I Couldnt Set It Down Once I Had Bought It, But I Couldnt Pick It Back Up Once I Had Beaten It.
Before you scream in agony and set the game back down you should know that "BioShock" is way more then your average first person shooter! The people at 2K have cooked up a title that'll appeal to every gamer's taste buds. Sure, it's a FPS but it also offers some Role Playing-like elements and a lot more!
When I say "BioShock" offers some Role Playing elements I don't mean that your going to actually be able to level your character and all that, but the further you get in the game and the more Big Daddies and Splicers you kill the deadlier you'll become. You get stronger by gathering Plasmids and equipping different kinds of Gene Tonics. You will also be able to find and purchase upgrades to those Plasmids and Gene Tonics by using something called ADAM.
Sure, the character customization is great, but nothings more breath taking then where your characters at and where "BioShock" takes place; in the city of Rapture! Your introduced to Rapture after you climb from a plane crash and enter a light house located in the middle of the Atlantic. Once in the lighthouse you fall upon a old-school submarine, once inside you will descend towards the bottom of the ocean. A short film will play introducing the cities "owner" Andrew Ryan who will then attempt to explain Rapture to you in just a few short sentences; but one thing he forgot to mention is how every body in the city has gone mad!
Once the submarine docks you'll notice the only thing you're armed with is a wrench. The wrench comes in handy with getting rid of the first few Splicers, but later down the road you'll arm yourself a pistol, machine-gun, rocket-launcher, even a cross-bow, along with a few other unique guns. Even "BioShock"s guns are customizable by using Weapon Upgrades spread out all over Rapture. With the Weapon Upgrades you can make your guns stronger, have them hold more ammo, and even reduce their recoil. All the guns do well representing "BioShock"s 1960 era and they all have some sort of originality towards them.
Guns and cross-bows are not the only weapons at your disposal though, and what really sets "BioShock" away from most of the other First Person Shooters are its Plasmids and Tonics. Plasmids give you the ability to do many things, for example you'll be able to shoot electricity and fire from the tips of your fingers. You can also use Plasmids to interact with Raptures environment, like when using the Electro Bolt Plasmid to shock Splicers standing in puddles of water, or melting ice blocks with the Incinerate Plasmid, and much more.
Now, Gene Tonics may not be nearly as cool as Plasmids, but they too are a very big part of "BioShock". Tonics are really the most unique part of the game, allowing the gamer to customize the main character to fit their own personal needs. For instance, if you have a problem with hacking turrents and cameras theirs quite a few tonics that'll help make hacking a lot easier. Or if you feel you need more health then what is originally offered from First Aid Kits and Bandages there's a tonic for that! There are three classes of Gene Tonics (Physical Tonics, Engineering Tonics, and Combat Tonics) and each offer tons of different abilities, so the customization of your character with Tonics is pretty much endless!
Guns, Plasmids, Tonics, Big Daddies, and even the city of Rapture in no way compare with "BioShock"s story itself. From the minute you're dropped into Rapture you'll feel shrouded in mystery. But with the help of scattered diaries, flashbacks, and your personal guide "Atlas" you later began to tear down this shroud of mystery and get to the heart of "BioShock", its story.
Your personal guide "Atlast" depicts Raptures owner "Andrew Ryan" as a monster and blames him for all things wrong in the city. So from the beginning of the game there is one thing clear, you must find "Andrew Ryan" and you must stop him at all costs. Through out this journey you will meet many different inhabitants of Rapture, all of whom will leave lasting effects on you the gamer.
"BioShock" has awesome graphics, controls that are fun to use and easy to get used too, and a story even the illiterate would get something out of. Is there anything this game doesn't have? Unfortunently there is, and these flaws are pretty major to hardcore gamers. First, there is no multiplayer on "BioShock", and the game has SO MUCH and SO MANY multiplayer potentials, but not even a death match mode is available. Second, "BioShock" is a REALLY short game, it can be beaten in weeks, if not days, and even with multiple endings there isn't a lot of replay value.
I played "BioShock" for weeks after its purchase, it was literally the only game I played for so long, but once I beat it I never picked the disc back up again, except when I took it out of my Xbox and placed it back in its case. Either way, "BioShock"s defiantly worth its $60 dollar purchase, and brings some long awaited change to the Xbox 360s First Person Shooters. The stories amazing and will keep the player second-guessing while at the edge of their seat. The only flaws are without a multiplayer mode the games replay value is slim to none, and the game can be finished in less then a week; but even with these two flaws its hard to give "BioShock" a 8/10 and not a perfect 10/10!