Bioshock Review ... (9.5 out of 10)
September 6, 2007 ... Review by Mike
Bioshock is an amazing experience … I’ll put that right out there … anyone who has a 360 and enjoys any games other than sports games … you need to play this one. From the start until the finish you placed in an extremely well crafted world unlike no other I’ve ever seen in video games or movies for that matter. Rapture is probably the most thought out and beautiful world I’ve ever wandered through … and I couldn’t wait to see where I would be going next. The journey through Rapture was utterly satisfying, and the people and things I encountered along the way were perfect and interesting.
The enemies in Bioshock are not only creepy and unsettling … but they also evoked a little pity in me as I was smashing their heads in with a wrench or popping them with some boom-stick food (did that sound demented?). There does seem to be something about Rapture that made the splicers the way they are and I did feel a little bad for them. Now the Big Daddy … that’s a completely different story … they are just big bad killing machines. The first time I faced one of those monsters … I got owned worse than n00b buying Halo 3 on day one. Taking on a big daddy with surround sound on is a video game experience that is not often matched.
Now lets get to the best part of the game … the plasmids (super-powers basically). You obtain the power to shock, burn, freeze, hypnotize, and my personal favorite … move shit with your mind. As you progress through the game … you’ll pick up different powers you can cycle though … as well as different tonics to make you hack better, have better luck with security devices, or the ability to become faster, stronger, and generally more bad ass.
Morality comes into play in Bioshock as you encounter the little girls that the Big Daddies protect … the little sisters. They are the harvesters of ADAM (the substance in Rapture that allows people to do what they do) … and when you defeat a Big Daddy you have to make choice of whether or not you will rescue the little sisters or harvest them … which gives you a huge boost of ADAM but also makes you feel bad (on the inside).
Game-play: Bioshock is a First person shooter that is very tight in game play … and while it’s not quite Halo or Unreal … but few things are. There is some mild aim assist that helps to make the game not quite so hardcore. The weapons are fun to use … the shotgun is amazing as always … but the real fun is the plasmids. The trigger buttons work great for both the weapons, and its almost flawless switching between the two and the different types and weapons. The hacking mini-game is also fun and the vending machines are both hilariously out of place and completely normal. One thing Bioshock does that is good for those players who don’t consider themselves “god’s gift to Gaming” …
Single Player Experience: One of the best Single player experiences available on any console today … if you enjoy first person shooters with a story or adventure/action games … you can’t go wrong here. The environment is amazing and the emersion in that world is some of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had playing a game. I won’t give any spoilers here … but while the setting and action is an A+ … the actual story is more of a C-.
Multiplayer Experience: What?
Graphics: One of the top 3 games on any system in terms of visuals right up there with Gears of War and Gran Turismo HD. The textures are rich and hyper-hi-res … the fire and water are the best I’ve ever seen … and the character models are terrific. Not really a whole lot to say other than you will not be disappointed.
Sound: In this forgotten category … Bioshock shines once again with some of the best sound design I’ve ever come across. There is amazing usage of Surround sound especially when the Big Daddy is walking around moaning … and the way the controller rumbles with every step they take. The voice acting is solid and the audio diaries were a really cool idea … I’d kill for something like that in Resident Evil where the story is a little more interesting. The musical score is also haunting and add to the emersion into this game.
Value: There is added replay value added right into the main storyline as you can play the game as a good guy or a bad guy … but not nearly as much as say KOTOR or the upcoming Mass Effect. I want to play through it a second time because it was just so fun the first time … and since this is my review … I guess I would say that it does have some good value.
Overall: Wow … I wrote a novel about this game … that must mean this game rules. If you don’t want to read all that … here is the condensed version … Great Game-Play … Great Single Player experience … Amazing Graphics … Superb sound … all with some replay value. Buy this game if you can afford it … rent it if not. The only reason I didn’t give this game a 10 is because the story wasn’t that interesting and I seemed to tune it out at times. GAME OF THE YEAR THUS FAR
Bioshock At A Glance |
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9.5 |
The Goods |
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The Flaws |
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Amazing |
The Verdict |
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