BioShock

One of the things we’re taught to do when we write is to leave ourselves out of whatever we’re writing. I'm not supposed to say "I" or "me" or anything relating to myself, but consider that rule broken. This is one of those rare cases where I will break the fourth wall. Why? Well, the experience that I’ve had with Bioshock is one that I can only tell from my perspective. Bioshock is a game that will leave a different impression on everyone who plays it. It’s a game that can be seen as many types of games, depending on who you are, and what you play. Bioshock is geared towards the thinking man, who ponders human nature, society, war and ideologies. Bioshock is also geared towards the hardcore gamer, who searches for that deep, immersive and mesmerizing game experience that seems all too rare these days. It doesn’t just stop there; it might be a game that caters to the first-person shooter lover, or the guy that loves survival horror games. Bioshock can be many things, and that’s why I’m going to talk about my take on the game, and what it meant to me. One thing is certain though; everyone should take a trip down to Rapture.

          Rapture is an underwater city created by Andrew Ryan in the 1950’s. Ryan designed this underwater city in order to break free from the chains and limitations of the world above -- no government or religion could restrain him or the people of Rapture. These people who flocked down to Rapture were promised all of the things they couldn’t have on the surface, which was a better life in a city that actually cared about it’s people. Rapture’s breakthroughs in science allowed these people to genetically enhance themselves as well. The ugly could become the beautiful, and the weak could become the powerful. Rapture was perfect, or it at least seemed to be. Something went horribly wrong, and the bustling city of became a city of horrors -- civilians killing each other, and even their families and children. Suddenly, Andrew Ryan’s masterpiece land is the living dead. Rapture still stood, but Rapture had fallen. And with that, here you come. You’re sitting inside a cargo plane, and it suddenly crashes down to the sea below. You manage to escape the wreckage, but you find yourself swimming around a ring of fire from the plane, and the threat of the sinking parts pulling you below. There’s a lighthouse-like structure in the distance, and you swim to it. What lies inside is the entrance to an incredible creation. Your goal is to find out what’s going on with Rapture, and why it has fallen. Soon, the mysterious answers to the city’s demise will come to light, but the once preserved city is facing destruction as part of your plane crashes into it.

          Setting is clearly the most important aspect of this game, with the city of being one of the most alarmingly moody and atmospheric settings you’ll ever find in a video game. I was completely engrossed in the creepy preserved world of Rapture. I was on my toes as I explored the city, hearing the faint sound of a splicer (civilian enemy) mumbling incoherently to himself while a nearby jukebox played an old 1950’s song. Old posters posted up on the walls advertising the once-helpful-turned-dangerous gene splicing procedures are found everywhere, with “You Ruined Me” written in blood over top of a few of them. Then there were those picket signs thrown about that represented some kind of revolt against Rapture, indirectly alluding to some kind of civil unrest. Of course, there was the uncontrollable flooding, like a relentless timer ticking down as it seeped in and destroyed each area. I couldn’t help but keep asking myself “what could have happened here?” Much of the backstory of Bioshock is told in these subtle ways, which is a brilliant method of storytelling. Learning more about Rapture and what happened is as simple as observing your surroundings. I spent a lot of time just stopping and observing each area, trying to piece together the fall of Rapture by looking at the writings on the wall. There are even tape recordings left around, which tell accounts of the happenings of the city, from a civilian’s perspective. There are even recordings of Andrew Ryan and his cohorts, explaining their rhymes and reasons for their actions -- trust me, those “actions” demand some explaining.

          When I wasn’t investigating all of the little clues left behind, I was admiring the masterful design of each and every area of Rapture. Not only does Bioshock have some of the best visuals on next generation platforms, but it has some of the greatest artistic style I’ve ever seen. It perfectly captures the essence of 1950’s style. Everything from the music of the era, the vernacular, black and white televisions, clothing style and the popular art decko style are alive and utilized in this game. Pair that with the dim lighting and the green haze from the windows that show off the sea, and you’ve got quite a vibe. Each level of Bioshock has a distinct feel to it, while upholding the overall theme of Rapture. I did get a little bored with the locations after a while, after the initial ‘wow factor’ of the aforementioned art style became less foreign. Rapture’s look is very much a one trick pony, but it’s a hell of a pony.

          Now that we’ve got past the visuals and atmosphere, it’s time to delve into the gameplay. The biggest thing that Bioshock prides itself on is it’s sandbox-like gameplay. Bioshock is very much a first-person shooter, but even calling it that is selling Bioshock very short. The big factor that makes Bioshock so different are the plasmids. These are abilities made for battle that were scientifically created in Rapture. There are about a dozen of these plasmid choices at your disposal, which allows for unique battle experiences for each player. You can freeze, electrify and incinerate enemy splicers. You can even launch a swarm of bees at enemies to disorient them, or use telekinesis to halt an incoming grenade or RPG missile and launch it the other way. Want to confuse splicers even more? Why not cast a dummy enemy somewhere to draw their attention away from you? How about enraging one of them to get them to attack each other? Or better yet, my personal favorite; getting a Big Daddy to protect you? Overwhelming? Yes, but that just goes to show you the countless options you have to killing who you need to kill. It goes far beyond the ‘cast lighting into a pool of water when a splicer is standing in it’ tactic that we already knew about. Like me, you’ll find your favorites, and you’ll stick to them. You can even upgrade these plasmids throughout the game. There’s even abilities you can attach to yourself to increase your health and EVE (think magic meter), along with countless other abilities that can make you more capable.

          Here is one of my examples of how I played the game at a certain part. I came into a room which had a turret in the center, and immediately struck it with lightning to stun the machine temporarily. I then ran up and hacked it (which you can do for safes, security cameras, doors and vending stations) and had it programmed to kill splicers, instead of me. To the right of me, there was a room with it’s floor flooded with water, a security camera and a health station. I froze the camera and hacked it as well, which gave me the same result as the turret. I also hacked the health station, which lowered the price I’d have to pay to heal, as well as damaging any splicer who tries to heal at the same station. I went back into the turret room and went to the room just north, where I was met with a mini-boss battle and ample splicer enemies. I was outnumbered. I decided to cast a flame on one enemy, which made her run for water to put out the fire. She’ll be back for me. The other few splicers came after me. I ran out of the room and into the turret room, and they were shot at by my newly convinced friend. One of them died from it, but the other few shot the turret up until it exploded. Now I’m in a firefight with two splicers. Suddenly, I see the female splicer zip past us and into the room with the health station and hacked camera. She’s actually going in there to heal up! I run in there to follow her and to get away from the other two splicers, and I find her at the health station trying to heal. Instead, she takes another huge hit of damage, and I finally decide to take her out with one determined shotgun blast. Dead. I can hear the other two splicers yelling for me, and they came running into the room. There were two doors to this room, and they came into the one that the camera pans at. The alarm suddenly goes off, and a gunner bot bursts in the room and fires at the last splicers. And looky, they’re both standing in a puddle. Zap. Dead. This is Bioshock.

          All of this, paired with fully upgradable guns and weapons make this game incredibly deep. There are all kinds of different ammo types best suited for some enemies, along with all of the plasmid fun there is to have. I’d love to run through them all, but there’s not enough time. Don’t be fooled, it’s not just a ‘balls to the wall’ plasmid and firefight game. Bioshock pairs this thinking man action with survival-horror styled pacing. It’s a very methodical game. Often times I crept through some areas gingerly; halfway watching for sudden attacks and halfway exploring each area for items or story fragments.

        Then, of course, there are the times when my path crossed with two of the central figures of Bioshock, the Big Daddies and Little Sisters. From a gameplay angle, Big Daddies serve as the “bosses” of the game. These towering behemoths scour the city of at all times, commonly found protecting the Little Sisters. These Little Sisters search dead bodies for ADAM, a chemical-like substance that allows for all kinds of physical wonders and breakthroughs in Rapture. In your case, ADAM is what you need to score to boost your physical, technical and plasmid abilities. You’ll need to upgrade yourself in order to make it in this cut throat city, so you need to get that ADAM from those Little Sisters. Just one problem; you’ve got to take out the Big Daddy protecting her. These guys pose quite a challenge, so it’s imperative to be prepared when you’re ready to take one on. While these battles with the Big Daddies do pose an immense threat to you in the early goings of the game, it gets much easier as you make progress and acquire new weapons and plasmid abilities. It’s not as if killing them off becomes as easy as killing a lowly splicer, but with so many different tactics and options possible, it was easy to find slightly easier ways to take them out, and take their loot.

          So, the Big Daddy is dead. Now, that twisted little sister who was shouting at her Big Daddy to kill you off is now at your feet. This is the part of Bioshock that presents the big moral dilemma. It seems like these moral choices are appearing as focal points in a lot of games these days. Trendy? Perhaps. Regardless, you have a decision to make. Rescuing a Little Sister will save her life, and restore her almost entirely back to a normal human being. The catch is, you’ll get less ADAM from doing so. Harvesting a Little Sister means you will essentially take her life, leaving only a strange larvae-like creature in your hands. She will be dead, however, you’ll score much more ADAM. Upgrading means everything, so what will you do?

        You’ll have a pair of people pulling your arms in both directions in the game. One will preach on about how these girls aren’t considered “human” and that you shouldn’t think twice about harvesting them. The other will tell you that they can be saved and restored, and that the are still humans inside. Can this little girl who was just calling for my demise, with eyes glowing blood red, be normal? That’s up to you. The decision to save or harvest these Little Sisters will decide what kind of ending you’ll get in Bioshock, but the moral dilemma side of things won’t pull at your heartstrings as much as Ken Levigne wanted it to. In some ways, it nails it, but it also falls short. Speaking of short, perhaps the biggest complaint about Bioshock is it’s ending. The game itself will last you a good 15-20 hours. If you’re like me and love exploring and taking it all in, count on twenty. It’s just a shame that Bioshock is a great and satisfying experience, yet with a undesirably short ending. While both endings quickly wrap things up, and quite well, believe it or not, they should have made it much longer.