There's no shock that BioShock rocks.
But with all great ideas, the margin for error always exists to rear its ugly head just when least expected. Such is the case with the underwater city of Rapture and its residents.
Taking place right after the New Year's celebration of 1959, players assume the role of the mysterious character only briefly mentioned as Jack as the airplane he's on plunges into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Being the sole survivor of the crash, Jack swims to an enigmatic structure where he is quickly transported to the underwater metropolis of Rapture.
Despite being released mere weeks ago, BioShock has already earned the respect of the entire gaming world with its intricate story, amazing visuals, and tight gameplay. From the first bathysphere plunge into the ocean and all the way through the twist-filled plot until the exciting climax is reached, BioShock becomes the perfect example of why video games have become such a popular medium today.
In the game, players are plunged into the watery world of Rapture where images of the massive city's art deco designs and architecture unfold before their eyes. Developed and built by billionaire Andrew Ryan in the 1930s, Rapture serves as sanctuary for people that have grown cautious of the clutches of real world. But as Jack arrives into the envisioned utopia, he soon discovers that it is anything but perfect.
With such a lovely environment to live in, what could have possibly gone wrong? Why are former happy residents now enraged and running amok inside their once perfect utopia? What is this substance called "Adam" that everyone is killing over? These mysteries and more are left up to gamers to discover throughout Rapture via audio tape recordings. Only by piecing together the stories and recollections of the residents of Rapture can Jack uncover what went terribly wrong beyond the sea.
One thing is for certain though, the crazed people of Rapture, now dubbed Splicers by the few remaining sane people, would just assume bash Jack's head in than offer him help. While most are still dressed in their New Year''s attire and masks, these horrific Splicers are now on the search for the substance known as "Adam" and will gladly kill anything in their path to collect it.
But Jack isn't completely defenseless. Not only are there many types of firearms available to keep enemies at bay, but Jack also has the ability to hack security bots to do his bidding while turning the tide of any fight. Yet out of all the available weapons, it's the plasmids that will save players' hides the most.
By reconfiguring his DNA structure with the help of Andrew Ryan's technology, plasmids are available to use freely. Some of these powers allow players to freeze opponents solid, release swarms of angry insects, or even incinerate anything in sight, but there are many different tonics and upgrades that'll add to Jack's already stacked arsenal.
The weapons and powers all control and feel great. Using them in conjunction with one another is a great way to defeat the tougher enemies, and the sheer amount of strategy involved with the weaponry is amazing.
Even though BioShock contains a taught story, an imaginative atmosphere, and perfect gameplay elements, the few flaws that the game possesses hinder the new perfect experience.
Despite being a next-generation game with all the nice bells and whistles, the game can't help but fill game time with item fetch missions and even an escort mission. It's not enough to bore gamers, but that old familiar feeling of key-fetching in Doom will resurface for sure.
Other problems with the game include a lack in enemy variety, slight buginess, and incredibly easy difficulty, yet the biggest flaw with BioShock is its complete and utter lack of closure and something to do after the game is complete.
The endings, while written and executed well, are entirely too short for a 10-12 hour game that specializes in great story-telling elements. Spending the whole game developing characters and plot, only to have a 30 second ending and spit out back onto the title screen is almost unforgivable.
Not only that, but how hard could it have been to add a simple multiplayer aspect to the game? That alone would have exponentially increased game life and let gamers feel they got their $60 worth.
With all the minor flaws aside, BioShock is still the quintessential X-Box 360 experience. The game challenges you in ways, such as morally, that the gaming industry as a whole is just now scratching the surface of. Even with the juggernaut Halo 3 prepping for release in the upcoming weeks, it's extremely hard to suggest any other X-Box 360 game to play at the moment.