Bioshock, in my mind deserves Game Of The Year. Heck, it might even deserve Game Of The Decade! I found very unexpected bliss in this stylized golden-era/futuristic shooter. I’m not usually one to be all that interested in shooters, but thisn’t isn’t your everyday point-and-shoot rampage through alien invaders. This game has a deep and complex story with plot twists and actual storywriting techniques. For some odd reason those things aren’t too common in modern shooters.
Graphics aren’t everything, but they certainly help to set the mood and keep you engrossed in the adventure. This game has gorgeous graphics that, at times, make it feel almost like you are actually there. When you start out you are on a plane that crashes over the ocean somewhere near a lone lighthouse. The way the light reflects off the water and the fire burns the oil around you looks just so beautiful you’ll have a hard time actually continuing forward. I spent a few minutes swimming around gawking at the pretty fire and watching the plane’s tail slowly sink into the burning water.
The start of the game, I found was somewhat reminiscient of the Half-Life series–you are given a short tour of the outside of Rapture from underwater. The only thing that guides you further is a voice on a portable radio telling you that you need to get to safety. You don’t yet know exactly from what, but you can tell that something is horribly wrong with this place. It’s a beautiful city, albeit; buried beneath garbage and debris. Everything around you is in disrepair and there is no sight of life anywhere. Thus, you vennture forth hoping to find someone or something that can get you out of there. But the things you find are much worse–much, much worse.
The gameplay of Bioshock is unique for a shooter in that it has a somewhat advanced spell-casting system through something called Plasmids. These are instant genetic modifications that allow you to control such things as fire and electricity. There is also an intuitive puzzle game type system for the hacking of security drones and vending machines. You can actually take control of enemy droids and have them defend you. Hacking, at times, becomes a very important aspect of the game.
This is by far the most engaging shooter I’ve ever played and would recommend this game to anyone that likes a strong story and engaging gameplay. It’s a shooter for roleplayers really.
You can order Bioshock at Play-Asia.
Pingback: Blue Dragon-A Forgettable Dungeon Crawl | Nerd Culture