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| | Title:
Bioshock
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System:
PC
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Genre:
First Person RPG
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Publisher:
2k Games
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Developer:
Irrational Games
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Release:
2007
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Online:
No
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ESRB:
Rating Pending (RP)
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Aside from the helicopter robots and turrets, which can be pretty easy to deal with, the enemies do put up a pretty good fight. Classified in different ways, the filthy and savage residents of Rapture are all out to get you. Some carry only blunt objects while others have the ability to use plasmids. Then you have the cover boys, the Big Daddies, which were engineered to kick ass, but more importantly, to protect the Little Sisters. These genetically modified girls are the source of ADAM, as they are the only ones who can extract the ADAM from the dead and make it usable again. One of the ethical dilemmas presented in the game is whether to save or harvest the girls once caught, which can only be done by taking down a Big Daddy. Saving a girl grants you only half the ADAM that harvesting would, but in the end it is up to you and how you want the story to end. Moral choices were a focus of development and will dictate what sort of “person” you are and will ultimately create your game ending.
On an Xbox 360 controller, the game plays fairly well. Obviously not as precise as a mouse and keyboard, as there is a slight auto-aim lag, the controller is quite comfortable and not at all clumsy, but suffers in the weapon switching area while in battle. Switching a weapon while in the thick of things can be slow and may break down your much needed momentum, but can be overcome with a little tact – like getting out of range of your foe.
BioShock is an achievement both technically and artistically. The Unreal Engine 3 really shows off what it can do, and with some very detailed environments, fantastic lighting and easily the best water effects ever, the graphics department at 2K Boston/2K Australia (aka Irrational Games) should be commended. Add all that to a smooth frame rate and you have something to show off your 360 or gaming rig. On the PC, you need a pretty recent and decent machine to run the game and enjoy the nice graphics. As with many PC games, there are compatibility issues as well as issues with the SecuROM system which allows only two installs and a validation via internet. A patch should be released soon to increase the limit to five as well as give the ability to change the field of view.
None of this means much if the art and design of the game is generic, however this is never the case. From the initial glimpse of Rapture at the start of the game, you know you are in for something special. Each section of the game feels different from the previous one, giving a great sense that you are indeed in a large city, made sometime in the 30s or 40s. The art deco styling of the city is fantastic and creates a retro-futurism vibe that must be considered art, no matter what a certain professional movie reviewer may say.
As you play through the game, you may also find yourself just putting the controller down and just listening to the ambient sounds of Rapture. The creaks and moans of a city that is at the bottom of the ocean, yet somehow still sinking, must be heard to be appreciated. The music, most of which are period pieces, is a nice touch and can be amazingly creepy at times and the voice-acting, which there is a lot of, is top notch.
So what constitutes art? Well, no one can really answer that question. It is just one of those opinions that differ from person to person until a general consensus says that it is okay to define something as art. Sometimes it takes years for it to happen; sometimes a work will never be respected. All the elements are there in BioShock, and simply needs to be played and experienced to be truly appreciated. Arguments about art aside, it is one of the greatest shooters of all time, and a glimpse of just how far video games have come, if not where they are going to go.
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| The Core Score |
Overall
9.8 |
| Fun |
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10 |
| Gameplay |
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9.5 |
| Graphics |
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10 |
| Audio |
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10 |
| Replay |
|
8 |
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| Kid Safe Score |
| 1 Horrible |
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Blood and gore in a creepy dystopian setting. Not for kids. |
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