GenieKnows Games Blog

Ok first things first, as far as first person adventures go, Bioshock would sit up there with my favorites Half Life, Shenmue and of course the original Doom (to which this game owes a lot in the scare factor). As soon as you start up the game, you are thrown into this completely surreal world that interestingly shares a lot in common with some of my worsed nightmares!

One of the first events which takes place forces you to sit back as you watch one of the few remaining humans (ok technically they are all human but trust me, much of that humanity is lossed) get completely torn up by a splicer. These genetically modified “things” have gone completely mad in their pursuit of adam which is the only essence that will allow them to survive. They roam the world in search of it but they aren’t alone. I won’t divulge the mystery surrounding the little sisters but will say that they were the most refreshing use of AI I had witnessed in a long time. They walk along the dark hallways in search of as they call it, fallen angels which are essentially dead splicers and proceed to harvest the adam from their bodies. They aren’t as helpless are you might initially believe though as they travel with BIG daddies. These monstrous guys could be compared to linebackers with the quarterback being the little sister. They will leave you alone but get to close or piss them off and you my friend are going to be shark bait.

Gameplay - I consider myself a pretty demanding gamer and I take great pleasure in trying to break a game’s AI routines but I found it extremely hard to fool these guys. They were absolutely relentless in their attacks against me but yet were still bound to the game’s physics limitations. for example, find highground and the big daddy will just sit below you screaming (terrifying in itself trust me), run away and he will chase you until he catches you. I won’t give away my method of choice for ridding myself of these guys but I will say that its one of the most satisfying feelings I’ve had in a video game simply because they are massive and demand respect. In one terrifying sequence, I was walking around in a washroom and there was a dead splicer wrapped up in bandages sitting in a chair. I thought nothing of it because I had seen plenty before it. I look away and when I fixed my eyes on that spot again I saw nothing but an empty chair. At this point I thought for sure I was going to be attacked so I immediately turned around to find the splicer only to have these dark eyes staring directly into mine. I quite literally jumped out of my seat (oh and then proceeded to shotty the perpetrator in the face).

Graphics - Needless to say, Bioshock is one pretty game, from the moment you set foot in the bathysphere you are surrounded by awe inspiring locales and water effects. My only real complaint here was that the water although pretty didn’t have character. Let me explain, throughout the game, you will walk through it, use it against enemies, but you will never FEAR being around it because it will never harm you! I felt they could have improved upon this by having levels in which the water was more dynamic possibly on the verge of flooding an area or carrying you away to another section of the map etc. All in all, the graphics are right up there with best the 360 has to offer.

Sound - To me, sound plays a more important role then graphics as far as atmosphere is concerned. Try watching a movie without sound, you won’t get affected, now sit down with your eyes closed and simply listen to a movies audio, the effect will be almost elevated. Our minds ability to process sound is far more advanced and Bioshock makes good use of it! From the distance sound of a Big Daddy approaching, to the footsteps or sounds of arguing splicers, the game does a phenomenal job of sucking you into its world. The music and voice acting are so good that you will never feel like you are in a game world, instead you will believe that real people are talking to you. The also did a great job on making sure that voice actors spoken words were period specific (the game takes place in the mid 50s after all).

Lasting Appeal - this would be my only complaint about Bioshock. It’s one of those games you just don’t want to finish. During the whole experience, I kept hoping that I would not see credits roll down the screen. I just didn’t want to leave Rapture (the city the game take’s place in). I would have loved it if the developers allowed you to stay and explore the city once you were done, perhaps even play as a splicer and hunt for adam seeing as how you quite literally do become one with your powers (aka plasmids). This game just begs for multilplayer and unfortunately doesn’t supply it out of the package. Perhaps we’ll see something in the form of downloading content but until then we’ll just have to replay the single player campaign.

Conclusion - I would have to say that Bioshock is a worthy purchase but only if adventure slash FPS games are your sort of thing. If you buy games for their replay value, rent this one instead but definately do experience it! The difficulty seemed to be toned down a bit as I played on the hardest and had no trouble completing the title but most of the battles will be determined by how well you make use of your powers. For those looking for an innovative approach to story telling and a compelling reason to keep fighting, look no further… Rapture awaits!

Review by Virago