Bioshock

BIOSHOCK

XBOX 360, PC

”No gods or kings, only man.”

Once every once-in-awhile, we get a fresh new great game. That breaks the invisible line of restriction in Video Games, and opens up an entirely new field, in which game developers can build upon from there.
The sad thing no one wishes to take the time to build on this foundation.
Bioshock is the spiritual-sequel to probably one of my favorite games, ever. System Shock 2. Which was also amazing; we’ve been long over due for another game as mind blowing as System Shock, but where, or whom, could we turn too? Games have never relied on Story to engross the player in a video game, the atmosphere never really fit well with the story being told, with the game supposedly going on around it. The environment around you never told a story. You’d look at it and say “the same old hallway with the same old enemies.”
And that’s fine, the formula as it is, is fine. Nothing innovative, but it’s cool; I can still enjoy the games that aren’t Bioshock.
What does that mean?
It means that Bioshock does what other FPS’ don’t. It tells a story in a story. You can pick up diaries; you can look at the environment, and think to yourself. “Wow, this is the aftermath of the splicer incident when they attacked the New Years Party” when you read the diary about the New Years party, only to have it cut off after screams.
This happens all throughout Bioshock, the intrigue, the emersion. The question always pops up in your head when you see something abnormal in the environment, like signs of a struggle.

Enter Big Daddy: Walking Boss monsters you find all over Rapture

You think to yourself…”Why?” And you go off to find a diary, constantly searching for this…narrative of long dead characters.
What first triggered the insanity inside the mad plastic surgeon; just WHO is Andrew Ryan? Why did he build the under water city Rapture?
You’re in a city, you don’t know what’s going on, and to find answers, you have to dig your hands in the blood covered secrets of Rapture, and pull them out.
After System Shock we all figured that other games would follow its influence, its type of game.
But no one did. No one. This says something; something that needs to be desperately improved upon in this industry.
Bioshock gives you several degrees of choice, not only limited to Little Sisters etc.
You can approach any situation differently. Hack the security cameras, enrage the Big Daddy, have him attack my enemies, do whatever it takes to survive.
There’s no limit to what you can do in Rapture, in Bioshock, each situation has a thousand different ways to approach it.
You FEEL like your barely managing to get by, even if there isn’t really a death consequence, you just res at the nearest Vita Chamber and all is good and well.
But as your digging through corpses for ammo, or knocking over cash registers for money, you always, always feel your on the brink of death, or defenseless.
Shooting isn’t nearly the main aspect of combat, no sir, Bioshock is the “genetically Enhanced” shooter. Meaning you can craft special tonics, buy plasmids (spell-type things), and upgrade your Wrench every now and then, it helps, trust me.
Plasmids rewrite your Genetic Code, giving you special powers; want to control a horde of bees? How about being able to incinerate someone with the snap of a finger? When it comes to plasmids possibilities are endless. Tactics are endless.
In order cast plasmids you need EVE, in order to obtain plasmids, you need ADAM.
How do you GET Adam?
Well. I’m glad I asked, there are little girls in Rapture, whose sole duty is collecting Adam off the corpses of Splicer’s (bad dudes). You want that Adam? You’re going to have to take it from her.
Will you save the little girl, getting little Adam, but a chance to befriend the “Big Sister”, or will you harvest them, getting more Adam?

“We all make choices, but in the end…Our choices make us.” – Andrew Ryan

Bioshock is full of memorable quotes and stories.
I’ve heard Bioshock being called “The Shooter 2.0.” but really, Bioshock is merely Bioshock. Because no other shooter is really going to look at Bioshock and say “Wow, this…experience…its mind blowing, and maybe we should consider crafting a game that mirrors this in terms of interactivity, immersion…etc.”
Sadly, more shooters are going to look at the Gears of War formula or Rainbow Six formula, and say “Sold well, same formula = $$$”
We’re not going to get another game like Bioshock for awhile. A game to break the mold. A game to revolutionize how we play games, how we approach games.
We don’t play games for a good story, or to be immersed into a world. No. We don’t. Because there aren’t many games like that.
Why not? That’s the question, why can’t we use games as a medium for story telling? Why do developers stop at this…Invisible wall?
In the future, I’m seeing many RPGs adopting Bioshocks mindset…Well, just Mass Effect really. I can safely say Mass Effect will be as mind blowing as Bioshock, but I digress.
Many Genres tend to suck you out of an experience, (Jrpgs, etc.) through long boring cut scenes and a terribly generic Square-Enix Style story. It’s more of a flaw in the formula, the character isn’t you, you’re controlling many characters during battle, and you always have that “barrier” between you and those you control.
First Person games are the most ideal genre to immerse you in the experience; in Bioshock you FEEL like you’re the character, your not just looking through his eyes…You’re in this world.
I fear that Bioshocks formula will not be overlooked, just not reflected upon. Just like System Shock 2.
Here’s too a Bioshock/Deus Ex style game in the future. *Tips Glass*.

Is Bioshock a “perfect” game? No. Is it something different, and needed? Yes. It is.

I recommend Bioshock whole-heartedly, no doubt one of the greatest games you will ever play.

Two Thumbs Way Up.