Can I play Bioshock on my Macbook Air?
August 9, 2012 1:50 PM Subscribe
Can I play Bioshock on my Macbook Air? Will it be a pleasant experience? Will I have problems with overheating or with a less-than-ideal interface?
I know I can buy a Mac version of the game. That's not the question.
Every time I visit my brother, I play Bioshock on his Xbox 360. He lives across the country from me, so these visits amount to a few days once a year, during which we do other stuff too. I have never gotten very far into it, but I love the plot and the graphics.
I am in no way a gamer and don't really want to be, but I would love to be able to play more of Bioshock. I have a Macbook Air -- it's about a year old and runs Lion. I know it's not a gaming rig, but I'm wondering if it would be acceptable for one game played by a non-gamer. Would I have trouble with the fan? or with it overheating? Would the game hang up or be annoyingly slow? Would the interface be annoying compared to the Xbox? Would I have to buy some sort of controller?
Assume you are talking to someone with no knowledge of gaming hardware, and little experience with gaming software -- because that's me. Other than playing an occasional game (about 1-2 times a year) on systems my brother has owned over the years, I have no experience with modern games or systems, or their technical requirements.
I know I can buy a Mac version of the game. That's not the question.
Every time I visit my brother, I play Bioshock on his Xbox 360. He lives across the country from me, so these visits amount to a few days once a year, during which we do other stuff too. I have never gotten very far into it, but I love the plot and the graphics.
I am in no way a gamer and don't really want to be, but I would love to be able to play more of Bioshock. I have a Macbook Air -- it's about a year old and runs Lion. I know it's not a gaming rig, but I'm wondering if it would be acceptable for one game played by a non-gamer. Would I have trouble with the fan? or with it overheating? Would the game hang up or be annoyingly slow? Would the interface be annoying compared to the Xbox? Would I have to buy some sort of controller?
Assume you are talking to someone with no knowledge of gaming hardware, and little experience with gaming software -- because that's me. Other than playing an occasional game (about 1-2 times a year) on systems my brother has owned over the years, I have no experience with modern games or systems, or their technical requirements.
Best answer: You won't need a 'controller' per se, but you will need a mouse. I suppose you could use an Xbox 360 controller alternatively, but that is generally considered less preferable for computer first person shooters. Otherwise, you should be just fine for older games like that on an intel HD3000
posted by McSwaggers at 2:16 PM on August 9, 2012
posted by McSwaggers at 2:16 PM on August 9, 2012
Oh, also, you will probably want to make sure that you laptop is plugged into a wall outlet while you play, otherwise power-saving measures like CPU/graphics-throttling might conceivably cause some sort of problem. Have fun, it's a great game!
posted by McSwaggers at 2:34 PM on August 9, 2012
posted by McSwaggers at 2:34 PM on August 9, 2012
Best answer: There's a demo available. Try before you buy.
posted by permafrost at 3:08 PM on August 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by permafrost at 3:08 PM on August 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for all the responses. I didn't know there was a demo -- I'll definitely try that. But I'm feeling optimistic! Thanks so much.
posted by OrangeDisk at 6:45 PM on August 9, 2012
posted by OrangeDisk at 6:45 PM on August 9, 2012
Second the mouse. Get one with a wheel for quick weapon-switching.
Shut down all other applications while running it-- this will spare up some cycles, and avoid interruptions from Growl and whatnot.
The game gets a bit slow in the middle, bogged down by some giant levels. Stick with it.
posted by Sunburnt at 7:14 PM on August 9, 2012
Shut down all other applications while running it-- this will spare up some cycles, and avoid interruptions from Growl and whatnot.
The game gets a bit slow in the middle, bogged down by some giant levels. Stick with it.
posted by Sunburnt at 7:14 PM on August 9, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:52 PM on August 9, 2012