Close the curtains, turn off the lights and prepare to be scared! Mediocre FPS but an excellent horror game. Atmospheric
There are two other major aspects of game-play to offset the fighting. Taking photographs for research with worthwhile rewards to encourage it and enough opportunities to get maximum research in everything. Hacking are puzzles of varying difficulty, revealing tiles and connecting the pipes to get from Point A to point B. Early on the vendor machines are at same level as everything else but mid way through the game, shoot up to impossible but if you really need to hack it, you can pay money or use an auto hack tool. Turrets, security camera's, safe's and other security devices go up to middle level difficulty, having these on your side is very handy.
Come into this game with an open mind and you will be dragged into Rapture's world, everything combining to create a dark, scary world. The graphics are excellent, it is worth sometimes just stopping to admire what your seeing at certain points, sometimes looking out through the glass to the sea outside, sometimes something within Rapture. It provides a contrast to the times where the world is clouded in shadow, hiding many a surprise while the characters/items/monsters all step up to the standard set by the game. The only issue is that if you have the camera on, it's target indicator is so prominent it can seem to swamp everything else. When the game takes away your ability to change weapons for an important cut-scene, you still having your view worsened by the camera which is disappointing.
The sound is also an excellent part of the game. The voices portray the right emotion for the scene, good sound effects and clever use of music to rattle the nerves. There are times of silence, just hearing your foot steps then suddenly hearing two enemies arguing or hearing a haunting Danny Boy suddenly slips into your ears. The voices are sometimes rather quiet but subtitles can be slow to react, fail to react or spoil things by revealing mysterious persons name before you should know who it is.
Those two flaws are frustrating for a moment and stand out only due to how good everything else is. The story is well written, throwing in several twists and surprises, providing some memorable and horrifying (in the good way) moments. The characters conflicting interests, views, stories and personalities keep them interesting and one or two are particularly memorable. It is the little things that help bring the world to life, hearing an enemy singing a song or bemoaning a mistake, a Big Daddy frantically searching for a Little Sister, it does feel like your walking in a real world that has been wrecked by horrible events. The atmosphere is helped by the audio diaries, not every one is of some game changing importance and it is better for it. Each reveals little doubts the characters have had, unimportant perhaps but it makes them all seem more human.
Everything in this game combines to create something that can be creepy, horrifying, scary and has an atmosphere that will remain in the mind long after you turned off your PS3 for the night.