Bioshock is an immersive underwater experience, with an ocean full of character that deserves a rapturous applause.
This city was created by megalomaniacal businessman Andrew Ryan to be a utopia where the greatest artists, scientists, and doctors/surgeons would be free from the rules and regulations of society above the water, to be as outlandish in their advancements as they so choose.
In no small part it is because of this freedom that Rapture, as you see it in your visit, is more of a dystopia than a utopia, where genetically modified humans called Splicers roam the halls of rapture in a crazed state, tearing the city apart in order to rebel against a system, wherein if you're at the top of your field of work, your practically royalty, but if you are at the bottom, you are at the very, very bottom.
Bioshock sets you in the shoes of a lead character named Jack, whose shoes get decidedly wet when your plane crash lands somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, just opposite a lighthouse, where inside is a bathysphere which transports you deep below the surface of the water to the city of Rapture.
Upon your arrival you are contacted via radio by a man named Atlas, who helps you survive a certain slicing by a Splicer, he also helps you find your sea feet and in return Atlas wants you're help so he may reunite with his family.
Along the way you are introduced, in first person view, to mostly all of Raptures key residents including the sweet, but unsettling Little Sisters, as well as their hulking metal guardians the Big Daddies.
The Little Sisters roam Rapture in order to collect a powerful, genetically modifying substance called ADAM, which the denizens of Rapture, including you, need in order to develop and enhance your body to various ends.
Game play wise this means you have to take on the Big Daddies with your arsenal of guns and various powers you receive including blasts of electricity and telekinesis, in order to harvest the ADAM the little sisters have collected.
During the harvesting process you are given the option to either free the Little Sister from their trance like state, or to harvest her fully for double the ADAM, but this process will kill her, and its left completely up to you as to which should be your proffered choice.
The graphics are outstanding, the highlights being the tremendous water effects, which can be often be witnessed leaking from Raptures ceilings, creating a marvellous washing over effect if you feel inclined to walk underneath a leak.
The audio within the game is certainly no slouch either, with period music playing on jukeboxes and record players, as well as neat collectible audio tapes that add great depth to the story and people within Rapture.
It is the combination, in my opinion, of the environment of Rapture and its inhabitants that really set Bioshock out from the crowd, the highlights of the locations include Fort Frolic, the glitzy home for the artistic Rapture residents, and a Little Sister training area found in Point Prometheus.
These adorable Little Sisters are the shining stars of Bioshocks eclectic cast, even managing to outshine one of the biggest in game stars, Sander Cohen, due to their fascinating interactions with the Big Daddies, one of which being where if the Little Sisters don't want to harvest any ADAM they will stop and refuse to go further, meaning their Big Daddy guardian goes to the Sister and beckon her forward, whereby both trade mini tantrums until the situation is resolved.
To Bioshocks great credit, many games that have come after it have incorporated elements of what made it great into their games, the most notable include Dead Space, Far Cry 2 and Batman: Arkham Asylum, all including some form of Bioshocks audio tapes to enrich their own respective story and characters.
But for all of Bioshocks good points, there are some minor niggles that can tarnish the experience, one of which being that the campaign can feel a bit lengthy, and while the new locations do their best to remedy this, the standard go here and collect this quests can get tedious after a while.
Additionally the end of the game feels largely unsatisfying, given all the good that went before it to then end on an uninspired boss fight that feels forced in order to conclude the story is a bit disappointing.
One thing also criticized of Bioshock upon its initial release was that it was too easy, but for the ps3 release a harder difficulty mode called survivor difficulty, certainly offers a degree of challenge, especially when the vita-chambers are turned off.
Your first play through of Bioshock could last you anywhere between 10 and 12 hours, but it's definitely worth another play through or 2, but maybe not in quick succession.
In conclusion Bioshock is a great looking game, where you'll be bathed in great location after great location and submerged in an atmosphere unlike any above the surface.
The story and your journey are largely refreshing, with only a few crusty elements to dampen your experience, so what are you waiting for? Just dive right in!
Bioshock is a game that was developed by 2k Boston and 2k Australia, and published by 2k games, and was first released on the Xbox 360 and pc on the 24th of august 2007; the ps3 version was released just over a year later.