Minus shooting issues, Bioshock is an amazing game with shocking moments and keeps you to the edge of your seat.
The dramatic elements of this game are arguably the best part of it. The voice work is terrific and can be terrifying at times. Witnessing the carnage of Rapture and the pure insanity of the Splicers is bone chilling, as well as hearing the thunderous stomps of a Big Daddy. The tapes also let me continue playing while listening to the backstory of a character or event, but can't be heard well if gunfire is going on around. Combat wise, I have never felt so startled when someone I can't see starts firing at me, and I then find myself desperately looking for them, finding cover, and/or switching to a weapon or plasmid to fight back. You play Half-life style, where there are only a few parts where you can't control your character. However, some of the greatest moments of the game are where words can't begin to describe...
While there is not much music besides 50's style songs, the graphics and physics compensate majorly for that. Looking at it a year and a half after it's release, I was stunned by how greatly designed the graphics are. With plenty of shadows and signs of rust and tint, there is plenty of eye candy in even the smallest details of Rapture. Fire and water elements look very nice as well, with flowing animation that's not too over the top. Telekinesis abilities display a strong physics engine that could rival Half-life 2's gravity gun. Bullets ricochet of walls, and falling damage is realistic and unrewarding to health. Both elements enhance the expirience majorly.
As a FPS fan, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed by the gunplay mechanics. Here, bullets are not always in supply, and firing a weapon isn't always granting a sense of satisfaction. The game was definitely concentrated on the non-combat elements, such as hacking into a computer, finding supplies, building up your stats, etc. I can't help but feel Fallout 3 was inspired by this, depending more on the story and RPG style play, but containing weak FPS gameplay. Considering somewhat unreliable weapons, plasmids are important to use and strategize with in combat, but even they need pinpoint accuracy. If bullets and plasmids do run out, the wrench would obviously be useless considering how easily vulnerable you are to guns and other attacks against you.
Regardless of slightly-weak shooting mechanics, Bioshock is a blast to play and has some very intense moments of gameplay. It sets an example of how story and presentation should be stressed on, and aspires to be a future classic from 2007. The only reason keeping this game from winning me over completely is the fact that shooter wise, there are plenty of better games like call of duty, halo, half-life, etc. Well, you can't have it all, so with issues aside, this game is a must buy, even if you're a year and a half late. Rapture awaits your descent...always.