BIOSHOCK.

BIOSHOCK

I know, I know…. This is an old game now and some of you have probably already played it! BUT…. Those of you who haven’t had a go on this yet please read on.

I’ve been meaning to play this game for quite some time and for some reason never got round to buying it – I finally picked it up on EBay for £12 and decided I’d give it a go. Boy was I gutted…….

…..Gutted that I didn’t play this a year ago. There is only one word that I can use to describe this game – WOW!

I was about 10 minutes in to the game and it already had me by the short and curlies and wouldn’t let go. The game is basically a FPS but for some reason it feels like so much more. The story is set late 50’s and you are the survivor of a plane crash who happens to find the underwater city of ‘Rapture’. This city has been created by the brilliant scientific minds of the time who believe that it is their right to be able to carry out genetic testing to make life better for themselves. How much easier would life be if you were, for example, Telekinetic?

The only problem with this is that in order to grant these powers to the good people of Rapture there is a synthetic drug called ‘ADAM’ which is required to power up these abilities and it is quite scarce – and quite addictive – leaving the inhabitants of Rapture quite insane and desperate to get their hands on this Drug!
This is the basis for the story – and I haven’t given anything away as this is all explained at the beginning – or if you can be bothered to read the instruction booklet!

I won’t say anymore about the story in case any of you do give this game a go. The story line evolves quite nicely as you play along and there are plenty of Audio diaries which you find along the way which explain other points and add to the story – very Doom3 but at least with this you can listen to the diaries while continuing with the game, which actually adds quite an eerie atmosphere to the game – Doom3 was just annoying the fact that you had to keep going into the PDA to listen to the entries and couldn’t play at the same time.
You also have a character called ‘Atlas’ who helps guide you through the game and gives you missions to carry out. The voice acting is top notch too and very well scripted.

As well as Guns and Melee weapons you will also gain abilities such as the afore mentioned Telekinesis, Pyrokenisis, Electricity and many more. This is where there is an element of RPG which comes in. You can power up certain abilities as you collect ‘ADAM’ and you only get so many slots so you have to make sure you are carrying the ability’s you need, but don’t worry there are various machines around which allow you to swap your abilities about.

Any weapon upgrades and health packs can also be bought from ‘Vending machines’ which you spend your hard robbed cash on. These can also be hacked using a mini game so that more items become available and also cheaper.
The hacking mini game is used quite a bit as you can hack enemy security droids, security camera’s and gun turrets and reprogram them to guard you – these can be really useful at times.

The world is presented as being quite open and it does give you plenty of exploration but the game always guides you in the right direction and it is actually quite linear – it is just clever enough to make you think that you are in control and you don’t feel like you are playing a linear game.

Graphics and sound are immense – this is without a doubt one of the prettiest games I have ever played with no noticeable slow down even when there is loads on the screen. The 1950’s stylisation is superb presenting an old fashioned style futuristic world – very much in the style of ‘Fritz Lang’s – Metropolis’ but still very different. The water effects are the best I’ve seen on a game to date and the lighting and shadows add a wondrous but almost creepy edge to the game. This is one of the first games in a long time that has truly blown me away – the package is 100% complete and everything joins in perfectly to make one fantastic gaming experience.

The only downside for you lot is that there is no On-line play – but as a single player game this is one of the best I have ever played – I can’t put it down and even now I am counting down the hours till this evening so I can switch the box on and carry on my exploration of ‘Rapture’.
If you haven’t played it yet – get on EBay and get buying – like I said at the start I paid £12 for my copy and it is by far the best £12 I have ever spent!

top review mate will give bioshock a go me thinks

try the demo first...............

Scottish Champ wrote:

try the demo first...............

I wouldn't. There is no way a short demo will capture the full scope of this game. Playing just a small section without story etc wouldn't do it justice.
By the way I did mean to mention in the review that even though this is esentially a FPS don't expect it to be like COD or Halo and the likes it is a bit more explore and find with a FPS/RPG element.

i've already played the demo, really impressed me but just didnt buy it because it was only single player like... but for £12 you cant really go wrong