"They told me "Son, you're special." You know what? They were right."
As you enter the lighthouse, you find a brass bathysphere, and unwittingly step nito it. A projetor screen pops down. A vioce echos in the bathyshpere.
"My name is Andrew Ryan. And I ask you a question: Is a man not entitled to the sweat on his brow? No, says the man in the white house, it belongs to us! No, says the man in the Vattican, it belongs to God! No,says the man in Moscow, it belongs to everyone! I rejected those answers. I chose something different. I chose... Rapture!
The voice recording stops playing and your view is obscured by massive buildings and neon signs. A whale swims past you, making you realize that this city is indeed underneath the ocean. As you begin to surface, you can tell something is wrong. A helpless man is murdered before your eyes, and his attaker escapes. So begins your adventure.
The story in Bioshock is a very good one, and is most likely the greatest story ever told in a video game. Just as you have your head wrapped around it, a lone golf club destroys all that you know. (PS: Sorry for that obscure joke.) You will meet several charactes along the way, good and bad, that are each as interesting as the next. One of the main characters in your quest will be Dr. Bridget Tenenbaum, who generally helps you along the way by providing tips and background information. Another important character is "Atlas". Although no one knows his real name, he was a citizen that stood against the ideals of Rapture and Andrew Ryan.
However, not everyone you talk to will be friendly. And by "not friendly" I mean "insane and ready to kill". This is when you start to learn about the fall of Rapture. What happened is that a new drug, called ADAM, brainwashed the people of Rapture. But this is not like nicotine (although you can find plenty of that too). This is beacuse ADAM replaces your regular genes with super powered ones. Fire and electricity can be shot out of your hands, and telekinesis is now possible. The only side effect is that your body needs more ADAM to fuel itself, thus driving the ADAM-deprived insane. Becuase of this, you must learn to defend yourself. First you scavenege the area for a wrench, but later you come to an ADAM machine. You soon learn to control the powers of electricity, and gain a new combat edge. As you progress more and more, you can find better weapons, like shotguns and greande launchers, and more effective powers (called plasmids) like Incinerate!TM.
In order to gain ADAm yourself, you must first kill a diving suit-wearing monster called a Big Daddy. He is tough, big, and does lots of damage, but with the right tactics, he can be brought down. When you kill him, you gain access to the Little Sister, a girl who takes ADAM out of dead enemies. You can then choose to kill her (for more ADAM), or turn her back intoa regular girl (less ADAM). The chioce is yours, but beware, you could end up changing the way you play the game.
One of the neatest things in Bioshock is it's atmosphere, because it is effective on so many levels. While you wander around, you will encounter old time music similar to Fallout's soundtrack, Juke Boxes, old drinks, and neon signs. It really gives Biioshock a 50s feel. But, a city full of lunatics cannot be pristine- many buildings have fallen, some things are on faire, and nearly everything is falling apart ni some way. Also, the characters you encounter are actaully crazy. They mutter to each other, or just to themselves, and can fly off the handle at any moment. So, creepy people, half-destroyed buildings and Bobby Darin make up Bioshock's environment. And it's a hell of a town!
This review on scratched the surface of Bioshock. With it's memorable characters, creepy setting, and fun gameplay, there is just so much too see. Pick it up today!