Friday, November 8, 2013

Welcome to Rapture: Shrugging it off.

Every Friday, i either jump on the phone or trade emails with a wonderfully enthusiastic model/actress who does a weekly web series. I help her write the script for her video game segment.. I had to break down the key features of the PS4 today for her upcoming show all while watching you bastards going full throttle with a flurry of posts. I've never had a harder time focusing on her script.

 First of all, welcome SoapBox! Great to have you.

ok, so you guys struck nerves with those last few posts to which i really wanted to respond.

Philosophy in that era.
I was gonna hold off on this until we were done with the game but HotFuj opened the door so i'm walking through. One of the major philosophies of this era is Objectivism, put forth by Ayn Rand and fleshed out in Atlas Shrugged (published in 1957), among other books.

Andrew Ryan, Ayn Rand. Atlas shrugged.

If any of you have read Atlas Shrugged (i recommend you do, it's one of my favorite books of all time and remains poignant even today) then it's almost impossible to ignore the parallels between it and BioShock. Here's the most popular cover art for the book without the title or byline.
(Does this style of architecture and that gold and aquamarine colorscheme feel familiar to anyone else?)

The main reason i wanted to hold off is because i don't know the outcome of BioShock's story. At least not in it's entirety. However, there's an automatic connection that you make when you realize Andrew Ryan's reasoning for creating Rapture in the first place. In Atlas Shrugged, everyone asks "Who is John Galt?" 
In the book, you find out exactly who John Galt is and apparently Ken Levine found out because there's no way John Galt isn't at least part of the inspiration for Andrew Ryan. 

For fear of spoiling Atlas Shrugged for you guys (let me know if you care) as well as not being able to fully formulate my own ideas because we're not done with BioShock, i'm putting a pin in this here. 

Moving on...

Hacking in BioShock.
I fucking LOVE this. i'm hacking machines that don't need to be hacked just because i like it so much.
$5 discount on meds when i have full health? What a deal!

There was an old iOS game called Trainyard that was developed and publicized by one dude. Came across it very early after the App Store launched (remember when you couldn't download apps on an iPhone?) and it was one of the first App Reviews i ever wrote. Still a great game.
 (There's even a colorblind mode for you, Wallaby!)

Speaking of hacking, i highly recommend hacking the flying drones in the game. Not only will they protect your back, they're a great alert system to let you know when enemies are coming and that might alleviate some of the screaming problems you guys have.

Collectibles. 
I'm a scavenger, what can i say? I love gathering little things. I'll do it in games like GTA where it's ultimately pointless but a source of pride. I'll do it in Arkham where it opens up a world of minigames. I did it in Infinite where it was incredibly well-done, shedding light on and adding depth to the story. There is nothing more infuriating than that feeling of getting two recorders and, after listening to them, realizing you've somehow skipped one. It begs the question: Is it worth going back? In BioShock, more than any other game, i'd say it is.

Rapture as a city
My god, what i'd give to play a different kind of game in it before it became a shell of its former self. Even something tame and mundane - a la Animal Crossing - would seem spectacular in the world of Rapture.

I'm not gonna go point for point with that monster list of games to play. Honestly, i think that's a conversation worth saving for when we're in between games and discussing what's next. I think the only thing i agree on there is that it should NOT be AC3. Also, at this point, why play TWoods when you can golf in GTA instead? It's damn near the same game.

I just got a package from Redmond today *wink nudge* but nothing will stop me from making it to the next checkpoint by the 15th.

Onward to Neptune's Bounty!

-joker



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