Bioshock is an excellent game that at times fells more like a movie than a Shooter.
When I first played the game I was amazed at the game's attention to detail and creepy atmosphere. The retro setting of the game creates a surreal involving setting, in which it is hard not to get caught.
The story is told through a series of in game cut scenes, audio recordings, and visions that keep the player involved, and allow the player to keep the action going while the story unfolds. The story is a very good aspect of the game. It's one of the things that makes you want to keep playing.
The visuals in this game are gorgeous. Lighting effects, water, blood, all look great, but the incredibly detailed world is what makes the total immersion into the game. When I was playing the game, I sometimes just wanted look around and explore, because it was all so cool.
The audio in this game is really good to. The environmental sound effects are awesome. You are walking around and you can hear water falling (where available) enemies swearing, big daddies growling and moaning, and all sort of noises that will take you inside the game. The music is very immersing to. Sometimes you will hear environmental music like phonographs playing, which add to the atmosphere. The game's sound track, although it's 17 minutes long, it is very well composed and adds to the great atmosphere. The voice acting is also very good and convincing.
Bioshock has an interesting combat system. It mixes your standard weapons (revolver, machine gun, shotgun…) with Plasmid Powers. Plasmid powers are cool and fun to use. They range from shock, fire, and ice to turning enemies against themselves, sending hordes of bees to attack your enemies, putting traps you bad guys are sent flying away etc… You also have the ability to customize and upgrade your weapons and plasmids.
This is a creepy game, but not really scary. The atmosphere, characters, sounds, and enemies, all create a creepy setting, but there are very few truly scary moments. I recommend playing this game at night, with the lights of , and a surround sound system at good volume to get the best experience.
The replay value is good, since it has 3 different endings (only seen 2), and each time you play the game you can play it using a different approach.
Downsides of the game
Bioshock would be a perfect game if it weren't for a few things. Although the combat system is very engaging, and you have all these customization options, it all comes short because there are no death penalties. When you die you re-spawn and nothing happens to you. You can just walk back to where you were, and attack the same enemies that killed you 10 seconds ago. But if you die, don't worry, you can re-spawn as many times as you like until you succeed. This brings down the creepiness, and difficulty factor, since you know that you can't die.
One of the other problems with this game are the audio voice recordings. At first they feel fresh and cool, but after a while you can get tired of them. These recordings are what bring the story together, and although the voice acting is great, they are hard to relate to.
Another thing I disliked where the weapons. They didn't feel like weapons to me. At the beginning of the game you shoot someone in the head, and they die, by the middle of the game you can unload a full clip into someone's head and not kill him or her. You can unload a full clip of your machine gun into someone, and just take of half a life bar. Even when upgraded the weapons felt a bit weak to me, and at times I just preferred to charge with the wrench (get the wrench jockey plasmid) and killed them faster and without wasting ammo. I felt plasmids had the same problem to, you can burn someone, or send killer bees after them, but it will only take off a bit of health, and you still have to finish them of with weapons.
The other complain I have are the Hacking mini game. They are fun at first, but you end up doing them way to often. After a while I just stopped hacking, and paid the full price of things (since money is plentiful in this game).
Conclusion
Bioshock is an excellent game that at times fells more like a movie than a Shooter. It features a good story, engaging game play, and a lot of creepiness. I would recommend this game to anyone who is looking for a different and original gaming experience. For anyone who just wants a regular shooter, probably better to get COD, or Halo