Bioshock Review

September 6, 2007

The first thing you will notice about Bioshock when you play it is its sheer beauty, every inch of “Rapture” is beautifully created, and looks like it has come straight out of a 1950’s novel, the lit areas show you witty advertisements and even hints (whilst trying to achieve a particular goal early on in the game, you will see an advertisement for the dental area on a wall which is giving away free Plasmids, which is very helpful if you’re a bit stuck) whereas the dark areas fill you with terror as to what you may find there.

The audio in Bioshock is also second to non, the music is atmospheric and the characters and devices you come across in the game are perfectly recorded and acted, Atlas your guide via the radio comes across the airwaves in a bitty raw way, and in various situations actually sounds scared for you as he tries to lead you to safety.

The main reason that Bioshock is so special though is the story, from start to finish it is beautifully written, engaging and frightening, which is a really rare thing in a game. Essentially once you have completed the game you will feel obliged to play again just to understand the hidden messages from earlier in the game that have been revealed by completing it. The inhabitants have left behind audio tapes for you to discover, and these help you understand what has been going on in the city and reveal a lot of information if you choose to pick them up that is, as you are quite free to actually play the game as a sheer shooter and fight your way to the finish.

Gameplay
When you begin the game you have no weapons, but quickly pick up a wrench to enable you to get in some close quarters fisti cuffs, soon enough you pick up your first Plasmid (a genetic enhancement that enables you to perform various supernatural tasks such as Electrical Bolt, Incinerate and Telekinesis) which is the Electro Bolt, this plasmid enables you to stun your enemy and then get in close to finish them off, or alternatively kill a group of enemies by electrifying a pool of water they are standing in. They’re are all manner of plasmids in the game (which we wont spoil for you) and you are also able to modify your standard weapons too using the “power to the people stations”.

During the game you are able to “hack” security drones and turrets, which makes them stop firing at you, and start firing at your enemies instead, you are also able to hack the various machines of Rapture such as first aid ones, where it will cost less for you to get aid, but will injure an enemy should they try to utilise it, Hacking takes the form of a mini game (don’t worry the game gets paused whilst you attempt a hack) where you must direct the flow of water from point a – b using pipes etc, without spilling it.

The most hyped feature of Bioshock are the Big Daddies, to be fair apart from fleeting glances they don’t actually feature as much as you might think, but they are rock hard, and even the best FPS gamers will struggle against a daddy. Big Daddies are the bodyguards of the little sisters, and they come running as soon as the little girl starts shrieking, believe me taking down a Big Daddy is not easy, but it is the only way to get Adam from the little girl. Once the Daddy is down, the little girl gets terribly upset asking “Mr Bubbles” to get up, then you are faced with a terrible decision, do you save the little girl, and only get half the Adam, or do you kill her and get it all.

Overall
we could go on about the brilliance of this game for hours, we have never played a game as good, and we doubt we will for some time to come. If you are lucky enough to have a 360, or are into PC games, buy this as soon as it comes out and you will not be disappointed

Graphics: Rating:
Beautifully created and breathtaking