BioShock Review
The idea of Rapture is simple. Create a Utopian like city where only the world's brightest minds are invited to live in harmony. The story of Rapture is a little more complex. One man's dream becomes a nightmare... The citizens of this advanced world start to play around with things better left to God. To make a very convoluted story short... some of the brightest minds in Rapture have engineered ways to mutate and splice human cells on a genetic level and introduce things that are considered unnatural. People can now shoot electric bolts from their hands to cook their foes if need be... or use telekinesis to throw their cheating lover across a bar room. Splicing gets out of control and before you know it, the city is falling apart. This is where you, Jack, the main character shows up. Somehow, the airplane you are on mysteriously goes down and you find yourself floating amongst the plane wreckage. When you start the game you see the plane debris all around. Also, within view is a light house. A light house in the middle of the ocean? Seeing as that's the only place to really go... you swim to it and follow the stairs leading down. This is basically where you begin and so the story of Rapture slowly unfolds. At various points in the game you will find tape recorders left behind from Raptures citizens... sometimes they talk about life in Rapture and how things went to hell. It is a great way of letting the story of Rapture play out without directly interfering with your game play. I loved the idea and it somehow brings you closer to the people in Rapture and to somewhat experience what they were experiencing. From the beginning to end, the story keeps you on the edge of your seat and not wanting to put your controller down.
Bioshock looks great. The retro art style that encompassed the city of Rapture is beautiful. From the moment of your first descent down into the doomed under-water city and through out your adventure, it is obvious that a lot of work and time was put forth into making Rapture as attractively haunting as possible. One of the main ingredients of a wrecked under-water city would be the apparent water leakage problems... and the creators of Bioshock handled it perfectly. Puddles scattered through out the city, cracked leaking corridors and the flooded rooms made for the perfect setting. I still remember the first time I electrocuted a group of Splicers who were hanging out in some water... sweet revenge on those pesky Splicers! One of the other things that jumped out at me graphically was the assortment of colors that really gave the atmosphere of Rapture it's own feel. Every area seemed to have its own unique touch, whether it was the posters that advertised Raptures newest Plasmids or the bloody evidence of some random violence splattered onto the walls. Bottom line, Rapture is breathtakingly beautiful.
The soundtrack to this game is creepy. From random jukeboxes playing eerie music to the thuds and squeaks you would expect to hear in a haunted house. It all blends perfectly. For scary games like Bioshock you gotta have a few key elements to really make players jump or drop their controllers in a moment of fear... and the in game sounds and soundtrack are definitely on point. If for some reason you have been living under a rock for the last 2 years and you haven't played the game yet you can download the soundtrack.. free of charge! Here is the link: http://downloads.2kgames.com/bioshock/BioShock_Score.zip Overall the music and sound effects are a dead ringer giving you exactly what you need to be freaked out at just the right moments. This occurs a lot during the game and it never feels forced, always balanced.
Overall the BioShock plays, feels, and sounds like a great game should. There are ample difficulty settings for the casual gamers and hardcore gamers alike. From beginning to end BioShock impresses and brings forth a fresh new taste to the gaming world.
