To be fair to everyone please use spoilers accordingly!

For me personally, the first game came from nowhere. I was not up on the world of video game media to any extent, let alone where I am now, and was casually logging onto my Xbox360 one afternoon to find a new release in the demo section named Bioshock. Figuring the concept sounded awesome, I jumped right in, and from the moment I set foot in Rapture, I was anticipating the games full release. Luckily, It wasn't long at all, and I was able to enjoy Rapture for what it truly was, a masterpiece of a video game world, filled with not only exploration potential, but reason to truly want to explore. Never in another game have i encountered a character I found truly fascinating to the point I still think back on them, and that game was FULL of them.

Share! =D

Eventually playing the original a dozen or so times, It now sits atop my list of favorite games of all time. Without question, even though the world is going to be explored in such magnificent new ways, I am equally if not more excited to enter Columbia.

I'm playing through both games again in anticipation for Infinite, and it's stunning how they both still manage to suck me in. Normally at this point, four playthroughs in, I'd be zipping past the setpieces and audio logs, but it feels almost criminal to do that in Bioshock. I still find myself exploring every inch of each room, still finding little secrets for the first time.

One thing, though: I've grown to HATE the hacking minigame, haha.

I played the first BioShock game last year for the first time. I got though a portion of it at the very start of the year and couldn't get into it. Then I started all over again in the summer lull and found it pretty great. The setting was absolutely beautiful as was the atmosphere and story. The only thing I didn't care for was the repetitive combat. By the time I got to the end of the game I found myself just shotgunning the turrets rather then hacking them because I was over that damn minigame. The enemies also started to feel like more of the same.

I found it similar to Alan Wake, where by the end of it the story was pushing me through the sameness of the combat.

It was my first game of that style (System Shock, Deus Ex, etc.), and I have really fond memories of it. I still haven't played it again since then, but I just picked it up during that XBL sale. Maybe a replay is in order...?

Exactly my experience with the first game and strangely, having just started Bioshock 2, I am having the same feelings. I love the story and atmosphere but the combat just feels unsatisfying and it's putting me off playing it. I'm curious to see how this evolves in Infinite.

this is probably going to get moved :\

also i'm practically salivating for the game right now. i must've watched the beast of america trailer like 50 times now. :\

i'm going to try to play it in a vacuum. i think what alex said about it not being revolutionary is a bit harsh; i'm about 90% convinced/hoping that it's going to be a deliciously refined gameplay and story experience. it may lean heavily on classic gameplay elements but it's going to put a compelling spin on them.

e: i'm also playing through the first as i got pretty far in it but never beat it (got to the point with the crazy guy/theater/"sculptures"). hoping to beat it before infinite is released. i already know what happens from my friend but i'd still like to experience it for myself.

@ripelivejam: Out of curiosity, what made you stop? That was one of my favorite parts (after Steinman, that is).

lack of dedication i suppose. i really have no excuse. considering my backlog i should really start finishing more games. last one i "finished" was the walking dead (lol).

e: i do remember a bit of tedium setting in at that point, but it's my fault that i didn't stick with it. apparently i wasn't that far from the big reveal. again i have no excuse.

The original Bioshock was outstanding, even for all it's niggling issues. Hell, even Bioshock 2 was a blast simply because combat felt better and it allowed me to explore the world of Rapture a little more.

Tried to play the first Bioshock and honestly didn't like the gameplay, so I never got passed like the first couple hours. The story didn't hook me enough to put up with it either. That was well after it's release though (sometime in 2011 I think), so maybe me knowing just about everything with regards the story by being so into the video game community, and the aged gameplay mechanics negatively impacted my experience.

It's weird though, 'cus I think Infinite looks pretty awesome, and really looking forward to see how everyone receives it.

Heh, I hear ya. I can't finish a game for the life of me these days, regardless of quality or free time. I feel shame every time I look at my desktop icons.

Really like me some Bioshock. Was great stuff. That being said...I don't have any confidence in Infinite being anything I care about.

Haven't played the first one in about 5 years, really love the game....infinite doesn't impress me in any way that I have seen

I remember the combat being a pain in the ass near the end.

1 started to bore me halfway through, tedious combat and minigames. I thought 2 was way better, mostly because of the superior combat.

From what I have seen of Infinite I think it's going to feel like more BioShock which I really don't want. I mean that in terms of the combat, if it's still going to feel like BioShock 1 or 2 then no thank you. I mean even the combat in 2 still felt a bit dated, but being able to dual wield a power + weapon made it infinitely (...) more enjoyable than 1.

Amazingly atmospheric intro on the first game and the second game started off quite well too if I remember right.

BioShock is a terrific game, with a terrific story, and one of the best settings in video game history.

BioShock 2 is, in my opinion, pretty terrible. The combat was improved, yes, but the story was dull and uninspired, and the level design and environments (save for the amusement-park thing, and the Little Sister bit) were ultra-boring. I really kind of hate the sequel.

Infinite looks good, though.

Bioshock was overrated. It's a pale imitation of System Shock.

I played Bioshock without really knowing much about the game aside from the stuff I had seen in trailers. It's the first game in a long time (the other probably being SotC) that had me believe the world and everything going in on it. The twist blew me away and it was a great experience.

Bioshock 2 didn't have the same wonder as the original, but it was still good and the combat was a lot better.

I can't believe we are this close to release. I have probably only watched one trailer for the game since it was announced, and the gameplay I have seen has been very sparse, so I am almost going into it without knowing what I should expect. I can't remember the last time I was anticipating a game this much.</p><p>loved the first back when it came out, both for what it did wonderfully and what it tried to do. Never played 2, but I have it installed on my PS3. I just haven't been super interested in trying it out, though I am sort of interested in seeing how much they improved the gameplay.</p>

I got all the way up to the part where the

then I just stopped playing. I liked the game a lot but I don't really want to go back to that since it's been so long. I did try to replay it on PC twice but just can't really get into it.

Looking forward to Infinite though. It's going to look beautiful on PC and the zip line stuff looks awesome.

I will finish my playthrough of Bioshock 2 on PS3 soon, this will be my 7th time beating Bioshock 2. I can't wait for Infinite, I hope there's more replay value in it than previous titles.

Bioshock 1/2 were both incredibly shallow games when compared to System Shock 2. I remember having a sinking feeling that started about 30 minutes into Bioshock when I realised that it was just a dressed up FPS. Everything I've seen so far makes me think that the next game will be more of the same.

I played Bioshock back when it first came out on 360 and I really enjoyed it for its atmosphere. I haven't touched Bioshock 2 however as I did't really care for the premise and I'm looking forward to Infinite for what looks to be a strong character driven game.

I'm putting a lot of faith in 1999 mode for Infinite...sucks that you have to beat the game to unlock it from what I've read however. Supposed to make the game closer to SS2 in terms of difficulty.

I read these comments and think "did we play the same game?". I was a little lttp with Bioshock, playing it in about 2009 or so. I was kicking myself for waiting so long. The game world and characters has a level of detail and polish that few games even aspire to achieve, and even fewer actually reach. Rapture had this underwater dystopian art deco atmosphere that I loved. The audiologs with their historically accurate scratchiness and superb voice acting and well-written dialog were a really awesome way to give depth to the backstory of Rapture. Of all the criticisms of Bioshock, calling it shallow seems a bit ridiculous. I remember really liking the combat at the time. Having your plasmids on one hand and your gun on the other seemed novel to me. I also really liked the gun design, where as you leveled it up it changed appearance, the shock-gun in particular. They all have that old-timey steampunk vibe to them which was cool. I should play it again leading up to Infinite to see how fps have matured in the past 5 years. I suspect I would enjoy it just as much.

The last 20% of the game after you leave Fort Frolic and the end boss are a bit underwhelming, I'll give you that.

I liked Bioshock 2 more than the first one. I know that seems like blasphemy to a lot of people, but allow me to explain my reasoning:

Bioshock was a game that was about taking a relatively linear path in order to see set pieces, listen to audio diaries, and fight bad guys in order to get a twist ending and some pictures afterwards based on the choices you made when harvesting/saving the Little Sisters.

Bioshock 2 did a lot more to explore the purposes of that world overall in the same type of linear path, set pieces, and audio diaries. The combat was far more varied and interesting to me. However, the big part that really mattered to me was the last few hours. In the first game, you make choices and see some pictures. In Bioshock 2, you actually watch these choices play out on how they affected a person's life. You see the good or evil you have created because of the choices you made. That was far more affecting to me as a player than a twist ending and some pictures later on. It felt more tailored to my decisions (even though it really ISN'T, as there's only like three of four overall sequences that can play out).

Moreover, I found Sophia Lamb to be a pretty interesting antagonist from a political perspective, and all the stuff where her and Ryan go back and forth about political ideologies was captivating.

So I don't know. I love the first game, but I really REALLY love the second one.

I plan on playing through both of the games relatively soon (I have a week's vacation at the end of the month, so within that time frame) before I play through Bioshock Infinite, just to get me the mood as well as refresh me on everything that happened in those games.

@mysteriousfawx: For me it's not the difficulty that's the problem, it's the gameplay. In System Shock there were frequently multiple solutions to a puzzle, there was much more exploration and the pacing of the game was slower. Bioshock was linear and had the pacing of a shooter. Bumping the difficulty isn't going to fix that. If anything, Bioshock was too hard and relied on you respawning in the vita chambers. Having no consequence for death made Bioshock boring. You couldn't fail, it was just how much of your time the game was going to waste before it let you see the story.

I thought this was going to be more about System Shock 1 and System Shock 2. :/ I guess my reflection is that people think Bioshock is the first one....

@eskimo: So far 1999 mode was stated to include a cost to respawn, picking a path for your character (think Psi, Navy, Marines) and more emphasis on resource management which I'm assuming will include hacking to some degree.

Problem is that even if you add a cost to respawning, unless you limit saves people can still just reload instead of paying the fee... really hoping they don't fuck it up.

@mysteriousfawx: oooh, I did not know what.

/strokes beard

interesting.....

Better