One of the greatest FPS games on the pc.If it only wasn't getting repetitive after a while it would've been the greatest
After playing the amazing Far Cry and graphically stunning Crysis I thought that it would take a considerable amount of time for a nex gen fps games to keep up the pace that those two games have set.
After playing bioshock I can say this: It's absolutely stunning from a graphical point of view.It isn't worse and it isn't kicking crytec's games in the ass but it is perfect in it's own way.This is a game that shows how the modern era games could and should look like.You only need to have a high end pc to see what there was meant to be seen.
I must say that the story is one of the most unique FPS stories I experienced for a very long time.
You start the game as a passenger on a plane which after some unknown malfunction falls down in to the ocean.You see yourself fighting for life in an attempt to get on the surface.Once you finally get there you see your plane's wreckage being swallowed by the ocean while all of the surrounding area is covered in flames.
This is the part where I must say I was absolutely stunned.I was watching the intro.After getting on the water's surface I kept watching it to see what was gonna happen.I was watching it wondering why isn't this guy swimming to the tower and is stuck in one place? The answer was : ' because you have to get there yourself asshhole,
I was so amazed with the graphics that I thought I was still watching the intro.All those drops on the camera effect...It is just brilliant!
Once I got to the tower and after being introduced to the underwater city of Rapture I started the game.And what a game it was!
The real game starts in the deserted,underwater city of rapture.It once was a lively city with plenty of citizens but everyone dissapeared all of a sudden and the only clue as to why and when they dissapeared and what caused that is hidden in the tape recorders spread all over the place.
Once you engage in the world of rapture there's no retreat.This game makes sure of that.It just swallows you right in.At first all I was able to do was to admire the beautiful environment.Directx 10 was showing it's potential.Everything in the game seemed to have a purpose.It wasn't some randomized insertion of couple of sofas and furniture along with some broken glass and couple of pickaxes in the corner.The environment was created with high attention to detail.Every level has it's own unique form,every room looks realistic and actually shows that there were actually people living before something happened that made them dissapear.Not finished cigarettes or drinks.Tables set as for someone who was supposed to sit there just 5 minutes ago.
Everything looks abandoned and people's comments found on the tape recorders that express their concerns,hopes,dissapointments,fears only adds a considerable amount of spice to the plot.
You actually feel like the only sane guy in this place.The only live remains of once ideal community are some mutaded human like creatures who lost both their sanity and the looks of a decent humang being.
These human like creatures are your enemies.They are insane,dangerous and unpredictable.You can always hear them talking to themselves.Sometimes you'll get even a huge laugh.One of my favourite sentences was : Jesus loves me, this I know'.My god,I was laughing my ass of!
The most important,dangerous and crucial enemies are big daddies.They look like some scuba divers but couple of times bigger than a normal human and couple of times tougher than one.They role is to defend small sisters ( little girls affected by mutation with a big needle in their hands harvesting dead bodies).
To survive in the world of Rapture you will have to kill those sisters and harvest them by acquiring a gen called ADAM.it will allow you to fine tune your abilities and will give you much better chance of surviving as the plot evolves.There's only one problem.You have to kill those bigg daddies first and let me assure you,it isn't an easy task.At least not at the beginning.Once you get the hang of how to kill them the quickest way, they will become yet another obstacle in your path.Just arm yourself with some heavy gear and piercing bullets!
The environments change constantly and there's always something new to see.
The water.....you have to see it! It's just so realistic that it almost feels wet in your room.I have never seen such a realistic water effects in my whole life!
There are plenty of solid looking innovations like plasmids.Every plasmid has it's own purpose.You can electrify your opponents ( combine it with a water and couple of mutants:) Just pure pleasure:) ),you can ignite them,you can freeze them.After freezing your enemy you can treat him with your shotgun to see him explode into many frozen pieces.
The other cool and innovative aspect of this game are the vending machines using which you can supply yourself with ammo,food etc.What's innovative is the ability to hack.Hacking is nothing else than playing a puzzle minigame which requires you to construct a small pipeline from one end of the screen to another to allow the water to flow through it.If your hack was succesfull then you will get the same items for less or some bonus items will become available to you.You can also hack bots,turrets,cameras.Once you hack'em they will become your allies and instead of shooting at you they will hunt your enemies.
There's only one thing that gets pretty irritating the more you play....
Lack of variety in enemy types.There's less than 10 enemy types in the game and after 10 or 20 hours of gameplay killing the same mutants over and over again can become boring and repetitive.Same with the killing methods.Once you pick your favourite plasmid ( freezing plasmid was my favourite) you will constantly freeze your enemies for example and then take them off with one shot.The only difference is that the longer you play the stronger these opponents become.
There's also some sound stuttering problem every once in a while which is kind of confusing because I never new what was causing that.My sound card or the game itself?
Apart from that Bioshock is a magnificent game really worth playing.It's beautiful and has so many innovations not seen in any other game that it will swallow you.And something tells me that if you finish it once you will want to pass it once again no matter for what reason.Maybe to see those freeking mutants on fire again? Or maybe it's the electricity that causes them to dance in the pudle of water?
Doesn't matter...every reason is the right one to play it once again....