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A rare and truly great gaming experience.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: August 31, 2007
Author: Amazon User

What hasn't already been said about Bioshock? I'm probably only 1/3 to 1/2 complete with the game, and I've been drawn into it like very few games have ever drawn me in. Easily one of the most atmospheric, immersive, and genuinely eerie entertaining experiences, you play the role of a plane crash survivor who, by chance (or fate?), stumbles into an underwater metropolis built by a crazed megalomaniac, Andrew Ryan. The city is in shambles and is in overrun by splicers, humans who've altered their genetic code so that they are almost beyond recognition and have lost much of their sanity. The oppression and desolation is thick and palpable, as you first set foot in Rapture. The rest is for you to discover..

Bioshock is the most complete package in a single-player gaming experience. A compelling and subtly-told story that doesn't rely on cutscenes or cheap gimmicks will ignite your curiosity. A set of ancient looking weapons, combined with the power of plasmids, genetic modifications that give their wielder super-human powers, will intrigue you. You will need to make hard decisions at every turn on how to proceed, what genetic powerups to employ, and what weapons to keep at your side. I found myself wrestling with decisions on how to proceed or how to deal with different situations in the game.

On the technical side, Bioshock looks absolutely beautiful. It's a great application of the Unreal Engine (which is what Gears of War was built on), and even trumps Gears' visuals from time to time. The sound design is brilliantly executed. Make sure you have a proper surround setup, as the game will envelop you with a creepy, crawls-under-your-skin aural experience. Placement of effects is well done in a convincing 360 degree soundfield, and you will readily use this to your advantage in hearing from where enemies are approaching. The game runs smooth and has very minimal load times that only occur between major areas. You'll likely play in an area for an hour or two before ever encountering a load time.

Bioshock is as complete as a gaming experience can be. It will make you think, thrill you, frighten you, engage you, and haunt you.

If you have a 360, you have no excuse.. Get this game now.

Best game I have ever played

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: August 23, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I don't play A LOT of video games, but I got a 360 a few months ago (I previously owned a PS2, PS1, and N64) and got BioShock the day it came out. It is without a doubt the best game I have EVER played. Gears of War and Max Payne are up there, but BioShock is so creative and awesome. If you own a 360, this is a must. Even if you don't, you can always buy one. It's a fun game while it's challenging, but not too hard to the point where it's extremely frusterating.

This is truly a one-and-only game.

I am a BioShock widow!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: October 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I bought this for my husband as a gift . I was a little nervous about buying without his input but based on the majority of reviews it sounded worth the chance. I don't play video games and my husband is a weekend player at most, that is until BioShock. He LOVES this game. He plays nightly and sometimes for hours (as opposed to his previous half hour or so). I find myself watching him play and I enjoy it as well. The details and grahics are amazing on every level. Based on my husbands' response to this game, I would have to say "go for it". I've read a lot of buzz about it being game of the year. It would surely have our vote.

The first XBox 360 game that truly blew me away.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: October 17, 2007
Author: Amazon User

It's rare these days for games to really blow me away. I've been playing games for years and in the last few years it seems that no matter which game I play, it seems as though I've been there - done that. In rare occasions games will break new ground, but more often then not it seems as though games use rehashed formulas that have been tried and true, albeit boring at times.

Really, when it comes down to it Bioshock doesn't really break new ground per-se, it just does everything right. It features a rich story line, great play mechanics, amazing voice acting and mind-blowing graphics. Lets talk about each of these subjects.

The Story Line
I never like to give away too much in my reviews, so I'll just say what you probably already read about if you read anything about this game. The game starts out with you stranded in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. You don't know much of what happened, except that you were involved in a plane crash. You spot a lighthouse in the distance, next thing you know you're being sucked into the city of Rapture. At first sight it seems like Rapture is a great place to be. You hear stories of how the city doesn't let religion interfere with science and that the city of Rapture offers true freedom. You quickly realize Rapture isn't as perfect as it seems at first (go figure). You quickly learn of a man named Andrew Ryan, the main bad guy involved in the rise and fall of Rapture. Immediately you feel as though you must find out what exactly is going on here. The story sucks you in and doesn't let go, one of the reasons this game is so great. You will come across many diaries in the game that you must listen to, so you can fully understand the somewhat complex story line. Don't worry, each diary is spoken and can be listened to while you play.

Gameplay Mechanics
Bioshock is an FPS, with a few RPG-ish elements. The game is based in the 1960s, so you wield weapons of that period. What's really cool is that you come across what's called Plasmids that alter your DNA and allow you to perform incredible feats such as throw fire, throw electricity, and throw just about any other object through telekinesis. There are quite a few plasmids available, the only trick is deciding which ones you want to keep. You only have a few slots for plasmids, so you must choose carefully. More slots will become available as you play.

To obtain plasmids you must gather a substance called Adam. The way you obtain Adam is through little girls called little sisters, which harvest Adam from dead bodies. You have to defeat "Big Daddies" in order to get to the little sisters and harvest the Adam. Once you beat the big daddy you have a choice. You can free the little sister of her parasite and gain a little bit of Adam, or you can sacrifice her to gain the maximum amount of Adam. This decision can be tough. You are promised that if you free them you will be rewarded, however if you free them you only get 1/2 the Adam. Also, your decision will alter the storyline a bit. Also, you can purchase tonics with Adam. Tonics are passive in that they don't really give you any new attacks, instead they offer abilities such as walking faster, or taking less damage from attacks.

One other cool feature is that you can hack machines such as cameras and vending machines. In order to hack a machine you have to beat a little fun mini-game, which will vary in difficulty depending on the machine you're hacking. Typically if you hack machines such as vending machines you will be offered more goods and lower prices. If you hack cameras and guns then they will turn on your enemies. There are many more gameplay elements, but I don't want to make this review much longer then it already is. Trust me, there is plenty here to have fun with.

Graphics and Sound
The sound effects and voice acting in this game is way above average. Every line is spoken so convincingly that it really does help draw you into the game. The music in this game fits the theme perfectly.

The graphics in this game are nothing short of amazing. In fact, these are some of the best graphics I've ever seen in my life - on any platform. The dynamic lighting is amazing, the fog effects are incredible, the water effects are some of the best I've ever seen. This is the first time I've been truly blown away by graphics on the XBox 360. I can't believe how amazing this game looks. Everyone was all excited about the graphics on Gears of War. I never really understood why. The visuals on GOW are good, but the color palate grew boring - everything seemed to be some sort of gray hue. Bioshock however has a very large color palate, from very dark and Doom-esque to very bright and vivid. The textures are very realistic. If Bioshock was a 10 for graphics, then Gears of War would be a 4 just because Bioshock is much more beautiful and very dynamic. The first time you see a spotlight shining along the wall you will know exactly what I'm talking about.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a graphics snob, but when graphics are this good it really does help draw you in. You always hear people say "Graphics don't make the game". Although there is truth to that, visuals like this really do make the game more immersive. It's like the difference between standard and HDTV... it's just better.

To conclude I would like to say that this is a must own single player game. This game does just about everything right. Although each element in this game in itself isn't really ground-breaking, the way everything is tied together so perfectly is. I didn't explore everything in this review, that job is up to you. Go buy this game and find out what makes Bioshock such an epic experience.

Almost, nearly perfect

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: August 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Deciding if this game was worth 5 out of 5 was really a no-brainer. Having played lots of computer games and valued them for things like: atmosphere, intelligence, ability to create suspension of disbelief, graphics, intuitive gameplay, maturity, attention to detail, addictiveness, voice-acting, sound, action, scariness, soundtrack and style it scores at the highest level for each. How many other games can claim that?

Basically there are so many things to recommend Bioshock that it's hard to know where to begin. Do you start with the fact that it's one of the best FPS on the market or just talk about the sheer amount of creativity fuelling the whole experience? In this game you pump the buttons like any good shooter while having to think and even make limited ethical choices. Plus there is a dialogue (if you're up for it) between yourself and a story that references everything from Ayn Rand and eugenics through to militant strikes and elitist propaganda. Shoving in the near RPG level micromanagement of your character's abilities you really should be in clover here. Bioshock tries to please everyone and pretty much manages to do so.

The story has you plunging into the city of Rapture--a decaying, undersea 40's style vision of the future--following a plane crash. Once in you are initially led around via a radio link to one of its disillusioned inhabitants as you discover genetically altered `splicers' and a technology that seems culled from a lunatic meeting of H.G. Wells, J.G. Ballard and Phillip K. Dick. Going further you also mutate and increasingly depend on bizarre chemicals to survive. Soon it is becomes entirely commonplace to incinerate, freeze or telekinetically slaughter your enemies with a flick of your wrist. Then of course there are the `Little Sisters' leeching from the corpses you've left behind, who you in turn need to leech from, while deciding if its right to kill them or save them.

So is this the perfect game? Unfortunately the answer is no. Rather than becoming more interesting (i.e., more creatively challenging) at the crucial pinch-points it runs back to dully launching large numbers of enemies at you and forgetting its IQ. This soon gets to be irritating when you've been fully lost in the world and then frequently thrown out of it by crass stupidity. It tends to leave a bitter taste in the mouth.

Similarly the game lacks any element of stealth, there are very few puzzles worth a mention, the respawn points are silly, the environments are often just background (indestructible light fixtures, etc), the AI can be uneven and the whole thing has quite openly begged, borrowed and stolen from other games. If you've played a lot of shooters then you may be taking a tour down memory lane.

The final recommendation is that you should buy this gorgeous release even if it is flawed. When playing through Rapture the problems that would sink an average title become niggles and minor complaints in an otherwise rewarding and completely entertaining experience.

Bioshock is undoubtedly one of the finest games ever made and it has set the benchmark that other companies will either meet, exceed or get nowhere near when releasing their own product. It is an evolution in gaming such as befits the content that rightfully put it there.

Game of the year - best game since Gears!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: August 30, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is an amazing game, one of the best for xbox360, and quite possibily the best single-player FPS of all time. Not only is this a killer shooter, but there are adventure and rpg elements like upgrading your weapons and abilities. Not to mention hacking security camera and cool stuff like that. There is really no other game like this, an original masterpiece.

The graphics are probably the best I've ever seen on any game for any system. No question. The amount of detail given to each room and every little object is amazing. This is truly a next-generation break-through. It runs on the Unreal Engine, which is the same as Gears of War and Rainbow Six: Vegas, so you know the graphics are nice.

The audio is probably even better than the graphics. Movie-quality voice overs, amazing music and realistic sound effects. With a good surround sound system you will really be able to hear every footstep and taunt. There are some really creepy ambient sounds too (if you like nightmares).

Bottomline, stop reading the reviews and just buy this game. Its gotten a solid 5 stars on Amazon, a bunch of the major review sites have given it a full 100% or 10/10. It doesn't get much better than this. This is a modern classic at its finest. Don't miss out.

Oh ... my ... god ... easily Game of the Year

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: August 30, 2007
Author: Amazon User

If I could give Bioshock more than five stars, I would.

This is one of those rare games that is THE reason to buy an Xbox 360 if you haven't already. Halo did that for the first gen. Xbox ... now Bioshock comes along for the 360.

Like other reviewers here, I've played virtually every FPS out there and Bioshock is at least one, if that not THE, best I've played.

The story is great, the characters (especially the Big Daddies) look amazing and the environments are breath-taking. Much like when I play Half-Life 2, I kept thinking to myself as I walked around Rapture, "It would've been cool to see this place before it went to hell."

I LOVE games like this that totally absorb you and keep you wanting to play (I'm addicted, much to the chagrin of my wife). About half of the way through this game, I couldn't wait to start it over again so I could experience everything again.

The pluses: The idea of plasmids and tonics is insane ... love the fact that the conventional weapons are just that, conventional and not energy weapons ... the Art Deco look of Rapture ... damn. Oh wait, and you get to become a Big Daddy?!? Nice!

Only one true minus ... no multi-player. Would have been incredible to suit up against other people in these environments. But, I guess that's why this game is so good because the developers focused solely on the single-player. Here's hoping a multi-player add-on is coming.

OK, maybe two minuses ... I haven't played in the most difficult setting, but in the default setting, it's almost too easy. Maybe I've played too many FPSs, but this wasn't that difficult once I got the hang of the controls. Will take another spin thru in the hardest setting and see how that is.

Until I played Bioshock, I thought Halo was the game by which all other FPS were going to be measured. Now, I'm not so sure ...

I'm ready for Dreamland, Mr. Bubbles!

THE AMAZING GAME WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: August 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Its beautiful, its sharp, its fast, and just very, very well done!!! Plus its pretty freaky and the amazing visual effects and voice work really pull you in!!! Don't rush around like a fool. Take a look around at EVERYTHING. Its all looks fantastic. The storyline keeps you wanting more and more. If I could... 10 stars!!!
**I'm adding to this review now because I just finished the game for the first time around. I wont make you read much and I'll sum it up in a very short way... THE BEST GAME I'VE EVER PLAYED IN MY LIFE** PERFECT!!!

A Different Perspective

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: August 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I enjoyed everyone's viewpoints in the Amazon reviews. I thought it would also help the potential buyer to know things about this game that aren't highly publicized, but are important to note.

Graphics - It's been compared to Gears of War as either being better or almost as good. This really depends on your perspective. Both games actually run on the Unreal 3 engine. Both games run at high frame rates and almost never stutter. I think Gears might look a little crisper, but the artistic design and lighting from BioShock is currently unparalleled within the XBOX 360 realm.

Sound - In all of the games I have ever played (and I am sure there are games I am missing here), BioShock stands alone and has actually created it's own league. The 1940s music & score coupled with voice-acting that sounds like it's from a 1940s movie (as mentioned below), weapons/environment sounds, and 5.1 implementation are second to none at this point in the game development continuum.

Gameplay - Here is where I would like to share a different perspective. The save at any time functionality, to me, is a good thing. I know some folks don't like it and say it lessens the challenge. I believe if you are in that camp, you have the freedom of saving less frequently thereby personalizing the level of challenge that's right for you. I particularly don't like doing the same things 15 times until I get it right. This promotes frustration and not satisfying challenges. With BioShock it is a necessity to be able to save at any time because you can experiment with different solutions in dispensing enemies. Each option is a joy to experience. Another under-mentioned fact is that the load and save times last only seconds allowing the "save at any time/point" functionality to be practical. Some games have extremely long save and load times, making the "save at any time/point" functionality a mixed blessing. Also the controls, while not revolutionizing the FPS/RPG-lite genre, are super tight. The controller layout is well designed & implemented. All these little game-play tidbits combined make this game great and head and shoulders above 99% of the rest.

Story -The story is on par with the God of War stories in that it takes an old idea/story (Greek mythology vs. Jules Verne) and creates something totally innovative, dark, and fresh.

Conclusion - This game is not Ninja Gaiden challenging, nor is it meant to be (Ninja Gaiden is awesome in it's own right). It is an experience that I believe really starts to straddle the line between a movie and a video game. I agree with Hieronymus below that no one will know what game-of the-year is until the year is up. This is going to be one of the greatest years to be a gamer in that there will be so many AAA quality titles released this fall/winter. It will be tough to manage your time and money on which games to own and play. Nonetheless, BioShock will surely be a top-tier contender and a must-own title for any XBOX 360 owner.

A great game!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: August 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

There are a ton of reviews here detailing the great aspects of this game, and I agree with them all. So, in the interest of time, I'm just going to touch on why I gave a 4 out of 5 instead of a perfect score.

There are two things that keep me from going insane with joy over this title. The biggest is the system they use for resurrection. If you die, you respawn in the nearest tube, and continue on your way. This means that some really difficult fights can be made much easier. Simply drop your hammer, and die. You respawn with half health, and rinse and repeat. You could really go through the game without ever using a health pack if you were lazy enough.

Second is the interaction. There's some great stuff, and when splicers started dieing on my poison health station, I was stoked. However, I think it's odd that creatures don't come looking for you when you die. You get to start over in regards to aggro, and with big daddies, get a free shot.

Please, however, don't let this make you think too badly of an otherwise next level game!

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