Re-Masterful

My general opinion of game remasters is that they are simply a cash grab--a clever way to re-market an older game (....in some cases, not so old) and convince people that buying the same game again will be completely worth it.  Being a teacher on a limited budget, I don't feel compelled to dish out additional money.  But the question begs to be asked...are remasters worth it?  Since I'm currently in a bit of a game hole, I decided to download and check out the remastered version of Bioshock. The nice part about this option is that it cost me $0.  If you already owned Bioshock and Bioshock 2 you received the remastered versions for free (on Steam anyway)!

I enjoy the occasional shooter but I don't spend a ton of time playing them.  Bioshock has always been one of my favorites, not necessarily for the shooter aspect, but mostly for the awesome setting and the story--utopia gone wrong. The underwater utopia that is Rapture is the perfect combination of magical and horrible.  Windows open up onto underwater vistas where whales swim by...and then you hear the crazy, high-pitched yammering of a splicer.  You can't see the genetic mutant lurking somewhere nearby, but you can definitely hear them.  In just a few seconds that sense of wonder is replaced by the creeping sensation of fear.  No other shooter has managed to make me feel so afraid of exploring a bathroom, shadows, and simply turning around (I don't really do horror games for this reason--I am a total wuss).

Fort Frolic is my favorite zone.

The remaster offers that same magical/horrible experience with new and improved graphics.  I'm no graphical expert but I didn't feel like I noticed anything groundbreakingly different.  The one thing I thought looked improved were the animations for the plasmids--your flaming left hand looks...flamier (is that even a word?).  The splicers and Rapture in general didn't seem drastically more ugly or beautiful.

There are a couple of new features that are nice for fans of the series.  As you play, you can listen to the director commentary about each zone.  If you've ever wondered about what the thinking behind a level, character, or zone, you will definitely enjoy the added insight.  There is also a video where the design of the game is discussed with Ken Levine (the head honcho).  From the start menu players can select an option to visit the "museum" which is a collection of concept art and 3-D enemy designs that didn't quite make it into the game.

One of the 3-D enemy rejects you can view in the museum.

If additional gameplay is what you're looking for, there's some of that too.  Challenge mode allows you to grapple with some unique scenarios to test your combat, puzzle solving, and plasmid wielding powers.  I decided to forgo the challenges but might go back and give them a look later on.

When viewing the Steam reviews for the remaster they are mostly negative and many cite bugs, crashing, and poor performance.  I did not have a single crash and didn't encounter any bugs.  Maybe I just got lucky, who knows.  I can't really attest to the performance piece because I don't know how to figure out how many FPS I'm getting and if things are getting shaky.  Overall I felt like the graphics looked updated and more polished but that they weren't really anything special.

Rapture has always held a special place as one of my favorite gaming environments.  It is definitely worthwhile to check out this new and improved version, but it's basically exactly the same.  If you've got a copy of the remaster sitting in your Steam library, give it a go.