BioShock

(untitled review)

Before mid August 2007 I didn’t really follow Bioshock. It was only after the demo that I really took any notice and decided to name it one of the best games since “Oblivion”.

Mainly because it submerged (excuse the pun) you in the story line and the world of Rapture felt real. You actually believed that people lived there are you wanted to know what happened. The graphics make a up a huge part of the atmosphere as well as all the 1950s-60s design. The water effects in my view beat “Uncharted” (yeah, I went there).

You play as a mute person who may have been Gordon Freeman’s Father but let’s move on. This FPSRPG/adventure/horror/puzzle game employs some RPG mechanics. When I say that, I mean that instead of Magika (or that blue bar) you have Eve and instead of spells you have Plasmids. The most notable is the one that let’s you shoot bees out of your hand but you also get fire, lightning, wind and others. There is also the ability to purchase extra slots for Plasmids and Tonics (abilities) with Adam, (a substance you get from killing Big Daddys).

There’s a bit to swallow and it can take a while before you start to take the whole game on foot rather than view it as a pure action or pure RPG game so prepare yourself for a few challenges. Ammo can sometimes be short so make sure you stack up on the right Plasmids and Tonics. Guns can also be upgraded through special vending machines where you can buy ammo as well.

Like “Fable”, the game has an element of choice but the choice is so easy to make it doesn’t really fit in. It’s either sacrifice something to make something or just take it all and be better off in the long run.

Dying in the game doesn’t exist, you just end up in a capsule and walk right out again which can take away some of the challenge but you’ll still have lost the ammo and health so in my view it’s much better just to reload and start over. The enemies work in strange ways. Instead of different enemies you just fight the same ones except they get stronger throughout the story. It’s a bit hard to get lost as you have a huge arrow telling you where to go and even then you can ask for a really obvious tip.

I still reguard this as on of the best games we’ve had for the next gen. The story and atmosphere are truly captivating. The characters seem real (except for your guy ) and the game lasts more than five minutes. The story will certainly want to make you play again at least once. Especially as there are two endings. There is no MP but given that the game is driven by the single player experience an MP may have ruined the game.