BioShock [X360]

Irrational continued on to show us the security system. In one instance, a corpse lay directly in the sweeping path of a camera. Options for progressing included simply leaving the body be, shooting the camera, backtracking to a security console and disabling the security system for a certain cost, or trying to avoid the sweep of its vision. The latter option was decided upon, but after looting some Adams from the corpse, the security system activated. We'd been caught. Hovering swiftly into the room hummed security robots, and promptly began spewing bullets. The movements of these flying menaces were governed entirely by Havok 3.0 physics, meaning there was no canned flying animation. A few armor piercing rounds took one out rather quickly, but they kept coming. Heading back the security outlet, the security station was activated, immediately shutting down the alert, as well as powering down the hovering drones. Though it wasn't shown, Irrational assured us that a hacking system would be included in the game, which would differ depending on what kind of hack you were attempting. They didn't demo it, but it would have been possible to hack into a deactivated security bot and use it for your own purposes.

One of Bioshock's most pleasant scenes took place, surprisingly, in a bathroom. The place was totally flooded, and the water effects looked incredible. To regurgitate some technical jargon, the effects at work included real-time reflections, multiple animating normal maps with distortion, as well as refraction effects. The result of these techniques made for some of the most realistic water we've seen, reflecting everything above amidst minute ripples, as well as distorting objects and tiles underneath the surface. This was also evident in a scene with a fire burning atop a stairwell, with water spilling down the steps in a stunning flicker of aqueous flame.

Near the end of the demo we got a chance to see a little of how the implant system works, and the effects of some unique abilities. Using a machine called Plasmi-Quik, it's possible to switch in and out the implants you pick up along the way. Even the menu we saw here was consistent with the rest of the game's perplexingly alluring style, with faded yellows and rust marks in the margins. Ability icons as fit in with the retro-future stylings, reminiscent of the PC game Fallout.

The first ability demonstration area we saw took place in a faded record store. On a platform below a railing sat a voice recording, which are collected to advance the story. Like in System Shock 2, these recordings are of those who perished in the game before your arrival, giving you hints about what to watch out for as well as threading together various backstory tapestries. From our vantage point above, we was the recording was guarded by an idle Splicer and under the watch of a security camera. To progress, a Security Beacon ability was used, which draws the attention of the security system to its target. In this case, the target was the Splicer, and soon after the ability was used, the Splicer glowed and the camera called its security bots. While they were fighting, the camera was blasted with a shotgun shell. The bots eventually won the fight, and swiping the voice recording was no longer a problem.

From there, Irrational moved into a larger room populated by a Big Daddy, Little Sister, and a Splicer bouncing in a far off corner. Using an ability similar to the one before, called Splicer Irritant, the Splicer was drawn into attacking the Big Daddy. During the commotion, it was possible to sneak by. Another method could have been to hit the Little Sister with Splicer Irritant, drawing its rage to her. With the Little Sister under attack, the Big Daddy would have retaliated against the Splicer. We didn't ask or see what would happen should you cast the Splicer Irritant on a Splicer.

With its promise of largely open-ended environments, intelligent puzzles, and incredibly unique graphical designs, it's hard not to get excited about this one. As of now, its nebulous 2007 release date seems unbearably far away. We'll have more as soon as we possibly can.

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