Overall 9.5 Graphics 8.3 Sound 9 Addictive 8 Story 9.7 Depth 8 Difficulty 7
9
Would you kindly play this game? Supergamer
Bioshock, one of the first games that I ever got for my Xbox 360. When I first played it, I felt creeped out going through an underwater dystopia filled with crazy people. I have such fond memories of the moments that I experienced, like going through Fort Frolic. But now that I've recently beat the game again, I think it's a good time to share my thoughts on it.
Story
One of the things that set the story apart from the other stories that I've experience is the setting. The story takes place in an underwater city, which isn't something you don't ever see in video game settings. But it isn't just the setting that impresses me, but the way the story presents itself. It is a story of mystery, revenge, and regret that is told excellently through dialog. Disappointedly though, is that the story does have the cliché of having a mysterious benefactor that turns into a villain in the climax. But this story does it right since you aren't given any reason to distrust this person until it's too late. However, in a video game story told primarily through dialog it is important for the game to look good.
Graphics
I have to say that this game looks pretty great. The models are beautifully crafted and well animated, though the textures are just a little blurry. But despite the overall well done animations there were a couple of animation errors that noticed, such as the effect of Security Bull's Eye not disappearing despite the affected splicer being shattered. I also took issue with the fact that there were very few number of the characters whose models weren't recycled splicer models. Of course the graphics are supported by the game's ambiance.
Sound
Bioshock doesn't have much at all when it comes to music. I mean there is intense battle music during certain sections where you're fighting a bunch of splicers, but other than that, there's no music. However, the sound design of the environment and objects is very well done. As well, the voice acting and the dialogue that goes with it is very well done. The dialogue made by the splicers shows how causing they've become, and the dialogue said by the characters really paints a great story. Of course, things like story, graphics, and sound are only supported by the quality of the gameplay.
Gameplay
Bioshock is a first person shooter that allows you to, well, basically, have powers called plasmids. Plasmids are your offensive capabilities that serve as the alternative to your guns. You can gain different plasmids that can be extremely useful, but only a few of the plasmids are actually useful. A few plasmids can even interact with the environment like electrocuting the water to kill all splicers in it. Plasmids use EVE each time they're activated, which can be used by using EVE hypos and consuming different drinks. Plasmids can be purchased and at the gatherer's garden machine to increase the plasmid's capabilities. In addition to plasmids you can get gene tonics, which serve as your passive skills. These come in three different categories: combat, engineering, and physical. Combat tonics help to improve your offensive and defensive capabilities, but I found only a few to be useful. Engineering tonics help improve your interaction with machines, which I found useful for hacking can get difficult. Both plasmids and tonics require ADAM to purchase them. ADAM is gained from Little Sisters who are guarded by Big Daddies who are the game's toughest enemies. After killing them you have to choose between killing the Little Sister for more ADAM, or curing her less ADAM but for a reward later. Now, since this is a first person you get a variety of guns. These guns can be upgraded on the Power to the people machine, but each machine can only be used. However, only a few of the weapons are worthwhile to fully upgrade. Upgrading your arsenal is very important, as this game can get pretty difficult. Splicers can easily swarm you, and they come in different variants that each has different capabilities (ex:Houdini Splicers can teleport). Being surrounded by Splicers can easily spell your doom since you can't take much damage. There’s also the matter of dealing with security, being caught by cameras will send a swarm of security bots after you, and being caught by a turret will cause it to shoot at you. But, fortunately machines can be hacked with each machine type getting a different benefit (ex.: hacked vendors will reduce prices). Hacking works by a sort of tile puzzle system that calls for players to reveals pipeline tiles and rearrange them while avoiding overload tiles, alarm tiles, and dead ends in order for the liquid to reach the end and succeed the hack. However, the difficulty of hacking can be immense as the more difficult hacking levels will have the liquid moving much faster, or having the tiles arranged in such a way that you’ll have to work fast. Successful hacking is both satisfying and beneficial, such as reducing the components at U-Invent machine. Yes, Bioshock also has a crafting system that is limited to what is on the machine. You can craft special ammo types, each requiring different components. However, I found it less time wasteful to just buy the different types of ammo. Your guns can be loaded with special ammo that are either more effective against splicers or more effective against armored enemies like big daddies. Having special ammo at the ready can help reduce the difficulty of a fight greatly. Also speaking of reducing difficulty is the camera. By taking pictures of enemies you fill up a meter (which only appears after taking a picture). Once this meter fills up you gain benefit such as increased damage against the enemy that was being photographed. Indeed, the camera system would have to be perhaps one of my favorite things in this satisfying game.
Bioshock is one of those games that you will remember. It has brought to my mind moments that I can never truly forget even when I don’t play for a long time. Bioshock is satisfying game that anyone looking for a more interesting FPS should play.
Graphics 9 Sound 7 Addictive 7 Story 9 Depth 7 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 03-17-15
Review Replies: 1
9.5
Bioshock Review XxEzraxX
Bioshock, one of the best games that I have played in a while. To best explain what how I felt when I played this game can only be one word terrified. First I want to say it was not at all what I expected, I didn't expect to like a first person shooter as much as this game. Don't get me wrong I do like FPS's but not as much as I should, but this game was a different experience for me. This game is like an intense roller coaster ride when you think you are at the end of a stage and that nothing is going to pop up to attempt to kill you think again. There is almost always something around the corner and survival becomes harder and harder.
Basic objective of the game, your plane crashes and you stumble upon this strange elevator pod device which leads you to an underwater city created by a man, Andrew Ryan, who affectionately named the city Rapture. However, Rapture did not turn into a prosperous place but instead a horror filled nightmare of creatures known as Splicers, who will try to kill you off as soon as they spot you. As you enter Rapture a man named Atlas will talk to you through radio and will send you on your missions as you try to save his family, and yourself. Now that was just a brief summary of the story, which I think is very interesting and different and for that I rated the story a perfect 10.
Now when it came to the graphics I rated the game a 9, they where very good almost amazing. There where however a few small bugs in the graphics such as dead Splicers still moving random parts of their bodies etc. But that is not that bad, I mean even most if not all Call of Duty games have this bug. When it came to the sound though, another 10 had been placed. The sounds this game make will terrify you completely, you will randomly hear the Splicers talking to themselves or killing one another, saying some freaky stuff. Like the man who randomly sings to himself "Jesus loves me, this I know...for the bible tells me so..." Yeah, tell me that is not scary.
I'm just going to outright say that I am hooked and addicted completely to this game, once I finish this review I'm more than likely going to go play it. But because of this I rated the addictiveness and the depth a 10, the game is absolutely amazing. It has those moments of scary uncertainty and a great story to follow. The game is also really long and has a million different items not to mention weapons, plasmids and tonics to collect as well as items you will need to create. The game just has so much to offer to the player, sometimes to becomes difficult to make a choice on what type of Plasmids you want or what to spend your money on at one of the vending machines located throughout the game. And that can bring me into my next rating, difficulty. I rated this a 7. The game was pretty hard when I first started. Once you get used to which button does what and how your Plasmids work then the game becomes a little easier, but then you still have to deal with big enemies like Rosie's or Big Daddy's which take more than a couple of shots to kill. Also, it is very easy to get lost in Rapture. Occasionally Atlas will help you out and tell you where you need to go, or if the game knows you are confused it will randomly display a compass to show you on the correct path.
Well this has been my first Xbox 360 review, I hope that you all enjoyed it and will enjoy this game as much as I do. Try not to let it scare you that much though. For a FPS this game sure did take a different route, and I think it is for the better. I am kind of hoping that this game will spawn a new type of it's kind, a horror FPS genre would be great for players like myself. And for anyone who is even remotely interested I highly recommend this game.
Graphics 9 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 10 Depth 10 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 11-17-12
Review Replies: 0
9.4
Awesome..just truly awesome jouhn4
Bioshock is truly without a doubt one of the best games I have ever played. It is a fun shooter that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Bioshock unlike most first person games focuses on the story rather than the game itself. This is not to say that it’s gameplay is not good as well, just that the point of the game is to dive into the rich world of Rapture. In the game you are you. You see the character’s arms and hear him grunt but that is all. You get no name or anything. This is common in games but Bioshock pulls it off so well that is really easy to immerse yourself in the game. You will find yourself feeling all the confusion, terror, and heartbreak that the main character feels.
The setting is beautiful in it’s own dead city sort of way. The rooms look like they were really used. You can look at Rapture and see that it was once a place of life. The care that went into making this city is incredible. If you notice I did not rate the graphics the highest. This is not what I am talking about. The graphics are not the best on the system. What I am talking about is how the city feels, how they made it where even with the unreal qualities of the world there is still a hint of familiarity about this place.
The lighting is also fantastic. Some of the rooms are barely lit, not in a way that it was annoying but added to the horror. There was this one room where I was up to my knees in water and it was barely lit. All of a sudden the lights shut off and I hear movement. My description doesn’t do it justice. It scared the heck out of me. The lighting adds to the setting telling you the city is dead but something still lives inside.
The gameplay as I said before is also good. Not as important as the story line but they did not disappoint. It has a classic feel to it with a little twist on it. They give you a verity of weapons and these things called plasmids. Plasmids will give you powers like the ability to shoot electricity or summon a swarm of bees. As you go through the game you can get different types of ammo and level up your plasmids. There are also other things that you can get for your character called tonics. They modify the traits of the character, giving you extra strength ect. These items and Abilities add RPG elements to the game which compliment it nicely.
There are a few things I don’t like however. One is the difficultly. Don’t get me wrong it adds to the feel of the game. It is just it always seems you are running out of ammo or low on health. Another thing is some areas feel like a maze. Even with a map there is a level or two that you can really get lost in. Another thing that bugs me is the lack of reliability. Well there is a little bit but once you’ve gone through the story the game becomes a little boring. You no longer have that shock or surprise that kept your blood pumping during your first playthrough. However you find yourself wanting more. The game designers solved a little bit of this with the audio diaries. The audio diaries provide a look into what Rapture before and during It’s fall.
Alright my final verdict is if you like intense stories or horror games then it is for you. It is a great game to add to your library. Just know that you only get the thrill once. I would save the audio diaries for last if I were you. It gives you something to do after you have done the story.
Graphics 7 Sound 10 Addictive 7 Story 10 Depth 7 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 08-23-12
Review Replies: 3
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