Xbox 360 - Bioshock Highly recommended

Format
Xbox 360
Publisher
2K Boston/2K Australia
Developer
2K Games
Country of origin
US/Australia
Genre
First Person Shooter

Bioshock

By Shabbir
16th Sep 07

Two weeks after launch, after exhausting every possible event in the game, Bioshock still makes me turn my Xbox 360 on. Bottom line is that it truly is a brilliant game, and let us discover why.

Without a doubt, Bioshock has been the talk of the gaming industry for quite some time now. A year ago at E3 2006 it was voted as "Game of the Show" and now a year later, many are hinting it to be the "Game of the Year" for 2007. Let's just hold that thought for a second and look at the competition. Set for release later this year are titles such as Halo 3, Crysis, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed and Heavenly Sword. To already say that Bioshock could be the "Game of the Year" simply shows the quality in this title.

Bioshock is developed by 2k, which consists of Ken Levine (Lead Designer) who worked on the System Shock games. These were fantastic FPS (First Person Shooter) games that utilised the setting of the game to the full, in order to create an engrossing experience. There were also some role-playing elements since as you progressed through the game, you could fine-tune your character as you pleased. It's good to know that Bioshock builds on this.

Without going into too much detail, here is the setting of the game. My aim is to do this without giving any spoilers, however some of you may consider that explaining the setting and premise is a spoiler itself. If you feel this way, then skip the next paragraph.

You play as a nameless and faceless character whose plane crashes in the middle of the ocean in 1960. From here you find some kind of elevator that takes you underwater where you discover a city called Rapture. Built sometime during the 1940s, Rapture is supposed to be a utopia where no one is in the way of a man achieving his dreams. However, straight after entering, you realise something has gone wrong.

Scientists inside Rapture created gene-altering chemicals known as Plasmids. Plasmids give you different powers and you'll discover them as you go through the game. They range from being able to stun your foes with a bolt of electricity to setting them alight on fire. These powers are a core part of the fights and you'll find yourself using them numerous times in the game, even to solve puzzles.

The citizens of Rapture depend on a genetic material called Adam. This essentially gives you the ability to use Plasmids. The so called ammunition to use Plasmids is known as Eve. Everyone in Rapture is after Adam, and this is where you will start to see the infamous Little Sisters and Big Daddies. The Little Sisters harvest Adam and act as a container of Adam, while the Big Daddies protect her from anyone who would try attack her to gain some Adam. The Big Daddies are probably the most difficult foes in the game, and each time you fight them you will find yourself feeling as though it's a boss battle.

The difficulty of taking down a Big Daddy starts out at manageable but as you progress through the game, you'll find yourself tactically planning on what to do - which Plasmids and weapons to use or how to utilise the environment to your benefit (more on this later).

Throughout the game you’ll find audio diaries that act as a story-telling device of citizens in Rapture – some of whom you may meet while others are just unknown characters. This is a brilliant method as you really get to delve deeper into Rapture with citizen’s history and learn more about the plot, gaining differing views on key individuals in the plot.

The game is extremely flexible and adapts itself to the player’s ability, showing useful hints when needed if it realises that a player is not using certain abilities or is not going on the right track. The strength of the foes steadily increase as you progress through the game and always present a challenge not only in terms of how hard hitting they are, but also make you think about what type of weapon you might want to use, similar to how you plan to take on Big Daddies.

Those of you who aren’t comfortable with FPS games on consoles will be pleased to know that the Easy setting is not too easy, but just right for beginners to present a nice little challenge. The Normal difficulty is what the game should be played on for normal gamers, and those who want the whole challenge can try Hard - Big Daddies sure are a pain and really pack quite the punch.

The citizens of Rapture have gone mad thanks to the Adam. There are many different kinds of foes in Rapture known as “Splicers.” Due to their insanity, they will attack you mercilessly and without reason, while at the same time shouting contradictory phrases such as, "I don't want to hurt you!" I won't give more details on the enemies that you'll face, since have the excitement is discovering and facing them.

The sound of Rapture is astonishing and key to creating such a spooky atmosphere. The game is definitely meant to be played on a 5.1 Surround Sound system, as all the effects and voice acting are done to perfection. Enough cannot be said about how good the sound is in Bioshock, it's something that you have to experience yourself.

Along with the great sound, Bioshock also boasts great graphics. A lot of what is in the game was done thanks to the enthusiasm of the developers, since the team did not have a mass of resources at hand. One example would be the water effects. The development team did not have the time to actually go ahead and ensure the water effects were done to the extent that they have been, therefore much of it was tweaked in the developer’s spare time. Such is the enthusiasm of the developers, and it definitely shows in the game. Every room and area that you walk into is seeping with atmospheric effects that really set the mood. It’s not only the creepy foes you’ll fight, but also the scenery on show, the lighting, the brilliant sounds; all of these create the environment that you’ll be exploring. Oh, and the blood splattered here and there definitely give a feel of what happened at Rapture.

Moreover the graphics is the art. As I've mentioned, Rapture is a 1940s to 1960 based city, and the setting reflects this. The colouring is exactly what you'll expect from a city that is effectively in chaos. As mentioned, there will be blood splattered on the walls, but also you'll see messages carved in the walls or smeared also with blood. Normal rooms will have the expecting furniture in place, but there will always be touches here and there that makes something tingle in your stomach.

Playing Bioshock on the 360 really was a surprising treat. After deciding to stay away from the plagued PC counterpart, I picked up the 360 version. I’ve always been sceptical about playing any FPS games on a console simply because the freedom of movement is not on par to the mouse and keyboard. However, it felt extremely smooth and easy to move, even during heated battles thanks to the 360's controller. I think the main difference is the position of the Left Analog Stick, being at the top left of the controller instead of traditional D-Pad. Nonetheless, it felt comfortable even when things got tense.

The Bumper buttons on the control pad are used to select Plasmids and weapons, while the Trigger buttons are used to fire them. When keeping the Bumper buttons pressed, a simple and intuitive menu pops up, pausing the game and lets you select what Plasmid or weapon you’d like to choose. This is invaluable since you will definitely be switching between your Plasmids and weapons.

The battles are what you will crave for while playing Bioshock, and 2k have done their best to ensure they stay as interesting and intriguing as possible. There are numerous possibilities in every battle, and this makes sure you never feel bored when fighting foes. You can use Plasmids to set your foes on fire, stun them, make them attack other enemies around them and more. Along with that, you can hack security cameras and turrets to fire on your foes, rather than having them firing on you. Depending on what you prefer doing, you can develop your character accordingly using Tonics.

Tonics in the game are essentially abilities that you place in the slot, raising your ability in a certain field. So, for example, you may get a Tonic that makes it easier for you to hack. The hacking incidentally is done by playing a pipes game. A fluid will start to flow through the pipe while you must make a jigsaw puzzle leading to the exit of the pipe. Failure to do so can result in the machine overloading and causing a hefty blow to your health, or the alarm being set off.

Other Tonics can increase your combat skills or physical aspects such as gaining more health when using First Aid kits. These will be a key aspect of progressing through the game as you’ll find it necessary to be using these abilities to overcome the challenges presented to you.

Now, some may say that Bioshock isn’t ground-breaking – the graphics are on par with other next generation titles, the gameplay itself is not a massive leap forward for FPS games, the personalisation and tweaking of a character is also not new to gaming. So what sets Bioshock apart from the rest?

It is the mixture and blend of compelling plot, brilliant gameplay and great graphics and sound combination to create a truly magnificent atmosphere. You feel that you are down there, and always want to know what happened in Rapture. This feeling will bring you back to the game again and again, and the challenge of beating the game on a more difficult setting, especially the Big Daddies, is certainly going to make this a game that you’ll want to pull off your shelf in the future.

10/10

-- Shabbir 16th Sep 07

Xbox 360 Bioshock Images