BioShock is a must-play title for anyone who longs to experience the artistic potential of video games.
Rapture is indeed one of the strangest yet most convincing video game universes to date. Locale and story are not the only things BioShock excels in, however. With a healthy dose of determination and a very clear idea of what they were doing, the developers of Irrational Games managed to weave their way through many first person shooting conventions and general video game clichés, resulting in a first person gaming experience that does not only feel fresh, but plays extraordinarily well.
This radically different take on the first person shooting genre becomes apparent at the very beginning of the game. After a short, cryptic opening scene, Rapture is entered and its decay is immediately noticeable. Exploring the first few rooms will inevitably result in a confrontation with Rapture's worst. The inhabitants of Rapture have all turned into violent mutants in search of more ADAM, a substance that has the potential to generate superhuman powers by genetical means, but it can also turn its abusers into murderous lunatics.
It is in these early stages that the player himself is confronted with ADAM as well. The power to shoot electricity from one's hands is gained even before the first conventional guns are stumbled upon. In the course of the game, more of these superpowers (called Plasmids) as well as countless upgrades can be purchased using ADAM which, in turn, can be earned by finding Little Sisters, possessed girls which are always accompanied by Big Daddies, the toughest enemies in the game without a doubt. When these diving suit-wearing behemoths are defeated, the player can choose to either rescue or harvest the Little Sister. While the latter option generates more ADAM, the Little Sister is killed in the process, which may eventually start to influence the gameplay in several ways.
Even if the Plasmids are at first the central element of the combat, more conventional weapons, such as a shotgun, a machine gun and a pistol, are gathered along the way. These guns will certainly prove to be quite useful in eliminating various types of threats, but the overall scarceness of ammunition and the fact that some weapons might become underpowered when the enemies grow in strength make sure the utility of the Plasmids remains in tact throughout the entire game. This is not wholly inconvenient, seeing as traditional gunplay definitely isn't BioShock's strongest point. Despite the phenomenal presentation, design, and layout of the game, the battling itself feels too conservative to make an impact. With the AI being largely unimpressive and some of the guns feeling stale, BioShock does not venture out of the ordinary as much as you would expect from a game that gives such a considerable emphasis to originality. Even with the addition of Plasmids and numerous weapon upgrades, this occasional staleness will inevitably manifest itself eventually.
BioShock should not be played as an awkwardly presented first person shooter, however. Even with a large chunk of the gameplay consisting of eliminating enemies, the city of Rapture never ceases to immerse the player with its sinister, macabre atmosphere, its strange inhabitants and its grotesque Art Deco design. The player will want to know more of Rapture's dark history, which is slowly uncovered by the game's superb storytelling. Voice recordings, messages, cutscenes and even in-game events slowly reveal the tragedy that took place in Rapture, with everything only becoming clear at the very end. Not only does this process require active participation of the player, but the course of events can even be influenced by his moral behaviour throughout the game. In the end, this concept turned out a bit more narrow and limited than it could have been, but its presence alone is a plea for BioShock's unconventional way of handling things, even if it isn't the first time we've seen this in a video game.
The story itself, which cannot be discussed here too meticulously due to the risk of spoilers, is quite progressive for a video game. Its critical observation of objectivism may not be terribly subtle by the standards of traditionally more socially engaged media such as literature and film, but it is nonetheless a clever plot, not to mention a more than welcome addition to a genre that is still dominated by cliché'd stories about aliens invading Earth.
Fortunately, the execution of the nifty concepts that stand at BioShock's core is fully up to par with their potential. The voice acting is some of the best ever heard in video gaming: especially characters such as Andrew Ryan and the twisted artist Sander Cohen really shine in this department, further adding to their memorability. With the help of ghostly sound effects, an ambient soundtrack and 50s era music that is both cheery and eerie, BioShock maintains a horroresque atmosphere that never quite ceases to haunt the player. While the game never becomes really frightening, the world of Rapture is an uncomfortable one to reside in. This is strengthened further by the game's visuals, which are some of the best to roll out of the Unreal engine yet. Some textures may be a bit blurry and the lightning is more static than in should be in this day and age, but these minor shortcomings are more than compensated by phenomenal artistic design, making the journey through Rapture a visually appealling one as well.
It is hard to capture the impact of BioShock in a simple conclusion. It is more than a superbly presented shooter, more than a video game that tells an interesting story for once. It is an experience, and therefore BioShock will first and foremost need to be experienced by anyone who wishes to get a full comprehension of what the game is about. It is by no means a perfect game, and even if the chances of it satisfying every type of gamer are slim, BioShock is a must-play title for anyone who longs to experience the artistic potential of video games.