BioShock
Review
A Utopian society gone wrong...and now you're in it
by Chris Scott
reviewed on X360
Visual splendor (cntd.)
While Rapture may have looked like 1939 New York when it was founded, today it looks rundown with the lights out, random fires ravaging and mask wearing genetic freaks roaming the once beautiful city. These freaks are called splicers, in reference to the splicing of their genetic code to give them special powers. While you too will splice your genetic code with plasmids (overt skills) and tonics (inert skills) to give you special powers, the difference here is that the splicers have abused it to the point where they are now misshapen and hide themselves beneath party masks.
The splicers are great looking, unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a large variety in their design. By the mid point of the game I felt I was killing the same splicers over and over again. For some games this doesn’t pose a problem, unfortunately this game world is so engrossing that you feel each of these splicers have a part in the story. That they are beginning to look the same after a while really takes you out of the experience. Don’t worry because there is enough to draw you back in and the lack of enemy models is really just a minor gripe.
What was that I heard?
One of these ways is with the sound design. Good sound design is a must for any game that aims at setting a particular atmosphere. The atmosphere in Bioshock is one of overall creepiness and the effort taken by Irrational to really bring this atmosphere to life needs to be commended. I can honestly say that I haven’t felt this uneasy playing a game since the original Silent Hill. The sound really brings Rapture to life. Was that a splicer in the distance or was it just the dripping water I passed? You can never really be sure. If you take a moment while playing the game and place your controller on the ground you will see what I mean. Rapture truly lives and breathes and it is an experience adventuring through it. There have been some reports that after extended playtime with the game it is prone to freezing, I myself did not experience any of this and played extensively (4-5 hours at a time) for five days.
Games can look beautiful and sound great but, unless the game plays well, all the hard work on those other aspects is lost. Fortunately Bioshock does play well, although if you are looking for a straight up shooter you are probably going to be disappointed. The combat is only a slight bit above mediocre. You will get your standard shooter arsenal and ammo is for the most part in abundance. Yet if you insist on shooting everything that moves you may find yourself running low more often than not.
Weaponry and Skills are selectable by way of a radial menu which is activated by holding down either the RB or LB buttons, you can also cycles through by just tapping them but sometimes you just need that particular weapon right then and there. If it feels a bit clunky that is because it is. But considering the limitations of a gamepad, the radial menu works well. For me though, the firearms paled in comparison to your melee weapon, the wrench. While early on it is underpowered and I found myself shooting more than bludgeoning, once I gained more plasmids and tonics I found myself beating down the opposition, including some of the bosses.
9.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
