So I started playing Bioshock Sunday around eight in the evening after getting home from a barbeque where I ate entirely too much food. Sitting out in the sun all day made me sleepy. I was actually ready for a nap more than anything else. Perhaps another pending realization that i'm not getting any younger. I celebrated the big 3 Oh this month. Monday was a holiday though, so I fired up Bioshock on my brand new 360 Elite. That's right, I splurged for my birthday. I resumed the nightmarish exploration of Rapture where I'd left off prior, somewhere in Fort Frolic. Seven hours later (it seemed like only two) the game was beaten and the images of the damned underwater city were burned into my retinas.

I think System Shock 2 was scarier. Having said that, my wife will point out that I literally jumped off the couch three separate times while playing Bioshock. In my opinion it was more horrifying than say Resident Evil 4 & Doom 3 but not quite the masterpiece that System Shock 2 was. That's the drawback to playing games for so long and reviewing countless titles for a website. The inevitable comparison rears it's ugly head. I couldn't even begin to name or list the amount of games I've played, but the special ones always stand out. In the end, Bioshock is definitely a special game that will not get lost in the pack. At least not for me. Dr. Steinman's lunatic rant will go down in gaming history as a WTF moment.

Bioshock is the reason we go out and buy the big screen television and the surround sound system. It's the chance to forget about the true insanity in life: work. It represents a moment where you can lose yourself within another world entirely. I like to compare it to what movies must have been way back when they were new. The audience must've been completely blown away back then. I think games are just now finally getting to a point where they can blow us away both visually and emotionally. In the past, there was always that special game that was head and shoulders above the competition. Games like TIE Fighter, System Shock 2, Shadow/Colossus are all awesome, special games, but the sound and visuals weren't what they are today. Today, we have the complete package. Games that can evoke pure emotion and deliver the eye candy. Incidently, the end of Shadow of the Colossus messed my mind up in a way that is only comparable to the end of The Usual Suspects. I hope they make a nex-gen, hi-def sequel.

I love this stuff. Nothing beats this form of entertainment when it reaches beyond it's potential, and developers deliver a mind-blowing achievement. Bioshock is excellent. It delivers an outstanding experience. You should put some time aside and play it if you haven't already.

And Tuesday morning brings me back to reality. A luke-warm cup of coffee and a harsh phone call from an attorney who is pissed off about something. Something that really isn't that big a deal at this point because I already rescued the little sisters. Not just one or two. No, no I saved them all baby! I'd like to switch over to my incinerate power and set the attorney's ass on fire and then tell him to cool down and stop bothering me.

I need to prepare for Mass Effect. A universe needs to be saved after all and I'm the one to do it.