Always glad to post up another one of these, though you guys, I do hope you are reading these things and I'm not wasting my time. Some feedback is always nice =) So let's start another one of these.


Bioshock

A shooter isn't normally my thing, but I've seen good things about this series in the past, so I figured it was worth my time to try this series out. Shooters aren't always my thing unless there is some sort of gimick in there to add on with the shooting as just a normal every day shooter can get a little boring in my eyes. So, let's see if this is just another every day shooter or anything special that should be looked at more closely.


Gameplay

Bioshock for the most part is still another first person shooter game where you run around and shoot enemies, though the concept is a bit better than some. This isn't a run around a giant battlefield kind of game where you are in the middle of a war zone. This is city warfare instead of the outside combat stuff of the popular shooters you tend to hear about. Your mission is to pretty much escape the city, but it is going to take a lot of work and moving around this city to get through to not only find out what is going on, but to also uncover what has happened int this city that would make you need to defend yourself in the first place. You have an arsenal of weapons at your disposal that you will find as you play, which include a pistol, a machine gun, a shotgun, a grenade launcher, as well as chemical thrower, and a bow-gun and your trusty wrench for a melee weapon. While this is a good arsenal, if this was all there was to the game, it wouldn't be that interesting, but there is another aspect of the game that does add a bit more depth to it all and that is your plasmids. Plasmids are chemicals that are shot into your body and you use them for various, defensive, offensive and supportive methods. Offensive plasmids usually revolve around things such as shooting lightning, fire or ice out of your hand to stop or stun enemies for short periods of times so that you can then deal with them with your weapons if it doesn't already stop them fully. Defensive plasmids usually revolve around you being able to take more hits in general or from certain types of attacks, then supportive plasmids revolve around helping you in certain combat situations, in buffing your character for certain things, or for helping make another special game mechanic easier to accomplish. Which brings me to "hacking", another unique feature of the bioshock franchise. There are various items that you can change to either unlock or flip to your side by hacking them. Some doors can be unlocked by hacking and then there are defense turrets, cameras and security bots that can be hacked to work for you as well instead of attacking or alerting others to your presence. The hacking mini game is basically the game where you allow water to flow through pipes that you move around to make the water flow to the exit. If you fail, you either take damage or set off an alarm which will bring security bots to attack you. However, while hacking is a basic skill you have, all of your plasmids require you buy them with ADAM, which is an substance that you need to be able to get the plasmids from the machines that give them to you. To get these though, you have to drain it from Little Sisters which are little girls that are walking around the city. However, Little Sisters are not alone. They are guarded by the strongest normal enemy in the game, the BIG DADDY! These are armored suits with someone inside that is there to protect the little sister. They pack a big punch, but it with a physical drill attack or the other variant which uses a strong gun. Either way, the Big Daddy can take you down very quickly if you just attack it head on, so it is advised that you find different ways to attack them and to stay in cover as much as you can as you will need all the protection you can get from these strong enemies. All this sounds nice and is definitely is unique for this game, but really, the game still is mainly shooting for the most part. The plasmids, while helpful, don't add much to the game as you still mainly just use your guns and only use the plasmids for additional help from time to time. You can invest way more into plasmids if you wish, but there is still no incentive to always do so as your guns do the trick rather well. This is especially so when you get the camera which allows you take pictures of your enemies and increase the damage you can do to them with your guns as you research the enemies more and more throughout the game. So for the most part, it is still mainly shooting and running around a nice location. The unique little features do add something to the game, but it is still mainly just a first person shooter deep down.


Story

Bioshock actually has quite an interesting story. I'll try not to spoil much of it, but I will have to at least tell a little bit of it to make sure you get the gist of the story. So basically, you are a man that has survived a plane crash that crashes into the ocean, but you get lucky enough to crash near a lighthouse that you can swim to get out of the water before you drown. Yet, this is no ordinary lighthouse as it takes you down to a large city under the ocean, something most people don't even know is there or at least don't associate with it as it doesn't agree with the methods of the outside world. However, when you get to this city, it is overrun by strange people that have spliced themselves with so much ADAM that they barely look like people anymore at times due to how ugly they look now. The city is controlled by a tyrant that not only believes he is all knowing, but also doesn't want you to leave now that you in his city. Luckily when you arrive, there is a guy on a radio you find helping you out as he tries to guide you in a way to not only find a way out, but also possibly find a way to stop a lot of the chaos that has gone on in this city, which is no longer a place any human wants to be. This is why you need to arm yourself with your guns and plasmids as it is going to be quite the one man war trying to get yourself and your new friend out of this city. I won't go into anymore details as I don't want to spoil the twists in the game, but believe me, this is where this games story shines. The game does know how to throw twists at you and how to keep you wondering what is going to happen next. There are also audio tapes found all over the city that you can listen to if you want to hear about what has happened before all this had occurred from a few different people that let you hear from people that were both experiencing what was happening in the city and also listen in to the mastermind behind it all as you hear about his plans and his thoughts on the city and the outside world and why he does what he does. While some of the story is a bit predictable at times, which does keep this from being perfect, there is enough story to keep you wondering what is going to happen on your first play through of this game.


Graphics

Bioshock looks great, and that's not even me just trying to say I like the way the game looks. It really is a masterpiece when you get to see large views of the city under the sea. You really do believe you are in a city under the ocean and the constant tunnels and waterways you have to pass through to get to different areas keep you reminded that you are in the ocean and not in a city on the land. You can be shooting at an enemy in a corridor and right next to you is a school of fish swimming right next to you on the other side of the glass as they go about their life in the sea. Besides the ocean atmosphere, the city really does look like a fourties and fifties city, as this does take place in the nineteen sixties. You really do believe you are in the time period, minus the obvious advanced tech that wasn't there of course, but is there to add to the experience to make you believe that an under the sea city like this is possible. The only downside is is that you are for the most part seeing some of the areas all torn up and there are some rather dirty areas. While this also adds to the atmosphere that this place is pretty much in ruin in most places, it can take a little out of it when most of the areas you visit are like this and sometimes seem a little too dark at times. Still, for the most part, this game is actually quite impressive to look at I would say.


Sound

This is where the game lacks a little bit in that there really isn't that much music in the game at all. There is some, but a lot of the time, I was struggling to find it. There is a lot ambiance and background noises to enjoy and being able to listen in to the voices in the large rooms and be able to tell if enemies were around was quite useful as well. Still, for the most part, you are just going to be listening to the sound of yourself walking, the sounds of guns shooting, and the sounds of people yelling when you are playing the game. A lot of these sounds tend to repeat and you also tend to hear similar quotes from the enemies constantly and in the same voices, so you will hear some over and over again. They didn't put a large number of various sounds and responses from your enemies at all. I can't take too much away here though, because the background noises really do add a lot to this game, so I will say the sound is still decent, but it could have been a lot better that's for sure.


Control

The controls for moving your character around are pretty responsive, so attacking and dodging your enemies actually isn't that much of a problem. There are times where you will have to be running backwards when fighting things like the Big Daddies if you don't want to be slaughtered which can be tricky as you can't see where you are going in the confined spaces you are in a lot of the time. I've been killed several times by now being able to see where I am going due to now knowing what is back there. However, the real thing with the controls is the learning curve with knowing how to use your guns and plasmids. It took me several several hours to master this system of which button changed weapons and which buttons shot them, so this did mean I wasted a lot of ammo over the first half of the game while trying to learn it. There is a weapons and plasmids wheel that you can use as well and for the most part you want to learn to use this as soon as possible as it is much easier to use than figuring out the swap weapons button. You do eventually get used thee controls the more you play the game, but the initial learning curve to make yourself feel natural at using these weapons can be a bit tricky at first, which is a little troublesome as you don't want your controls too difficult.


Replay Value

This is a shooter and you have to always hope the replay value is going to be there and well, it is and isn't in this case. Bioshock does have replay value in the area that there are harder difficulties you can play, which I did to get the platinum trophy, but it is still the same game for the most part. You can try different plasmids and strategies on your next play through, but the story will not change and the areas you visit will not change. It is all the same. This can make subsequent play throughs a bit dull as you just hope to get to the next area and to the end of the game eventually. There is still fun times though replaying the game as you now know where everything is and you can be a bit more strategic about what you get and when you get it. You may now know certain ambushes are coming and can prepare for them and do a lot better this time than you did on the first play through. If you were hoping for something special or a new game plus feature where you can get something different on additional play throughs, you won't find that here. It is just the same game again, just on different difficulties if you choose to change it.


Overall, I would say Bioshock is actually a decent shooter, that does have a little more to offer than some shooters, but only so much more. I would say it is better than some of the more average shooters out there, but the sound and replay value really are a bit lacking here. With no new game plus feature, a shooter really is just a one time play through before you put it back on the shelf. Is there a reason to play this game again? Yes, but the appeal is a bit limited on additional play throughs if you are looking for something vastly different when you play the game again. It is still a good game overall and one that is definitely worth a try at least.

Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Bioshock a seven point five out of ten.


Gameplay: 8
Story: 9
Graphics: 9
Sound: 6
Control: 8
Replay Value: 6

Overall: 7.5