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Would you kindly play this game?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

How's this for a story? A man becomes annoyed with the current world, a world where the great are taken for granted and told that their toils are either for the people, for God or for the government. In response, he creates a fantastic environment, free from all of these turmoils. A place where all the great men and women of the world can create their own inventions without fear of consequence. In this place, men and women could do what they wanted.

If this sounds like Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, you'd be correct. However, in this particular case, it's also the background story behind Rapture, the under-water city that takes centerplace in Bioshock. Many words have been bandied about about video games and their ability (or inability) to become art; you have folks like Roger Ebert saying the medium as a whole can never attain that goal. My personal thought that was that, as a medium, games haven't made enough strides toward that lofty goal. But Bioshock certainly takes a huge step forward.

Andrew Ryan is a visionary the likes of which his namesake Ayn Rand would possibly write about in Atlas Shrugged. He exemplifies the qualities of a Randian hero and showcases Rand's philosophy of objectivism. He created the city of Rapture and filled it, much like John Galt in Atlas Shrugged, with the visionaries of his land. Rapture soon was a thriving city that emphasized science and growth and the importance of the individual. They dabbled in creating plasmids that changed a person's DNA, enabling them to do feats the likes of which had never been seen before.

Then something happened.

Flying over the Atlantic sea, you are Jack, a person who was destined for greatness, if you ask his parents, and whose plane is now crashing into the sea. Jack is apparently the only survivor of the plane wreck and swims to a lone building, a light house it seems, that beckons him onward. Eventually, he goes into a blathysphere and enters into the world of Rapture. But this isn't the Rapture originally envisioned in the pre-recorded film he watches as he journeys into the city. It is a city comprised of deadly machines, once-human monstrosities named Splicers who are insane and, of course, the Big Daddies and Little Sisters.

Bioshock concerns itself with the gray area between right and wrong. This dichotomy between right and right is what fuels everything in Rapture. Roaming the landscape, the Little Sisters are twisted abominations of little girls who locate corpses (which they call "Angels") and harvest Adam from them with a long needle. More grotesque is that bottle at the other end of the needle that the Little Sisters drink from. Dutifully following them are the Big Daddies, giant brutes in ancient diving gear. These...things...are at the heart of the story and Jack's survival depends on them and whether he can harvest the Little Sisters or set them free.

The conscience of the gamer is represented in two mysterious figures, Atlas (another allusion to Rand) and Dr. Tenenbaum. Atlas seemingly wants Jack to save his family and explains that the Little Sisters are anything but the human girls they appear. He nudges Jack to put them out of their misery and take the Adam they harvest so he can survive and save Atlas and his family. On the other shoulder perches Tenenbaum, another mysterious individual who created the Little Sisters and seems to want to do anything possible to save them. They are the obvious angel and devil sitting on Jack's shoulder, but the question is...which one is the angel?

To go into further detail would be to spoil this amazing story. Along the route, twists and turns abound with moral, ethical and philosophical questions aplenty. What's interesting is the way Bioshock presents a stark opposition to Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. Rand's heroes always contain the same qualities that Andrew Ryan exemplifies. But here, the artists behind Bioshock seem to be questioning these qualities by presenting a situation so familiar to Atlas Shrugged, and yet, so far removed.

It is literate, thoughtful, disturbing and moving. Even if the gameplay didn't live up to the story, Bioshock would be worthy just for this reason.

Luckily, that's not the case. For the gun hungry, sure, Rapture is filled with guns aplenty and even presents opportunities for you to craft your own upgrades. But that is just scratching the surface. Everything goes back to the story. Plasmids are located across the ruined debris of Rapture and contain the keys to recreating your DNA. Some early examples of Plasmids are the ability to shoot electricity from your hands to being able to set things on fire to telekinesis.

But these plasmids aren't only used for fighting. Minor puzzle-solving crops up, some of which require plasmids in the same way as gear in Legend of Zelda. The biggest puzzle is how to take down the game's variety of enemies. While you can definitely charge in, guns blazing and sometimes survive, cases will present themselves where such tactics will end with you on the bad end of the Big Daddies' drill. Instead, you can create your own traps and war zones. Using plasmids, the environment and, of course, your weapons, you can create elaborate traps that will bring a smile to your face.

A lot of games coming out right now that use the Unreal 3 engine don't look as spectacular as they could. In particular, character models tend to look shiny and/or completely ugly. This is not the case with Bioshock. Everything comes together, from the disturbing scenery, the art deco architecture to the the insane creatures and characters populating the world.

Shadows and lighting also create a sense of atmosphere that drips heavily, much like the water pouring down the walls. It's stunning. The only complaint (and it is minor) is that the frozen portions you can melt don't look very convincing. When things melt, they don't leave anything behind. The only reason it sticks out is that the rest of the game is absolutely beautiful and amazingly crafted.

None of this would be as effective, though, without superior sound. And Bioshock has that (mostly) in spades. The voice work is stunning throughout and the actors provide a great sense of dread. The audio diaries do an exemplary job of providing the backstory, but also work the best in crafting dread and terror. Some of the most disturbing things occur listening to them. Unfortunately, sometimes the characters' lines are repeated too often, ruining the disturbing nature of their dialogue.

Musically, the game is also amazing. It flits into the picture at key moments, increasing the tension before it will flow away. You might not even notice it's there, but that's why it's so good.

You know, the funny thing about hype is how people react to it. Game journalists can go blue in the face trying to get people interested in forgotten gems such as Psychonauts, Beyond Good & Evil and Stranger's Wrath, and since they weren't financially successful they become these gems. When a game sells incredibly well and is hyped to the max (both of which fit Bioshock), people say "over-rated."

Ignore the hype machine. I know you're tired of hearing about it. But give Bioshock a try, if you haven't yet. Download the demo for your PC or try it on Xbox Live. It is a game that's definitely worth everything that's been said about it and more.

It is art. And no words by ignorant movie critics will change that.

This game is awesome! But too Short!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 07, 2008
Author: Amazon User

We loved this game. The only thing wrong with it, it was too short! We finished it in about a week. We had a lot of fun with it though.

The best game you will ever play,hands down

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is by far the best single player game of all time. The graphics are amazing. The story line is one of the best i have seen yet. The characters are unique and very cool looking. The strategy used in the game makes the game more fun and entertaining. New types of using weapons are very cool and different. Basically everything about this game is great except one thing. The glitches are bad. By that i mean i have heard quite a few people have glitches in their games form reviews and buddies. I also had a problem with a glitch where a guy i needed to kill flew out of the map and never came back so i was not able to advance. That flaw will not change my desicion on this game. It is by far one of the greatest games ever created at the time.

Best FPS since DOOM

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I'm the type of guy who isn't really into shooting endless amounts of zombies for hours and hours.
The standard "survival horror" games never really did it for me.
And I despise, absolutely despise, games where you spend 99.9% of the time in a dark room listening to dripping water looking for a key that will open some door to some room where you have to repeat the process all over again.

Keeping that in mind, when one of my best friends starting raving about BioShock and then sent me the trailer for the game, I immediately thought "yep $10 says it's one of 'those' games".

I can not even begin to say how glad I am that I was wrong.
I can not think of a single FPS with as detailed an environment and engaging story.
The plot twists and turns are as exciting and unexpected as anything on LOST, and the way your choices impact the story is truly impressive.
If you don't own this game already, invest now! You won't regret it.

Fun and Fun and More Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 22, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I really enjoyed this game. I rented it and kept it till I was able to buy it. I don't usually get shooter games but I was really glad I got this one. This game was one reason I wanted a 360. The graphics are great and the levels are fun to go through. It is fun to just walk around and look at everything. It can get a bit repetitive if you search through every single little thing you can but it is worth it. I wish the wallet could hold more money though. I find it a good way to get out your anger at someone. Just imagine one of the splicers as someone who made you angry that day. And them you can just shoot them or shock them or burn them or freeze them. What fun.

A perfect reincarnation of the so-called SteamPunk world

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The twist in the story is deep, the creation of such a huge underwater city is not only focusing on the graphics, or just the appearance of this whole lost city; but it borrows the idea from Ayn Rand, George Orwell and Huxley, depicting a highly-developed utopia-like society structure's self-demise, vividly, the environment setting is full of Steam Punk style(one of the styles in Sci-Fi).

An extraordinary feature of this game is the presentation of every major characters, from an insane doctor to the mother of the shelter, BioShock uses first-person viewpoint cut-scene, in-game environment presentation, and radio to shape one character, what is she/he like? why she/he wants to go to Rapture(that underwater city)?

Also, Bioshock had hailed to Fallout's stylish concept art a lot, all little vids introducing the new Plasmids, or the icons of every vending machine, the advertisement of the Rapture city, are similar to the Vaults(the company in Fallout).

If you are a pure First Person Shooter fan, this is maybe not your game, go try COD4, Halo3, and Orange Box. But if you like Sci-Fi, read the book 1984, like to play a game with excellent plot, this is definitely your game, and you dont wanna miss it.

Greatest game to date

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 16, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Bioshock was okay the first time I played it, but I put it down because I just couldn't get into it. When it got GAME OF THE YEAR, I picked it up again...and was completely satisfied. It may take an hour or so to get into, but this game is breathtaking. Levels are amazing and the weapons are great. A fun, well-thought game that deserves to rank among the best of all time.

Horrendous customer service

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 7
Date: April 09, 2008
Author: Amazon User

BEWARE! Although there are several good reviews about this product, I played this and got stuck in a buggy loop. I contacted the customer service and they assigned a case and completely ignored me. After 10's of e-mails, they just went silent. I even told them that I'll send them my save of the game so that they can play it /fix and it , but no hope.
There are several bugs with the games 2K manufacturers and if you're unfortunate enough to get stuck in one of them mid way through hours and hours of play you're doomed. They don't even have new and proper patches for these bugs. How can they, if they don't listen to customer issues.
It's too unfortunate that they're getting all these good reviews. The game is reasonably fun to play. But not as much as fun, when you get stuck after playings for 10's and 10's of hours and have to forfeit.

I'm never buying games from 2K games again.

OVERRATED!!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 10
Date: April 07, 2008
Author: Amazon User

this game is over hyped. the game play is too simplistic. sure the graphics is amazing but really the A.I is dumb found.

Amazing nothing else can be said

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: April 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Simply put this is the best game in the entire xbox 360 library if you like first person shooters then i would recommed this game.

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