Game Review - Bioshock

Name: Bioshock

Console: PS3/Xbox 360/PC (Xbox 360 Reviewed)

Bioshock has been always been an attractive offer for me. There it sits in the corner of my shelf, awaiting my touch...

I attempted to play it at a younger age however at the time my preference wasn't defined yet.

As a now massive lover of horror, Bioshock kicked off a lot of great signs.

I should also mention I'm a Lovecraft fan so the creepy underwater setting was also a huge advantage in my books.

These two elements drew me back to Bioshock recently and I decided that I would take my time an immerse myself into the world of Rapture.

STORY TIIIIIME!!!!

Whenever I head about the strengths of Bioshock it's story was always at the forefront of those points.

I went in with this knowledge and was a bit surprised with what I left with.

The story of Bioshock, rather its presentation, isn't too dissimilar to that of Dark Souls, an overused comparison I know but hear me out. Instead of finding myself glued to the narrative of Bioshock I found myself soaking in the atmosphere and the stories the audio and settings were telling me.

From the war-torn plazas to the Orwellian construction factories, every corner had a deep and enthralling story to tell. Hell, even the toilets gave me a new tale each time I entered one.

The actual story took somewhat of a backseat for me which made me realise that my more recent acquired critique lenses sharpened my senses to the game's mise-en-scene.

Previously I had issues with the story's pacing as it was told in a level-by-level format, so a new bit of information factoring into the protagonist's adventure was fewer and further between than I would've liked before.

Factoring in the world of Rapture as a protagonist then this game has one of the best stories in game.

The story of Jack is definitely a brilliant thriller. From the start the player and the protagonist treats the game... well, like a game. It's only until we reach the midway point when the cloth over the game's true intentions begin to show itself. But not in one go. The game keeps you guessing until the end and, without spoiling anything, I believe that reveal to be where I would've ended the game. Instead the game kept going for another few hours and I was left a bit confused.

The perfect ending was given and yet it wasn't THE end.

The game then took a swift turn to ignore its previous themes, that drove the narrative until this point, and turned into a typical action game.

From what I 've heard, the ending was a last minute addition and you can feel it. Instead of building up to a pay-off we already had that. Normally when the story keeps going we expect the finale to be the the BIG pay-off however Bioshock just sort of sizzled out.

The actual last scenes are done well, with great intentions, although they feel abrupt.

GAMEPLAY TIIIME!!!!

It's your typical FPS affair with some Resident Evil thrown in there. Or rather an attempt at it.

The inventory feels like an attempt to replicate Resident Evil's but everything stacks without limit so I completely forgot about it after it was mentioned.

The gimmick of the game is plasmids, special genetic powers that allow you do things like shoot electricity or fire.

You can refill them using EVE Syringes which are plentifully given. Same deal with Health Syringes.

I feel like health is purposefully short to balance out the placement of these.

Due to plasmids being delegated to the left trigger, there's no iron-sights which, along with the level design, encourage rogue like combat. I never found myself sitting still which made the game addictive to come back to once the game picks up.

Had a lot of fun with this and never found a combination of weapon and plasmid that didn't compliment each other.

Death is pretty interesting here as it the respawning occurs in Vita-Chambers. In other words it happens in real-time meaning that death is more of a setback location-wise instead of repeating fights. This lends itself for players who have never cranked the difficulty up on a game before and want to give it a try as enemies retain damage making crowd fights a little easier to handle. I never found myself dying too often and even when I did I still managed to pave a substantial path forward for myself making trips a breeze. The excuse to walk back the way I came whenever I died eliminated the need for backtracking along with the fear of exploration. If I accidentally set off a trap life wasn't too bad as I still had all the goodies I picked up along the way.

I can see myself returning just for the gameplay and that's a really good sign.

PRESENTATION TIIIIME!!!!

As previously mentioned the world's presentation is gorgeous from a storytelling perspective. From a visual perspective it's a delight.

I've playing the original release and it still looks fantastic today.

The city of Rapture is bathed in deep sea blue and neon colours highlight the 50s monopolised aesthetic.

The glow emitting from the Big Daddy's helmets and the Little Sister's eyes add a hypnotic calm to the area only for the helmet's change to red when enraged to change the atmosphere to that of panic!

I want to spend a week here...

Okay maybe a day.

Each environment feels distinct from each other and they're all beautiful.

CONCLUSION TIIIIME!!!!

This is not the game I expected it to be when I started playing it but it has added me into its ranks of fans.

I wouldn't consider this to be one of the best games ever made but the story alone makes it worth being mentioned on the list.

I think that this game might've made it onto the list if I played it through back when I first got it but unfortunately time has caught up with my gaming tastes and whilst I do think it's excellent in it's own craft.

I can see why so many people hold this game in such a high regard and understanding that and being able to fall in love with the city was enough for me.

Score: 9/10 - A neon dream bathed with an attractive story