In a recent interview with Gamasutra, 2K Boston's Chris Kline commented that he believed that a game like BioShock could be a success on the Wii, as long as audiences were properly introduced to more complex content.
Further expounding on the topic of accessibility, Kline mentioned that he does not feel that Wii Fit and other user-friendly titles "aren't real games", as some others are quick to say. He does, however, mention that he feels the constantly changing controllers can make it difficult to enter a game's world with ease:
"Every time I pick up a new game, I'm like, 'Oh my god, they've changed the controller mappings again,' and now I've got to, you know, reconfigure my head, just so I can start to enjoy this game."
Chris is right. The Wii could use more complex experiences -- I can only replay Resident Evil 4 so many times before I start to crave something that challenges me to do more than swing my arms like a monkey. On the other hand, there's another issue that he doesn't address: graphics. For me, a part of what made BioShock so enthralling was the ability to lose myself in Rapture's startling beauty. Let's face it -- the Wii doesn't quite have the oomph to make a game look like that.
We were told complex stories in 8 and 16 bit games that still sit as profound parts of our memories to this very day, so I certainly am not saying that graphics will make or break an experience. In the modern age of gaming, though, it seems like the trend is leaning more and more towards immersing the gamer in photorealistic worlds. Would a graphically lesser version of a title like BioShock be able to hack it, regardless of strength of story?
[Thanks, Joe]
Contest:
1:58 PM on 08.08.2008
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ARRR! Braid makes me angry at the industry for giving us cookie cutter/watered down experiences.
I agree. The wii has had some great success in turning out games that were graphically 'sub par', and that they at the end of the day graphics arent the biggest part (see Eternities Child). Yet I also feel like the wii is capable of making beautiful games like Mario Galaxy (in HD it was amaaaazing), Madworld, and Conduit.
Wind Waker still looks amazing. I'm sure Team Fortress 2 will hold up for years.
couldn't have said it better myself.
Just because it's on the Wii doesn't mean it's gonna look or feel like shit, which is what everyone seems to think around here lately. Look at Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It's the only game on the Wii that's dual-layer, and you can definitely see the difference, at least when a company's willing to put the time into it.
barely-visible big daddy clothing. where is gaming coming to?
And no, I would not play it, it would be no different than the hack job they're doing with Dead Rising for the Wii, the only difference being that DR was all about zombies on onscreen vs Bioshock which has amazing visuals for a reason, the Wii simply cannot pull them off no matter how much the fanboys think it can.
Do you like any old RPGs? 'Cause I do. And they aren't graphically amazing by a long, long, long shot.
But I'd rather have something original than a dumbed-down port. I played Bioshock on the 360 and it was great - now it's time for good original content on the Wii.
Might as well have just put a quote directly from a developer without any sense of imagination. Immersion isn't mutually exclusive with photorealism; any art director with a thimble of talent could tell you that.
Hell, 8 bit, sidescroller System Shock on the N-Gage would be nice.