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BioShock

Reviewed on: Xbox 360
Available on: PC, Xbox 360

Rarely, maybe once every 5 years a game comes along that makes you sit back aghast, unable to speak. A game that is truly different, unique, incredible and in many ways monumental. In 2007, Bioshock is that game.

Players: 1 Player
Genre:
Release: 2007-08-24

Developer: 2K Boston & 2K Australia
Distributor: 2K Games

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If you�ve read any of my reviews in the past, you�ll probably be expecting this review to start with a little story or anecdote that is set up in a way where I can draw parallels into the game I�ve just played and conveniently pad out the length of the review without any real substance.

This review however, is a bit different. I�m not messing about.

Bioshock is epic.

Rarely, maybe once every 5 years a game comes along that makes you sit back aghast, unable to speak. A game that is truly different, unique, incredible and in many ways monumental. In 2007, Bioshock is that game. Not only will it wow you, it�ll wow you again and again and again. It�s got some pretty good press so far but in many ways the hype will never prepare you for just how rich, vivid and unsettling this game really is.

Oooo, look at all the pretty

The start of Bioshock is a perfect case in point. You, the sole survivor of a plane crash are stranded in the middle of the ocean. Surrounded by flame and plane debris, your only chance of survival is to enter the dark lighthouse that is rising ominously out of the dark ocean that you just happened to crash next to. The first thing you notice is just how incredibly gorgeously the particle fire rises into the night, reflected by the water which ripples and rolls and moves just as you would expect real water to ripple and roll and move. This is one of the most incredibly pretty games ever.

Notice how many times I�ve used the word incredible? I apologise if I seem to be gushing, but no amount of hyperbole could possibly do anything but sell Bioshock short.

Stepping into the lighthouse, you�re greeted with soothing 1950s music yet the setting is distinctly creepy. Lights turn on noisily as you make your way under a banner that reads �No gods or kings, only man� down some stairs to a brass diving bell called a bathysphere. At this point you feel a bit like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole. How deep does the rabbit hole go? Where will this diving bell take me? What is this place? Who built this lighthouse in the middle of the sea? As the bathysphere descends into the depths, 3 of the four questions are answered.

This amazing Art Deco underwater utopia, Rapture as it is known, is a vast undersea city built by a megalomaniac named Andrew Ryan. Rapture was built as a place where �The artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, where the great will not be constrained by the small.� It is a place where a man is wholly entitled to the sweat of his brow. It is this man, Ryan, who makes the concept of Rapture so believable. A vast undersea city existing in the �50s is not really something you or I might call fathomable but the voice acting, the calm sincerity and the sheer unwavering conviction in Ryan�s voice makes you believe that not only does this place exist but you are actually there. If the voice acting for Ryan is truly exceptional, then the rest of the cast isn�t far behind. Every single character is executed with a gripping cogency. This is voice acting at its finest. The story is told through audio tapes that you pick up along the way as you find them. This makes the game very flexible. If you want to get entangled in the story and the sub plots it�s fantastic to slow down, take your time and find all of the audio logs. Believe me when I say the time will be very well spent. If that doesn�t sound like your cup of Tetley�s then you can play through at your own pace and stick to the main plot as you see fit.

Hold on a second ... he's not a REAL doctor!

Your first moments in Rapture are a somewhat gruesome affair and as you apprehensively make your way out of the bathysphere you�re greeted through the radio by a man known as �Atlas� who seems to be alive, sane and wanting to help you. This is where you first notice how well the atmosphere in Bioshock has been crafted. There is a realisation that not only are the graphics simply stunning, but the sound is immersive and very, very unsettling. You hear things moving behind you only to spin around to see nothing. The constant background drone is harshly intercepted by in game events like large lights clicking and cracking into action. The graphics are nice but it�s the sound that makes Rapture feel alive. Stop for a moment and you hear all manner of background movement, muffled cries, distant doors and the like. With every single footstep the rabbit hole gets deeper and deeper and deeper.

Clearly, the main character in the game is not worried about needles filled with strange substances because very shortly into the game you inject yourself with your first plasmid. Plasmids are genetic enhancements which enable you to do all sorts of cool stuff like shoot lightning bolts from your hand, set things on fire at will, freeze things, send swarms of wasps to buzz your enemies, my personal favourite was telekinesis (as the billboard in Rapture says, �Mind Over Matter�) or more. There are plenty of plasmids in the game but you can only have up to 6 equipped at any time and that�s also only after you�ve unlocked all 6 plasmid slots. In addition to the active plasmids, there are also �Gene Tonics� which are passive upgrades. Tonics can range from strength upgrades to hacking upgrades to cool upgrades, like the one where if an enemy tries a melee attack you�ll automatically shock everyone within a close radius. Plasmids and Tonics can be swapped in and out at any of the gene bank stations that are scatted throughout Rapture. There are 2 plasmid and tonic related resources in the game, Adam and Eve. Eve is the substance required to use plasmids, run out of Eve, you�re stuck with bullets or your trusty wrench only. Adam is the substance used to buy plasmids, tonics and upgrades.

The only way to get Adam, is to either harvest or save Rapture�s well publicised and very creepy Little Sisters. This is the moral choice you�re faced with in the game and it is the determining factor that decides which of the game�s two endings you�ll experience, so choose wisely. Harvesting the Little Sister means killing the little girl which in turn yields more Adam. Saving the Little Sister means you get less Adam but as you�re promised by Tenenbaum, one of the mad scientists, you�ll be looked after. Therein lies the big choice. Do I save the Little Sister for a reward? Will there even be a reward? Can I trust Tenenbaum? Should I harvest to obtain maximum Adam and therefore the best plasmid and tonic upgrades?

"Hey little sister, what have you doooooone"

The big problem with getting to that Adam that the Little Sisters are carrying is that you need to eliminate her guardian whom she affectionately calls �Mr Bubbles�. To you and me, he�s the Big Daddy.

I�ll never forget the first Big Daddy moment. It�s a scripted event, you�re stuck behind some security glass and you get to watch the whole scene unfold. I don�t want to spoil this moment for you so let�s just say it�s intimidating, gruesome and downright awe inspiring. Then there�s the knowledge that you�ll be taking on these giant, lumbering, legged tanks before too long. Yikes. I�ll also never forget the first time I took a Big Daddy on. Setting myself up a large distance away with my Electro Bolt plasmid at the ready I frantically fired an entire magazine into a Bouncer, one of the two types of Daddy. This seemed to do very little and by the time I was empty this big, lumbering behemoth had turned and bolted directly at me at a speed that would make Asafa Powell jealous. Before I had the chance to fire my Electro Bolt, dodge out of the way or say �sheeeeeiiiiiiiteeee!!� I�d been cleaned up proper and found myself in one of Rapture�s many Vita-Chambers. Ouch. Vita-Chambers are revival points and are the source of my one major criticism of Bioshock. There appears to be no real penalty for dying. No matter how many times you die, you just pop out of the nearest Vita-Chamber without any discernable loss in health packs, Eve Hypos (refills), weapons or ammo. Your foe�s health isn�t restored either, which means you can pick up right where you left off not just once but again and again and again and so forth.

Sure, the Daddies are tough but none of the enemies in the game are a pushover. Splicers, once sane inhabitants of Rapture who gene spliced a few too many times are the foes you�ll encounter most of the time. There are many types of Splicers, some will try to bludgeon you to death with a blunt instrument, some carry guns, some can climb the walls and clamber across the roof. They are all very clever and difficult to attack. They all force you to assess your situation, the environment and your available attacks to come up with the best way to take them down. If they step into a puddle or pool, hit it with the Electro Bolt and all the enemies in water will be shocked with a damage bonus. The same goes for oil slicks and the Incinerate plasmid. Then the weapons have three different ammo types each being more effective depending on the situation. It is imperative that you thoughtfully and tactically approach each and every enemy and environment as the combat in Bioshock is very flexible and very involving.

Star Wars force power ripoff

The big thing about Bioshock, though, ahead of the great graphics, awesome atmosphere, outstanding combat, fiendish foes and perfect presentation, is the story. It�s a roller-coaster ride with plenty of twists and even though this is a 20 hour or so game, it seems like there is so much more story packed into such a comparatively short play time. I can�t write too much about the story without spoiling it but I will say that it will make you ask questions about yourself as a gamer and why you do certain things and obey certain conventions. If gaming had rules, it�s as if Bioshock has set out to break them. While it may not break them all, it certainly redefines a good few and questions the rest.

Bioshock is an intoxicating break from convention. It�s a futuristic feeling game set back in time in what is possibly the most stunning and unique setting ever. Bioshock is the sort of game that you�ll replay again and again even when the superb story gets old because the gameplay is just so much fun. Mix that with the sound and effects and you have a result that feels like a roller coaster that toys with your head. Bioshock is properly frightening, properly beautiful, properly unsettling, properly fun and most of all, properly brilliant.

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Final Verdict

Epic, stunning, insert random superlative/expletive/ hyperbole here. Incredible in every way.

Pros
Top notch gameplay with a brilliant story that twists and turns. Incredible atmosphere with a special mention for the sound design. The marketers said Bioshock�s gameplay would be �freeform� and do you know what? They were right.
Cons
No real penalty for dying which enables you to keep popping out of a Vita-Chamber, squeeze off a couple of rounds, die then repeat. Late game enemies get a bit too easy.