AP - Associates of Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband say the former first lady is weighing whether to leave the Senate and become secretary of state, believing the job is hers if she wants it.
BioShock is a video game by 2K Boston/2K Australia—previously known as Irrational Games—designed by Ken Levine. It was released for the Windows operating system and Xbox 360 video game console on August 21, 2007, in North America, and three days later in Europe and Australia. A PlayStation 3 version of the game, which was developed by 2K Marin, was released internationally on October 17, 2008 and in North America on October 21, 2008 with some additional features. A version of the game for mobile platforms is currently being developed by IG Fun. A sequel entitled BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams will be released in 2009.
Set in an alternate history 1960, the game places the player in the role of a plane crash survivor named Jack, who must explore the underwater dystopian city of Rapture, and survive attacks by the mutated beings and mechanical drones that populate it. The game incorporates elements found in role-playing and survival horror games, and is described by the developers and Levine as a "spiritual successor" to their previous titles in the System Shock series.
The game received overwhelmingly positive reviews, and ranks as the thirteenth best video game on Game Rankings based on reviews from critics. It was particularly well-reviewed in the mainstream press where its "morality-based" storyline, immersive environment and Ayn Rand-inspired dystopic back-story were all singled out for praise.
BioShock is a first-person shooter with role-playing game customization and stealth elements, and is similar to System Shock 2. Early indication of the style of gameplay and some of the artificial intelligence (AI) was revealed by a 13-minute video released on September 20, 2006.
The player takes the role of Jack who aims to fight his way through Rapture, using weapons and plasmids that give him special powers such as telekinesis or the ability to electrocute, incinerate or freeze foes. Some plasmids even unleash an insect swarm on your foes or enrage them. Security cameras and foes can be evaded by stealth; alternatively, security cameras and turrets can be destroyed using weapons or hacked to use them to the player's advantage. Hacking, which is based on the Pipe Dream game concept, can also be used on health dispensers and vending machines to gain extra benefits, and on locks and safes to gain access to the secured contents.
The main resources in the game are ADAM, EVE, and money. ADAM is a mutagen, which allows genetic changes. Quantities of ADAM can be used to purchase plasmids, EVE, and other genetic mutations at special "Gatherers Gardens" vending machines throughout the game. ADAM can be obtained in several ways, most prominently the harvesting of "Little Sisters" after defeating their bodyguards, the "Big Daddies," who are large, heavily armored, genetically enhanced humans wearing armored diving suits. EVE acts as fuel for "active plasmids" in a manner similar to magic points in other games, while money allows the purchase of items and ammunition, as well as paying to override security elements, such as bots or turrets.
It is here that morality is implemented as an aspect of the gameplay; the player can choose to either rescue the Little Sisters, or harvest their ADAM (resulting in their death). While both choices have their advantages, this element of conflicting morals has an impact on the storyline, and, among other things, on the difficulty of the game itself.
To adapt and advance the character, the player can purchase plasmids, using ADAM. These are grouped under the Combat, Engineering, Active, and Physical technology trees. The "Active" plasmids are abilities that function as alternate weapons; they are powered by EVE, and require activation by the player. The other classes of plasmids, referred to as "Tonics," are passive abilities that work as long as they are selected as equipment ("equipped").
Plasmids are versatile, and can be used by the player both in concert with each other and with the environment to create numerous effects. For example, "telekinesis" can be used on all loose objects: the player can catch and redirect grenades, rockets, thrown items, or hold large objects to form impromptu shields, or use those same objects as projectiles. Other types of plasmids have different practical uses; for instance, using an "electro-bolt" on a body of water electrifies not only the water, but also any beings and machines within it. The player is also encouraged to use critical thinking in the use of plasmids; for instance, a player may use "incinerate" to set an enemy on fire, and when the enemy jumps into a body of water to smother the flames, use "electro-bolt" to kill the enemy instantly. An element of choice is present: since not all plasmids can be equipped at once, the player must decide which plasmids to use, and which to place in storage.
Most plasmids alter the character's appearance, in keeping with the theme of "sacrificing one's humanity," referenced by Ryan in one of the game's trailers. For instance, the incinerate plasmid causes the character's hand to glow red, take on a charred appearance, and radiate flames from the fingers. However, selecting a weapon will cause these changes to revert to normal, suggesting that any physical changes conferred are temporary. Higher levels of the same plasmid will cause more extreme changes; for example, the highest level of incinerate causes a heavier glow, more severe charring, and more prominent flames. In all, there are over 70 unique plasmids and tonics varieties.
Via single-use weapon-upgrade kiosks called "Power to the People" machines, the player can customize weapons to hold larger magazines, consume ammunition at a slower rate, or cause more damage. Each weapon has a selection of three different types of ammunition: normal, anti-personnel, and armor-piercing bullets are available for the weapons found early in the game; later weapons such as the crossbow have more diverse types of ammunition. There is also a "research camera" in the game that analyzes enemies. After taking enough pictures of any given enemy, the player is granted increased damage, plasmids, and other bonuses when facing that type of enemy in future battles. The quality can speed the rate at which these advantages are rewarded.
The player can also access several types of vending machines: the "U-Invent," which combines retrievable spare parts into ammunition, tools, etc.; "The Circus of Values" vending machine sells everything from cakes to first aid kits to EVE hypos; the "El Ammo Bandito!," a machine that vends both normal and specialty ammunition; and other more specialized machines, such as health stations. Most vending machine varieties can be hacked, allowing the player to buy "hack-only" items, and reducing the cost of the previously available merchandise. Glass-walled "Vita-Chambers" can also be found throughout the game, which the player does not use directly. Instead, should Jack die, his body is reconstituted at the nearest one, retaining all of his possessions, but only a portion of his full health.
BioShock is set during 1960, in Rapture, a fictional underwater dystopian city. The history of Rapture is learned by the player through audio recordings as he explores the city. Secretly built in 1946 on the mid-Atlantic seabed, Rapture was entirely self-sufficient and powered by submarine volcanoes. Constructed by business magnate Andrew Ryan (voice by Armin Shimerman), Rapture was envisioned as the solution to what he saw as increasingly oppressive political, economical, and religious authority. The city was populated by those whom Ryan believed exemplified the best in humanity. It was revealed in an audio log that Ryan wanted Rapture to become an "Eden," a concept furthered by the resources ADAM and EVE, which are named after the biblical inhabitants of Eden. During the early 1950s, Rapture's population peaked at several thousand, though an elite emerged, discomforting many of the inhabitants.
The development of ADAM—stem cells harvested from a previously unknown species of sea slug—by Dr. Bridgette Tenenbaum further upset the social balance. ADAM's prevalence greatly accelerated genetic engineering research, creating a plasmid industry that sold everything from a cure for male pattern baldness to skills like telekinesis, with non-passive types like the latter requiring a serum, EVE. In order to improve ADAM yields, Rapture scientists created the "Little Sisters," young girls, each with a slug embedded in her body. Although initially just ADAM "factories," during the war that later broke out, they were repurposed via mental conditioning to extract ADAM from the dead, and recycle it within themselves. At the same time, the scientists created "Big Daddies" (voiced by Stephen Stanton), armed and highly enhanced humans in diving suits, to defend the Little Sisters as they worked.
For several years, Rapture was what Ryan originally intended it to be: a paradise of freedom and wealth. But ultimately, the very reason it was created—Ryan's hatred of authority—caused the city's downfall, and the ideals Ryan had envisaged to be corrupted and lost. To keep his utopia a secret, Ryan passed a single law: contact with the surface was prohibited. This edict made smuggling profitable, resulting in the formation of a smal
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Sen. Clinton weighing secretary of state post
(AP)
AP - Associates of Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband say the former first lady is weighing whether to leave the Senate and become secretary of state, believing the job is hers if she wants it.
