Y is for "You think you're some kind of hero?"

BioShock spoilers ahead.

The BioShock quote in this post's title isn't as famous as "Would you kindly? or " A man chooses, a slave obeys."  Fontaine says it to Jack right after he learns the horrible truth about his history. Can you really imagine how it feels to learn you're nothing but a mind controlled back-up plan? Your whole life is a lie. There's no farm house, no mom and dad. Your plane crash was no accident. You're a grown man who's really only three years old. Wrap your head around that, would you kindly?

However, as  Jack, it's hard not to see yourself as something of a hero, especially  if you're saving the Little Sisters. After you swim to the lighthouse, you get your first awe inspiring glimpse of Rapture. Awe turns to horror as you experience what the city is actually like. Crazed, deformed splicers who try to kill you at every turn. Big metal monsters protecting their little girls while she takes ADAM out of an "angel's" corpse. Little do you know at the time that you're one of the grotesque things the city produced.

You're stuck here, in a leaky, dark city sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Just trying to figure out how to escape. Or so you think. One of the best things about BioShock is how it takes everything  you know about your character's situation and discards it. There have been few video game moments like shock you that.

It's while you're being insulted that quote is used, but Jack can be a hero. The" good" ending proves that.  Of course, you could also become a monster. The choice is yours.

B is for BioShock Infinite

So last year, I used B for BioShock. But, that post was really just a gushy ode to my second favorite gaming series after the Legend of Zelda.  This year, BioShock Infinite will come out on October 16. I have already told my husband to keep a continuous  supply of bottled water and pizza handy for me. What's so special about Inifinite? Well, I'm glad you asked....

It's number three in the BioShock series, but it takes place in 1912, a good 50 or so years before the first one.

It takes place in Colombia, which is the exact opposite of my beloved, almost scary obsession with the underwater city of Rapture. Seriously, I would live in Rapture if I could. The best/worst thing about Columbia floating in the clouds is you can totally just jump off and fall to your death, so sayth Ken Levine.

I do have some reservations about the bright, sunny new city. But the more I see, especially of the "Heavy Hitters" enemies, the more creepy and awesome it gets. Check out G4's coverage of the new enemies. My favorite one is the robotic statue of George Washington who has mini-guns.  Or the Sirens or maybe the Boys of Silence....

Besides the time and place, there will be a new mode for Infinite called 1999 mode. It sounds like a love letter to us BioShock veterans who have beaten the first two on every difficulty offered. Hooray!

So yes, while I do love my Rapture, I'm super excited for Columbia. I trust Irrational to make an experience like no other. What I want is a warm, fuzzy mix of what makes BioShock great, but with new surprises and twists. I don't think I'll be disappointed.  (but it would be cool if there was an old fashioned Circus of Values in an alley, just something to consider... lol)

Art of Video Games Exhibit at the Smithsonian Winners Announced

This post may as well be called "My Beloved Zelda Wins Everything and I Helped!"

Back in February, gamers were invited to vote on what video games should be included in next year's Smithsonian American Art Museum Art of Video Games Exhibit. I jumped at the chance. Well, voting ended on April 17 and today the winners were announced. 80 games were picked from 240. The categories spanned every generation.  Most notable wins for me are:

The Legend of Zelda series winning in every category it was in. In fact, in the Adventure genre of the N64 category Ocarina of Time was up against Majora's Mask. Ocarina won.

Super Mario Bros won big. The first Super Mario, Super Mario 3, Super Mario World, Mario 64, and Galaxy 2 won. I'm only counting Action/platformers. Paper Mario was beaten twice by Zelda in the Adventure genre.

BioShock in Action for the Xbox 360 It beat out Halo 3 and Gears of War 2. I almost had a nervous breakdown picking between BioShock and Gears, but BioShock got my vote.

Portal in Modern Windows Portal beat out Half-Life 2. I voted Portal, even though I really love Half-Life 2.

Fallout 3 in Modern Windows Fallout 3 was pitted against Knights of the Old Republic. Again, I almost lost it trying to pick between them. Fallout won for me, though. The original  Fallout for DOS/Windows also won.

Halo 2 also was picked in the Xbox Action category.

There are plenty of other games, I'm happy to see made it like Donkey Kong, Earthworm Jim, Star Fox, Heavy Rain, Mass Effect 2 (even though I voted for Oblivion) and Final Fantasy VII.

For the complete list go here

K is for Kick Ass BioShock Tattoo!

I finally got my BioShock tattoo picture upload, so Yay!!

My good friend Bosco, who is a new BioShock addict, did this at Monster Monkey Studios in Merritt Island, FL. This is a Big Daddy (Bouncer) and a Little Sister. There will be some background added in later. It's on my leg, the back of my thigh. I'm a tiny person, so it goes from just about my knee to my booty.

And because I'm on roll, I want to post another tat I recently had finished. It has nothing to do with video games, but it's still very kick ass. It's a Bowel Disruptor from the comic book Transmetropolitan.



My darling husband, Sean, who also works at Monster Monkey, did this. It's on my leg, near my hip. Yayness!!!

 

 

 

 

B is for BioShock

After this week, B is definitely for BioShock. My obsession with that game helped me get into the new Featured Contributor program on the Y!CN.  Besides playing and writing about BioShock, I have a Little Sister and Big Daddy tattoo. It's huge and almost finished. I should be getting it completed this coming week.  This is my first video game inspired tattoo.  That fact that is a BioShock tattoo speaks volumes on the influence the game and its sequel has had on me. I shall have pictures once it is done. :) If you're as jazzed about Rapture and excited about exploring Columbia next year as I am then check out some of my  BioShock articles here and here.