**Possible SPOILERS** Bioshock is far and away my pick for best PC game of the past 5 or 6 years. I've played a LOT of games over the years, but none have managed the deft touch that Irrational have put on this masterpiece.
From the moment you step into Rapture, you are unwittingly forced into the decaying underwater dystopia, and must splice to survive.
By splicing, I mean genetically splicing your DNA with "enhancements" - what this does for your humanity is up to you, indeed, the choices we make - make us.
The greatest thing about Bioshock is that it's all about the journey. The destination is arbitrary - FMV endings are seen as being a waste of money, and after playing through this game I agree totally. I am glad that the endings were short and to the point, because the majority of the budget was put to much better use - namely in game design. I compare this to games which have very shiny and pretty endings, just pick one.
The aesthetics are second-to-none. It's rare that a game can make you feel so attached to the world when all you see is misery and chaos. I really felt for the people of rapture who'd sacrificed so much for personal power. Even listening to them gibbering away their lingering humanity or squabbling amongst one another was a perverse treat prior to their inevitable annihilation at my hand.
Everything in the gameworld has meaning. Wonder why they're Vita Chambers everywhere and what purpose they serve (other than regeneration) - well, that's answered in the second last Act of the game. While such design features are regarded by many to make the game too easy - again, I ask is it really the destination or the journey that matters when it comes to a masterpiece of game design? The ending will always be the same, but no fight in the game will be the same, unlike other shooters (Half-Life 2, I'm looking squarely at you). Even the scripted parts of Bioshock don't regard the player as an on-rails observer, and you will soon wrench control back, so be patient.
This is all about action. At the end of the day, that's what the design has achieved. By allowing you to rejoin the fight without having to revert to a quicksave allows the pacing to stay in top-gear 100% of the time, though if you play like me, you'll go through first aid kits like cotton candy anyways, instead of just dying over-and-over-and-over like people say you can do... It may even be possible to finish the game with just a wrench in this fashion... Yes, you probably can, but that's not what I'd call fun.
The dynamic random spawn points for enemies also means you have to keep on your toes, as the Gatherers, Protectors and Splicers wander the corridors of Rapture and can be found pretty much anywhere you are...
What makes this game so brilliant is that no two gunfights are the same, and there is no motivation to try one strategy more than another, as the game is so well-balanced that you can adjust on the fly and make each strategy work for you. Though action-focused, it remains very tactical - if you want it to be.
Although this review is convoluted, all I can say was that Rapture was so enthralling, that I went back again and again after I'd finished and played through completely differently.
Keep in mind that the difficulty jump from Medium to Hard is like going from walking up a hill to climbing Mount Everest.
The great thing is, whether you choose to let it be hard is up to you...
That's what this game is about - choice.
"A man chooses..."
From the moment you step into Rapture, you are unwittingly forced into the decaying underwater dystopia, and must splice to survive.
By splicing, I mean genetically splicing your DNA with "enhancements" - what this does for your humanity is up to you, indeed, the choices we make - make us.
The greatest thing about Bioshock is that it's all about the journey. The destination is arbitrary - FMV endings are seen as being a waste of money, and after playing through this game I agree totally. I am glad that the endings were short and to the point, because the majority of the budget was put to much better use - namely in game design. I compare this to games which have very shiny and pretty endings, just pick one.
The aesthetics are second-to-none. It's rare that a game can make you feel so attached to the world when all you see is misery and chaos. I really felt for the people of rapture who'd sacrificed so much for personal power. Even listening to them gibbering away their lingering humanity or squabbling amongst one another was a perverse treat prior to their inevitable annihilation at my hand.
Everything in the gameworld has meaning. Wonder why they're Vita Chambers everywhere and what purpose they serve (other than regeneration) - well, that's answered in the second last Act of the game. While such design features are regarded by many to make the game too easy - again, I ask is it really the destination or the journey that matters when it comes to a masterpiece of game design? The ending will always be the same, but no fight in the game will be the same, unlike other shooters (Half-Life 2, I'm looking squarely at you). Even the scripted parts of Bioshock don't regard the player as an on-rails observer, and you will soon wrench control back, so be patient.
This is all about action. At the end of the day, that's what the design has achieved. By allowing you to rejoin the fight without having to revert to a quicksave allows the pacing to stay in top-gear 100% of the time, though if you play like me, you'll go through first aid kits like cotton candy anyways, instead of just dying over-and-over-and-over like people say you can do... It may even be possible to finish the game with just a wrench in this fashion... Yes, you probably can, but that's not what I'd call fun.
The dynamic random spawn points for enemies also means you have to keep on your toes, as the Gatherers, Protectors and Splicers wander the corridors of Rapture and can be found pretty much anywhere you are...
What makes this game so brilliant is that no two gunfights are the same, and there is no motivation to try one strategy more than another, as the game is so well-balanced that you can adjust on the fly and make each strategy work for you. Though action-focused, it remains very tactical - if you want it to be.
Although this review is convoluted, all I can say was that Rapture was so enthralling, that I went back again and again after I'd finished and played through completely differently.
Keep in mind that the difficulty jump from Medium to Hard is like going from walking up a hill to climbing Mount Everest.
The great thing is, whether you choose to let it be hard is up to you...
That's what this game is about - choice.
"A man chooses..."