Bioshock

[Reicha7]

In today’s modern gaming industry we are blighted by many things that put shame to words Video Game. Knock-off sequels, overpriced DLCs that could have easily made the original release, overemphasised multiplayer and gimmicks are a few of these things. However true gamers always hold out that one day a company will come along and free us from the shackles of mediocrity with a magnificently crafted piece of art in videogame form. A game that gives us reason to hope that the industry still has a bright and creative future. A game not afraid to be different from the Call of Duty and Halo clones that get shoved into us every year.

Over the years I have had the privilege of playing many games like this such as Okami, Heavy Rain and the Metal Gear Solid series which, while being exactly what this industry needs to prove there is still hope to be had, were never perfect on the technical side. However Bioshock is successfully able to deliver a breathtaking experience of gaming while still maintaining all the standards that the technology whores demand from modern games.

The game is set in 1960 and opens with you, the player, being involved in a plane crash over the ocean which leaves you swimming for your life towards a nearby lighthouse. Upon entering you find yourself going down a great staircase and into a small pod which submerges into the ocean and brings you to the great underwater city of Rapture. This city was built to ensure the great thinkers were not constrained by the moralities of the small, where every man is free to keep what he earns, where censorship is non existent, where the greatest minds in humanity can thrive in a free environment. However, nothing ever works out as intended…

Rapture has fallen into disarray, its remaining inhabitants gone bloodthirsty and insane in search of ADAM, the genetic resource discovered that can give the consumers new powers previously unheard of. You are alone, in a city of mutants who would kill you without batting an eyelash. You have one guiding light in the darkness however. A strange voice on the radio system compels you to pick up and listen and from here begins the adventure of a lifetime, battling through the bowels of Rapture in order to reach this voice and discover more about this once great city and, in the process, discover yourself.

Bioshock plays similar to a normal first person shooter in terms of controls but the left shoulder buttons relate to your Plasmids; various powers you can obtain throughout the course of the game which can all bring a lovely world of pain to your foes and can include lightning, telekinesis and even shooting the contents of a beehive at your opponents. New Plasmids are obtained from either exploration of Rapture or by purchasing them at the Plasmid and Tonic station. Here Plasmids as well as Tonics, passive upgrades to the player, are purchased with ADAM which can be obtained in 2 ways both involving the iconic Little Sisters.

These little girls wander around the streets of Rapture harvesting ADAM from the many corpses which litter the corridors. These girls are the ultimate harbingers of this rare resource being genetically engineered to hunt for it and maintain a high natural store of it as well. The first method of harvesting ADAM from her is simply to absorb it all from her body killing her in the process. This of course makes you out to be a colossal d**khead which, to be fair, you are effectively being. The second method is to remove the ADAM generating parasite from inside her body essentially transforming her back into a normal girl but leaving you with about 1/3 of the ADAM you would have got from the kill.

Getting to these girls is never easy however as they are guarded by the famous Big Daddies, mindless beings encased in diver suits and sporting some of the most badass toys in Rapture. These creatures have one goal and one goal over: defend the little sister and they will fight to the very end to defend their vulnerable charges. Basically, you want the sister, you need to take out the Big Daddy, the most difficult to kill thing in the entire game and I am counting the last boss in this as well. Good luck.

Surviving Rapture is done through a combination of conserving ammunition, scarfing down out-of-date food and drink, eating packets of cigarettes, hacking electronic devices - which involves playing a little connect-the-pipes mini-game- and of course gunning down everything that walks, runs or crawls on walls before they do the same to you. The orchestral soundtrack and epic lighting really help add a sense of atmosphere to the whole city which chills the bone marrow and makes you genuinely afraid of what awaits around the next corner. Weapons can be upgraded throughout the course of the game by finding rare upgrade stations dotted throughout the game offering a one-off upgrade for free. Defeating foes also becomes a lot easier with the help of the Research Camera which can be accessed at any time to snapshot a foe just has he takes a swing at you to help research it. As you progress in your research you gain bonuses against said foe which makes the end game content slightly easier as you progress.

Bioshock is no doubt a very refined game with excellent quality of visuals as well as high quality soundtrack, extremely immersive ambient environment, functional gameplay and generally a polished standard of presentation. I am being honest when I say that I cannot find a single thing wrong with this game on the technical level which the game should pat itself on the back for considering its age.

Bioshock is one of those rare games that can be absolutely flawless from a technical point yet also have all the heart of a real game and it really fills me with joy to say that this game is practically perfect as far as scores can go. I am willing to forgive the knockoff DLC made for Bioshock due to its pure excellence as a game and because of the great things it has brought to gaming. It stands a real gem of what can be achieved in storytelling and ambience. A true example of an incredible game surpassing many of the greatest games ever created. It may not be my favourite game ever but it is by far one of the best, second in my heart only to a few very special games.

Technical Score: 10/10
True Score: 10/10

This review is written by a Purely Review member. This review may not be published or copied for commercial use without expressed permission from the author. If you believe this review has been partially or entirely stolen from another source, please contact Purely Review staff.

Images borrowed from Google image search but if you really want to sue me for using them for something like this then you clearly have a severe mental defect

[Aryan]

An excellent review of an amazing game. This game is great imo. The story is rich and interesting (What Jules Verne would write if he wanted to make a video game ) The visual effects are awesome too, especially the water particles and fire. I'm playing Bioshock2 now, and I don't think it's as good as Bioshock. -.- Sadly the sequels rarely become as good as their predecessors.

[Reicha7]

That is an unfortunate truth in the industry but it gives me a lot of bile to dispense in reviews for the future which aren't going to be as happy and praising as this one I am afraid. Bioshock 2 was never going to be as good as this. The second they announced it was even going to exist my heart sank that the franchise would be murdered by the sequel. And my future review of it will show that when I finish the game.

[Demon_skeith]

very nice review for a great game. I played a little bit of this game and it was pretty good but I'm not much of a fan for scary stuff.