Unlock hard mode in the BioShock demo

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 14th 2007 at 10:30AM }

So, you've downloaded the BioShock demo. You've plumbed its glorious depths, defeated its grisly baddies, and you thought to yourself, "Self," you thought, "that was easy." Well fear not, avid BioShock fans, for we have one more way to stay your undying hunger for underwater dystopia. The fine fellows at DCEmu have uncovered how to play the BioShock demo in hard mode. When you start the BioShock demo, you'll notice that the hard mode option is there, but cannot be selected. The workaround for this is actually very simple. Before you start up the demo, open up your gamer profile and edit the default game settings. Under "general," simply set your default difficulty to hard. Now start up the BioShock demo and, voilà, hard difficulty will be highlighted. Just don't move it or you won't be able to reselect it without restarting the demo.

Enjoy.

Tags: 2k, 2kgames, bioshock, irrational, irrationalgames, taketwo, taketwointeractive

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

SAGExSDX @ Aug 14th 2007 10:39AM

interesting!

DjDATZ @ Aug 14th 2007 10:40AM

smart ppl...

ryan @ Aug 14th 2007 10:43AM

good demo but i found these minor complaints with it. anybody wanna prove me wrong?

-smoke from his cigarette in the beginning looked too fake, like a tail

-after a while water splashing looks like the same alpha jumping up and down (which i think it is)

-your main character injected that plasmid way too eagerly the first time (honestly did he even know what it'd do to him? it's a huge ass needle for christsake!)

-the ending trailer of the demo it shows the freezing ability. you can freeze enemies IN AIR! now in reality, freezing a running enemy should shatter the enemy on the floor because of momentum anyway. but in the air? i know this is just a game, but some realism couldn't hurt!

all in all tho the majority of the game outweighs these complaints. really psyched about this game!

Bravo6 @ Aug 14th 2007 10:43AM

I was really on the fence about this game, but after playing the demo I think I'm going to pick it up.

bus33boy @ Aug 14th 2007 10:54AM

@ryan:

1) Perhaps.

2) Perhaps.

3) Your character is a hard-core heroin addict, and was looking for a little bump. Makes perfect sense.

4) You're cool with "I shoot freezy rays from my hand that cool faster than liquid nitrogen," but you're concerned that the frozen bodies should fall because otherwise its not realistic? Okay -- the freezy rays freeze gravity too.

mirage @ Aug 14th 2007 10:58AM

@4

It is hard to refute the smoking thing. I wish when you found the cigarettes in Rapture that you actually had one in hand for a couple of puffs. The simple puff of smoke is very old school. To me extremely minor and does not affect my opinion of this game whatsoever.

I also agree that the water splashes look kind of lame but again this is a cosmetic complaint and doesn't affect the gameplay one bit.

For the plasmid I also agree that it is a little weird, but in an interview Ken Levine (creative director) stated that you don't get plasmids this early in the real game. This was thrown in to the demo in order for you to get a taste of it. I hope its appearance in the real game has a little more build up to it rather than just seeing a needle and randomly injecting yourself with it.

Overall though, I absolutely love it and it blows everything else out there away when it comes to atmosphere and having a deep single player story. It is refreshing to me to see an original story and a deeply involving single player experience rather than a tacked on single player experience like most modern shooters.

xXFenixKnight13Xx @ Aug 14th 2007 11:00AM

This game is badass. I played it last night and it didnt take that long to download like other ppl were saying 30min to be exact. Anyways Im def gonna buy now that i played the Demo =) 360 is the SHITE!!

Magic Whiskey @ Aug 14th 2007 11:02AM

WOW..someone, somewhere finally utilized those default game settings in the 360!
I'm floored.

While you guys are submitting comments, I'll go back and say that the animations for the enemies are way too cartoony for me in the demo, and pull me out of the otherwise immersive world.

I'll rent Bioshock sometime after I work through Stranglehold, probably.

Nick @ Aug 14th 2007 11:04AM

I thought it was boring. Bring on Warhawk! That should keep me busy till Halo 3.

chenry @ Aug 14th 2007 11:06AM

@4
1. can't dispute that.
2. can't dispute that either. But dammit if it isn't pretty anyway.
3. I suspect the main character may be an ex-con. The tattoos.
4. I think the Splicer had those meat hooks and she was hanging off the pillar when she got frozen. Froze her to the pillar.

ryan @ Aug 14th 2007 11:18AM

ahaha, yeah the complaints about the smoke and water were only minor. they still do their job.

it's cool that the developer will change how early the plasmids are introduced. that means more gameplay added to the beginning and more surprises!

but the freezing thing, that still kinda bugs me. it's cool and understandable to get freezing powers from a gene altering needle. i get it. it is believable to me.

but it's a cold freeze not a time freeze. it's the whole 'if i do this i expect this to happen' thinking.

if i splash in water i expect to see an effect. if i shoot wood vs. metal i expect to see a different effect for each. if i burn someone i expect to see them try and cool off.

you get what i'm saying? with a game that tries to immerse you as much as possible, why not go all out? freezing running enemies i can understand, the buildup of cold is so great it holds them straight to the ground they walk on. that's feasible, it makes me feel a cause and effect.

freezing gravity? fanboy, please.

blk @ Aug 14th 2007 11:52AM

Watch the language first of all. Secondly, that really is a good find. I'm going to have to try that out tonight!

ryan @ Aug 14th 2007 11:24AM

@10 chenry

http://youtube.com/watch?v=O-mw27j-Sa0

-1:02

she jumps and is frozen in the air, like Sub-Zero on a Saturday night. =)

FATALITY

mirage @ Aug 14th 2007 11:28AM

@ 9

You Halo fanboys make me sick! I can't believe you guys would pass on a great single player game just because it doesn't have multiplayer. It's like you can't play a game unless there is some random 12 y/o running around spouting how horny he is(maybe thats you?)!

I digress, I am not here to start a flame war but I have had lots of people tell me they weren't even interested in this game but they couldn't give me any real reason. I am personally the opposite of multiplayer fanboys and prefer a rich, immersive single player story and usually barely touch the multiplayer option in a shooter. For me, Bioshock has the best single player story so far on the 360.

Tony @ Aug 14th 2007 11:40AM

I don't really think being frozen midair is that unusual given the situation. I mean, we're talking about a guy injecting himself with huge syringes of goop that give him amazing, impossible super powers. Realism is already out the window there. Who is to say that super power can't contribute to that? lol

I get the point, I just don't think it really matters. The other things (smoke, water), I can't really discount... but I guess no game is absolutely perfect. It seems like it does most of what it does so well that it shouldn't really matter.

Oss @ Aug 14th 2007 12:26PM

Did anyone else notice the models of the splicers and your character looked kind of doughey? Like a doll rather than a person.

Joshua @ Aug 14th 2007 12:00PM

If the ice formation of the freeze somehow bonded to the floor below the target your freeze issues would be solved.

The odd movements of the Splicers did bother me as they move a little too much. I have to agree with Magic Whiskey on that.

But I'm buying the game...it's a great looking game with a story I want to know more about. I don't think they are changing FPS or doing something really 'new' but it's a great title.

iFester @ Aug 14th 2007 12:57PM

In regards to the physics and the realism one would expect from such, are we also forgetting the setting is in the late 1950's where our own technology can't build a city underwater? Suspension of disbelief my friends. Just play and enjoy the game. ;)

Bennyishere @ Aug 14th 2007 12:46PM

I loved the demo, but the only thing that bugged me was that the subtitles (when activated in the options menu) were completely out of sync. The problem seems to be that they didn't enter specific times for each line. Even though subs would start when a person spoke, they wouldn't follow the dialog properly.

ryan @ Aug 14th 2007 1:06PM

ah, throwing reality out the window eh? in the Matrix i can see freezing in midair happening. not here.

watch the ending trailer again.

it'd just look reeally strange in the scene where the splicer is jumping really fast and far from a balcony if she got frozen suddenly, agreed? it'd look like a glitch because in our mind we want a cause and effect to occur.

if there is a trail of ice bonding to the floor please, i'd like to see a screen cap.

in our world taking drugs gives you enhanced strength. in Bioshock taking a plasmid freezes people, it's science fiction: a medium that takes us outside the norm yet still gives us a sense of belief in the world.

in a way adding weight to a frozen enemy brings you further into the world, much like the opposite: actually freezing them in the Matrix midair brings you closer to the world of the Matrix.

to further kill this topic, it would be way cooler if the enemy shattered from the fall than stupidly hanging in the air. just that extra visceral realism added could make freezing THAT MUCH MORE SATISFYING.

IMO, Irrational Games: change the freeze physics.

or i can just STFU and not use the freeze option, eh?

Joshua @ Aug 14th 2007 1:07PM

@iFester

You mean like seeing Big Daddy take off in a bull charge that puts Marcus Fenix's running ability to shame? I really dug that as it wasn't expected. Your brain tells you that they should not be able to move so fast.

el hazard @ Aug 14th 2007 1:33PM

Hmmm...

If they did have real working ice freezing, would there be people out there wishing that the bad guys would stay frozen in the air?

What are the benefits of freezing in the air? I can only think of platforming games like Metroid's freeze gun.

But Bioshock is not about platforming right?

xXFenixKnight13Xx @ Aug 14th 2007 1:39PM

Fist of all as I already stated this demo of the game kick @ss, all of the special powers you get are awesome. Whoever first complained about this freezing in the air is a freakin ret*rd! Its just a freakin GAME!! Damn NERDS!!!

xXFenixKnight13Xx @ Aug 14th 2007 1:40PM

GregA @ Aug 14th 2007 1:49PM

Wow if you want reality and a FPS experience joing the frigging army! My understanding is they are willing to pay you a bonus of 40k for each 4 year commitment you agree to right now.

Also while you are in training they provide and encourage FPS and RPG gaming because it helps build the soldier mindset and soldier problem solving skills.

Really, if you are a gamer, you should give soldiering as a career option a chance. It is a good fit. In spite of your opinions of the war.

Worst case scenario. You get to be a real life war hero.

Tom Bonez @ Aug 14th 2007 1:53PM

My default wa already set 2 hard, I had already done the bug, dint no it wa owt too special

I did the demo hard first time round on hard 2

I jst wanna no, who doesnt have there defauilt settin set 2 hard anyways

Tom Bonez

Joshua @ Aug 14th 2007 1:54PM

@GregA

You have a point but then again I'm still waiting for respawning in real life...

AmplifiedJ @ Aug 14th 2007 2:33PM

1. Awesome game so far, freezing effects aside.

But my real gripe is with:

2. Hey "blk," that is the second Bioshock thread where you have told people to "keep it clean." WTF? First of all, stop trying to be our parent and/or pastor. Second, there wasn't anything that I saw in the previous comments that remotely resembled something not being "clean" except for that reference about the horny 12 year olds. Stop trying to be the internet police - you just look retarded.

For what it's worth on the game, I am wholly convinced I am getting the special edition, $50 Best Buy card aside. :(

AmplifiedJ @ Aug 14th 2007 2:33PM

Edit: Not "keep it clean," but "watch the language." What about "Fuck fuckity fuck fuck fuck, that Big Daddy scared the shit out of me"?

TORO @ Aug 14th 2007 3:00PM

What the fuck dude stop swearing!

fiffer86 @ Aug 14th 2007 8:10PM

I think the freezing in mid air is fine, yes its not totally real, but nor would be shatering when it hits the ground. If their was a block of ice, or a frozen body, the most that would happen is maybe a arm or leg would brake off on impact, if thats what it landed on. And if you still dont like it, just imagin that the main charictor is holding the bodies up with his telikinesis when he freezes them in air. I wouldnt want a 150+ pound ice block hitting me if it was launched towards me.

Brian Fantana @ Aug 14th 2007 9:06PM

Yeah man I was wandering why mine let me pick hard and I heard everyone talkin about not being able to play it. Huh so thats why mine went straight to hard.

Zeus the God @ Aug 15th 2007 3:10AM

For those of you complaining about the one splicer that gets frozen in the trailer (if I'm thinking of the same thing), she actually lands before she gets frozen.

ryan @ Aug 18th 2007 12:57PM

for some reason i was banned from this thread for a while...

@Zeus (hey buddy! 8D)

she does not land. if she had landed, ice would've formed around the floor surrounding her feet. she is frozen in midair.

and for those keep saying "it's just a game, it's not real!"

watch this:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=D8AGVW9Jj8E

if security drones can do it, why the hell not humans? ...i think i made my point.

Flash Gamers @ Sep 9th 2007 1:29PM

Wow, this game is amazing!

@Ryan

Dude, it's a DEMO for christsake! Don't you think that a demo would have ATLEAST one or two screwups in it? If so, were you PURPOSELY looking for them? Besides that, i WANT this game SOOOOOOOOOO bad! This is an awesome game! I don't care if it has multiplayer or not! The story is awesome, placed in a good time (era), and the graphics are SWEEEEET!

Anyone disagree with me?