Stunning... most of the time
The style, firstly, is obviously amazing. The game certainly looks outstanding, I sit writing this next to my big daddy model whom I think sums up steam-punk at its very best. The weapons also reflect the awesome design and as they upgrade with brass welded on every conceivable surface summarises rapture's feeling of innovation and creation.
You essentially play a victim of the struggle between Fontaine and Ryan, and ryan's refusal to accept what being a human truly means. I have one complaint about who you play, he never says anything through out the entire game! If his silence was meant to draw you into being the character yourself (another voice would've differentiated him from) then why does he speak at the beginning? And why are there photos of him just before you meet ryan? If I never saw the main character or heard him speak it would feel much more like I was the character myself, making the game much more immersive.
The atmosphere is amazing while you pace the sunken corridors, wrench in hand, for the first time. Slowly you become more accustomed to your surroundings but the splicers always seem more suited than yourself, as they should be, to life in rapture.
The combat is simple and effective, my only improvement to this game is the way splicers move, they seem to over exaggerate everything! I know that they really aren't human anymore because of plasmids but surely they would move a little more efficiently? It just makes it more satisfactory to shotgun a cartwheeling spider splicer, a punishment for it's needlessly showy acrobatics.
The big daddy. Excellently designed, intimidating and powerful. Why does the bouncer have a drill? It never uses it! I was truly looking forward to getting a drill shoved through me as in the trailer, but did I? No! I think the range of attacks the big daddy poses is disappointing making them seem more like robots than ex-humans, a crying shame.
Save the improvements mentioned, which I truly hope are noted, I thought the game was fantastic start to finish, with amazing characters and dialogue and a plot I wouldn't spoil for anyone.