Compelling Story with Creative Game Play Makes This a Must Play Game
The game follows a man who was in a plane crash in the late 1950s, discovering that he is in the middle of the ocean, but a friendly voice guides him to a perilous new world, a city under the water that is full of all manner of dangers. The story unfolds in spectacular fashion only matched by the variety in game play. In one hand you carry a weapon, a wrench or gun of some sort and in your other hand you have a variety of powers at your disposal. As you progress through the game, you encounter more challenging enemies, Splicers, who have various powers of their own. In addition to the splicers, a side portion of the story is to harvest, or free, little girls who are able to sense the special powers in the world. They are, of course, protected by great behemoths who will trounce you in an instant.
The story engages you from the very beginning, with twists and turns that leave you reeling as you try to make your way through the world of Rapture. The game is not without its glitches. At various points my XBOX froze entirely, not awakening until I restarted the system. After playing other games and not having the same issue, I attribute it to Bioshock. At times, the controls can be slightly confusing. In most games, the left trigger is to aim a weapon, but in Bioshock, the left hand controls are assigned to the special powers, the right hand controls for the traditional weapons. The limitation on carrying items, ammo and health are also maddening. The end of the game had a plethora of pieces to pick up, but once I maxxed out the grenade launcher, it still only held a measly 6 grenades for the specialty ones. I realise it isn't an unlimited ammo system, but at times, the limitation led to premature deaths. I should admit my aim isn't always great, but that notwithstanding, I could have used more ammo.
Those are paltry gripes to level at so great a game. I didn't realise how amazing it was, and I have heard the detractions for the sequel, but I won't let that deter me. The game is grand in scope, not too long to get through and the ending, no matter your choices, are relevant and touching. The story and game play come together beautifully in this wonderful game and truly is a must play game for our generation.