Bioshock Review

North American Box Art

     Hello everyone and happy Wednesday.  Today I'm going to be exploring one of the most imaginative games that isn't a medevil fantasy game.  That game is Bioshock, an game best known for its plot twists and imagery thats developed and published by 2K Gmaes.  Bioshock received critical praise for its atmosphere and storytelling, so without further pause I will begin.  You are Jack, a man on a plane which crashes into the Atlantic Ocean.  Jack being the only survivor, swims to a lighthouse that is strangely close to the wreckage.  Jack goes inside the lighthouse and boards a submarine, which takes him to the amazing underwater city of Rapture.  He arrives to find that Rapture is in chaos and fighting a civil war to top it off.  This minute long video can explain things better than I can, so watch this unless you wish to be hopelessly confused. So now that you've watched that video, we can resume.  From ADAM overdose, splicers are formed.  They are people whose minds have been warped by plasmids, tonics that give genetic powers ranging from shooting lighting from your hands to releasing bees out of your arms to swarm enemies.  So these plasmids made most the populace go crazy and try to kill Jack as soon as they see him.  So Jack exits the submarine and hears the voice of Atlas over the radio, who asks Jack to help him and his family escape Rapture, and Jack can come with them, yay! So its up to Jack to fight his way through splicers and maniacs alike to escape Rapture. Unique in my eyes, Bioshock is carried both by its story and its gameplay.  Since I cant talk about the story least I spoil anything, I will explore the gameplay.  Coming out in 2007, this game is still graphically impressive by today's standards and still a marvel to admire.

Jack fighting a Big Daddy

Bioshock is an FPS at heart, throwing guns at you to create your own arsenal. Your weapons can be upgraded at Power to The People machines, which can only apply one upgrade per machine before they self combust for some reason.  Many plasmids can be obtained throughout the game which give different powers, there are also different levels for each plasmid, which can rise up to level three becoming more powerful with each level.  There are also Gene Tonics which affect the speed of the player, how fast they hack machines, what weapons do more damage and so forth.  Both plasmids and gene tonics can be purchased at a Gatherers Garden machine with ADAM.  Ah, ADAM, the stuff that makes the world go round, the thing everyone wants.  This magical substance can only be obtained from Little Sisters (see video) who are guarded by Big Daddies, the toughest enemies in the game.  They are giant armored creatures that were once men and have one purpose: protect their Little Sister to the last breath. Theres one on the cover, with the Little Sister in the backround.  Once the Big Daddy is dealt with, the player can choose to save the Little Sister, turning her back into a child and receiving 80 ADAM. However if your a heartless bastard that wants the bad ending, you can harvest them for double ADAM but they will not survive.  Besides, you get all the ADAM you need by saving them and it leaves a   "I did the right thing" feeling, also plays a heartwarming tune when you save them.  Theres also alot of plasmids and tonics that are useless, so you don't need double ADAM.  Since there is many weapons, there are also many different ammo types such as anti-personal, armor-piercing and explosive rounds are effective against different enemies.  Hacking is also a key part of the game, allowing Jack to hack turrets, open safes, and security cameras that spot enemies that call weaponized drones.  This is done through a pipe mini game that is getting the water from one end of the square to the other.  With masterful story telling and fun shoot 'em up gameplay, Bioshock is truly a unique game.  I find it fun and enjoyable awesome game with a good replay value, I recommend it to anyone who has a pair of hands.  I hope you all enjoyed and I will be back next week with another post. This has been Jacob Arnold, signing off.

Early Bioshock Trailer