BioShock
Publisher: 2K Developer: Irrational Games Platform: PC Release: 2007 Genre: First-Person Shooter / Horror Players: 1 Rating: 9.3 \ 10.0: Outstanding
Above is the player fighting a Spider Splicer using Plasmids
Of the many great games released in the past couple console generations, few are as lauded as BioShock. It's a game rightfully praised for its interesting setting and iconic moments, and although I would not consider it amazing, it has held up strongly over the past dozen years for a wide variety of reasons.
BioShock's opening few minutes are among the most memorable I have experienced in a game. It b begins with a plane crashing into the ocean, with a large large tower in sight as you take control and swim through the wreckage. You enter this tower and are presented with a bathysphere which lowers you deep into the ocean. A projector then begins playing a monologue from Andrew Ryan alongside an excellent orchestral, who explains that Rapture, the massive underwater city you see before you was created by him for the purpose of allowing society's greatest minds to escape the grasp of the world's governments and be entitled to the rewards their hard work deserves. As you immediately find out upon exiting the bathysphere, this plan to create a utopia has utterly crumbled, as Rapture is falling apart and is infested with viscous Splicers, former citizens of the city whose minds and appearances were warped by the abuse of gene-altering drugs which grant superhuman abilities called Plasmids. You are quickly contacted by Atlus, who explains that his family is trapped in a submarine somewhere in the city and asks if you would kindly assist him and saving them so you can all escape the underwater hellscape, thus beginning a memorable journey.
BioShock's gameplay is relatively simple. You explore sprawling levels with a set objective, encountering all sorts of splicers along the way. It's not a strictly linear game like many of the games in its genre, but it's not an open world, either. You can always simply choose to follow the quest arrow right to your objective, but exploring the many areas that you're never required to set foot in will reward you greatly with more money, ammo, and potentially gene tonics, which are small perks that can increase your proficiency in combat, improve your physical traits, or make hacking easier. You will encounter many security systems and vending machines in each area that can be hacked through a simple but fun mini game in which you click on tiles on a grid to reveal pieces of a pipe that you must put together to form a complete path from one side of the grid to the other, all while water flows through the incomplete pipe, thus pressuring you for time. Although I did enjoy this mini game, it got a bit dull and repetitive by the time I was nearly finished with the game's nearly 15 hour-long campaign, and on very rare occasions I would be faced with a pipe that simply could not be completed due to the flaws with the random generation of the tiles in the mini game.
Combat consists of switching between a decently sized arsenal of weapons each with alternative ammo types, such as a Tommy gun and crossbow, and your Plasmid abilities such as the ability to shoot lightning bolts, fling fireballs, summon hordes of bees, and tricking security bots into targeting Splicers. Your health is fixed and can be restored with first aid kits that you can only carry a handful of, and using Plasmids consumes Eve, which can be restored by collecting syringes of the substance. The game may seem to have some survival elements at first, but by the end of the game, I had plenty of ammo for every weapon and was almost never short on first aid kids or Eve syringes, even on the highest difficulty mode. I almost wish that the game forced me to be more conservative with my resources on Hard mode, as I never enjoy having to handicap myself in a game to get more out of it. The weapons don't feel amazing to use, but the wide variety of Plasmids and gene tonics kept combat fun and interesting throughout the whole experience. Expanding my aresnal as the game progressed was very satisfying, but the enemies I faced unfortunately did not step up their game nearly as much, causing the last couple hours to be easier than the first few, but still far from boring.
BioShock excels in both the audio and visual departments and creates a setting that, as unrealistic as it may be, is incredibly engrossing and well realized. Even today, the game's visuals have aged remarkably well on both a technical and artistic level. The textures are intricately detailed, lighting is used excellently to create suspense and horror, and the intricately designed areas are full of well thought-out props that help sell the setting and sometimes make for excellent environmental storytelling. When it comes to visuals, my only real complaint is that the bloom effects can sometimes be intense to the point of becoming mildy obnoxious. Sound design is another strong suit. Almost all of the game's jingles and sounds are firmly engraved in my memory, from the voice lines that play fro the various vending machines to the buzz of an active security bot to the groans of a distant Big Daddy. Other small details such as the disturbing ramblings of nearby Splicers further enhance the atmosphere. The game's original soundtrack is used sparingly, but is usually reserved for the many scripted moments of horror, and, while not particularly memorable aside from the track that plays during Ryan's opening monologue, serves its purpose well. Licensed music is also used to great effect. The lighthearted songs from the '50s that play in many of the game's abandoned stores create a somber tone by contrasting with the horrific destruction and, when paired with the many areas that are damaged but not completely destroyed, causes me to envision what Rapture may have been like in its prime.
It would be remiss of me not to mention BioShock's audio diaries, a feature that did not originate from this game but was popularized by it. While the idea that numerous people would choose to record their thoughts on devices only to frequently leave them lying in the middle of public places is a silly one, I am willing to suspend my disbelief for the sake of enjoying these logs that make the setting of Rapture even more interesting. Most of these audio logs are entirely optional to look for, but are well worth listening too for the fascinating insight they provide on the philosophies and motivations of the various interesting characters you meet in each area such as Andrew Ryan, Brigid Tenenbaum, a scientist who formerly worked under Ryan, and the crazed artist Sander Cohen. Many of the logs also shed light on the reasons that the city is in its sorry state.
There is another trend that was somewhat started by this game, one that I am not particularly fond of, and that is binary moral choices. Each of the game's main areas is home to several Little Sisters, young girls who have been genetically altered for the purpose of harvesting Adam, the substance used in Plasmids and gene tonics to alter genetic code, from the corpses of Splicers. They are guarded by Big Daddies, mysterious behemoths in diving suits. Fighting them can be a significant drain on your ammo reserves, but finding creative and quick ways to kill them by using the using the environment to my advantage with Plasmids like Telekinesis often made for a good time. Upon defeating a Big Daddy, you will have the option to either harvest or rescue a Little Sister. The latter option turns them back into normal girls, while the former kills them but rewards you with more Adam than saving them does, but prevents you fro achieving the good ending. Adam is used to unlock new Plasmids, upgrade the ones already in your arsenal, unlock new gene tonics, and increase the maximum number of tonics you can equip, so this is a hard choice in theory. However, you receive periodic gifts from the Little Sisters if you choose to spare them all, and these more than make up for the lost Adam, and even when playing on Hard mode, I had so much Adam near the end of the game that I wasn't sure what to do with it, and I didn't harm a single Little Sister to obtain that amount. Ultimately I can't get too mad at this basically meaningless choice because it didn't directly impact my enjoyment, but it did inspire a generation of games to include similarly pointless or obvious choices.
The highest point of BioShock is its narrative twist that occurs about two thirds of the way through the game. This scene has become so iconic that it is likely that many reading this are already aware of what I am referring to regardless of whether they have played the game yet, but I wouldn't dare spoil it for those who aren't already in the know. It's an excellent moment that brilliantly betrays the idea of player agency and defies what players have come to expect from the vast majority of shooters. I'd argue that BioShock is worth playing just to witness this, because the true impact of the twist cannot be fully felt without having investment in the game's plot. Unfortunately, the same praise cannot be given to the game's good ending, the one that most players will probably see, as it felt highly anticlimatic, as well as a bit cheesy and out of place in a game that is for the most part very dark in tone.
Although BioShock is not quite what I would consider a masterpiece, it is a special game that I would advise that anyone even slightly interested in it should play at some point. Its excellent setting and atmosphere are more than enough to make up for some minor gameplay shortcomings, and the half-baked ending doesn't quite diminish the otherwise engaging story. I strongly recommend it.
Ups
Stellar presentation
Engrossing atmosphere
Rewarding exploration and combat
Intriguing world and characters
Incredible late-game plot twist
Satisfying progression
Downs
Shooting mechanics could use some work
Some tedious segments
Hacking and research minigames can become repetitive
Mediocre ending
Also available on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4
ESRB: M Content: Blood & Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, and Use of Alcohol and Tobacco Price: $19.99 (Retail / Download)
Above is the player fighting a Spider Splicer using Plasmids
Of the many great games released in the past couple console generations, few are as lauded as BioShock. It's a game rightfully praised for its interesting setting and iconic moments, and although I would not consider it amazing, it has held up strongly over the past dozen years for a wide variety of reasons.
BioShock's opening few minutes are among the most memorable I have experienced in a game. It b begins with a plane crashing into the ocean, with a large large tower in sight as you take control and swim through the wreckage. You enter this tower and are presented with a bathysphere which lowers you deep into the ocean. A projector then begins playing a monologue from Andrew Ryan alongside an excellent orchestral, who explains that Rapture, the massive underwater city you see before you was created by him for the purpose of allowing society's greatest minds to escape the grasp of the world's governments and be entitled to the rewards their hard work deserves. As you immediately find out upon exiting the bathysphere, this plan to create a utopia has utterly crumbled, as Rapture is falling apart and is infested with viscous Splicers, former citizens of the city whose minds and appearances were warped by the abuse of gene-altering drugs which grant superhuman abilities called Plasmids. You are quickly contacted by Atlus, who explains that his family is trapped in a submarine somewhere in the city and asks if you would kindly assist him and saving them so you can all escape the underwater hellscape, thus beginning a memorable journey.
BioShock's gameplay is relatively simple. You explore sprawling levels with a set objective, encountering all sorts of splicers along the way. It's not a strictly linear game like many of the games in its genre, but it's not an open world, either. You can always simply choose to follow the quest arrow right to your objective, but exploring the many areas that you're never required to set foot in will reward you greatly with more money, ammo, and potentially gene tonics, which are small perks that can increase your proficiency in combat, improve your physical traits, or make hacking easier. You will encounter many security systems and vending machines in each area that can be hacked through a simple but fun mini game in which you click on tiles on a grid to reveal pieces of a pipe that you must put together to form a complete path from one side of the grid to the other, all while water flows through the incomplete pipe, thus pressuring you for time. Although I did enjoy this mini game, it got a bit dull and repetitive by the time I was nearly finished with the game's nearly 15 hour-long campaign, and on very rare occasions I would be faced with a pipe that simply could not be completed due to the flaws with the random generation of the tiles in the mini game.
Combat consists of switching between a decently sized arsenal of weapons each with alternative ammo types, such as a Tommy gun and crossbow, and your Plasmid abilities such as the ability to shoot lightning bolts, fling fireballs, summon hordes of bees, and tricking security bots into targeting Splicers. Your health is fixed and can be restored with first aid kits that you can only carry a handful of, and using Plasmids consumes Eve, which can be restored by collecting syringes of the substance. The game may seem to have some survival elements at first, but by the end of the game, I had plenty of ammo for every weapon and was almost never short on first aid kids or Eve syringes, even on the highest difficulty mode. I almost wish that the game forced me to be more conservative with my resources on Hard mode, as I never enjoy having to handicap myself in a game to get more out of it. The weapons don't feel amazing to use, but the wide variety of Plasmids and gene tonics kept combat fun and interesting throughout the whole experience. Expanding my aresnal as the game progressed was very satisfying, but the enemies I faced unfortunately did not step up their game nearly as much, causing the last couple hours to be easier than the first few, but still far from boring.
BioShock excels in both the audio and visual departments and creates a setting that, as unrealistic as it may be, is incredibly engrossing and well realized. Even today, the game's visuals have aged remarkably well on both a technical and artistic level. The textures are intricately detailed, lighting is used excellently to create suspense and horror, and the intricately designed areas are full of well thought-out props that help sell the setting and sometimes make for excellent environmental storytelling. When it comes to visuals, my only real complaint is that the bloom effects can sometimes be intense to the point of becoming mildy obnoxious. Sound design is another strong suit. Almost all of the game's jingles and sounds are firmly engraved in my memory, from the voice lines that play fro the various vending machines to the buzz of an active security bot to the groans of a distant Big Daddy. Other small details such as the disturbing ramblings of nearby Splicers further enhance the atmosphere. The game's original soundtrack is used sparingly, but is usually reserved for the many scripted moments of horror, and, while not particularly memorable aside from the track that plays during Ryan's opening monologue, serves its purpose well. Licensed music is also used to great effect. The lighthearted songs from the '50s that play in many of the game's abandoned stores create a somber tone by contrasting with the horrific destruction and, when paired with the many areas that are damaged but not completely destroyed, causes me to envision what Rapture may have been like in its prime.
It would be remiss of me not to mention BioShock's audio diaries, a feature that did not originate from this game but was popularized by it. While the idea that numerous people would choose to record their thoughts on devices only to frequently leave them lying in the middle of public places is a silly one, I am willing to suspend my disbelief for the sake of enjoying these logs that make the setting of Rapture even more interesting. Most of these audio logs are entirely optional to look for, but are well worth listening too for the fascinating insight they provide on the philosophies and motivations of the various interesting characters you meet in each area such as Andrew Ryan, Brigid Tenenbaum, a scientist who formerly worked under Ryan, and the crazed artist Sander Cohen. Many of the logs also shed light on the reasons that the city is in its sorry state.
There is another trend that was somewhat started by this game, one that I am not particularly fond of, and that is binary moral choices. Each of the game's main areas is home to several Little Sisters, young girls who have been genetically altered for the purpose of harvesting Adam, the substance used in Plasmids and gene tonics to alter genetic code, from the corpses of Splicers. They are guarded by Big Daddies, mysterious behemoths in diving suits. Fighting them can be a significant drain on your ammo reserves, but finding creative and quick ways to kill them by using the using the environment to my advantage with Plasmids like Telekinesis often made for a good time. Upon defeating a Big Daddy, you will have the option to either harvest or rescue a Little Sister. The latter option turns them back into normal girls, while the former kills them but rewards you with more Adam than saving them does, but prevents you fro achieving the good ending. Adam is used to unlock new Plasmids, upgrade the ones already in your arsenal, unlock new gene tonics, and increase the maximum number of tonics you can equip, so this is a hard choice in theory. However, you receive periodic gifts from the Little Sisters if you choose to spare them all, and these more than make up for the lost Adam, and even when playing on Hard mode, I had so much Adam near the end of the game that I wasn't sure what to do with it, and I didn't harm a single Little Sister to obtain that amount. Ultimately I can't get too mad at this basically meaningless choice because it didn't directly impact my enjoyment, but it did inspire a generation of games to include similarly pointless or obvious choices.
The highest point of BioShock is its narrative twist that occurs about two thirds of the way through the game. This scene has become so iconic that it is likely that many reading this are already aware of what I am referring to regardless of whether they have played the game yet, but I wouldn't dare spoil it for those who aren't already in the know. It's an excellent moment that brilliantly betrays the idea of player agency and defies what players have come to expect from the vast majority of shooters. I'd argue that BioShock is worth playing just to witness this, because the true impact of the twist cannot be fully felt without having investment in the game's plot. Unfortunately, the same praise cannot be given to the game's good ending, the one that most players will probably see, as it felt highly anticlimatic, as well as a bit cheesy and out of place in a game that is for the most part very dark in tone.
Although BioShock is not quite what I would consider a masterpiece, it is a special game that I would advise that anyone even slightly interested in it should play at some point. Its excellent setting and atmosphere are more than enough to make up for some minor gameplay shortcomings, and the half-baked ending doesn't quite diminish the otherwise engaging story. I strongly recommend it.
Ups
Stellar presentation
Engrossing atmosphere
Rewarding exploration and combat
Intriguing world and characters
Incredible late-game plot twist
Satisfying progression
Downs
Shooting mechanics could use some work
Some tedious segments
Hacking and research minigames can become repetitive
Mediocre ending
Also available on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4
ESRB: M Content: Blood & Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, and Use of Alcohol and Tobacco Price: $19.99 (Retail / Download)
