War's Reviews #2

War · Jan 6, 2009

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"...would you kindly?"

Game name: BioShock
Genre: FPS / Survival horror
Platforms: 360, PC, PS3 (soon)
Published by: 2K Games
Release dates:
NA August 21, 2007
PAL August 24, 2007

PlayStation 3:
NA October 21, 2008
PAL October 17, 2008
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Introduction
Ah, BioShock. One of the most critically-acclaimed Xbox 360 games ever. It has received an immense amount of good reviews, ranking thirteenth on Game Rankings. It has received no lower than a 9/10 or 90% from various sources such as IGN, 1up, Game Spot, Game Informer, EGM, etc. Although the game came out in 2007, I just recently got a 360, and this was the game I was most looking forward to playing. I had played through the first level, "Welcome to Rapture", at my friend's house and loved every minute of it. It was everything I wanted and MORE.

Story
A billionaire named Andrew Ryan wanted a place of his own where he (and others) would not be held back by things such as government, politics, or religion, or morality. A place where you could be free, research to your content, do things that would otherwise be considered "wrong" by society. Thus, he brought his dream to life in the form of "Rapture", an underwater utopia.

The game begins as a plane crashes on the ocean. The player swims to the surface and discovers he is the lone survivor of the plane crash. He looks around and spots a weird structure nearby. As he enters the building and rides a bathysphere deep down to the depths of the ocean, he is introduced to Rapture. However, his stay won't be a very pleasant one...

As the bathysphere finally finishes a quick "tour" and arrives at an entrance to Rapture, the player witnesses the brutal murder of a man named Jack by a crazed, almost zombie-like creature. The creature then takes notice of the player and begins trying to pry its' way into the bathysphere. However, the player is saved by a man named Atlas, who talks to the player through a radio and wants to help him out. Atlas seems to be the ONE sane person in this underwater hell-hole, and he has good intentions. Eventually, Atlas tells the player that his wife and son are in danger, and because of the crazed citizens of Rapture (referred to as "splicers"), he cannot go save them. This is where you come in. If you help Atlas rescue his wife and son, you can all get out of Rapture safely. However, it won't be easy seeing as the head honcho, Andrew Ryan, believes you are a spy sent by the CIA and wants to stop you from "taking Rapture away from him".

There are many plot twists and deep revelations later on, and I found myself getting very involved with the story. It was addicting; I wanted to learn more and more as I played, and I really believe that that's what makes a good game. It kept me coming back for more like a crack addict to his supplier.

Score: 9.5/10

Gameplay
The gameplay is fairly straight-forward. It's basically a first-person shooter, where you can only see the main character's hand and weapon and such. As the game progresses, you get several weapons, such as a wrench, handgun, shotgun, grenade launcher, crossbow, and more.

A really cool part of the game were these things called "plasmids". To put it simply, they were just basically "magic spells" that become infused with your body. You find, receive, and purchase plasmids throughout the game, and they range from things like telekinesis, setting enemies and objects on fire, electrocuting enemies, setting wind traps, blasting away enemies with a sonic boom, etc. They are really fun to use, and are a nice change from just straight out shooting everything to death.

Another big part of the game is the "Big Daddies" and "Little Sisters". Little Sisters are regular little girls that have been corrupted and turned into little monsters. They travel around Rapture and take Adam, the source of plasmids and such, away from dead splicers. They are followed by huge creatures in diving suits called Big Daddies. There is always one Big Daddy protecting a Little Sister. Whenever the player finds a little sister, he or she has the choice of either "harvesting" the Little Sister (killing her) or "rescuing" the Little Sister. Harvesting a Little Sister will reward you with a lot of Adam, which you can then use to purchase plasmids and tonics. (Basically power ups, such as more damage with wrench, moving faster and so on). On the other hand, rescuing the Little Sister will net you half as much Adam, but a woman by the name of Tennebaum will reward you progressively with gifts of Adam, tonics, and ammunition.

There are many other parts to the game, such as vast maps, various enemies and crazy bosses that will send shivers down your spine. There are also side elements such as hacking (for example, you can hack security bots to make them follow you and attack enemies, or you can hack vending machines to have more items in stock at cheaper prices). Overall, the gameplay will keep you on the edge of your seat!

Score: 9.5/10

Graphics
I've had a Wii for about a year or so, and I just got my 360 maybe 2 weeks ago, so maybe it's just that I'm used to seeing Wii-like graphics. But I'm not kidding you, the first chapter of the game had me completely astounded. Everything looks fantastic! The water looks just incredible, with waves, ripples, reflections and everything. The enemies are straight out of a horror movie. Rapture itself is just so incredible! The game takes place in the 60's, and trust me, you will definitely feel like you are in the 60's. The developers did such an incredible job in submerging you in this atmosphere they have created. It's just simply unbelievable. They manage to merge two worlds together; an underwater utopia, and a city in the 1960s.Everything just looks so perfect, I seriously cannot think of one thing to complain about. The lightning, signs, decorations, everything is just a mixture of 1960's lifestyle with a broken-down underwater utopia. You will DEFINITELY not be bored by the graphics.

Score: 10/10

Sound
Another incredible part of the game, the sounds. Like I said before, the game takes place in the 1960's, and the tracks throughout the game will constantly remind you of that. You have a certain sense of nostalgia when you're listening to the old tunes, and if you mix that together with the crazed splicers running around Rapture trying to murder you, it really creates an atmosphere that will creep you the fuck out. In a good way, of course. They also have really nice sound effects for the plasmids, weapons, hell, even for walking. It all sounds like it should; perfect. I also really liked the way the Big Daddies sounded. Kind of like a whale-type monster thing. Pretty cool and creepy at the same time!

Score: 9/10

Lasting Appeal/Replayability
Although the achievements aren't very hard, they will most likely require you to go through the game 2 or 3 times. However, they aren't very hard to get, and the game is incredible anyway, so you'll WANT to play it again. The game also has 3 different endings, which all differ depending on what you decided to do with the Little Sisters. (Harvest all, rescue all, or rescue all and harvest one). Honestly, I'm on my second playthrough of the game right now, and I still don't have enough. I'll play it at LEAST one more time for sure.

Score: 9/10

Final Thoughts
BioShock was just such an amazing game. The story is very deep and dark, but it makes you want to know more and more until the very end. The ending was great, and there are 3 endings total, so you can actually choose which path you want to take. The gameplay, graphics, and sound all mesh together perfectly to create an indescribable experience. BioShock successfully creates Rapture and brings it to life.

Pros:
+Awesome story, full of plot twists and oh shi-
+Incredible graphics, you will want to get more and more of Rapture.
+Really good music that will take you back to the 1960's.
+Excellent gameplay that manages to keep you entertained.

Cons:
-Not really a con, but I just wished there would have been more DLC.

FINAL SCORE: 95/100

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Trolly · Jan 6, 2009

I finished only the other week aha, it took me half a year to play it (I'm not usually into scary games, I get on edge pretty easily, so I put off playing it aha). Even though I was bloody scared (it's the randomly spawning enemies that come out of nowhere, and always seem to be muttering crazily just out of sight that do it), I was absolutely enthralled by the story as it seems you were with your crack metaphor aha, and the twist near the end was absolute, pure genius.
Graphics and atmosphere were both hauntingly beautiful, and they really created a breathtaking, believable world.

Just gotta hope BioShock 2 lives up to it, though I totally doubt it will.

EDIT: On a side note, the world of Rapture and its downfall takes place in the '50s, though when you are in Rapture yourself you're in the '60s.

Jarjaxle · Jan 7, 2009

this game was great just recently started playing through it again and it is still great. the atmosphere was perfect. oh and would you kindly

War's Reviews #2

Take it easy~

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