For the first time in a long time you can have a different experience
from a first person shooter. While Bioshock still uses some of the same
mechanics found in this genre, it is one of the few which sets the bar
pretty high and makes everything fit together.
The PC and Xbox 360 versions came out in August 2007 and the PS3 edition
a year later, in October 2008. The PS3 version has better graphics,
better textures, fewer bugs and no more frame-rate problems. This makes
the game look very good. But it doesn't look as good as other shooters
from 2008, like Resistance for instance. But the art design is one of
the best in recent memory and the atmosphere the game creates with the
help of its great graphics, steady framerate and outstanding visual
design make for one of the most interesting environments to play in.
You play as Jack, an airplane passenger sometime in 1960. The plane
crashes in the Atlantic Ocean and he is the only survivor. Right away
you will probably see the best water effects in gaming history. There is
absolutely no game out there, with better water animations and
textures. The water is beautifully done, and at the first glance,
everything will look pretty realistically. As you are the sole survivor
of the plane crash, you swim to a lighthouse and find an elevator which
will begin your journey through the city of Rapture. Rapture is an
undersea city, built by maniac Andrew Ryan after the second World War.
Andrew Ryan brought to the city of Rapture the best scientists in the
world, to let them make experiments and not be pressured by the outside
world. One big advancement the scientists made is ADAM. These stem cells
are able to rewrite and regenerate human genome. With the help of ADAM
the people of Rapture were able to enhance their bodies with superhuman
powers. Andrew Ryan discovered that he could mass produce ADAM by
implanting it in small children.
The whole story is told by voice tapes, found in the entire city. You
will find such tapes and listen to them, receiving objectives and
information regarding your current mission and the whole history of
Rapture. You will find many of these tapes scattered all around the
city, some of them belonging to people who used them as messages or
journals, but you will also find such tapes from the important people of
Rapture and the game itself. All these tapes are pre-recorded and the
quality of the audio and the performance done by the voice actors is
terrific. You will hear different accents, moods and language and it all
helps to creating a great atmosphere.
As you enter the undersea city of Rapture you'll realize that the whole
city is pretty destroyed. It's not alive anymore. It's not populated
anymore, well, there are some crazy mutant zombies, called Splicers
which make their way around the city in search for ADAM. As missions
will go by, you'll encounter different types of Splicers. Each type has
special abilities, appearance and use. The story itself is pretty
interesting, if you can keep up with all the audio diaries that you
find. One thing the game does great is the fact that it doesn't stop.
Besides a few loading times, when you get from one main area to another,
there are basically no loading times. This makes the game feel right
and the experience isn't affected by any means. The main plot evolves
around your character, who will have to kill someone important, and
after that, find out something which will change your perspective over
things, and you will have to make yet another big kill. The story and
game are both very liniar. Go there, do that, kill that, get a certain
amount of something, and things like that. But the fact that the whole
city feels alive, brings a lot to the experience. The city really feels
like a city. Even if it's nowhere close to games like GTA or other
sandbox games, the atmosphere and sandbox style gameplay make for a
believable Rapture. Everything looks great and the 50's and 60's style
is all over the place. This game feels special, and it is. Everything is
well done.
The sound design is one of the best things about the game. As there are
hardly any cutscenes, the story evolves around the diaries you find and
listen to. They are all well done and the voice acting is terrific.
Besides all the voices, the sounds from guns, plasmids or the other
inhabitants of Rapture help create that great atmosphere. Splicers of
different types make different sounds, you'll hear them close and know
what kind of a Splicer is around. The same thing is with the Big
Daddy's. They are the toughest enemies in the game, and they protect the
Little Sisters. As you'll need to harvest the Little Sisters for ADAM,
you'll have to take them out first. You will know when a Big Daddy is
close, by it's hard and heavy footsteps and the crumbling of the floor.
This is truly a neat touch and it just helps make the experience more
real. You do however have the choice to rescue the Little Sisters after
taking out the Big Daddy. But that will result in no ADAM. And as ADAM
is the currency for mutation upgrades, it will be a tough choice between
rescuing or harvesting the Little Sisters.
Graphically the game looks great. But it doesn't have that HD feel you
get from other games. It looks great, no doubt about that, but it looks
sort of like the best old car, compared to the best new one. They are
both great, but the new one is just, better looking. The game has
however it's brilliant parts, water effects are just amazing, and the
physics do a great job as well.
Probably the worst thing about the game is the fact that the gunfight is
a little weak sometimes. You will encounter situations when you simply
won't know what you're shooting at, as the screen fills with effects,
and you won't even know who's attacking you, or even from where. This
may be a letdown for some but the game gives an overall good experience
with it's gunfight mechanics. Another issue for some may be the slow
paced action. You will wonder through the city and just meet a few
enemies. But you won't be assaulted by dozens of enemies or things like
this which are pretty frequent in first person shooters. The game's
difficulty is somewhere below easy. Even on harder difficulties, the
game appears to be easier. Even if the number of enemies is bigger and
they are tougher, you'll still make it alive.
Another drawback may be the game's length, which may be affected by the
lack of multiplayer. It's pretty much as long as any other first person
shooter out there, and if you won't love this game, there won't really
be any reasons for coming back, maybe for some more trophies but that's
it.
Overall, Bioshock is a great game, which all first person shooters
should play. If you missed the first releases of this game, this is the
time to get it. Even if the game lacks in the multiplayer department it
may make out in the overall replay value. You may want to play this game
again after finishing it. It's a hard game to describe. You may love it
or just say it's a good game. But no one can say it's not a good game.
Not very often do we gamers get a game like this, so just buy this game.
Or rent it, or steal it. But just play it, you need to.
