This game is amazing and awesome. I love the huge amount of detail and scale of the game. It has a truly engaging story and interesting characters.
For those who are not familiar with the basic set-up of Bioshock, you play a man who survives a plane crash in the mid-Atlantic ocean in 1960. You find that you crashed at the base of a lighthouse in the centre of the ocean. Swimming to the lighthouse, you find a Bathysphere and descend into an underwater city called Rapture.
Rapture is the brainchild of a man named Andrew Ryan, who obviously read WAY too much Ayn Rand. He gathered some of the greatest minds and business people he could find to build this Art Deco city under the water. Unrestricted by "petty morality" and laws, the scientists create genetic wonders that defy belief. Unfortunately something went wrong... (OMG! A city built on Ayn Rand's philosophy collapsing?! Who woulda thunk?)
Anyway - you find the city in the middle of a genetic civil war. Currently it is hard to figure out the sides of this war, but clearly one side is Ryan's gene-perfected splicers - people who have gone absolutely mad, and worship the ever present "big brother" Ryan.
It has an amazing world where everywhere has the clues of what is going on. Upon arriving in Rapture, you find protest placards everywhere, newspapers strewn about with headlines such as "bloodshed causes demand for mass departures" and the like. Everywhere is evidence of how this city is falling apart.
Unlike most shooters, a majority of the levels are just open plan locations. Rarely is there one route to take - the game provides several places to explore during the play - with a handy map that shows where you can head off to.
I'm just constantly amazed by the scale and scope of things - and how freaking beautiful the game looks. It is just gorgeous. Sometimes I just stop and stare out at the underwater city, or the posters - it is a game that rewards you for taking the time to appreciate the level of detail and work that has gone into the game.
There are literally dozens of plasmids (the genetic superpowers) to choose from, and I'm getting the impression that the game has a lot of other hidden surprises - it isn't just as simple as ten different weapons. There are scores of alternatives and options that make the game truly unique. Learn to watch the environment, as you can take on your opponents via a variety of environment traps (exploding oil slicks, water combined with electricity, gun turret death traps...)
Needless to say, Halo 3 definitely has a hell of a fight on its hands for single player value...
Heck, I'm off to play more now... and then maybe get some sleep before work!
Love and Huggles
Conan
Currently Reading: Changeling: The Lost
Currently Playing: REIGN, WFRP
Mood: Very pleased with his purchase...
6 comments:
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Lee bought Bioshock but can't put it on his machine because the key code is only half printed, so not with the working.
I think he's a bit heartbroken :(
What constitutes a 'level' in the game?
I am SO jealous. I want to play that damn game very badly indeed.
In fact - I may have to annex your flat in a hostile takeover ( sorry Sharn - seems that blogging is actually going to PROMOTE violence, envy and hate. Who would have thought it eh ? Surprised me ! ).
A 'level' is quite literally a city block or so, Hix. Essentially it is a completely mapped out building or series of buildings. For example, you enter the Medical Pavilion, which once housed all the surgeries, dentists and health professionals. Rather than be laid out as a series of locations with most of the doors inexplicably barred, Bioshock provides most of the entrances open.
So you're told to go see the doctor at the Plastic Surgery clinic, but you can wander into the Morgue, Dentists area, general pracitioners etc - and most of these locations are open for exploration.
There is still a certain linearity to it all, and it isn't so wide open that you deviate too far from where the end of the level "boss" is likely to be - but you have the freedom to go on entire side sections of adventure that reward you for taking the detour.
Furthermore, killing off the level "boss" doesn't end the level either - you're free to keep wandering to see if you missed any nooks and crannies, harvest or rescue any Little Sisters and deal with any other Splicers and Big Daddies wandering around.
I've also been further impressed by the variety of Splicers and dialogue they use - the game keeps things from ever getting too dull...
Conan
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