SS2 at its best. (long-winded review)
Here's the breakdown:
THE GOOD
Graphics- Superb. The atmosphere becomes a character unto itself. Seeing the retro/art-deco and hearing the music playing in the environment really puts you in the moment. Some close-ups of the baddies reveals a plastic/rubbery sheen seen in games like Condemned but not as bad or as noticeable. Also the audio won't quite match up with the movements of the NPC's mouths but that is the only complaint as far as the visuals are concerned.
Sound- If you play in 5.1 surround sound (and you SHOULD) you may need to change your undies after the first hour of gameplay. The sound really lends to the creepy atmosphere and the sound of a Big Daddy plodding its way up a staircase directly in front of you, bellowing in its Big Daddy moan is enough to warrant a play-through. Also, hearing a Little Sister cry out after you drop the huge SOB with a few exploding shells from your shotty is one of those sweet, sweet gaming moments. Voice acting in dialouge and also from the diaries you pick up along the way (to further the story, give hints toward achieving your next objective, codes for doors, etc.) are fantastic.
Gameplay- While its not your standard FPS, meaning its not quite run-and-gun gameplay (although if you want to play it that way you can), the gameplay is easy to get into and the controls are always comfortable. Managing weapons and plasmids is a breeze, as the game pauses as you bring up the selection screen in-game.
Story- One of, if not THE, most important parts of a single player game is how well its story is told. Or more importantly if its even WORTH telling. This game shines as it deals with the notion that this underwater city was founded on the basis that man is meant to do whatever he so chooses, and after an important discovery enables man to become more than what he is supposed to, the city's social system falls apart mostly due to greed.
THE BAD
-Quite a bit of niggles keeps Bioshock from being perfect. As stated before, Bioshock is more than just the spiritual successor to SS2, it IS SS2. Plasmids replace Psionic abilities, ADAM replaces upgrade modules, turrets/cameras can be hacked through a mini-game, enemies respawn, weapons are upgradeable/have different types of ammo, and there are ghosts. The inventory system has thankfully been omitted so you don't have to worry about inventory management, but any food or drink items you pick up are immediately consumed... Lazy.
-The difficulty, or lack thereof, is a huge setback as you can't really die. If you are struck down by a splicer who has managed to sneak up behind you, there is no "game over" screen followed by a quickload. Instead you respawn at a "vita-chamber" and everything in the gameworld is exactly as it was the moment your life was extinguished. I'm sure this was an attempt to make the game more approachable to the casual gamer, and it is successful in not pulling you out of the experience, but GEEZE. There is absolutely no penalty for death. (The days of meeting your demise in Diablo II's nightmare or hell difficulty and losing half your precious XP as a reminder to not screw up again are sorely missed.) You could very well run around banging bad guys with your wrench for the ENTIRE game.
-Ammo, medkits and hypos are abundant. You will be tripping over items that you have too many of even if you never use a plasmid. Oh and most plasmids/tonics are useless. You will use the heck outta Enflame, Electro Bolt, Telekinesis and the freezey one, but rarely use many of the others, if ever. (although i did manage an entire playthrough only using plasmids i had skipped in my first playthrough)
-Choices? Your morals were supposed to be brought into question for most of your time spent in the game, however, such occasions are rare and don't really affect your game experience as much as they should. The first time you hear a Little Sister crying and begging her now dead Big Daddy to "get up mr. bubbles.... PLEASE! why won't you get up?!" may actually sway your decision to harvest (kill) or rescue (uh, save) the little tike, but for your efforts, there are only two endings for the game. Basically kill=evil, and rescue=hero.
END RESULT
-Does Bioshock deserve a 10? Yeah, kinda. On one hand its one of the best single player experiences since Half-Life (without the Xen levels), but it has all been done before in SS2. Not really a bad thing whether or not you've played the original since the story is spectacular. Overall, i must confess, Bioshock really lives up to the hype.