BioShock
Review
A Utopian society gone wrong...and now you're in it
by Chris Scott
reviewed on X360
Keeping it in the family
Yes Bioshock has boss battles, two types actually. The first type is your standard ‘I need to defeat you to advance the story’ type of boss fight, while the other is a roving boss battle against huge lumbering Big Daddies and is completely optional. This second type is more prevalent but it is also the most satisfying and rewarding of the battles in the game. The Big Daddies are the protectors of the Little Sisters. The Little Sisters are little girls who act as genetic scavengers, gathering ADAM, the substance used to genetically alter you to be able to use plasmids and tonics (EVE is the ingredient that allows you to continue to use your skills). However to get ADAM you must capture a Little Sister, and to get at one of the little ones you have to go through their armored protectors. The Battles against the Big Daddies can be a slight bit frustrating at the outset of the game, being as you and your weaponry is underpowered, luckily Bioshock doesn’t really penalize you for dying.
In fact Bioshock’s continue structure is rather interesting. You don’t actually die, but rather regenerate in a set location. The enemy who killed you will still be at the same level of health they were when you left them, unless of course they used a health station. This makes the game playable for anyone but may annoy some gamers who want a little more challenge to their game.
While the narrative deals with the power of choice as an overall theme, some gamers may find the linear nature of the game to be a downside. Despite promising the ability to explore Rapture at your leisure, you always seem to be shoe-horned into furthering the story. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing since the story is so engrossing, but the overall feel of the world as being so alive left me somewhat disappointed that I couldn’t explore it further. You will still have a slew of choices to make though, most of them pertaining to your character and how you want to customize him but there are a few other choices that can dramatically affect the way your game will turn out.
Playing the game your way
How your game and your overall experience with Bioshock turns out, will be completely determined by your choices. This gives an added depth allowing you to replay it and get a new experience each time. Do you want to play it as a run and gun shooter? Be my guest. Would you rather spend the time to explore the Little Sisters and gain the power of ADAM? Go ahead. Do you make your own choices or will someone make them for you?
I have been especially vague concerning aspects of the story and gameplay. The reason for this is because the real accomplishment in Bioshock is in its ability to give you an experience. While spoilers in regards to gameplay and the overall narrative may not spoil the game for you, I can assure you that it will diminish your overall experience on your first play through. My greatest regret is that I cannot experience Bioshock for the first time ever again. The game truly is the sum of its parts and those parts make one great game, possibly the best of 2007 so far. The only real question is why are you not playing it yet?
9.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
