Replay value: 2K Games remasters ‘BioShock’ in high-res

By Imad Khan Published June 30, 2016

Get ready to revisit the depths of Rapture and the skies of Columbia, as BioShock: The Collection has been confirmed.

In a press release, publisher 2K Games has confirmed that all three BioShock games will be remastered and bundled together for a release later this year.

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All three games will include all single-player DLC previously released. While the press release stated that the collection will include higher resolutions, there may be more to it than that. Considering this collection is also being released on PC, models and textures will most likely be updated to give it a newer, more pristine look.

BioShock: The Collection — Image used with permission by copyright holder

A never-before-seen director’s commentary will also be included with the first BioShock title, Imagining BioShock. It will feature insight from series creator Ken Levine and art director Shawn Robertson.

The collection is being remastered by Blind Squirrel Games. The team already has experience with BioShock Infinite, as it worked alongside Irrational Games to help with optimization, design, UI, and bug fixes. It seems that quite a few publishers turn to Blind Squirrel to help finish games. The studio has also worked on Disney Infinity 3.0, Evolve, Sunset Overdrive, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and Borderlands 2.

The BioShock series has been lauded by critics for its gripping worlds and storytelling. Its game worlds also inhabit very realistic and empathetic characters, like Elizabeth, your companion in BioShock Infinite. Sadly, after the release of Infinite, Ken Levine downsized Irrational Games to just 15 employees, as he was seeking to create more concentrated experiences, ones that didn’t have the stresses of a massive studio. As of now, the team is working on a new sci-fi shooter.

BioShock: The Collection will release on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC via digital download on September 13, 2016 and will retail for $60.

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Imad has been a gamer all his life. He started blogging about games in college and quickly started moving up to various…

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Gaming

I can’t wait to go back to Street Fighter 6’s excellent Battle Hub

street fighter 6 battle hub preview arcade cabinet

Fighting games live or die on their online communities. Of course, basic functions like rollback netcode and cross-play are essential to a healthy fighting game, but Street Fighter 6 goes further by creating an online hub that celebrates the series and gives players somewhere to hang out between matches. Call it a metaverse if you must, but in reality, the Battle Hub is one-third of the Street Fighter 6 package and will likely be home to the communities and tournaments that ensure people will play the game for years to come.
It was also the focus of the Closed Beta for Street Fighter 6 this past weekend, which gave me a second chance to go hands-on with the game after falling in love with it at Summer Game Fest Play Days. The core 1-v-1 fights are still a joy to play and the beta’s new characters -- Juri, Kimberly, Guile, and Ken -- all come with the exciting combos and flashy animations. But really, I came away impressed with the groundwork Capcom is laying for Battle Hub and its implications for World Tour mode.
What’s the hubbub about?
The Battle Hub is one of three options players can choose right from the main menu of Street Fighter 6, and when selected, it tasks players with creating a character avatar that will represent them. I didn’t spend too much time with these options, but they seemed quite in-depth for those who enjoy a detailed character creator. After creating a blue-haired and face-tattooed fighter, I was thrust into the Battle Hub’s futuristic arcade.

Multiplayer hubs as a replacement for simple menus aren't a new concept for fighting games (Bandai Namco games like Dragon Ball FighterZ have done this for a while). Still, for Capcom’s first attempt at one, the Battle Hub is full of personality and things to do. Its stark blue colors, a plethora of screens, and many gameplay cabinets make it feel like the high-tech arcade Capcom wants it to be.
As soon as I entered, I could walk around, emote, and perform classic Street Fighter moves the Hadoken with button presses. I was also near two kiosks. At one, I could register and view tournaments and Street Fighter 6 events, although none were available for me during this Closed Beta. The other one was the Hub Goods Shop, where I could buy clothes and other gear to customize my character further with the currency I accrued while playing.
The other kiosks on the main level weren’t available in this Closed Beta outside a screen that showed which player in our server was performing the best. I then headed toward the arcade cabinets, most of which form a circle around the center of the Battle Hub. One person has to sit on each side to initiate a Street Fighter 6 match. While it’s a bit annoying to sit and wait for someone to play with you, I could always find an opponent if I looked around at every cabinet. Hopefully, the final game will have an option to get into fights slightly faster for those who want to simply jump into it.

Gaming

Two Sam & Max games are getting a PlayStation remaster

sam max remasters coming to playstation on september 29 remastered

Skunkape Games, a small indie team comprised of some members of Telltale Games, has announced that the remastered versions of Sam & Max Save the World and Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space will be released on the PlayStation on September 29.

Both games were originally released in 2006 and 2007 as Sam & Max Season One and Sam & Max Season Two, respectively. The project was developed by Telltale Games, who adapted them from the comic book series created by Steve Purcell. When Telltale shut down in 2018, Skunkape bought the rights to the Sam & Max series and remastered them for Nintendo Switch, PC (via Steam), and Xbox One in 2020 and 2021 with Purcell's blessing. Today, it released a trailer confirming the PS4 port of the remasters of the adventures of the crime-fighting dog and rabbit duo.

Gaming

BioShock Netflix film unites Logan and I Am Legend talent

A Big Daddy stands tall in Bioshock.

Bioshock's live-action Netflix film adaptation had attracted some top talent. The streaming giant took to Twitter today to reveal that the director of I Am Legend and the writer behind films like Logan and Blade Runner 2049 would handle the film adaptation.
The director is Francis Lawrence, who is known for directing 2000s cult classics Constantine and I Am Legend. More recently, he directed the last three films based on The Hunger Games and is currently filming the prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbird and Snakes. Hopefully, his experience with making films with horror undertones and adapting popular pieces of media serve the scary aspects of this BioShock film well.
https://twitter.com/netflix/status/1562864632708050945
The BioShock film's writer is Michael Green. He is credited as a writer on such films as Logan, Blade Runner 2049, and Death on the Nile. His track record isn't perfect because of subpar films like Green Lantern and Alien Covenant, but Green clearly knows how to write for famous pop culture properties. Hopefully, he has the chops to adapt Ken Levine's chilling and iconic story into something special.
Although video game movies have a reputation for being bad or very risky projects, more notable directors have slowly attached themselves to video game-related projects recently. John Wick series director Chad Stahelski is currently slated to direct the Ghost of Tsushima film, and now a pretty notable director and an experienced writer will adapt the critically lauded BioShock into a live-action feature film.
Hopefully, this pans out well. The BioShock film does not have a release window.