The most overrated game since Gears Of War.

User Rating: 5.5 | BioShock PS3
The best thing Bioshock has going for it is the setting. I think a lot of players and reviewers were able to forgive its failings because Rapture is such an engrossing place to visit. However, after killing yet another identical Splicer, hacking yet another security bot and harvesting yet another Little Sister, it has to dawn on even the most blinkered of Bioshock's fans that it's a game wholly of style, yet no substance.

After I finished Bioshock the first time on the 360, I was left a bit underwhelmed, wondering what all the fuss was about, so I decided to play through it again. As I'd found most of them in my first playthrough, I didn't pick up the diaries left by the characters and I was left to focus on the gameplay. This is when I was finally able to put my finger on what's wrong with Bioshock - it's the incredibly simplistic gameplay. It hearkens back to the original Doom, consisting of nothing more than repetitive, brainless shooting.

Bioshock's biggest crime, however, is what it promised to be. We were promised an emergent emergent world that changes with the player's actions, but in reality what you decide to do has no impact on how the game ends. Then you have the generic story with so many loose ends it's a joke.

If you must play Bioshock, then rent it, as I can guarantee you won't want to play it a second time.