than BioShock
And how Ghost Story is managing expectations of its revolutionary "narrative Lego".
BioShock creator Ken Levine took the stage at EGX Rezzed in London today for a look back over his career so far, in a conversation with Eurogamer's Oli Welsh.
Digital FoundryBioShock back-compat on Xbox One: can it hit 60fps?
Original Xbox 360 code shows massive improvement on Microsoft's latest console.
Quite possibly the most impressive technological achievement in the console space last year was Xbox One backward compatibility, a virtual machine that somehow - miraculously - managed to run Xbox 360 titles on Microsoft's latest console. Progress has continued on this brilliant feature, to the point where we reckon it has a good shout in staking a claim as the most impressive console technological achievement of 2016 too. We've demonstrated time and again this year how Xbox One is now running Xbox 360 titles faster and more smoothly than original hardware - but this week's release of the BioShock trilogy highlights just how much faster it can be.
BioShock, BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinite are now backwards compatible on Xbox One.
FeatureBioShock's fascinating but inescapable failure
Beware major plot spoilers.
We're not kidding about plot spoilers. This article discusses the plot of the first BioShock game in full and right from the first line. You have been warned!
How to upgrade PC copies of BioShock, BioShock 2 on Steam
You'll need to find proof of purchase.
PC players will soon be able to upgrade their copies of BioShock and BioShock 2 - although you may need to rummage around your old PC disc cases to do so.
Live speedrun attempt interrupted by fake Windows 10 update
Would you kindly update your computer?
A speedrun of 2007 game BioShock was seemingly interrupted by a Windows 10 update during this year's Games Done Quick charity event.
Speedrunner Blood_Thunder stumbled into the now infamous blue screen update as he approached a terminal in the game at around the 33 minute mark, to the surprise of audiences watching in the room and online.
The installation was later revealed, however, to be a prank, with the cutscene edited to look like an unexpected update was taking place, before the run continued on as normal, finishing with a time of 51:54. Well played!
FeatureWatch: Aoife and Johnny return to Rapture for a Bioshock Let's Play
There's always a lighthouse.
Yeah alright, cards on the table. We couldn't find anyone in the office who hadn't played the original Bioshock. Which is hardly surprising when you're talking about a group of games journalists (incidentally, what would the collective noun for that be? A thinkpiece? A scribble? An ornery of games journos? Anyway.) The problem with that is it kind of scuppered my plans for recording a spectacularly well-timed episode of Late to the Party, to celebrate the shocking-but-not-really announcement that Bioshock: The Collection, a remastered edition of Bioshock, Bioshock 2 and Bioshock: Infinite, is heading to Xbox One, PC and PS4.
BioShock: The Collection resurfaces on 2K Games' website
Rapture springs yet another leak.
Last months rumours of a BioShock collection have resurfaced with new promotional art and screenshots briefly found on 2K Games' website.
Ken Levine, director of BioShock, is making an interactive live-action film based on The Twilight Zone.
Irrational Games hiring board hints at narrative-based open-world FPS
Cites Borderlands and Shadows of Mordor as inspirations.
BioShock developer Irrational Games has suggested its next title will be a narrative-based, open-world first-person shooter.
Apple is removing games from people's purchase history
UPDATE: Aaaand they're back... mostly.
UPDATE 09/10/2015 5.18pm: It appears that Apple has reversed its decision to remove delisted games from people's purchase history.
Humble Bundle offers up to 83 per cent off 2K games
Spec Ops: The Line is free with any purchase.
2K Games is offering huge discounts on several of its biggest hits on the Humble Store, with some titles up to 83 per cent off.
VideoVideo: Gaming's creepiest children
The kids aren't alright (they're scaring me please help).
Children are kind of useful, giving people who no longer fancy going to the pub very often something to fill their time with instead. They also ensure the continuation of the human race solely by existing, which is pretty impressive when you think about it. Apologies to any parents reading this by the way, I really am trying my best.
VideoVideo: Games that made us feel like terrible people
This waah of mine.
Video games are powerful things, capable of making us feel a whole range of emotions. Happy is one such emotion, as is all-consuming self-loathing. That's a good one too.
BioShock fans have been given another glimpse of the series' cancelled film adaptation, courtesy of new production art.
BioShock iOS is out tonight for $15
UPDATE: UK price is £10.49.
UPDATE 28/8/14 8.10am: BioShock iOS (BiOShock?) is now available here in the UK, priced £10.49.
FeatureBioShock 1 announced for iPhone and iPad
Splice to see you? Read our hands-on impressions.
The original BioShock will soon be released for iPhone and iPad, publisher 2K Games has announced.
The port will be compatible with iPad 4, iPad Mini 2 and iPad Air, plus iPhone 5, 5S and 5C. There's no word yet on a firm release date or price.
But like 2K's Grand Theft Auto re-makes, you can expect BioShock iOS (BiOShock?) to be a "premium priced" release with no added micro-transactions.
2K is teasing something BioShock related
"Come bite the apple."
BioShock publisher 2K Games appears to be teasing a new BioShock project according to an image tweeted by the publisher today.
Hear BioShock, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy music at RePlay: Symphony of Heroes
Live concert heads to London in September, EGX visitors get discount.
You'll be able to hear live performances of music from the BioShock, Halo, Castlevania and Final Fantasy series in London this year at the RePlay: Symphony of Heroes concert.
FeatureRapture leaked: The true story behind the making of BioShock
From the archives: Simon Parkin investigates the torturous making of a masterpiece.
Now that BioShock: The Collection is here, we thought it might be interesting to revisit the original game's troubled development. Enjoy!
BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode 2 trailer revealed
Includes a major returning character. Spoilers!
UPDATE #2 1.05PM The trailer is now live.
UPDATE 11.23AM We've been told that the video isn't quite ready to be made public yet so we've removed it at 2K's request - it'll be back very shortly.
ORIGINAL STORY 10.53AM Spoilers below for BioShock, BioShock Infinite and Burial at Sea Episode 1.
Hollywood's doomed BioShock movie was going to be beautiful
Concept art emerges from the deep.
There's always a girl, there's always a lighthouse, and perhaps behind one of those doors is a universe where the Hollywood's ill-fated BioShock movie was released.
BioShock: Ultimate Rapture Edition combines first two games and DLC for $29.99
Due this month in North America, but coming to the UK "at a later date."
The first two BioShock games and their DLC will be bundled together on Xbox 360 and PS3 as part of the BioShock: Ultimate Rapture Edition, due in North America on 14th January for $29.99
Levine: BioShock Vita in the hands of business people at Take-Two and Sony
Designer has a cool design for it, still very interested.
The BioShock Vita version is being hammered out by the suits at Take-Two and Sony, Ken Levine has said.
Free BioShock 1 with BioShock Infinite PS3 is a US exclusive offer
Would you kindly sort it out?
BioShock 1 is thrown in for free with BioShock Infinite on PlayStation 3 in the US only, 2K Games has confirmed.
Back in May developer Irrational Games said the PlayStation 3 version of BioShock Infinite would come with a free copy of the 2007 classic on the Infinite Blu-ray disc. At the time Irrational failed to specify that it was a US-only offer.
“I can confirm that the PS3 version of BioShock Infinite in North America contains a copy of the original BioShock," a 2K Games spokesperson told Eurogamer.
Impressive fake DayZ, Sleeping Dogs, BioShock, Secret World, Lollipop Chainsaw movie trailers
Spliced montages we recommend watching.
DayZ has been the break out phenomenon of PC gaming this year. What would it look like adapted as a film? Renowned YouTube fake movie trailer maker Bloodrunsclear has had a stab at finding out.
His fake DayZ movie trailer uses sound bites from the horrific Miami face-eating incident; Peter Gabriel's version of My Body is a Cage; and clips from numerous zombie films (and other genres) to create a rousing montage - a look at what could be.
DayZ creator Dean Hall tweeted a link to the video this morning.
Brilliant BioShock parody ditty sure is catchy
Rapture Ragtime Blues.
Musician/comedian Brent "brentalfloss" Black has created a new music video about BioShock.
How would BioShock look running in CryEngine 3?
Pure Rapture.
Few locations have captured the imagination this generation as much as Rapture, BioShock's underwater utopia-gone-wrong.
BioShock Ultimate Rapture Edition outed
BioShock 1 and 2 plus all the DLC.
The British Board of Film Classification has outed BioShock Ultimate Rapture Edition for release in the UK.
Irrational "still focusing" on BioShock movie, says Levine
"There's no such thing as 'it's finished'."
BioShock creator Irrational Games has stressed that "we're still focusing" on a film adaptation, despite the project being knocked back time and time again.
BioShock movie again "on hold" as director quits project
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo ditches film.
The BioShock movie has suffered yet another blow after its director quit the film.
Why BioShock Vita was announced before development had started
Levine: "Sony has been such a good partner to us."
Last June, Irrational Games boss Ken Levine climbed on stage during Sony's E3 presentation to reveal that his BioShock franchise is coming to Vita.
With precious little information released on the game since, last week Eurogamer asked Levine why he announced the project before development had even begun. The answer? Because he wanted to help Sony out.
"Look, generally when I announce something... like with BioShock Infinite we had a whole video to show and it was all fully-formed," he explained.
PS3 BioShock Infinite includes BioShock 1 on Blu-ray disc
PlayStation Move support double confirmed.
The PlayStation 3 version of BioShock Infinite comes with BioShock 1, Irrational Games has announced.
Ken Levine: 2011 the best year for games since 2007
"It's a year to be proud of our industry."
2011 was the best year for games since 2007, BioShock creator Ken Levine believes.
Levine: "no need" to get BioShock movie made
Has to be "a good representation of the game".
Irrational Games chief Ken Levine has poured cold water on the on again off again BioShock movie after saying he has "no need" for it to be made.
BioShock Vita is "a little different"
Ken Levine offers progress update.
The Vita installment in Irrational Games' BioShock franchise is "a little different", according to series creator Ken Levine.
Grand Theft Auto 4 ships 22 million
Did you buy or Niko copy?
Grand Theft Auto 4 has now shipped a gargantuan 22 million copies worldwide since its April 2008 release.
BioShock: Rapture book release date
Out next week.
The first book to explore the world of BioShock launches next Tuesday, 19th July.
BioShock: Rapture is by science fiction writer John Shirley, published by Titan Books and sold for £7.99.
It covers events from the creation of Rapture to a point before the first game.
Levine still hopeful for BioShock movie
But the "right pieces" must be in place.
Irrational Games boss Ken Levine hasn't given up on getting the stalled BioShock movie off the ground, but admits that getting it right presents a huge challenge.
Levine: why first-person is so engaging
"It's one less barrier to the experience."
For BioShock maker Ken Levine, the first-person perspective is the "most direct way to engage" with gamers.
Verbinksi explains BioShock movie stall
Studios wanted it to be teen-friendly.
Pre-production on the movie version of 2K's BioShock franchise has ground to a halt after no studio was found who was willing to invest in an R-rated version of the tale, the flick's producer has explained.
VideoMinecraft welcomes you to Rapture
BioShock world meticulously recreated.
BioShock world meticulously recreated.
BioShock film "still an active thing"
Levine: "Been a learning experience."
BioShock creator Ken Levine has said a movie based on the world of Rapture is still afloat, despite talks of spiralling budgets and a struggling production.
Take-Two loses out on bioshock.com
Squatter keeps hold of precious domain.
Take-Two has lost its battle to take control of the domain name bioshock.com after the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) ruled in favour of a company that basically runs a silly landing page on it.
Lionhead loves BioShock and Portal
Shining examples of storytelling.
Seminal shooters BioShock and Portal are shining examples of great videogame storytelling and character design, Lionhead audio producer Georg Backer told an audience at the Develop Conference in Brighton this afternoon.
BioShock film bill "extraordinarily high"
Verbinski cutting costs but not "integrity".
BioShock film producer Gore Verbinski has insisted the project hasn't drowned but is treading water while the team tries to reduce an "extraordinarily high" budget.
Original BioShock pitch document released
Genotypes! Cults! Multiplayer! Crab men!
Irrational Games has posted nine pages of the original BioShock pitch document on its website, revealing a game quite unlike the finished, multi-award-winning article.
BioShock Big Daddy celebrated in plush
Along with replica EVE hypo.
NECA has unveiled its Big Daddy Bouncer plush toy and replica EVE syringe ahead of BioShock 2's release next week (thanks Destructoid).
Irrational reveals cut BioShock ideas
Insects! Pressure! Living machines! Nav-Bot!
Irrational Games has explained that the enemies of BioShock weren't always sentient humans; once upon a time the inhabitants of Rapture and holders of ADAM were insects.
Pre-order BioShock 2 PC, get original free
And save 10 per cent on the asking price.
The Steam Store has begun taking pre-orders for the PC version of BioShock 2.
Levine talks scrapped Irrational game
The zombie shooter that never made it.
Irrational Games has recalled how in 2005 the developer was pitching zombies and not Big Daddies to publishers.
A history of good videogame villains.
I think it's fair to say videogames are fundamentally selfish exercises. And I mean that in a broad, all-encompassing sense: whether you're watching your gnocchi-shaped Mii squat its way into bikini season or conquering some remote alien backwater in the guise of a faceless space-bobby, the focus is on you, the player, and how absolutely amazing and sexy and important you are.
BioShock 1 due for Mac next month
Rand about time.
British Mac conversion specialist Feral Interactive has announced that it will release 2K Games' BioShock for Macs on 7th October.
BioShock leads September GOD barrage
MS lays bare the month ahead.
Microsoft has announced plans for Games on Demand, Avatar Marketplace and Deals of the Week for September.
Spanish director in BioShock talks
Film may be back on again.
Spanish film director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is in talks to direct BioShock, according to Variety.
BioShock man working on new shooter
Levine seeks serious talent to help out.
BioShock creator Ken Levine's "next big project" is "an unannounced shooter", according to a fresh batch of 2K Boston studio vacancies.
BioShock and Oblivion UK bundle dated
PC and Xbox 360 pairs.
2K has announced plans to bundle BioShock and Oblivion together on PC and Xbox 360, with both platform versions due out in Europe on 10th July.
Levine listed as author?
Science-fiction and fantasy imprint Tor, which publishes the Halo books, is to publish a BioShock novel this autumn.
Universal puts BioShock movie on hold
Might be filmed in London to save money.
Universal Pictures has placed the production of the BioShock film adaptation on hold.
LocoRoco 2 demo, BioShock rooms on PSN
Plus all the usual for NFS, GHWT, RB.
Sony has updated the PlayStation Store with a demo of LocoRoco 2, the BioShock Challenge Rooms and a host of premium downloadables for Need For Speed Undercover along with usual candidates Rock Band and Guitar Hero World Tour.
Digital FoundryXbox 360 vs. PS3 Face-Off: Round 15
BioShock, Dead Space, Pure, Midnight Club, Spidey, Star Wars.
Eurogamer's dogged, relentless coverage of the latest in cross-platform console development continues into this mammoth 15th round, where six more high-profile games are torn apart to the sounds of rage, applause and occasional reasoned debate from the internet assembled.
Of course, you all know the deal by now. Key to our quest is mastery of the video outputs of the respective consoles. Zero-compromise 24-bit full-range RGB captures from the HDMI ports of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 allow us to produce the best comparison screen grabs, while Eurogamer's h264-equipped video player means the best in streaming video (make sure you have that 'high quality' feature enabled). And if all that isn't good enough, the high-def captures in all their 720p 60FPS majesty can be downloaded for playback on fast PCs, Xbox 360 or PS3 via the author's blog where similar content for the technically obsessed can also be found. [Enough plugs. - Ed]
In terms of releases covered this time around, we've centred on a collection of the most recent, interesting or controversial titles:
Face-Off Extra: BioShock frame analysis
100 like-for-like frames compared.
Eurogamer's Face-Off king Rich Leadbetter likes to do things properly, which means going to unbelievable lengths in his research, sometimes just for the sake of a couple of sentences. So when he asked if we could put up the results of his BioShock frame-rate analysis - 100 like-for-like frames compared - we couldn't bear to deny him. Check out Xbox 360 vs. PlayStation 3 Face-Off: Round 15 to see where all this fits in. Over to Rich:
Xbox 360
To carry out these tests, the same video was captured from both versions of the game and then trimmed to be 100% frame accurate; the same action, the same amount of frames. HDMI capture at full 24-bit RGB precision with lossless compression ensures a digitally accurate capture. The frame rate detector tool then compares each frame with the next. A 0.0000% reading indicates a duplicate frame.
BioShock Challenge Rooms priced
One PS3 package for six quid.
2K Games has said that the downloadable Challenge Rooms for BioShock PS3 will cost GBP 6.29.
Room service.
Whatever you think of BioShock - and we're fans, as you may have gathered from our 10/10 BioShock PS3 review a few weeks ago - the prospect of Portal-style canned challenges designed to take advantage of the game's genetic powers and guns is a new and interesting proposition. BioShock encouraged, but seldom commanded players to combine their abilities, but the PS3's Challenge Rooms - due out on 20th November - use their discretion as a licence to impose the kinds of restrictions players would never have tolerated in the campaign, but which make perfect sense removed to one-shot levels built around speed and MacGuyver-style ingenuity.
Would you downloadly?
Would you downloadly?
UK chart: PES dispenses with FIFA
Saints Row 2 features. Top 40 inside.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 has burst into the UK All-Formats Chart at number one this week, shoulder-charging genre rival FIFA 09 down to number two.
BioShock Challenge Rooms dated
Downloadable extras in a month's time.
2K has announced that the fabled BioShock PS3 downloadable Challenge Rooms will be released worldwide on 20th November.
Very first BioShock 2 trailer shown
Game subtitled Sea of Dreams.
The very first teaser trailer for BioShock 2 has been shown.
The footage is unlocked after completing BioShock on PS3, and shows a 9 or 10 year-old girl (presumably a Little Sister) standing on the Atlantic Coast peering out into the ocean.
A cuddly Big Daddy toy dangles from her hand as the camera zooms out to show a cityscape bursting from the sand behind her.
BioShock PS3 to get post-launch patch
2K addressing your concerns.
2K Marin is to address niggles in the PS3 version of BioShock with a new patch.
It'll be released sometime after the game launches on 24th October, according to the official forum.
An entire fix list will have to wait, but we're told the Big Daddy and Elite Bouncer texture issues have been fixed, as have the white or discoloured bars appearing during the opening plane crash sequence.
How deep is your love?
It feels a bit strange to be reviewing BioShock almost exactly a year since everyone was last talking about it. Even before it launched on the 360 and PC, it was one of the most widely and thoroughly dissected games of 2007. Riding the hype and backlash seesaw like few games before or since, it attracted reams of praise, (fevered) debate, and impassioned defence along the way.
In other words, so much has been said and written about BioShock that I fear there's little I can say about the long awaited PS3 version that won't taste like refried beans. But then, having been reunited with Rapture, BioShock is a game still magnificently capable of inspiring torrents of thoughts and ideas.
There's the story, one of the most highly lauded in recent gaming history, but then most of the things I'd want to discuss are precisely the sort of things that patient PS3 gamers probably won't want spoiled. I know I'd have been really annoyed if I'd learned that your character is actually a sexy female cyborg with Hitler's brain right before I started playing last year. Oops.
BioShock, PES demos head PSN update
Plus: GEON, FIFA 09 Live Season packs.
BioShock and Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 demos lead a meaty PSN update this week.
They're followed by PSN game GEON, which costs GBP 4.99 and received 6/10 on Xbox Live Arcade last September.
Those FIFA 09 Adidas Live Season subscription packs are also available, either at GBP 4.99 for one league, or GBP 12.99 for all seven. The idea is that EA watches real matches to determine player performance and then allows you to download updates that replicate this in FIFA 09's exhibition matches, ranked online and Interactive League games. Don't get in a huff about the cost though - you get one free sub with the game.
BioShock PS3 demo in early October
Little Sisters are doing it for themselves.
2K Games will be offering a PS3 demo of BioShock on 2nd October around the world.
We take the PS3 down into Rapture for the first time.
Is BioShock on PS3 the first example of a developer showing off the downloadable content before we get to see the game? The PS3 version's Challenge Rooms - announced and demonstrated to the press at E3 in July - were our first chance to see 2K's blockbusting underwater mind-bender in action on Sony hardware. The Ferris Wheel level, where players have to rescue a Little Sister by picking through the crumbling environment for electricity to transfer to a control panel, is a neat example of what 2K hopes to do to extend the game's appeal once the credits have rolled, but, shorn of the arguably vital context of the single-player game, it's a peculiar introduction. The assumption was that everyone has played BioShock.
Impossible to build anywhere else.
Impossible to build anywhere else.
With the sweat of your brow.
With the sweat of your brow.
Underwater so nobody sees.
The PS3 version of BioShock will be out in Europe on 24th October, which is the same day as Fable II and also my birthday. [If you get to it. - Ed]
Ken Levine, Bill Gardner and Chris Kline on narrative, creativity, controversy.
Gamers have a strange, and in ways very English, attitude to success - a cautious, suspicious response that says that it's okay to be successful, as long as you pretend you're not and keep your mouth shut. Talk about how you made your game, what you learned from it or why you think it did well, and the internet will rise up swiftly to accuse you of having a God complex and believing that the sun shines out of your own backside like a perverse, fleshy torch.
BioShock PS3 survivor mode unveiled
Every fight to be "a life-or-death struggle".
2K Marin has revealed new details of survivor, one of many additional pieces of content to arrive with BioShock PS3 this October.
BioShock rescued shooters, says Levine
"These games had never made any money."
2K's Ken Levine has told Eurogamer he reckons BioShock has rescued the shooter genre by opening up a brand new market.
Levine warns against early focus testing
Claims BioShock would have flopped.
2K Boston creative boss Ken Levine has warned developers of the dangers of focus-testing games too early - saying that nobody would have wanted to play Bioshock if the idea had been focus-tested years before release.
Moral choices came late to BioShock
Little Sisters not in original plan.
Ken Levine has revealed that the moral choice behind harvesting or saving the Little Sisters in BioShock was a relatively late addition to the game.
Levine: extra development time helped to make BioShock a success
Praises Take-Two for "leap of faith".
Take-Two's faith in BioShock meant 2K Boston and 2K Australia had "the luxury of getting to bump into a lot of things", the game's makers have told an audience at the Develop conference.
A season for all things.
2008 may be "the year of PlayStation" in Jack Tretton's E3 phrase, but for some PS3 owners "the year of PlayStation" might as well be the time it takes multiformat games to arrive on Sony's flagship console. But before you lynch us for saying so, we're well aware that patient PS3 owners have found the gap can work in their favour - the spit and polish-filled hydraulics of time elevating competent games to a more accomplished level - and with the standard set by the likes of Overlord: Raising Hell, developers are keen to present their overdue PS3 conversions as special editions with all sorts of extras.
2K details BioShock PS3 Trophies
From bronze to platinum.
2K Marin has explained how you'll be able to collect a few of the Trophies in the PS3 version of BioShock.
These range from bronze to platinum, according to producer Alyssa Finley on the US PlayStation blog, and are designed to entice you into exploring Rapture.
Bronze rewards will be dished out for researching, modifying weapons, hacking and crafting, with each skill apparently "loaded" with awards. You could find yourself up to "your armpits in prizes", said Finley.
BioShock PS3 gets exclusive DLC
"Challenge Rooms" recall Portal.
At its E3 press conference, publisher 2K Games announced that the PS3 version of BioShock will get exclusive downloadable content in the form of Challenge Rooms.
Created by a small team at original developers 2K Boston, Challenge Rooms will encourage players to delve deeper into the game's unique toolset, using their plasmids to solve a more puzzle-oriented challenge.
Sounds something like Valve's brilliant Portal to us, and a very intriguing prospect. We'll call by 2K's suite at E3 to find out more.
Digital Extremes onboard for BioShock PS3
Would you Adam and Eve it?
2K Games has announced that veteran developer Digital Extremes will be helping to bring BioShock to PS3.
"Messing up" was crucial - BioShock dev
"BioShock should've failed."
BioShock lead programmer Chris Kline has said that "constantly messing up, and pushing dates" is "the only way to make a good game".
Does it look any different to you?
Does it look any different to you?
2K Games confirms Bioshock PS3
About a week after everyone else.
You probably thought that the existence of Bioshock for the PS3 was confirmed when we ran our somewhat unambiguously headlined piece, "Bioshock confirmed for PS3" - well, so did we, but 2K Games is publishing it, so we'll forgive it for wanting to get in on the confirming action.
In a release that's hot off the presses and burning our fingers, 2K Games says that a PS3 version is in development, and will be out in October 2008. Rather more helpfully, the firm also confirms something we've been wondering about - namely that the PS3 edition will be "enhanced", with new content and features added to it.
No details have appeared as yet of what that new content might involve, although in the EGM story which broke the existence of the PS3 version, it was fairly strongly hinted that the graphics, at least, would be pretty much the same as the 360 version.
Out this Christmas.
BioShock is on its way to PlayStation 3 after all.
Although 2K's press office was unable to comment this afternoon, PSM and Electronic Gaming Monthly both have cover stories on the game in their next issues.
Not many details are being shared online, although EGM does point out that there are "some potential graphical improvements" and that it will be out for the "2008 holiday season".
Pirates OTC director taking charge.
Universal Studios has announced plans to bring hit Xbox 360 shooter BioShock to the big screen.
2K Marin job adverts suggest so.
2K Marin may be developing BioShock 2 for PlayStation 3 as well as PC and Xbox 360.
Levine picks his top five games
Admits to WOW "secret shame".
BioShock creator Ken Levine has revealed his top five games of all time, admitting he spends rather too much time playing one of them: World of Warcraft.
BioShock film and MMOG possible
Take-Two looking at Civ opportunities, too.
Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick has said MMOGs based on Civilization and BioShock are "potential opportunities".
Due out late 2009.
Take Two has announced that BioShock 2 will be released in fiscal Q4 2009. The publisher's financial year is two months ahead of the calendar year, so that means we'll see the game somewhere in the August-October 2009 period.
Interestingly, Take Two hasn't set Ken Levine's 2K Boston (formerly Irrational Games) to work on this one, preferring recently-formed studio 2K Marin, based in Novato, California, for what's inevitably going to be among the most highly anticipated sequels of 2009.
(Update: However, the company said during a subsequent conference call that Levine would be involved in the game's production: "He will be working on Bioshock 2 and he will be working on a new IP.")
No BioShock without Rockstar - Levine
And casual gaming's a "nice gateway drug".
2K Boston's Ken Levine says that BioShock would not exist were it not for the work done and money made by Rockstar Games.
Portal wins GDC Game of the Year
BioShock bags multiple honours, too.
Portal has scooped Game of the Year at the eighth Game Developers Choice Awards in San Francisco.
Levine admits faults with BioShock story
Advocates "really f***ing stupid" plots.
Ken Levine, creative director on BioShock, has said he believes the gameplay in the third act is some of the strongest in the entire game - but that the storyline peaked too soon.
Levine says devs must amaze people
Talks about BioShock mistakes.
Speaking as part of an impromptu panel at the DICE Summit 2008, BioShock creative director Ken Levine sought to remind developers what they were really meant to be doing, GamesIndustry.biz reports.
As BioShock takes the most awards.
Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was selected as 2007's Game of the Year at the 11th annual Interactive Achievement Awards, GamesIndustry.biz reports.
Halo 3 Heroic Map Pack, BioShock, Phantasy Star, Stranglehold, Guitar Hero, more.
Every now and then, someone pops out of the woodwork to complain that the games industry isn't innovative any more. This is clearly nonsense. Certainly, publishers might have an ongoing love affair with barely distinguishable sequels and a herd mentality that makes sheep look strong-willed, but consider this - year after year, the industry invents new and previously unheard-of ways to make you part with your cash. If that's not innovation, what is?
Download Content (DLC) is a new arrival in the exciting field of wallet-stripping, and the Xbox 360 is on the vanguard. Many Xbox 360 games have content available for download sometime after launch, allowing you to hand over a few measly Microsoft points for access to new maps, models, missions and the likes. It's a great idea in theory, obviously - who doesn't want to extend the life of their favourite game a bit? In practice, though, there's some suspicion about it. Nobody wants to find themselves paying extra money for content that should have been in the game in the first place.
Hence these DLC roundup features, where we'll be looking at the bits and bobs that have made their way onto Xbox Live - and, soon, PSN - in the past few months, and checking out what's worth whipping your card out for, and what deserves to sit, dusty and unloved, in the digital dustbins out the back of the Marketplace.
BioShock receives 12 AIAS nominations
No Slitherlink, absurdly.
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced the nominees for its 11th annual Interactive Achievement Awards, with BioShock receiving a record 12 nominations including Overall Game of the Year.
BioShock team recruiting for PS3
Feign surprise.
2K Boston, or Irrational Games as it used to be called, wants people who know how to make things for PS3. And PS2, and GameCube, and Xbox, and Wii.
BioShock and others celebrated.
2K Australia has more awards for its display cabinet, as BioShock has been named game of the year in the Spike TV Video Game Awards, which took place in Las Vegas yesterday, GamesIndustry.biz reports.
The title also won best Xbox 360 game and best score in the ceremony, adding to a host of awards - including best game - which it won at this year's BAFTA Video Games Awards.
Harmonix was named as best studio for its work on Rock Band, which was a also given the award for best rhythm game.
Would you kindly quit your whining?
A backlash was inevitable.
New plasmids/tonics, many fixes.
The promised BioShock patch for both Xbox 360 and PC has landed along with free downloadable content consisting of new plasmids, gene tonics and - in the case of 360 owners - an additional unlockable Achievement worth 100 gamerpoints.
The latter is rewarded for beating the game on Hard without resurrecting once at a Vita Chamber. You are permitted to reload using an earlier save-game file, just not to resurrect. A new "Disable Vita Chamber" option is also included for added difficulty, but it doesn't need to be toggled on to unlock the above Achievement - the game will know whether you've resurrected or not.
The new plasmids and gene tonics, meanwhile, are Sonic Boom, Sonic Boom 2, Eve Saver, Machine Buster, Machine Buster 2, Vending Expert, Vending Expert 2, and all are available on both formats as part of the downloadable update.
The DLC cometh, Sander baby.
BioShock will be patched on both PC and Xbox 360 this week, according to the game's official website, and players of both can also look forward to free downloadable content.
"Both the BioShock PC Patch and the 360 Title Update will be available next week," web admin Elizabeth Tobey wrote on Friday.
"In addition to these fixes, we will be releasing downloadable content free on both Xbox Live and for the PC, with the DLC bundled into the PC Patch.
FeaturePC: 12 Games of Christmas
Oh look, mistletoe!
Stop clowning around; it really is bastardly cold out there. Still, it's good for one thing: keeping my PC from overheating. All I have to do is wrap up warm and open my window, then pop in one of these festively fantastic frolics and laugh away merrily - probably with a vat of mulled wine close-by to ensure I am well and truly smashed. I'm only giving it serious consideration because there are some games worth seriously considering.
FeatureXbox 360: 12 Games of Christmas
Play these with mince wine.
It is now dark when we walk home and birds are either dropping out of trees in frozen lumps or going somewhere much nicer for their holidays. And, as always happens, the shops are hoisting their Christmas decorations up and getting us all worried about buying presents because we never know what they want is it socks or aftershave. So, we thought we would join in.
Also intrigued by Sony's LBP.
If you've ever wondered what Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime makes of the competition, an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle has the answer: he likes the look of LittleBigPlanet, reckons the Halo trilogy is indispensable and thought BioShock was "tremendously well done".
Wants to add replay value.
Ken Levine has been dropping hints about the direction 2K Boston might take with BioShock's downloadable content.
Although he doesn't like bees.
Gears of War designer Cliff Bleszinski says BioShock is "hands down" his game of the year, and that the game's big plot twist is his "top moment in gaming history, bar none".
Zelnick hints at BioShock sequel
Demo breaks Live record.
2K Games bigwig Strauss Zelnick has said that the two-year release cycle employed for the Grand Theft Auto series could be used for future BioShock titles, GamesIndustry.biz reports.
His comments were made in a recent chit-chat with investors, where he boasted about the 1.5 million sales of the title so far, before suggesting it could become "one of the fastest-selling games in history".
Kriss Akabusi and Cheryl Baker were also on hand to award the game with a record for producing the most sought-after demo on Xbox Live so far - over one million
Behavioural stabilisers.
Irrational Games has released a little update on Xbox Live for its watery masterpiece BioShock.
Unconfirmed for now.
Genetically enhanced publisher 2K Games has declined to confirm or deny the rumours surrounding downloadable content for BioShock.
Tiger chasing.
BioShock has battled off hot competition from Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 to remain top of the UK all formats chart for a second week running, GamesIndustry.biz reports.
Take control and evolve yourself.
If you were one of the thousands who heeded Kristan's wise words and bought a copy of BioShock on release, rocketing the game to the top of the all-format charts in the process, then you've probably already experienced the wonders of Rapture and are currently playing through again on a higher difficulty. If so then this guide to every Plasmids and Gene Tonic in the game - where to find them and what they do - was written with your good self in mind. If not, be warned - there be big spoilers ahead.
Plasmid-do!
According to the Chart Track all-formats chart for the week ending August 25, 2K's Bioshock is number one in sales, GamesIndustry.biz reports.
Crysis, BioShock, PES 2008.
The winners of the Best in Show awards from this year's Games Convention in Leipzig have been announced, GamesIndustry.biz reports, with Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 taking two awards for Best PlayStation 2 game and Best PlayStation 3 game.
Plus: music released, no PS3 ver.
Irrational Games' Ken Levine has responded to concerns about the PC version of BioShock and squashed speculation that a PS3 version is in the offing. (Bad news for Sony Defense Force.)
GC: Unreal Engine 3 games do not all look the same - Rein
BioShock != Gears.
Mark Rein says that if Unreal Engine 3 games look alike then it's probably just because the art directors share similar ideals.
New drivers mark occasion.
2K Games has finally trimmed its fantastic new game BioShock into a syringe-sized taster for PC, weighing in at a considerable 1.88GB.
Levine explains Little Sister behaviour
On new blog by EG chums.
Irrational Games' Ken Levine has been explaining why you can't just bump off Little Sisters - the vulnerable children who collect Plasmid-enabling Adam in BioShock - in regular combat. Happily, he does this in an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, which gives us just the excuse we want to link new blog Rock Paper Shotgun, put together by Eurogamer contributes John Walker, Kieron Gillen, Alec Meer and Jim Rossignol. Rock Paper Shotgun. Sneaky, eh? Rock Paper Shotgun.
Set clocks for midnight.
2K Games has announced that the PC demo for BioShock will be released tonight at midnight.
Cue rapturous applause.
Promise is possibly the most powerful weapon in videogames. The promise and possibilities that a title like BioShock dangles tantalisingly in front of us keeps us all hanging on in there, keeps us believing, keeps us pre-ordering. Even when the shelves are awash with me-too pap, cheap knock-off licensed fodder and hyped sequels, a title like this stands out like a beacon of hope amid a sea of mediocrity. No pressure.
But we all know from long experience that promise can be a bitter curse - one destined to magnify any minor disappointments when we finally get the game out of the cellophane and fire it up. A game is never as good as its hype, or so history seems to rub in our face over and over again. Some of us even try our best to avoid getting caught up in the hype bubble, so that, for once, we can actually be pleasantly surprised about how good something is without having it rammed down our throats by hysterical marketing and frothing commentators. Believe me, even as a reviewer - especially as a reviewer - you're always on your guard when it comes to the Next Big Thing. Disappointment comes practically gift wrapped for your displeasure.
So to have any shred of doubt surrounding BioShock comprehensively swept away within the first ten minutes, well, you feel like dancing. You want to tell people about this game who you know won't even care, just because it makes you so giddy inside. Before we get into the nitty gritty, here's the deal: Bioshock doesn't just meet your expectations, but completely redefines them forever in ways you never even expected - in ways that games used to in the past, routinely. The hours spent playing this masterpiece were the perfect encapsulation of why videogaming is such a favourite waste of time for so many of us. Thrilling, terrifying, moving, confusing, amusing, compelling, and very very dark. BioShock isn't simply the sign of gaming realising its true cinematic potential, but one where a game straddles so many entertainment art forms so expertly that it's the best demonstration yet how flexible this medium can be. It's no longer just another shooter wrapped up in a pretty game engine, but a story that exists and unfolds inside the most convincing and elaborate and artistic game world ever conceived. It just so happens to require you to move the narrative along with your own carefully and personally defined actions. Active entertainment versus passive: I know which I prefer.
PC version this month.
2K Games has released a demo of BioShock on Xbox Live, and has said a PC version will follow later this month.
Feature360: 2007's Most Wanted
What will you be getting for Christmas?
A Most Wanted list you say? Cripes, whatever next: a Tips and Cheats pamphlet to go with Eurogamer's promotional Pacman Beach Ball cover mount? Still, it's the summer, there are precious few games around and, with an awful lot of new titles coming up towards the end of the year you might quite reasonably want to know which ones to keep an eye on.
Harvest soon.
"How can you do this to a child?!"
Ken Levine, that is. You won't Adam and Eve it.
Ken Levine is buzzing. He's just spent the past two hours watching a group of journalists take control of BioShock for the very first time. And this is a game where taking control becomes a more profound, complex process than simply guiding a character through its world.
2K details contents.
2K Games told Eurogamer this morning that the BioShock's Limited Edition version has yet to be confirmed for Europe. Tsk.
Petition forces 2K's hand.
Earlier this week the official BioShock site promised us a limited edition of the game if more than 5,000 of you signed a petition.
Rapturous.
We might spend a lot of time talking about new PlayStations and Slitherlinks and all that, but we're usually dreaming of BioShock when we do - and we're not just saying that because 2K Games has given us this rather handsome exclusive trailer to show off.
BioShock is due out on 24th August on PC and Xbox 360, and we're pretty keen on it. Irrational Games embosses this view in greater faith whenever we talk to them, like we did recently when Ken Levine answered some of our questions.
But you'll know why that is if you've been keeping up with it, so why don't we just stop talking and send you off to look at the trailer? You've probably gone already. If not, you could also click on this link to our BioShock first impressions. We wouldn't blame you if you didn't though. It's 5.30pm and we've pretty much checked out. I'm basically just picking at the label of a bottle of Casillero del Diablo I bought at Sainsbury's. It's a good gig if you can get it.
Ken Levine talks to us about BioShock.
It's surprising to us that we're not Ken Levine's girlfriend. Not just because we're hot, obviously, but also because we share his love of good ideas that have fallen apart. Then again, there's an obvious reason we'd never work together: for him, it's the worlds of Orwell's 1984, and Logan's Run; for us, it's the worlds of games like System Shock 2 and Freedom Force. In other words, we'd only be sleeping with him for his work.
Vista will help gaming "grow up" - Ken Levine
And he's not on about graphics.
Being able to use DirectX 10 might sound like most obvious benefit of developing for Windows Vista, but BioShock lead designer Ken Levine has a different take on what makes the operating system so important to gamers and the industry at large.
In shops 24th August.
2K has slammed its fist on the table this afternoon and confirmed to Eurogamer that BioShock will be sitting on European shelves on 24th August.
"We've now had clarification that the new UK release date for BioShock will be 24th August," a spokesperson for the publisher whispered into our digital ear.
It confirms earlier news that the game would be available in August, although Americans will get the game on Tuesday and we'll have to wait until Friday.
360 monster heads for August.
Those of you eagerly awaiting to explore the underwater world of BioShock now have a date to look forward to, according to 2K's The Cult of Rapture website, which has announced it will be available on 21st August.
Potentially in Europe too.
2K Games aims to release Bioshock in the US and Europe this June, although the US date is more certain than the European one, inevitably.
Swearing and everything!
Irrational Games boss Ken Levine has revealed that one of the reasons there was no System Shock 3 is that "EA just didn't give a s*** about that game".
Rapturous.
If you were one of the 60,000 frazzled souls that traipsed around the vast halls of E3 last week, you might wonder why you never stumbled across Bioshock on your extensive travels. If you've checked any of the coverage of Irrational's spiritual successor to System Shock 2, just about everyone is excitedly screaming 'Game of the Show' in the faces of anyone who'll listen.
