Bioshock is the latest first person shooter on the scene. and i just finished playing it all the way through. The game starts out with the player as a passenger on a plane that crashes into the Atlantic Ocean. Apparently the only survivor of the crash, the player swims to a nearby large obelisk sticking out of the water, exploring into an open door reveals a tiny submarine. once you board the sub your on your way to the beginning of the adventure into an underwater city called "Rapture".
"Rapture" is the vision of a billionaire who sought to escape what he viewed as the oppressive nature of religion and government by constructing a massive underwater city for himself and like minded individuals to migrate to and live a life of their own free will. He envisioned a utopia where brilliant scientists could complete breakthrough research without the pressure and restraint of government oversight or public morality.
What they managed to create in this underwater city was quantum leaps in genetic alteration. Gene splicing for strength, beauty, intelligence increases, telekinesis and "Jedi like" powers using potions and tonics known as "Adam" and "Eve". you find yourself a guest in this city of "Rapture" which, as a result of the immoral lifestyle of "rapture" is in the final stages of complete social breakdown and more or less at the end of a massive civil war.
Within this city are massive robotic guards called "Big Daddy's" who escort shy little girls who are possessed by some kind of "Adam" producing parasite. You have the moral choice to harvest all of the "Adam" from the little girls which will enhance your genetic abilities that you acquire through the game (thereby killing the little girls); or you can save them by removing the parasite. Saving them wont increase your genetic abilities at all... but what choices you make here will greatly impact the outcome of the game.
now i dont usually go for first person shooters based this heavily in science fiction... But...
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE GAME:
firstly, The graphics, with the included directX10 support are fantastic, all of the textures from the brick walls, to tile floors to the rainbow that forms when you mix oil with water --- all 100% awesome. I wont go so far as to say better than anything i have seen before, but this game stands to blow Half Life two out of the water in the graphics department. even on highest settings the game ran smoothly.
Interaction with the environment was top notch too, virtually everything in this underwater city serves some kind of purpose, or can in some way be interacted with.
I generally don't like video games which stick to the cliche of the player on some kind of amnesiac quest to find out his true identity. Bioshock definately slips into that part of the story line from time to time, and aside from "WW2 shooters" which are still very popular... the "amnesiac searching for his identity while being constantly double crossed and not knowing who to trust" plot is overused in the gaming world... despite all that - i enjoyed playing this one.
The interface with the weapons is a little difficult - not only do you have to mouse scroll through weapons (PC version) you also have to select through various types of ammo for a given weapon... a real PITA in an intense combat sequence. However, that aside... i think bioshock made this aspect of the game as seamless an interface as it possibly could.
The game is fun to play, has a deep story line, and good character development mixed with the mystery of wondering who you are. and like i said - though the story line is an overused cliche - Bioshock does a good job of telling the story.
WHAT I DIDNT LIKE:
For starters, the game is so fast paced at times... but the levels are so heavily detailed that you miss the finer things in the levels because your rushing through. So much attention was put into the details of the game but its useless if your constantly evading enemies at virtually every minute of play.
on the subject of enemies... there seems to be little rhyme or reason as to the spawn logic. One minute a room is completely empty... one way in one way out, you leave the room and go back and its full of enemies again
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Also vital information and story line details are presented to the player through voice recordings or audio sequences through a radio comm. but these audio sequences always seem to start right in the middle of a heated battle. I once missed a door key code in one such audio recording because i was in the middle of an intense firefight - i then wandered around the whole level for about an hour searching for the code!!! fortunately you can replay messages for review later.
Finally the only ways of getting fresh ammo for your weapons is to 1) scavenge it off the dead 2) find it in desks or shelves etc or 3) buy it from an ammo vending machine (with money you find along the way)
first off the dead enemies only have 3 or 4 rounds of machine gun ammo... it always seems that no sooner can you collect it an enemy jumps out and you spend more than you gained in killing him! Secondly, if you search desk drawers etc... there are only 3 or 4 rounds in some desks, none in others. thirdly, the vending machine concept...
each level is scattered with very childish clown decorated vending machines where you can buy ammo, gene tonics, health kits and weapon mods, but these vending machines take so much away from the seriousness of the game!
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