8.4 /10 1 Votes8.4
84% Metacritic Initial release date 13 September 2016 Publisher 2K Games | 8.2/10 IGN Distributor(s) Take-Two Interactive | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date(s) PlayStation 4 & Xbox OneNA: September 13, 2016WW: September 15, 2016Microsoft WindowsWW: September 16, 2016 Similar Irrational games, First-person shooter games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BioShock: The Collection is a remastered collection of the BioShock video game series. The remastered collection is developed by Blind Squirrel Games and published by 2K Games. The collection features upgraded versions of these games to support higher display resolutions and framerates on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with the exception of Infinite, which was ported to consoles from Windows. The collection was released in September 2016. Existing owners of the first two games on Windows received the remastered versions of those two games for free.
Contents
Bioshock the collection review
Contents and changes
The collection includes newly remastered versions of the first two titles in the BioShock video game series—BioShock, BioShock 2—alongside their single-player content originally released as exclusives or downloadable content packs, including BioShock 2's Minerva's Den and BioShock Infinite's Burial at Sea, and for consoles a port of the PC version of BioShock Infinite. The multiplayer component from BioShock 2 is not included in the collection. It includes the challenge game modes from all three releases, and the Museum of Orphaned Concepts, a feature from an earlier collection in which the player views an in-game gallery of abandoned development concepts. BioShock Infinite is only remastered for the console releases. The collection adds a director's commentary called Imagining BioShock, featuring the series' creator director Ken Levine and lead artist Shawn Robertson; players unlock episodes of this commentary by finding new collectible objects that have been added to BioShock. The remastered games all run in full 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second across all platforms. The PlayStation 4 retail release is spread across 2 discs, while the Xbox One retail release is released on 1 disc.
Development
Blind Squirrel Games, who previously worked with BioShock series developers Irrational Games on BioShock Infinite, assisted series producer 2K Games with development of the remastered collection. 2K decided not to remaster the Microsoft Windows edition of BioShock Infinite, which already met their graphical standards for equivalence with the updated console editions when configured to use its highest graphical settings.
News of the remastered collection leaked from retailers and trademarks several times in advance of its June 2016 announcement.
Release
The collection was released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One platforms in North America on September 13, 2016, and worldwide two days later, on September 15, 2016. The remastered versions of BioShock and BioShock 2 were free upgrades for those who owned the original Windows PC editions.
On release, players of the Windows versions noted that the remastered versions of the games retained bugs and removed graphic options without tweaking configuration files. 2K acknowledged issues with the game, and subsequently released a patch in early October 2016 to address a lack of graphics options, crashes, better monitor support and mouse controls.
Reception
BioShock: The Collection received "generally favorable" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.
IGN's Jonathon Dornbush gave BioShock: The Collection a score of 8.2/10, writing that it was disappointing BioShock gained the most attention, with less additional content and changes for later entries in the series.
The game was the first best-selling retail video game in the United Kingdom in its week of release.