Friday, August 24, 2007
"It's here and oh is it good."
BioShock came into the summer/fall of 2007 as one of the most hyped games, not only on the XBox 360 or even PC, but overall on every gamer's minds. It's going to kick off the season where mega popular games such Halo 3 and Guitar Hero 3 are set to release. But this game is special and is a likely frontrunner for many 'game of the year' awards and draws comparisons to the series of Half-Life, except this might be better. Seriously.
Gameplay: 8/10
The gameplay in BioShock isn't exactly revolutionary nor is it the real driving force behind the game. It features the typical weapons one would find in practically any other FPS you have played before. But what does set itself among others is the 'plasmids' your character shoots at enemies (and a wrench). These plasmids can be described like balls or shots of lightning, fire, etc. that stuns your opposition setting up the kill for the weapon you are currently using. This can be very fun, especially if you are in the right setting to use it. A small down side is that there is no multiplayer whatsoever, no co-operative or a death match-type feature.
Story: 10/10
Your character begins swimming in the water near a lighthouse after a plane crash. You will then be taken to the mysterious and intriguing city of Rapture. Rapture is a city that is completely under-water that some tycoon seemed to create based on complete freedom and practically no government whatsoever. The year is 1960 and it looks as if something went wrong with a seemingly perfect community that existed in the 1940s. Citizens began using "adam" to take themselves to a higher level but instead turned them into crime infested beings. There is a very nice twist in the story or mystery Rapture. There is also multiple endings which should keep you playing again and again.
Graphics: 10/10
Quite possibly the best graphics on any video-game, including PC. The atmosphere of Rapture is just incredible. It just makes you want to explore to see what is over here and there and it just intrigues you as a gamer. The plasmids you use are just mesmerizing. I even found myself shooting them over again to see what would happen. The graphics are top-notch, this game is worth trying out just to see.
Sound: 10/10
The sound from the game standard, nothing I haven't heard before. It gets the job done.
Replay Value: 8/10
No multiplayer at all really hurts BioShock's score here. But the multiple endings will make you come back for more eventually if you purchased the game.
Rent or Buy?
Buy. This game seems quite long to beat in the standard 7 days you get from renting unless you are very hardcore. It looks good in your collection, I definitely recommend that you own a copy of this game.
Overall: 9.2/10
