An aquatic exploration, you can't miss.
Bioshock is an excellent game with a twisting story, unique style, and very immersive game play. It's more than your average FPS, mostly because you will make important moral choices, and be told an impressive story that can be quite unpredictable.
When you start out in Bioshock you find yourself in the middle of the ocean after a plane crash, which in some mysterious way ended up on site of a tower jutting straight out of the ocean. Naturally you then swim to the tower, to find out what the heck is going on. However, nothing can prepare you for the grand adventure that you are about to take part in.
As you go in to the tower, you make your way to a submarine-like pod that will then take you on a ride to an underwater city known as Rapture. This is quite an amazing experience the first time you see it, and the style and graphics are stunning.
Upon your arrival of the city, you will be welcome by quite a brutal cut scene, that will make you think twice about leaving your safe little sphere, but since you don't want to spend the rest of the game in a bubble you step out into the world of Rapture. As soon as you come out, you can tell that at some time something went terribly wrong in this "underwater paradise", but I will let you find out for yourself what it was.
Throughout the game you will be led by the voice of Atlas on a radio that you pick up in the pod that you entered the city in. If you just want to follow the straight path of the game, it is pretty linear and for the most part there is an arrow instructing you where to go next. However, it is hard to resist exploring everything, and you will definitely be missing out if you don't.
Right at the beginning of your journey through Rapture you will acquire a wrench, followed quickly by your first plasmid. Plasmids are the special powers used, that are basically, magic or force powers. These skills are powered by a substance known as EVE. If you run out of EVE, you can no longer use your plasmids, and must find EVE hypos which you then inject into your blood stream. This first plasmid is the electric shock, so you can tell there is going to be some great stuff further into the story. Thankfully you will also pick up more than a wrench as a conventional weapon. There are also some things like a shotgun, a machine gun, and a few more. One other feature you will encounter is gene tonics. These are non-combat related, but are used for hacking, and other important game play elements, and fortunately they do not require EVE to use.
Probably the most important characters you will encounter as you progress through the city are the Little Sisters, and Big Daddies. Little Sisters search the city to gather a substance called ADAM which is a gene enhancing stem cell that allows you to use more plasmids and tonics. These creepy little girls are protected by the walking powerhouses known as Big Daddies. These guys are ready to put up a crazy fight to protect the Little Sisters, so be prepared. When you are able to defeat the Big Daddies you will then be able to collect the ADAM from the sisters, but how you do so is up to you.
Visually, this game is stunning. Ranging from the beautiful ocean scenery, to the unique '50s style indoor city, and there's even a gorgeous forest in there. Bioshock has an art style unlike anything I've seen. Not only does it look awesome, but the sound is excellent as well. The sounds definitely set the tone in this new freaky unseen world and fit the atmosphere rather well. The voice acting is right on, and the people sound like they knew what they were doing, and wanted to voice the part right.
The game play in Bioshock feels pretty good, though it's not the best control that I have felt. The weapons don't feel as strong as they should in later parts of the game, but these two tiny flaws are easily forgotten due to the immersive story, and incredible visuals. The game has some replay value if you want to play through again, with different power-ups, or on a harder difficulty. Also, the game features two different endings depending on how you play.
Altogether Bioshock is a fantastic game that every gamer should at least rent to see the impressive story. It's a ride you will not soon forget, and will leave you wanting more.
