The exact same issue that had PC gamers fuming when the original BioShock was released has been confirmed to be an issue with BioShock 2 as well. Instead of giving players more screen real estate in 16:10 or 16:9 widescreen mode, as players expect, BioShock 2 takes the 4:3 aspect ratio and clips off the top and bottom, giving players with widescreen monitors less of a view of the action than those without. You can see the differences in the screens below, which were sent to us via ImageShack.
I’ve been fooling with the settings in my PC version of the game, and can confirm that yes, there is a clear difference between the two resolutions.
So yes, that’s the bad news. The good news is that 2K isn’t sitting back this time, telling us that this is the way they intended the game to be. Community manager 2K Elizabeth has already replied in the main thread, accepting that there is indeed a problem, and a fix was on the way.
Yes, there’s a problem, yes, a fix is on the way, yes the view will expand horizontally for you widescreen gamers.
Still, it’s amazing that the issue cropped up (pun intended) again, given the reaction to players last time around.
We’ve contacted 2K Games for further comment, and will update should it arrive.
Widescreen is fudged… AGAIN! [2K Forums - Thanks Everyone!]
Daniel Minge
February 11, 2010 at 9:56 AM
You would think they would learn after the uproar created from the first game regarding this..?
Report PermalinkAnthonyP
February 11, 2010 at 9:58 AM
Does the console version of the game support wide screen formatting?
Report PermalinkNate
February 11, 2010 at 10:10 AM
How the hell is this a big deal? what kind of gamer has a 4×3 screen on his gaming rig still? Molehill into mountain.
Report PermalinkNathan Runge
February 11, 2010 at 10:32 AM
I think you fail to understand the problem. The problem is not with ‘regular’ x 3 screens, but with widescreen monitors. Basically those using widescreen monitors are not getting a full view of the game, which is actually a pretty major impact in terms of what you can perceive and the visual impression the game makes. Contrarily, 4 x 3 screen users are getting a larger view.
Report PermalinkKorwin
February 11, 2010 at 10:40 AM
Yeah it sounds like your mis-reading the issue.
Report Permalinkbrettk
February 11, 2010 at 10:44 AM
That is exactly why it is a big deal…the problem is with widescreen users, they aren’t getting the real estate they should
Report PermalinkAlex Cullinan
February 11, 2010 at 11:35 AM
It’s a big deal because it’s not something that is hard to get right. It’s something that takes the community by surprise when a big-time developer fluffs up something that others have been getting right for the last five years. Hell, there are even games from the 1990s that you can play with native widescreen support.
Report PermalinkJason Padgett
February 11, 2010 at 2:37 PM
way to miss the point.
Report PermalinkAaron Clement
February 11, 2010 at 10:18 AM
After the reaming given to us by the Steam pricing, no care.
Report Permalinkalinos
February 11, 2010 at 1:37 PM
Dude there were simple ways around that sure it doesnt excuse the fact that it happened but buying of the UK site was/is still cheaper than the 50US we wouldve been charged
Report PermalinkCyK
February 11, 2010 at 10:26 AM
I don’t know why 16:9/16:10 widescreen isn’t the standard yet. I have 1 tv, 4 monitors that are widescreen and 1 tv that isn’t. Apparently a lot of people are still using CRT’s
Report PermalinkHamish
February 11, 2010 at 11:20 AM
okay developers….. I think now is the time to apply the widescreen ratio to ALL newly developed games. Nearly everyone I know and especially all gaming friends that I have, have widescreen HD screens. I thought it was the norm but obviously I was wrong. I realised that after playing Dead Rising for the first time when it launched that it was time to upgrade as the future of game development was already upon me…. I couldn’t read any of the text in the game and I knew that this was gonna happen a lot.
I’m suprised that this was made like this, they obviously think that most gamers still use CRT’s, I would like to think that we’ve mostly taken the plunge with HD now, especially now that HDTV’s aren’t nearly as expensive to buy anymore.
Report Permalinkmambodog
February 11, 2010 at 11:31 AM
I would have thought that the game was developed for widescreen initially, so really, widescreen players are getting it ‘as intended’ with the normal field of view, whereas 4:3 players are getting a larger than normal field of view, sort of like shooting a film with an ‘open matte’ (wikipedia it).
More vertical space isn’t always better, ie. if the content is intended for less.
Report PermalinkJ
February 11, 2010 at 12:53 PM
I wonder if this is an indication that Bioshock 2 began development (and code branched) before the original game was released and it’s widescreen patch arrived… might explain why the issue cropped up again but it’s still major stumble for the devs and QA to not ensure that updates to the original codebase weren’t shared with the sequel. The switch from 2K Boston to 2K Marin (?) could have contributed to this too.
Report PermalinkKhuntza
February 11, 2010 at 11:48 PM
I run eyefinity at 5040×1050.. where is my support? sob..
Report PermalinkVangalorr
February 12, 2010 at 10:19 AM
After all the stuff ups with the last one it looks like it was wise to stay well clear of this iteration. I still cant play the original on vista-64 due to screen flickering and sound looping, even after attempting every “fix” found on the pathetic take2 “support” forums….
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