Despite the official minimum requirement of a Pixel Shader 3.0 capable video card, a fix makes it possible to run 2k Games' Bioshock with older ATI boards. The ShaderShock community is releasing several updates to the unofficial fix, that will enable ATI Radeon 9 and X series owners to run the game with Pixel Shader 2.0 and 2.0b support -- GeforceFX 5 series cards appear not to be working though.

The screenshot above shows Bioshock using Pixel Shaders 2.0b, on a Radeon X850 XT. A proof of concept video is up on youtube.com.

To try things out for yourself, first grab the demo of Bioshock and apply the ShaderShock fix. There are different fixes, depending on the ATI board you own -- check the ShaderShock forums for the appropriate download. If it turns out to work, you might want to consider getting the full game.