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  1. Games
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Take a look at some Bioshock and Bioshock 2 Remastered comparison screenshots

Features
By Christopher Livingston published 16 September 2016

See how much extra graphics you're getting.

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Bioshock and Bioshock 2 Remastered comparison gallery

Bioshock and Bioshock 2 Remastered comparison gallery

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Bioshock

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PRODUCTS
Bioshock 2 Bioshock
Christopher Livingston
Christopher Livingston
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Senior Editor

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.

Bioshock: The Collection landed a few hours ago, which includes 1080p remastered versions of Bioshock and Bioshock 2. I dashed through the opening sequences of the old and new versions of both games to get some comparison screenshots. The change is definitely far more noticeable in Bioshock, especially since the remastered version features an expanded FOV toggle in the options menu (Bioshock 2 Remastered does not). Have a nose through the gallery above to see how the remastered versions of both games look. I've noted which shot each game comes from directly underneath.

Performance-wise, on my GeForce GTX 980 I got around 330 fps with the original Bioshock games, while that dipped to a paltry 200 fps with the remastered version. The only issue I noticed while playing (keep in mind, I didn't play a whole lot) is that after remapping a few keys (C to crouch, really?) in Bioshock Remastered, the menu suddenly showed controller prompts (I didn't have a controller plugged in) and wouldn't let me mouse-click on any options (though I could arrow through them and hit Enter to select). A restart fixed this.

Check out our post for minimum requirements and instructions on how to get Bioshock: The Collection if you already own the original games.

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We've outgrown the need for BioShock, but you can get the whole trilogy plus Mafia 1, 2, and 3 for a mere $18 right now
 
 
Close up of Shodan, antagonist of System Shock 2. Feminine face with circuitry spreading over it and out into wires surrounding.
System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remastered is a light touch remaster, but it's the best way to play the imsim classic
 
 
The iconic look of BioShock's Big Daddy has its roots in System Shock 2's low polygon counts: 'If you embraced your designing limitations on that stuff, you'd end up with a better model'
 
 
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater: All the key details on the remake of a PS2 classic
 
 
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater weapons - Snake with a pistol
I've tested the simple config file tweaks to improve Metal Gear Solid Delta's ray tracing and add frame gen, but the mod to ditch the 60 fps cap is what you really need
 
 
Emma Frost with a love heart
Steam store pages just got thicker than Emma Frost's thighs
 
 
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