For me, this game is far from perfect.
First off; shooting dudes feels weird, and in a first person shooter that should be the one thing that the development team gets right. It feels almost as if there is a 2nd AD standing just off camera telling the Splicers when they should fall down. In turn this makes almost all of the weaponry (the one exception for me was the grenade launcher, which felt awesome) feel extremely underpowered and at times non-responsive.
My next main complaint is; Plasmids. Yes plasmids are a very interesting idea and there was definitely the opportunity for some totally kick ass wackiness. In the end however essentially two plasmids were made useful; Electro-Shock and Telekineses. When I had first heard of this game and the fact it would include the ability to shoot bees(fucking Bees!) from my veins; I was giddy with excitement. This is because I fucking hate bees and the idea of unleashing that terror upon my enemies seemed set to induce a euphoria in me I have not know since reducing a buddy to gibs with the RPG in a Duke Nukem 3D death match. Sadly the bee swarm was not useful in any sense of the word.
Lastly the much touted moral choice held little to no significant consequence. "Oh oh oh should I be evil and pull the giant sea slug from this little girl's brain? Or should I be kind and release her from the imposed slavery that society has thrust upon her??" Bah, who gives a shit? Having completed both scenarios it makes little to no difference to the final outcome, in fact the sweeter of the two options is just made moot by bonus Eve provided for NOT killing little girls... Where is the fun in that?
So I have just spent 3 paragraphs complaining about a game I have rated four and a half stars, this may seem contradictory, well I suppose it is... but whatever fuck you its how I feel. Where this game truly shines is; absolutely everywhere else.
There can never be enough said about the gorgeous art direction, Rapture truly feels like a living and breathing place along with a hundred other cliches, in this case, however, they all stand true. I have played plenty of other games that I have thought were technical works of art, but never have I wanted to be a part of the environment being presented to me more than I have when playing Bioshock. Rapture seems like a kick ass place and I will go there some day, fuck you if you think I wont. With the gorgeous graphics comes one of the most enduring and completely immersing soundtracks ever committed to a video game. Everything just feels and sounds right, and when everything sounds like it should, it heightens the extreme feeling of actually being there all that much more.
Then there is the story. Right off the bat, when I had first read previews and synopses of this game I knew it was something I would imediately have to experience, as who wouldn't want to venture into the fallen paradise of a brilliant Russian tycoon? As far as I am concerned this game completely blows any arguments of whether or not games are art straight out of the water. Playing through I was engaged by the characters and in the end I was completely taken in by the ruse. Never was there a bigger "pants shitting moment" in a video game than when you first realize who Atlas truly is. Enough cannot be said about this experience and if you have to yet to (because you are some sort of crazy feces eating hermit), go out and play this game it is an absolute must.
In conclusion: Play this game. Forgive its problems and play through until the end you will not regret it. However I do regret my ex -wife... that cunt.
-Kirk Gently
