Yes I know Bioshock2 has been out for some time and maybe a fine community members can review it but as I am a few years behind the norm - lets talk about Bioshock.
It is the 1960s...
Your plane crash lands in the middle of the Atlantic ocean and as you swim around watching the flames and the plane submerge into the dark depths you spot a structure from that point you enter an underwater city called Rapture
"I am Andrew Ryan and I am here to ask you a question:
Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?
No, says the man in Washington; it belongs to the poor.
No, says the man in the Vatican; it belongs to God.
No, says the man in Moscow; it belongs to everyone.
I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something
different. I chose the impossible. I chose...
Rapture."
Bioshock is a FPS with a sci-fi bent and is quite linear - but the plot is fantastic as is the graphics - especially the water that seems to trickle and splash and illuminate very well indeed.
This will not be a review - you can find them here .....
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/bioshock
But onto my thoughts on it..
Underwater City
The feeling of being in an underwater city is quite palpable - you first see this as you submerge from your entry point and go down, down, and down. You see a whale early on and also the plane that you crashed in also crashes into one of the underwater passageways.
Then are the various views you can see from the levels - you can look outside the window and see the underwater city in all its glory. As you progress through the game you can see how the city is crumbling and see water is seeping in causing some flooding.
At one point you can see one of the "Big Daddy" characters walking along the seabed.
Art and Décor
The game designers really went to town on this and all the levels have a fantastic 1950s feel. To the design of the walls and ceilings, to the various music you encounter all the way. You will come across bits of music (golden oldies) you recognise - just before a crazy mad "Splicer" tries to cut you open. The design of the furniture, the transport sphere, the radios, medical areas etc all take you back to the good ol' days...
Story
This is probably one of the best pc game storylines you will come across - but it is hard to take in after just one play through. This is because, like in System Shock 2, you learn about the story by listening to personal logs of the citizens of Rapture as you go through the levels -
Sometimes when you pick up a log and play it you are attacked by crazy citizens, security bots and the such and end up running or fighting for your life - which is why second time around I started playing the logs when I was safe to really get immersed in the story.
Big Daddies and Little Sisters
First time around I did not have a CLUE about these guys - but I am better informed second time. You come across these weird little girls in the game that are the only source of ADAM, a currency that allows you to build up biological powers - a bit like magical powers.
You can shock enemies, fireball them, send a bunch of wasps after them etc. Some ADAM can be spent to increase your health and your pool of "magic" - some allow you to become invisible when standing still, some will make the hacking sub game easier blah blah.
Basically there is enough ADAM in the game so you can choose whatever combat path you like - probably enough to try almost all the different paths.
However, these little girls are protected by Big Daddies - who are huge creatures in diving suits with insane amounts of speed and strength - and believe me it will be hard to take these Daddies out in medium difficulty.
Hack mini game
Well I quite liked the little pipe mania mini game that you need to win to hack stuff - but this is now changed in Bioshock 2. However, I found it more interesting than the random clicking game they had in System Shock 2.
Dystopia
What the fuck is that I hear you ask? Well - think of a Utopia - a perfect society - then try and imagine the opposite.
Andrew Ryan, he who created Rapture, under the ocean away from other human influence so that mankind could be free and pursue the arts and science etc without any boundaries - sadly found out that like all the best plans - things change -
The Rapture you enter is in its post Dystopian stage.
Ok - enough - my best moments?
1. Injecting plasma for the first time.
2. Finally meeting Andrew Ryan
3. Helping Sander Cohen complete his masterpiece - very gruesome!
4. Saving your first little sister
Anyone want to add any more?
Finally - I have to think the game has been consolised a bit - for goodness sake it has taken me like 10 years to complete System Shock 2 - but I managed to complete Bioshock in less than a month.
So - we have handy hints and a little arrow to guide us, we have lots of ammo and cash to find and use..
but still a great experience.
Take a break from space - sell your Shroud - and try an underwater adventure.
