An amazing experience, much like watching and participating through a perfectly directed movie.
Why is this game revolutionary? The graphics are not the best we've seen so far, the AI isn't stunningly responsive and smart.
Why all this hype then? Clearly this game has huge flaws and nothing new to offer..
Well, your wrong.
This game, immerses you into a twisting story with a very interesting plot, just like one you'd see watching a movie. The beauty in Bioshock, is that 2K has managed to actually make you feel, like your participating in a movie. It's so seamlessly integrated with the gameplay, that sometimes you have that itch or feeling that it would go into a cutscene in any moment and carry on showing you the rest of the story. They have NAILED the atmosphere and the feeling while they created the game, being restricted with the amount of ammunition that you can carry and find, you'll find you have to scavenge for it in order to survive, not just blindly running and picking up ammo from your dead enemies and plowing on. This game requires you to think at times, in order to take out powerful foes (Big Daddies), but it is also forgiving for those that would prefer to take the all out shooting route (Normal splicers).
Bioshock is fun game to play. You have many options to take out your enemies, you can be as creative as you want to be, inventing special ammo such as heat seeking RPG's to making Cyclone traps and putting Proximity mines on the roof. The special powers give you an edge in the game, that make the game easier, but they're not overpowered and you won't usually be able to take out your enemy with one Incenerate. The game is supposed to be a first-person shooter, so it's not only about plasmids, the weapons are fun to shoot, each has a unique feel and are customizable in a fun and cool looking way. Most weapons have aimers and look great as well, so a lot of work has been put into the weapons. One of my favorite looking weapons would be the Chemical Thrower, which has a unique way of reloading and it doesn't only spew fire but also other substances. There is only one problem when it comes to gameplay and that would be the difficulty of the game. There is no death penalty, and you can die and restart a fight again (this usually occurs fighting Big Daddies). The enemies do not regain health, which makes it pointless to use First Aid kits when it's much easier and cheaper to die, and keep trying till your enemy dies. Another thing to note, although not a problem, would be the guiding arrow, the Rapture map and the hint option. These are quite nice for players who are easily frustrated but this ruins some of the experience and shortens the game. Rapture should not have had a map, making it harder to move around and requiring you to look at signs and city maps just like your visiting a new mall for the first time. These problems didn't manage to ruin my fun while playing the game, I took notice of them but they never really stuck with me, as the other great aspects of this game overcrowded it.
The audio in this game deserves a solid 10. Greatly integrated with the enviroment, with the vending machine voices, to the splicers whispering to themselves, the ambient noise, the sound of the immense pressure of the sea pressing down on the crumbling structure and bending bars is all integrated with the gameplay to provide a cinematic feeling, as I said before, as if your partaking in a movie.
This game has no multiplayer, which would increase it's hours played, and it would be very interesting running around a few Rapture maps, using a Counter-Strike system of buying plasmids and equipping them before battle. The weapons are great, which alone could have been enough for a great multipllayer experience. The game is quite short unfortunatly, even introducing a death penalty would not have increased the games length by 10 hours unless it was losing everything you have gained. There is a reason to replay the game, even 2-3 times, but still you'd wish it lasted longer.
All in all, this game should go to your collection, even if you think it's too short, you will deffinetly grab it again after a few months of not playing it, just to experience Rapture again, and the small flaws are nothing compared to what this game can offer. The lack of multiplayer has affected this score greatly, this game has the potential.
There's nothing like looking into a little sisters eyes, after you have saved her. Or the eerie silence if you've harvested her. The huge giant rumblings of the Big Daddy heard from afar, the music from the 50's, and a story that is hard to explain in words and how it was put into a game, for the first time, an immense experience like that, I say this game is revolutionary. Spielberg couldn't have directed it better.