
08-21-2007, 11:15 AM
LMAO.
I just got done playing the Bioshock demo (PC), and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it ran on my machine. Considering my frame rate can drop down to 35-40 playing games based on the Unreal 2.5 engine, I wasn't expecting much more than 20 on max here. The game ran at around 55-60 frames in most circumstances, and in one section of the demo with 3-5 enemies, it dropped to 30, but there's certainly nothing wrong with that when my hardware is old.
3.0 GHz Pentium 4
ATI 1900GT
1 GHz DDR RAM
Like Gerv said, the lack of AA really doesn't get in the way. You do notice it in the screenshots, but it's not very noticeable in full motion. The graphics are certainly good, but it's a little weird trying to explain it. The actual textures on the walls, objects, etc wouldn't look very good if you were to take an object out of the game and view it separately, but in the game it works fine. The lighting is great, although not as good as say Splinter Cell (which is weird, considering that runs on Unreal 2.5). Your player doesn't cast shadows in the environment, which looks awkward when you've got an object that is reacting to the environment but then you step in front of the light and nothing happens. Would it have killed them to add that in? I know it's feasible on UE 3.0.
I think the most important thing about the graphics to note is how it really immerses you into the environment. Using the art deco style architecture is, as best as I can recall, a first-time experience for gamers, and it looks awesome. The environments really look like a high budget ride at Disney World, so the presentation is very solid. The first time you see Rapture really reminded me of some of the experiences you get at places like Disney World. If you've never been there, then you have no idea what I'm talking about, but just take my word for it: they did a very good job on the surroundings. The water effects are very good, the bloom effect isn't overly done, and there were times that the objects around you were almost photo-realistic in the way the light casts on the objects.
At the end of the demo, I was left wanting more. I wanted to see more environments, fight more enemies, see more plasmids, and get to see some of the open-ended gameplay decisions with the little girls. Some demos that I play, I play it once, then delete it permanently and I feel satisfied that I saw most, if not all of what that game had to offer. I don't feel this way in Bioshock, and that's a good thing.
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