Imagine you find yourself in the middle of the ocean surrounded by the remains of a plane, in the distance an unmarked lighthouse seems your only possible choice. As you enter the bathysphere housed within, you are shown a video of Andrew Ryan’s vision of a perfect world. However, as you enter the underwater city of Rapture, you come to realize things have gone very wrong. The citizens have been driven mad by genetic splicing, this is the world you find yourself in. Welcome to Bioshock.
This game, which was 2K’s 2007 game of the year for Xbox 360 is great for many reasons. The first point that needs to be talked about is the story. The story of Bioshock is a rollercoaster of suspense and surprise. No other game has had such a compelling world created around a single idea, but in Bioshock the world around you has a story of its own. Throughout the city of Rapture you can find audio logs which provide a rich and detailed backstory to the enviroment around which the game is played.
Bioshock is a First Person Shooter first and foremost, but while you can use guns, you are encouraged to use “plasmids” Bioshock’s form of genetic modification. Plasmids give you abilities that can drastically change the way you play the game. You can use Electro-bolt to shock your opponents to death, or use Incinerate to burn them to a crisp. Others are even more entertaining to watch, use Swarm to call a hive of bees from your arm and watch as the Splicers of Rapture run in fear. Plasmids are found in the game or you can buy them with ADAM, a drug used as currency for plasmid stations.
The game uses a great mix of FPS and RPG elements to create a unique and accessible control. While you can customize and perfect your weapons, you can also level up your abilities and make them stronger too. This also opens up Bioshock’s use of choice. Do you want to be a gunfighter or a plasmid powerhouse? The choice is yours. Another thing to keep in mind are the Little Sisters. These little girls are the moral dilemma of Bioshock, you can be a hero and save them for a minor reward of ADAM, or you can take a darker path and harvest the poor girls for the maximum ADAM possible. This choice not only effects the story, but also how you can play the game, less ADAM means less plasmids, but whatever the case the choice is yours, and that is what Bioshock is meant for.
In the end not many games can hold up to what Bioshock does in both story and performance. The graphics are superb and the controls couldn’t be any easier. The world of Rapture is terrifying and chaotic, but it is an adrenaline fueled ride you will never forget. It’s games like this that make it worth being a gamer.
