Bioscopia Review

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Bioscopia: Where Science Conquers Evil

Review by OrbApril 2002

They’ve done it again. Bioscopia is the second in a series of science adventures in the Quest for Knowledge series published by Tivola and developed by the talented creators of Physicus.  As with its predecessor, Bioscopia is an edutainment title where the production values so far exceed the standard edutainment fare as to make it required playing for anyone who enjoys a good adventure game with challenging puzzles. It is an old-fashioned, slide-show, point-and-click, first-person delight.

The world of Bioscopia is a laboratory in which artificial intelligence experiments are being performed. Scientists there have created experiments in robotics, giving intelligent robots human characteristics, intending to make them into slave labor.  Control over the experiment was lost, and the robots took over.  The last scientist disabled the power generator, the robots’ power source. Time passes, and a researcher has stumbled upon Bioscopia.  Not understanding what she had encountered, she has awakened the robots and trapped herself. It is the player’s job to save the researcher and solve the mystery of Bioscopia.

In the game, the player is given information in five areas of science: zoology, cellular biology, human biology, botany, and genetics. These subjects and the information on them contained in the game are used to solve puzzles and complete the game goal of discovery and rescue.

The puzzles are all mechanical. And these, in most cases, have their basis in the five sciences studied in the game, thus giving them an air of heightened realism. They are fun, very challenging, and all sequitur to the forwarding of the game and its story and goal.

Inventory is stowed in a metal contraption at the bottom right of the screen that makes a satisfyingly metallic clang when opened and shut. There is also no redundant or unnecessary inventory, so the gameplay is not at all held up by some awful inventory shuffle—no player time is taken up organizing inventory or trying a million false lead combinations of items as a result of some lame ploy to extend gameplay length. Another plus with the inventory system is that the items are automatically rearranged for the player to that the most used item is in front and easy to access and similar items that go with each other are stowed together. A very clever idea.

The voice acting, what bits of it are in the game, is surprisingly good. Not a wooden voice in the lot. There are just a few ambient sounds and in-game noises, and these are very brief. In an unusual design move, the game is lacking any real soundtrack throughout.  It’s hard to decide if this increases the absorption of the environment or not. Realistically it would not have any music playing with no one around (unless, of course, it were set in a mall, but that would be silly, wouldn’t it?). However, the omission is noticeable to this player, coddled with many symphonic gaming moments over the years. There are a couple of areas in the game where there are really brief loops played, and the music serves to alert the player to an important gameplay area.

The graphics are all well-done and very detailed. As with Physicus, the game really creates its own world and draws the player in. Everything has been cleverly designed to evoke the feeling that one is in an odd and new place. The texturing is quite remarkable and realistic in some areas, stylized in others. These are very Myst-like games, and I say this not in some sort of derogatory clone-ish way. It’s simply a well-designed game in that style of gameplay, and it works very well within that category. It’s not overly ambitious, there are relatively few animations, and there is little acting. Transitions are brief and not complex.  But the game is charming in its simplicity and design.

One drawback with the game is that the player is kept on a fairly tight leash exploration-wise. Quite often there’s no looking side to side or digging into an interesting-looking screen unless the area directly forwards the game. So there are quite a few screens that are merely environmental window dressing, allowing a certain degree of immersion in the world but with limited exploration.

The game has a smart cursor that changes depending on which game areas are open to exploration. There is a bit of throwing the cursor about to see what directions can be traveled in, as some of the directions cannot be accessed. The cursor also does not change when an object is held over a useable location, and this causes some redundant try-and-miss stuff as the right spot is hunted down.

A standout of the game is that it is really all business. The player is not given a bunch of goofy, time-consuming design filler, such as a maze or some horrible-to-find hotspot. It also does not give the player dead ends or misleading clues.

One of the most pleasant things about Bioscopia, and all of the Tivola titles for that matter, is just how low-maintenance it is. It is simple to install, load, and run. The sound does not cut out; the game does not freeze or quit to the desktop.  What a pleasure! The game comes on two CDs; however, the first CD is only for install, and the game is played entirely from the second one, so there is no disk swapping.

Tivola has gotten its hands on another well-put together and classy game that is fun to play and educates in an almost inadvertent fashion. Bioscopia has been designed to a standard that all adventure games should aspire to. It’s clever, original, and just a plain old good time. The End

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: Ruske & Puhretmaier Multimedia Publisher: Tivola Release Date: March 2002

Available for: Macintosh Windows

Four Fat Chicks Links

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Screenshots

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System Requirements

PC: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP Pentium 166 MHz 64 MB RAM SVGA graphics card (16-bit) Sound card 8X CD-ROM drive 120 MB free hard drive space

Mac: OS 8.1 Power PC 64 MB RAM Graphics and sound cards 8X CD-ROM drive 120 MB free hard drive space

Where to Find It

Links provided for informational purposes only.  FFC makes no warranty with regard to any transaction entered into by any party(ies).

      Copyright © Electric Eye Productions.  All rights reserved.  No reproduction in whole or in part without express written permission.

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14 Responses to Fear Factor

  • Fear Factor | Tap-Repeatedly.com | Reality Topics Blog

    […] nobody@flickr.com (graftedno1) wrote a very interesting post today.   Here’s a quick excerpt:My greatest fear is to be trapped alone in a confined space with a blind human, in total darkness. They have a heightened sense of smell and hearing, and. […]

  • Matt "Steerpike" Sakey

    Lewis, you made me think of the scariest moments I’ve experienced in gaming, and we’re very similar people.

    Bioshock had two moments – the dentist and the flooded room filled with mannequins.

    Thief had Return to the Cathedral, which was terrifying to me. Thief 3 had Shalebridge Cradle, which is so scary it ought to be fined.

    System Shock 2 kept me on the edge of my seat, but it was more lonely panic than true fear.

    Korsakovia was so scary that I uninstalled it.

    And STALKER. Oh, god, the haunted labs in STALKER. The latter two games don’t have scares like that. Few games do.

    It’s especially rare for a game to have more than mere “moments” – for a game to be scary from beginning to end, that’s a triumph.

    Wonderful article. As if Gregg’s review wasn’t enough to convince me that Penumbra is not something I have the courage to play!

  • DPenn

    I’m with you Lewis … I’m a bit of a puss. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of dread as entertainment.

    Still, I’m drawn to dark stories when they have something interesting to say, whether it’s a game like Thief or a film like, say, Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible. So I’ll push through, sometimes peering through my fingers.

    The trouble with games, though, is that if you look through your fingers, you’re probably just going to have to play through the scenario again. :~)

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    I wanted to play this game. I downloaded the demo but the controls were just too wonky for me to get my head around. I liked the atmospheric vibe a lot. I think I’m a bit desensitized from an overdose of horror movies in my youth so I don’t so much get the dread thing from these games as a nice creepy vibration. If only the controls were better…

  • Lewis B

    @ Mike, what’s wrong with the controls bud? As someone who despises poor control schemes, Penumbra’s is just like any other FPS, except to examine things you right click on them.  To use things you left click.  I’m not sure that can be considered difficult 🙂

  • Gregg B

    @Steerpike: Yeah my greatest shit-scared moments were with those games too. A few spoilers below people, so beware.

    Bioshock – Haha, I remember the dentist. I didn’t really find the game that scary overall but the bit where you go into the wine cellar and notice a mannequin facing the wall and after upgrading your weapon it’s stood directly behind you motionless and quiet just for a moment before attacking you. I shat a brick. I also missed that bit originally until Lew told me about it.

    System Shock 2 – same as you really, more unremitting tension all the way through rather than specific terrifying moments. Oh actually, theres a bit where you call a lift and it breaks then you realise a service droid is coming to fix it… I do remember having sleep issues after my first encounter with the cyborg ninjas though.

    Thief: The Dark Project – The Sword and Return to the Cathedral and Down in the Bonehoard and well, loads of them. The Sword made me break out into goosebumps though because there was a bit where you could hear this creepy giggling which seemed like it was following me about then it suddenly changed to this horrible throaty noise. What made matters worse was that the EAX (bless you Creative) made my foot steps sound like somebody else was there with me. That level was incredible, a bit too incredible as it seems I missed great chunks of it because I was so eager to leave.

    Thief II: The Metal Age – Trail of Blood where you end up in that opening with those damn tree beasts. God the first time I saw one of those hurtling towards me I actually died shortly afterward. Do you remember that Mechanist child walking around on one of the levels? That was a little creepy.

    Then there’s Penumbra: Overture – quite a few bits but I’m not mentioning them here.

    Oh and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – The brain scorcher lab just because it was so damn quiet. My imagination seriously got the better of me there. Those stuffed animals and heads I’d seen in various buildings led me to believe that those creatures were lurking somewhere in the Zone, specifically that lab.

    @Mike: My control setup was perfect after some tweaking (as well as the simple weapon swing fix). If you ever fancy giving it another go, give me a shout and I’ll let you know my setup.

  • Lewis B

    I’m not sure why guys, but one of my starting paragraphs had gone missing, even though I copied it straight from the original source, and It was fine earlier. 

    Incase you missed it due to some technical issue you might want to re-read just after “Well no she wouldn’t in truth, but in Penumbra: Overture you don’t want to move anyway.” at the very start for those who’ve already read the article. Apologies 🙂

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    Lewis, it was the weapon swing. It had this terrible, unresponsive feel to it, like trying to hit through molasses. I couldn’t stand using it. I tried the .ini fix as mentioned in the review but it didn’t seem to help. Of course this was the demo…but that shouldn’t have made any difference. I might try the second game instead as I guess they did away with the weapons thing.

    I’m see your first paragraph just fine. It’s the dialogue, right?

  • jdeuel

    I like the argument that weapons can remove fear, but even loaded to the teeth with ammo in AVP’99 the Marine missions were frightful because the enemy was anywhere at any time.

    As for Penumbra Overture, if the controls are anything like the original Penumbra they need to hack in some Wii-Remote 3d controls. I did not like using my mouse for 3d movements.

  • Gregg B

    @Mike: I’ve read that many people avoided conflict altogether in Overture which incidentally is something forced upon you in Black Plague. As somebody who has been renovating a house over the last 6 months with no DIY experience I can safely say that swinging a hammer is significantly easier in real life than it is in Overture without the fix. The fix balanced that for me.

    I’d highly recommend completing the first Penumbra because it’s one big build up to Black Plague which spoils the ending to Overture in the intro. And it’s a great ending too. Just so you know!

  • Lewis B

    @ Steerpike, those moments you mention are all my worst too!!  Do you remember the Robot labs in SS2? Absolutely terrifying, waiting for robots to burst out on you! 🙁 oh and have you ever player Condemned?

    @ Mike, The use of weapons in Penumbra is different to say HL2, where the player is physically holding the weapon, as in Penumbra it floats slightly infront of you.  However, if you change the control method to normal weapon swing, it’s no different!  Speak to Greggi and he’ll tell you what to do 🙂

    @ jdeuel, AVP the original and its sequal were scary however what type of fear do you think it is? I don’t think it’s anything more than sheer tension.  Having a Smart Gun makes you feel incredibly powerful.  I can honestly say in Penumbra the fear is sheer unrivalled terror, where you actually have to force yourself to play on.  It genuinly is that scary! 🙂

  • Jason Dobry

    It’s so true, an arsenal of weapons and ammo rapidly deflates any sense of horror or uneasiness in any game for reasons you already mentioned. Sakey, I thought Bioshock was more “lonely panic,” while I was pretty much always terrified in System Shock 2. I really, really, REALLY did not want to enter The Many’s nursery, and my weapons were so unreliable and ammo so scarce that I never felt safe.

    Silent Hill was terrifying for the same reasons. Ammo was rare and I frequently had to rely on my pipe for self-defense.  Even when I had ammo, the game mechanics prevented my character from being anything other than marginal with any firearm.

    Fear had one moment for me: I was climbing up a ladder, and as I reached the upper platform, my guy briefly looked down as he climbed off. As my perspective looked up again, that Ring-esque little girl was RIGHT THERE, reaching for me. I screamed and she was gone.

    What else…the original Aliens vs. Predator sent me into a locker room and I could only hear the facehuggers scurrying about somewhere within. I had to go in there. I advanced about three steps before the damn thing screamed and filled up my screen with its repulsive underside as it implanted me with its spawn. My roommate made fun of me for weeks for screaming like a girl child.

    Korsakovia–meh.  I was too annoyed and frustrated by the box rearrangement/jumping puzzles to be scared. I uninstalled it after an hour of play, I think. Maybe the scary parts were later, but I doubt it.

    As for Penumbra, I did play through about half of it before other games distracted me. I remember unease and creepiness, but no sweaty fear. I think I’m to blame here, or, more precisely, my daughter, who was still an infant at the time and generally allowed me only to play during the day for 45 minutes at a time. I was denied total immersion and the fear effect suffered. Maybe I should give it another go after I finish Call of Pripyat since she sleeps through the night now. With any luck, Penumbra will keep me from doing the same.

  • Gregg B

    I played the demo of F.E.A.R. but that ladder scare is the only bit I remember. Christ, that made me jump. I’m not too good with cat scares.

    Also I felt exactly the same about Korsakovia. It was creepy at first but then it began to irritate me far too much and it just soured the experience. I stopped playing as a result. Not to mention, when I realised I could bash those smoke-things with my crowbar they didn’t bother me nearly as much.

  • Online Up

    Great article. I look forward to reading more in the future.

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