BioShock

For the first time in a long time you can have a different experience from a first person shooter. While Bioshock still uses some of the same mechanics found in this genre, it is one of the few which sets the bar pretty high and makes everything fit together.
The PC and Xbox 360 versions came out in August 2007 and the PS3 edition a year later, in October 2008. The PS3 version has better graphics, better textures, fewer bugs and no more frame-rate problems. This makes the game look very good. But it doesn't look as good as other shooters from 2008, like Resistance for instance. But the art design is one of the best in recent memory and the atmosphere the game creates with the help of its great graphics, steady framerate and outstanding visual design make for one of the most interesting environments to play in.
You play as Jack, an airplane passenger sometime in 1960. The plane crashes in the Atlantic Ocean and he is the only survivor. Right away you will probably see the best water effects in gaming history. There is absolutely no game out there, with better water animations and textures. The water is beautifully done, and at the first glance, everything will look pretty realistically. As you are the sole survivor of the plane crash, you swim to a lighthouse and find an elevator which will begin your journey through the city of Rapture. Rapture is an undersea city, built by maniac Andrew Ryan after the second World War. Andrew Ryan brought to the city of Rapture the best scientists in the world, to let them make experiments and not be pressured by the outside world. One big advancement the scientists made is ADAM. These stem cells are able to rewrite and regenerate human genome. With the help of ADAM the people of Rapture were able to enhance their bodies with superhuman powers. Andrew Ryan discovered that he could mass produce ADAM by implanting it in small children.
The whole story is told by voice tapes, found in the entire city. You will find such tapes and listen to them, receiving objectives and information regarding your current mission and the whole history of Rapture. You will find many of these tapes scattered all around the city, some of them belonging to people who used them as messages or journals, but you will also find such tapes from the important people of Rapture and the game itself. All these tapes are pre-recorded and the quality of the audio and the performance done by the voice actors is terrific. You will hear different accents, moods and language and it all helps to creating a great atmosphere.
As you enter the undersea city of Rapture you'll realize that the whole city is pretty destroyed. It's not alive anymore. It's not populated anymore, well, there are some crazy mutant zombies, called Splicers which make their way around the city in search for ADAM. As missions will go by, you'll encounter different types of Splicers. Each type has special abilities, appearance and use. The story itself is pretty interesting, if you can keep up with all the audio diaries that you find. One thing the game does great is the fact that it doesn't stop. Besides a few loading times, when you get from one main area to another, there are basically no loading times. This makes the game feel right and the experience isn't affected by any means. The main plot evolves around your character, who will have to kill someone important, and after that, find out something which will change your perspective over things, and you will have to make yet another big kill. The story and game are both very liniar. Go there, do that, kill that, get a certain amount of something, and things like that. But the fact that the whole city feels alive, brings a lot to the experience. The city really feels like a city. Even if it's nowhere close to games like GTA or other sandbox games, the atmosphere and sandbox style gameplay make for a believable Rapture. Everything looks great and the 50's and 60's style is all over the place. This game feels special, and it is. Everything is well done.
The sound design is one of the best things about the game. As there are hardly any cutscenes, the story evolves around the diaries you find and listen to. They are all well done and the voice acting is terrific. Besides all the voices, the sounds from guns, plasmids or the other inhabitants of Rapture help create that great atmosphere. Splicers of different types make different sounds, you'll hear them close and know what kind of a Splicer is around. The same thing is with the Big Daddy's. They are the toughest enemies in the game, and they protect the Little Sisters. As you'll need to harvest the Little Sisters for ADAM, you'll have to take them out first. You will know when a Big Daddy is close, by it's hard and heavy footsteps and the crumbling of the floor. This is truly a neat touch and it just helps make the experience more real. You do however have the choice to rescue the Little Sisters after taking out the Big Daddy. But that will result in no ADAM. And as ADAM is the currency for mutation upgrades, it will be a tough choice between rescuing or harvesting the Little Sisters.
Graphically the game looks great. But it doesn't have that HD feel you get from other games. It looks great, no doubt about that, but it looks sort of like the best old car, compared to the best new one. They are both great, but the new one is just, better looking. The game has however it's brilliant parts, water effects are just amazing, and the physics do a great job as well.
Probably the worst thing about the game is the fact that the gunfight is a little weak sometimes. You will encounter situations when you simply won't know what you're shooting at, as the screen fills with effects, and you won't even know who's attacking you, or even from where. This may be a letdown for some but the game gives an overall good experience with it's gunfight mechanics. Another issue for some may be the slow paced action. You will wonder through the city and just meet a few enemies. But you won't be assaulted by dozens of enemies or things like this which are pretty frequent in first person shooters. The game's difficulty is somewhere below easy. Even on harder difficulties, the game appears to be easier. Even if the number of enemies is bigger and they are tougher, you'll still make it alive.
Another drawback may be the game's length, which may be affected by the lack of multiplayer. It's pretty much as long as any other first person shooter out there, and if you won't love this game, there won't really be any reasons for coming back, maybe for some more trophies but that's it.
Overall, Bioshock is a great game, which all first person shooters should play. If you missed the first releases of this game, this is the time to get it. Even if the game lacks in the multiplayer department it may make out in the overall replay value. You may want to play this game again after finishing it. It's a hard game to describe. You may love it or just say it's a good game. But no one can say it's not a good game. Not very often do we gamers get a game like this, so just buy this game. Or rent it, or steal it. But just play it, you need to.