Author: SmashBrutha08
Title: Bioshock
Posted: Friday, November 27, 2009 at 8:24 pm
-Intro-
Bioshock is the spiritual successor to the PC game System Shock 2. Like its predecessor, it combines the elements of a first person shooter and an RPG. Along with the emphasis on headshots and reloading, the game allows the player to customize his/her character and make decisions that will decide the main character’s fate.
Playing the role of Jack, a mysterious man with an unknown past, players descend into the dark and chaotic underwater city of Rapture. Surviving the crash of his hijacked plane, Jack discovers a lighthouse in the middle of the ocean. After using a transportation device called a bathysphere, he is sent into the city. Meeting a man calling himself Atlas, Jack must assist Atlas in finding his family and escape from the city.
-Gameplay-
Bioshock progresses through a mission based structure. In each main part of the game, the player must complete a list of tasks to progress. These missions may range from obtaining a certain item, gathering materials to create a special object, or killing a boss enemy.
Unlike a lot of other first person shooters, Bioshock has a large focus on exploration. The city of Rapture is divided into seven main areas, each consisting of a large map of numerous rooms and doorways. Although you’ll progress through the seven main areas in a linear fashion, you’ll be able to explore each individual location freely. During my playthrough of Bioshock, I found the exploration of the game to be one of its most enjoyable parts. From the gambling/entertainment district Fort Frolic to the industrial/steampunk world of intense heat Hephaestus, I loved my travels and treks through the dangerous, mysterious, and atmospheric city of Rapture.
When attacked by an enemy, Jack has two main ways of fighting back. He can fight using traditional first person shooter weapons like pistols and wrenches, but can also make use of genetic enhancements called plasmids. Plasmids are basically the ‘magic’ of Bioshock. Whenever Jack casts a ‘spell’, he uses up a stat called EVE, which is basically like Final Fantasy’s MP. Through these genetic enhancements, Jack can do a variety of things. He can shock and stun enemies using the Electro-Bolt plasmid—or use it to stun a machine, allowing him to hack or destroy it. He can use the Telekinesis plasmid to redirect projectiles (excluding bullets) at enemies or use it to pick up objects like first aid kits and EVE hypos.
Along with his plasmids, Jack has his regular weaponry available to him. In Bioshock, you’ll see the weapons you’d typically find in a shooter. You’ll gain a shotgun, a pistol, and a machine gun, but the thing that makes these weapons unique is the game’s ammo. In Bioshock, each weapon (excluding Jack’s wrench and camera) has three different types of ammo available to it. For example, along with the regular shells that a shotgun uses there is also electrical ammo and explosive ammo available for it. Because of the multiple ammo types found in Bioshock, there is versatility and versatility is where the beauty in Bioshock’s combat comes from.
To effectively defeat enemies, the player must combine the powers of both weapons and plasmids. A simple example is Atlas’ “one-two punch”. Using Electro-Bolt’s stunning effect, the player can follow up with a wrench attack or a headshot using Jack’s pistol. The player can also freeze enemies with Winter Blast’s freezing effect and blow enemies to bits using the shotgun’s explosive ammo. Along with combining Jack’s techniques, players can also use the environment to their advantage. When a splicer is in the water, Jack can use Electro-Bolt for a more effective attack. When a splicer is near oil, Incinerate can be used to increase the intensity of the spell. Similar things can be done using weapons. Players can set proximity mines using Jack’s rocket launcher and will eventually be able to place electrical wires around rooms using his crossbow. With the many options given in combat, players are sure to have a good time fighting off the enemies of Rapture.
I will now move away from combat and more toward the RPG elements of the game. As you explore the many districts of Rapture, you will often meet an unusual pair—a little girl and her large and intimidating body guard. These Little Sisters contain a substance called Adam and this Adam is necessary for the character growth within the game. In order to obtain the Adam however, the player must take on the guardians of these girls. They are called Big Daddies. Big Daddies are the elite of the enemies you will face in Bioshock. Some use drills and melee attacks and others are equipped to guns and attack from a distance, but either way it’ll take a lot to kill one. Upon entering the city of Rapture, prepare to have some epic battles against these giants.
When you finally kill a Big Daddy, you’ll be able to get to the Little Sister and gain Adam. There are two ways of gaining Adam from a Little Sister however. You can either rescue or harvest one. If you choose to harvest, you get the maximum amount of Adam but kill the girl in the process. By choosing the rescue option, you save the girl but gain half as much Adam in return. Your choices in handling the Little Sisters will affect Jack’s fate in the end.
When you have Adam, you can go to a store called the Gatherer’s Garden and gain new abilities. At the Gatherer’s Garden, you can purchase genetic enhancements like plasmids, but also more passive enhancements called tonics. There are three different types of tonics: physical, engineering, and combat. Physical tonics improve your healing abilities, engineering tonics improve Jack’s abilities to interact with technology, and combat tonics improve Jack’s offensive and defensive effectiveness. Each type of tonic (and plasmid) must be equipped at a place called the Gene Bank.
Through the Gene Bank, the amount of tonics plasmids Jack can equip is limited. The Gene Bank shows four rows of slots—one for Jack’s plasmids, one for his engineering tonics, one for his physical tonics, and the last for his combat tonics. Jack begins with only two slots for each, but can purchase additional ones using Adam and the Gatherer’s Garden. Along with this, Jack can purchase increases to his maximum health and EVE stats. While Bioshock’s character customization does not match the depth of an RPG like Fallout, it still manages to be one of the most enjoyable parts of the game. Any fan of RPG elements should appreciate the character customization within Bioshock.
Bioshock also gives the player the ability to hack machines. With the numerous security cameras and turrets throughout in the city, Jack’s ability to successfully hack a machine is vital to his quest. After shocking an object using Electro-Bolt, Jack can move in close and press the “X” Button to begin a hack. The action pauses and a hacking themed mini game begins. As a flow of electricity moves through a group of wires, the player must pick up and arrange the wires so that the electricity moves to the end of the machine. As you progress, the machines will become tougher and tougher to hack. Sometimes there will be tiles that block your electricity flow and at other times the electricity will move too quickly. To combat this, the player must improve Jack’s hacking abilities using engineering tonics. Many people dislike the hacking mini game, but I personally enjoyed it. It’s probably because I’m a bit of a puzzle game fan, but I really loved Bioshock’s hacking.
The difficulty in Bioshock is rather easy. This is mostly due to the game objects called vitachambers. Whenever Jack is killed, he will always be revived in a vitachamber. While this keeps the player from feeling frustrated or annoyed, I think the vitachambers could have been used less. For example, during the game’s boss battles I would have preferred it if the vitachambers were turned off.
Bioshock is a very enjoyable game to play.
Score: 9.5
-Storyline-
In video games, we often see two main ways of telling storyline: traditional sequential story telling and story telling where clues of past events can be found throughout the setting. Bioshock uses both of these methods.
Bioshock achieves the latter through its game world, audio diaries, and the illusions Jack sees due to his genetic enhancements. As you progress through the game, you will find numerous items called audio diaries. Each audio diary holds a recording of a Rapture citizen, informing the player of Rapture’s past through their perspective. One disadvantage of this is that the player only hears what happened in the past. The Rapture “ghosts” is what brings balance to this. At times, Jack will be forced into an illusion. In these real-time sequences, the player will observe for themselves the events that happened in Rapture’s past. At the same time, you can see a lot of Rapture’s tragedy just through the objects and rooms in the game worlds. Through these three methods, Bioshock manages to create one of the most well developed settings in games.
At the same time, Bioshock tells its story in a more traditional way. Expect to see some interesting twists in the beginning and one very big twist towards the end of the game. During the games cinematics, you will see events through Jack’s perspective.
Bioshock’s storyline is themed around the two contrasting philosophies of objectivism and altruism. Throughout the game, you will see these philosophies clash. One example of this is the scene where you hear Andrew Ryan’s speech as you make your way into Rapture. Along with this, Bishock’s contrasting enemies represent this theme of objectivism vs. altruism. The citizens of Rapture, the splicers roam around and hunt for Adam for themselves, while the guardians of the Little Sisters, the Big Daddies risk their lives to protect someone else’s. Your choice between harvesting and rescuing a Little Sister also is a representation of this theme. Through the philosophies inspiring its story, Bioshock manages to achieve thematic depth.
Bioshock also has an interesting cast of characters. Jack, Andrew Ryan, Tenenbaum, Sander Cohen, and Atlas, were all fairly interesting characters to me. Andrew Ryan manages to be a memorable villain through his strong ideals and objectivist beliefs as Sander Cohen becomes villainous through his sadistic, psychotic, and yet humorous nature. Bridget Tenenbaum and Atlas’s conflicting beliefs should also interest players while Tenenbaum’s mysterious connection with the Little Sisters is revealed and Atlas’s identity is questioned by players. Also make sure to pay attention to the storyline later on in the game so you can fully understand Jack’s identity. Bioshock has a very memorable cast.
Jack’s journey through the chaotic underwater city will prove to be an entertaining one as players uncover the city’s mysterious past and discover the true intentions of the characters. Although, Bioshock didn’t get to me emotionally, it is still one of the greatest and most memorable stories I’ve seen in gaming.
Score: 9.5
-Presentation-
An FPS has high potential for creating immersive and convincing atmosphere, but unfortunately this potential is most often ignored. Thankfully, Bioshock does not continue this trend. From the water in the ocean Jack finds himself after his plane crash to the many dark and mysterious environments he finds himself in later on in the game, Bioshock is incredibly immersive due to its great atmosphere.
You could consider the setting half 1950s and half steampunk. Areas like Medical Pavilion and Fort Frolic represent the 1950s side of it while Hephaestus clearly represents the game’s steampunk/industrial part. At the same time, you can see a lot of steampunk in Jack’s weapons. If you take a closer look at his shotgun for example, you can see gears moving through it.
Although Bioshock has fantastic atmosphere and environments, the characters aren’t quite as beautiful looking. Many of the character models are repulsive to look at. You could argue that this look suits the horribly mutated splicers, but the character models of Bridget Tenenbaum and the Little Sisters definitely could have been more attractive to look at. The game’s Bid Daddies however do not follow this trend. These enemies manage to look both intimidating and noble.
Score: 9.0
-Sound-
Along with creating immersive atmosphere through its visuals, Bioshock’s setting becomes convincing through its sound. As you travel through Rapture, you will often find yourself hearing the voices of the selfish and insane citizens of Rapture. You will hear them yell to themselves about their problems, and you’ll probably find it creepy. Bioshock never felt scary, but I found it creepy on numerous occasions and I liked that creepiness.
Along with sound, Bioshock also has two main types of music you’ll hear throughout it. There’s the traditional type of video game music that you hear at specific events and there’s the songs you’d actually hear if you were actually living in the game world. At times, you’ll hear really music from the 1950s playing as it would in reality. Unfortunately, the music of Bioshock is a part of it that will most likely be overlooked by the majority of players. The songs only play during specific scenes and at specific areas, so you will hear them rarely. You might even forget a lot of them. The music is still something to appreciate though.
Welcome to Rapture
Cohen’s Masterpiece
The Nutcracker Suite
Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
Dancers on a String
Score: 9.0
-Overall-
If I was forced to play only one game of the current generation, I'd be glad to make that game Bioshock. From its gameplay, to its deep narrative, and to its immersive atmosphere, Bioshock is a must play experience and is one of the few games out there that can be considered art.
Overall Score: 9.5
