@ 05/08/2007 – 04:19:09 pm
I am happy to announce that Rapture Gazette is constantly growing, making it one of the biggest Bioshock related websites on the internet.
Visitors and page views have tripled in each of the last months. Rapture Gazette is also ranked at place 25 of the most recommended blogs by its host community blog.de.
To make the blog more accessable, a new domain was registered. Be sure to find this blog at www.rapturegazette.com now and update your bookmarks.
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:18:40 pm
The German USK ("Entertainment Software Self-Control") is indeed a nice tool to unmask secret information. Silently, the Bioshock Making of DVD must have gone gold and was rated by the USK.
The USK gave the rating "Free for all ages". Don't expect to watch cruel or gory stuff happening on the DVD (apart from people having cool Bioshock swag, you never get).
The Making of DVD is a part of the Collector's Edition of Bioshock. After another part of it has been completed, we should see the final design of the package soon.
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:18:12 pm
This little article is meant to be a weekly review about postings made by the Bioshock team (2K/Irrational Games). There are always interesting posts at the official forum and here is the place to see all of them.
Elizabeth Tobey, Community Manager at 2K:
Spoiler tags have been added
There is no exclusive content to either platform
Last Q&A Round Up!
The Official Big Daddy Sighting Thread
Ken Levine, General Manager and Creative Director of Irrational Games:
Pick up dead bodies with telekinesis
Big Daddies can push splicers and make them fly across the room
Bioshock voice cast will be revealed after launch
Chris Kline, Lead Programmer at Irrational Games:
There is a playable guitar in the game
Weapon damage decals on AIs
Supported resolution formats
Region codes and German version
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:17:37 pm
The release of Bioshock is not far away and it looks like magazines try to catch the development team before they leave Rapture and enter vacation.
Associate Producer Joe McDonagh was interviewed by Greg Howson for Guardian Ulimitied. Meanwhile, Ken Levine was asked by Steve Boxer at Spong.com.
The Guardian Ulimitied interview does not surprise Bioshock fans, but the Ken Levine interview has some highlights. Levine talks about how Bioshock will change other FPS and he even mentions the words "BioShock 2 and BioShock 3". He also talks about how the whole Ard Deco idea came up and how the level design has started. Expect to read something about competitive multiplayer, too.
Guardian Unlimited - Bioshocked
Spong.com - Bioshock's Ken Levine
Once again we have to thank redrain85 for his tip.
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:16:51 pm
The Golden Joystick Awards 2007 are once again an event, where gamers can vote for the hottest games of the year. Which of the nominated games should win is up to you.
Since Bioshock missed the qualifying for the standard categories, it's still nominated for the "The One To Watch award 2007". Next year, Bioshock will surely return being nominated for several awards.
So head over to the website and vote!
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:16:23 pm
Finally, cool faceplates made their way across the ocean and landed in Europe.
If you order your Bioshock 360 standard edition at UK online store Play.com, you might receive a free, exclusive faceplate. It's limited and differs from the ones we saw before.
Sadly, this is the only way to buy Bioshock faceplates in Europe directly. The alternative is a bit of patience and luck at ebay.
Play.com (UK): BioShock (with FREE EXCLUSIVE BioShock faceplate)
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:15:54 pm
Today, Christopher Kline, Lead Programmer at Irrational Games posted a reply on the official boards regarding Bioshock's region code.
He said that the main version with multiple languages (English, French, Italian, German, Spanish) will run on machines worldwide.
According to Kline, the version which will be sold in Germany has a different rating (hello USK!) and supports only German and English.
If you fear the possibility of not getting a Collector's Edition in your country, you might import Bioshock without any problems. If you have the German version...expect a yet unknown amount of cuts in the game.
In case you live in Germany and import, you may face problems with downloadable content, I think. You have a foreign game and try to download content for the German version (German Marketplace), which might create problems. That's just my personal assumption.
Official Bioshock Forum - Is Bioshock gonna be region free...
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:15:16 pm
[Turn on X-Files intro music] There are some people out there, who believe in exclusive plasmids for Xbox 360. They are only a few, but they hope to bring truth to the world.
At first, the brave editors of OXM UK told everyone there will be downloadable plasmids, for 360 only. Bioshock Community Manager Elizabeth Tobey responded, there are no exclusive plasmids.
But now, our editors got allies from PC Gamer, saying nearly the same. In their recent podcast (position 35:41), you can listen to the following:
Tom: "The Xbox 360 build that Dan was playing, had some extra plasmids that the PC version didn't have. They're all free of charge, which is very strange because the whole game's about getting enough Adam to buy plasmids, or at least that's a very important part of it. And they all say download in brackets, and so they're clearly downloadable content that will be available on Xbox Live. It was not clear yet as to whether it will be coming to Windows Live, it may well be."
What have both press teams seen? A ghost? Aliens? Is there a plasmid conspiracy?
The truth is out there. [Turn off X-Files music]
Well, apart from these mysterious sightings, I think the 360 review version of Bioshock had plasmids, which were meant for both platforms (360/PC). But those plasmids didn't make it into the game, so they appear afterwards on Xbox Live. The PC version had no hints about the plasmids, since they come with a patch.
Computerandvideogames.com - PC Gamer Podcast: Episode 4
Much thanks to redrain85 at the boards, who contributed the biggest part of the news.
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:14:45 pm
Rapture Gazette talked with an Take 2 Germany employee today and was informed that the USK rating for the Bioshock 360 demo was made for Games Convention 2007 (Germany):
"The rating of the demo was for Games Convention. We will show Bioshock at Games Convention."
So will it only be displayed or will it be playable for the public?
"We can't comment on that for now."
The press originally thought the Bioshock demo would appear at Xbox Live. Can you say something about this?
"We can't comment on that for now."
So what can we conlude? We surely won't see a Bioshock demo before Games Convention (August 23 - 26), since this was the purpose of the USK rating. A playable showfloor demo seems likely and maybe it will appear at XBL, too. But for now, all that is unconfirmed.
And don't forget that Bioshock will be relased worldwide nearly at the same time.
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:14:08 pm
Cult of Rapture starts another Sweepstake:
The BioShock Faceplate Sweepstakes will run from July 31st until August 7th. To enter, send me an email with your full name and address, and I'll enter you to win a BioShock faceplate of your very own. After the entries are collected, I'll randomly select 10 lucky winners on the Cult of Rapture. It's that simple.
Note: You must be 18 or older to enter, and this sweepstakes is limited to United States residents.
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:13:37 pm
Big Daddy statues are going to invade US EB Games/Gamestop stores. In the latest CoR update, Community Manager Elizabeth Tobey informed us, where you can shake hands with your most favourite mascot.
Elizabeth also asks you to post photos of your sightings at the official boards.
The statues will be delivered to New York, San Francisco, Universal City, Salt Lake City, Plano and Bellevue. Store visits will be more interesting, starting this week.
Exact addresses can be seen at CultofRapture.com.
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:13:05 pm
If you surf to Fileplanet.com, you are already able to reserve your Bioshock PC demo. Fileplanet also mentions the demo as "CONFIRMED" for late August.
That's after the Bioshock release and a kick in the butt for every fan, who hoped to playtest the game before release.
Let's face it: There will be a PC demo, but after release. Now come on 2K and confess it officially 
!
FilePlanet - Reserve Demos and Patches
Thanks to plumpman at the official boards for the tip.
UPDATE: Bioshock has been removed from that list at Fileplanet. This may not change the fact that there will be a PC demo close to release.
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:12:25 pm
Bluenews.com has spotted a contest held by Creative, where you can win the following Bioshock Sound Blaster Gaming Packs:
Grand Prize
2nd Prize (two times)
Entering is easy: Simply hit the poll (and say that Creative is awesome) and type in your details. Just imagine my frustration as I read "It is open to all natural persons age 18 and older, who are residents of a country in Asia, the United States or Canada...". As always, Europe has to suffer.
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:11:50 pm
While you wait and beg to get it, here is another teaser image I found in a UK online store. This pic seems to come from 2K, but as we know, this is not the final design of the collector's edition.
2K liked the idea of giving the soundtrack CD the look of an old LP (same design in many adverts). While the sleeve case shows the logo of the contest winner, the box design itself looks rusty and not like the standard version. Rusty is indeed what the community wanted for the collector's edition, so let's hope it stays so. The DVD "Welcome to Rupture" seems to be the Making Of then.
My opinion? Nice work! Put it together with the figurine in this box and I will praise 2K every day!
Wet your mouth and wait until we see the final version being announced soon.
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:11:18 pm
The winners of the Game Critics Awards 2007 were chosen yesterday and Bioshock was honoured with the award "Best Action/Adventure".
Apart from that, several editors at IGN.com listed their most anticipated PC/360 games 2007. The result? Just look at this:
Most anticipated PC game 2007 - Bioshock
1# place
1# place
1# place
Most anticipated Xbox 360 game 2007 - Bioshock
2# place
3# place
2# place
So that's it. In the heart of nearly every video game editor, Bioshock is one of the three best games of this year. Now let's just hope every customer and gamer realizes that!
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:10:01 pm
Remember when I talked about the latest official video at Gamespot.com? This video now has reached other locations like Gamersyde.com, where you can download the HD version.
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:08:12 pm
Still got some questions about Bioshock left? Celebrating the final release countdown, Community Manager Elizabeth Tobey has started a forum thread, collecting questions for the last Q&A round with the developers at Irrational Games.
Feel free to register at the boards (if you haven't already) and spill your questions! Do me a favour and DO NOT ASK for Bioshock on PS3. Otherwise I will send my personal Big Daddy to hunt you down!
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:07:29 pm
As you maybe have noticed, I changed the arrangement of the left bar a bit. Now, visitors can navigate easier and have a better look at features like the news-subscription or the RSS feed.
I also added my Gamercard. Feel free to add me as long as my friend list allows it 
.
Rapture Gazette will also feature another Bioshock related interview in the next days. I won't tell the names of my interview partners for now, but they are very artistically skilled people and the interview will surely be an interesting read!
Stay tuned.
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:06:58 pm
The OXM UK review (see below) gave new details about downloadable content on the Xbox 360.
As it was mentioned in a little info box, some plasmids and gene tonics will be exclusive to "Xbox 360 and Live Arcade".
OXM UK wasn't allowed to tell about the specific plasmids/tonics yet, but they will reveal them in the future. Strangely, the editors used the word "Live Arcade". Xbox Live Arcade is the service for downloadable casual games on 360. Is this a little mistake or is Bioshock combined with some Live Arcade action? Time will tell...
UPDATE: Community Manager Elizabeth Tobey provided some clarification:
There is no content exclusive to either platform.
Both PC and Xbox 360 get all the plasmids.
Err...ok, but OXM has seen something for downloadable content. If it were not plasmids or tonics, what was it then?
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:06:27 pm
Official forum member flea008 set the startline for first Bioshock reviews in the press. He provided some shots of the Official Xbox Magazine UK, which gave Bioshock 10 of 10 points.
Forum user Nemos instead hinted on the latest PCGamer UK issue, where Bioshock received a 95% rating.
Since both magazines likely reviewed the final version of the game, an offical gold announcement of Bioshock can't be far away.
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:05:22 pm
Gamespot currently hosts a (timed?) exclusive trailer of Bioshock, where the devs talk about the plasmids in the game.
They talk about what kind of plasmids they wanted to put into the game and how plasmids create gaming experiences, which never existed before. And oh, there is a lot of new gameplay footage.
I also realized Ken's new haircut - we both have the same one right now, I guess!
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:04:37 pm
Today, the German rating system USK (like ESRB) has given a rating to a title called "Bioshock Demo". The demo has been sent in by Take 2/2K Games and was tested for the Xbox 360. It received the same rating (18+) as the normal game.
Incredible news! It fits to Ken Levine's strange comment at E3. But since the "Demo" was tested here in Germany, it could be that this demo will only be showcased at Games Convention 07 (next month).
Every year, the USK has to test the games, playable at Games Convention. But usally, these games or testversions are titled with "GC demo". Since this Bioshock demo hasn't got the title, we can assume that finally a Xbox Live demo of Bioshock will arrive, soon!
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:04:01 pm
Elizabeth Tobey has finally listed the countries of Europe, where the Limited Edition of Bioshock will be released.
It's no surprise for us, but it will calm down the fans in the UK, who where already setting up plans for imports. While most shops in other countries already accepted preorders, the UK was still left behind. Now they will get their LEs for sure.
The Limited Edition will be available here:
Furthermore, Elizabeth has confirmed that all countries will get the same content:
The BioShock Collector's Edition is available for PC and Xbox 360 and contains the game in a limited edition embossed steel case, a Making Of DVD, Soundtrack CD, hand finished resin figurine (14cm height).
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:03:30 pm
As it has been reported everywhere on the net today, the Xbox 360 is said to get the expected price cut, next month.
The Hollywood Reporter has got a retail source, stating that the release of games like Madden NFL 08, John Woo Presents Stranglehold and Bioshock is setting the right place for a 50$ system price cut.
Nobody has said which version (core, premium or elite) of the Xbox 360 will become cheaper, though. As always, Microsoft has not commented on the rumour. I guess a global price cut will be announced at Games Convention 07, which opens its gates in the end of August.
@ 05/08/2007 – 04:02:55 pm
xGrimx at the official boards hinted on a contest being made at Destructoid.com:
Destructoid and 2K Games are teaming up to give you guys the chance to win some cool BioShock schwag! Yay!
Entering is fairly simple: create your very own costume of BioShock's resident hulking teddy bear, the Big Daddy. Then, take a picture of it and post it in the comments. Simple, right? Some rules:
1. Please wear pants in the picture.
2. Photos must not exceed 550 pixels in width!
3. This is not a Photoshop contest, so it must be an image of you wearing a costume you created. Photoshopping a picture of a Bid Daddy's head over your own is unacceptable. That said, feel free to use Photoshop to add flair or text.Two winners will receive a limited edition BioShock Xbox 360 faceplate (one of only 5001) and a BioShock t-shirt. Another lucky winner will receive only the t-shirt (you can use it to clean up your shame), but isn't that enough?
The contest will run from now until Tuesday, August 7th at midnight (EST). Our very own Niero has set the bar for this contest very high, so it's time to get creative. Good luck, have fun, and don't be afraid to make a fools of yourself.
As I have been told, this contest is open to everyone. While it's unknown how the t-shirt will look like (CoR-Logo or something else), the limited faceplate should look as pictured above (ebay photo).
Destructoid.com - Dress up like a Big Daddy, win BioShock schwag