Bioshock’s forte is its breathtaking art direction, and it wastes no time in showing it off. You start as an anonymous passenger on a plane that crashes into the Atlantic Ocean. Water and fire are gloriously, fluidly rendered as you swim in the wreckage and eventually you spot the only land in sight: an island with a solitary, imposing lighthouse. The commanding use of light and shadow here set the tone for the rest of the game. It is also the last time you will be in an open space - Bioshock is set in the underwater city of Rapture, and uses clever, claustrophobic level design and a limited but expressive set of enemies to keep framerates smooth.

You soon descend by bathysphere into Rapture, a utopia envisioned by Andrew Ryan to be free of the failures and limitations of the surface. As Ryan’s iconic speech goes:

I am Andrew Ryan and I am here to ask you a question:
Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his own brow?

No, says the man in Washington. It belongs to the poor.
No, says the man in the Vatican. It belongs to God.
No, says the man in Moscow. It belongs to everyone.

I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something
different. I chose the impossible. I chose… Rapture.

Admist the towering monuments to the greatness of Rapture, something becomes clear: there is trouble in paradise. Genetic advancements have gone awry, turning its citizens into scavenging mutants with only twisted memories of their past lives. They all crave ADAM - stem cells which power genetic abilities - and will gladly kill you for it. Also roaming the corridors of Rapture are Little Sisters, eerie children who harvest ADAM from dead bodies, and the hulking Big Daddies, who protect them.

Gameplay: Well designed, user friendly

Genetic modification is a thinly veiled replacement for what magic and spells are in other games, of course. Througout the game, you use ADAM to purchase plasmids and genetic enhancements which grant you special abilities, as well as more slots to equip these abilities simultaneously. Your abilities are complemented with “conventional” weapons, from the standard-issue pistol, shotgun, and SMG; to the more exotic flamethrower and crossbow. There are three ammunition types for every weapon. There was an innovation I liked: the research camera, which is used to “shoot” enemies, giving you research points depending on how good the photograph was, which leads to combat advantages against that enemy type, or information about their weaknesses.

Combat is unavoidable and plentiful (this is an FPS after all). There is enough variety to keep it fresh, and ample opportunities to use the environment to your advantage. You can use Telekinesis to throw gas canisters at your enemies, Incinerate on oil spills to set your enemies aflame, Electricity on enemies in water to electrocute them, etc. Unlike in Deus Ex, your genetic implants can be swapped out whenever you find the correct machine, leaving you with the abilities for every situation.

Sound: simply masterful

Voice acting, dialogue, and sound direction is impeccable in this game, from the objectivist monologues of Andrew Ryan to the demented screams of the splicers, and the rumbling grunts of the Big Daddies. An one memorable instance I came across a phonograph, turned it on, and the lilting melody of Patti Page’s (How Much is) That Doggie in the Window filled the air. It was a testament to Bioshock’s ability to immerse that I didn’t hear a cute cover of a nursery rhyme, but a haunting remnant of an attempt to invoke memories of the surface world and loved ones left behind:

I must take a trip to California
And leave my poor sweetheart alone
If he has a dog, he won’t be lonesome
And the doggie will have a good home.

But not perfect

That said, Bishock isn’t without its flaws. There is an over-reliance on audio journals to reveal backstory and advance the plot. Granted, the voice acting is absolutely superb, but it still detracts a little from the immersion - what are the odds that *every* inhabitant in Rapture happens to go around recording key points in their lives for you to pick up?

Security-related minigames seem to be the “in” thing in recent games, but most of them miss the mark - the only two games I can remember having decent implementations were Deus Ex, where your skill level determined how long a terminal would stay open and determine how much time you had to fiddle with controls and read classified information; and Oblivion’s lockpicking minigame, which tried for *some* realism. Bioshock’s hacking minigame sadly, falls short of the bar. It’s essentially an adaptation of the puzzle game Pipe Dream. The minigame itself is ok (even though it doesn’t make much sense) - but after about twenty times, it gets old. In theory, hacking is optional, but in practice, since you have very limited ammo and even cash capacity, you’ll find yourself having to hack everything that can be hacked, which spoils the immersion.

Bioshock is also nearly completely linear, which can be a turn-off. There is only one decision you need to make in the game: whether or not to harvest Little Sisters for ADAM, which enables you to purchase genetic upgrades; or to save them, which only grants half as much ADAM. And no, I don’t consider this a spoiler since this aspect of the game was trumpeted in every preview. I found the “decision” to harvest or save the Sisters moot - for one thing, you get “gifts” of ADAM as you save the Sisters, which lessens the penalty. You don’t actually need that much ADAM to get through the game, especially if you have played many shooters. Excepting your first few Big Daddy battles, the game is pretty straightforward otherwise. You know that a game isn’t presenting enough of a challenge when you actually down the final boss on Hard in your first try (and I’m not even very good at shooters, ask my friends!).

Verdict: Instant Classic

Quibbles aside, Bioshock is a game that is destined to be a classic for its immersiveness and artistry, as well as its unique steampunk-noir theme. If there were a reason to go out and buy a good graphic and sound card, this would be it. I liken it to one of those art films which you go “wow!” at, and rave about to all your friends; but know you may never watch again.

Rating: 85
+5 if you really love good graphics and sound
-5 if non-linearity puts you off

Postscript: Technical Issues

When first released, Bioshock featured a fairly restrictive DRM which limited every purchase to two “activations”. This limit was subsequently increased to five, and recently abolished altogether. There were also issues relating to how widescreen FOV was being implemented, but that’s fixed in the latest patch (Turn “FOV locking” off in Options).

Screenshots:

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