I'm certain that most of us have heard of this game having been recently released on Xbox 360 and PC. There has been a lot of hype about it as well, people calling the 'Halo killer', Jack Thompson having his son buy it at a Florida Best Buy, and the commercials with Bobby Darrin's "Beyond the Sea" playing. Well, for those who may want it, I will give you the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly about this game.
SYNOPSIS
You are Jack. An apparently 20-something young man who, while on a flight from the US across the Atlantic in 1960, is the only survivor of the jet crashing into the cold blue waters below. As you fight your way to the surface, against debris and strong currents, you find that the crash site is next to an enormous light house, and that contained within there is a banner that says "No gods nor kings, only men." and a bathysphere (diving bell) that leads to an underwater utopia called Rapture. However, life in this aquatic paradise is far from ideal. Some great cataclysm has befallen this world of tomorrow that turned its people against each other. It gave them near-magical like abilities but at the same time twisting their minds until their humanity is all but gone.
THE GOOD
First off, the most impressive part of the game is the visuals. The environments are a mix between 30-40's art deco styles, a little bit of 'steam-punk' but at the same time have a used and heavily abused appearance appropriate for the events that transpired the city of Rapture. Neon is very prevalent in the structures, along with the smooth curves that dominated classic art deco motifs, but at the same time shadow, darkness and the destruction of this environment let you know right off that not everything is well under the sea. Lights flicker, water leaks in from damage in the structures, direct paths are blocked from damage to passage, stairs, and catwalks, fires burn from battles that may have only recently transpired. Perhaps what makes the mood most in the game is the vintage music that plays subtly in the background over loud speakers, from phonographs and out of jukeboxes.
Besides the usual first person shooter fare of pistols, shotguns and other weapons, your character early on gets abilities called Plasmids. They rewrite your genetic code to allow you to throw electricity, create fire, telekinesis, and more. The active attack ones use EVE, akin to mana in an RPG, which is found in glowing blue syringes through-out Rapture, and in vending machines (for a reasonable price). Upgraded plasmids can be obtained by using ADAM (collected from Little Sisters, more on that later) to purchase it from a specific type of vending machine, called "Gatherers Garden". Armed with these genetic upgrades you can zap enemies to stun them, or electrocute them with relative ease if they are in a pool of water, light them and environmental objects up, even set traps for them to walk into.
However, with these features the game is still difficult, particular the "Big Daddies", divingsuit encases giants who protect the "Little Sisters" with absolute devotion. Taking a Big Daddy on in the beginning of the game is akin to toughest boss fight you ever had, as the Bouncers (round helmet, drill on the right hand) are VERY fast, and hit like a freight train. Normally you would not wish to tangle with something like that, however, but felling this monster you can acquire Adam from its Little Sister, but a moral choice must be made. (more on this in the UGLY section).
THE BAD
While game play is very good, there are parts that feel derivative, such as hacking security bots, turrets, safes, and cameras. This is done by using mini-game of pipes to make the connection before the fluid shorts out the system, or triggers an alarm. for this first hour it's not so bad, but after a while it does get repetitive. Thankful you can get autohacking tools, and if you research turrets and bots enough, hack them automatically.
The other short coming is that as you progress in the game your normal ammo types do less and less damage to the enemy, requiring you to stock up on the painfully rare anti-personnel and anti-armor rounds for your pistol and Tommy-gun. Also, your shotgun only carries four rounds before needing to be reloaded, and in a fight against a Big Daddy that can mean life or death.
Speaking of death, you can't truly die in the game. Instead you respawn at a Vita-Chamber with half your health bar. To me this takes away the challenge, as you just start back where you were and whatever damage you did you the enemy still remains.
Lastly, near the end of the game you end up being sent on several fetch quest to get parts to build things, and then finally you have to escort a Little Sister around. As most gamers will agree on.... "We hate escort missions"
THE UGLY
Simply, Bioshock earned its M rating. It's not for anyone under 18 due to graphic images in the game. There is harsh language, use of alcohol, tobacco, religious themes, and mature subject matter. I cannot stress hard enough that parents should use their own disgression before purchasing this for anyone under 18. Watch gameplay videos online, download the demo, whatever, but make sure you see what is in the game before buying.
The citizens of Rapture, called Splicers (their genes have been heavily spliced), are similar to the 'Fast Zombies' found in 28 Days Later and babble on about a world of Rapture that no longer exists. Each is but a foul shadow of their former selves, most wearing party masks to hide their grotesque faces. The gameplay with them is more akin to a survival horror game, except that they are smarter, faster, and far more dangerous than any zombie.
Regarding the Little Sisters in the game, the choice you have is to Harvest all their ADAM or to save them. By saving them, you 'exorcise' the symbiotic sea slug from them and net 80 ADAM for upgrades. If you harvest them then you get 160 ADAM, but it is heavily implied that they do not survive the process. However, for every two of them you save you get a gift of 200 ADAM along with unique plasmids as thanks from the woman who created them and is now trying to undo her mistake. This makes saving them a more promising path to follow
CONCLUSION
Basically, it is a very good game, but not recommended for younger players. Gameplay is solid, style is very unique, and it has a very believable enviroment in the game. The level of difficulty in well balanced, but the Vita-Chambers part of the gameplay challenge is lost.