13 Points on Bioshock - Irrational Games - 2007 [PC]

1. This game is in conflict w/ itself.

2. On one hand it is a moody, slow simmering sci-fi thriller.

3. On the other hand, it is an FPS in which evil mutants fly at you in rapid succession.

4. Both of these elements hold their own but they don't really fit together. Each element works despite the other element not because of it. There is no synergy.

5. The first person combat is great. A combination of melee, gun and magic attacks and a well thought-out progression of upgrades makes for a rather deep experience and allows  a fairly wide variety of play styles.

6. The focus on combat doesn't really allow for your gameplay to have much of a plot. You basically get dropped into this underwater city and do what some guy tells you two for a dozen or so hours and then there's the ending.

7. This is different than me saying there isn't a plot. The majority of the plot just happens before the player is ever involved and is told by having the player discover tape recorders throughout the course of the game. It all gets kinda laid out to you no matter what you happen to be doing at the time.

8. Who cares? The atmosphere is cool and it's fun.

9. There is some minor illusion of moral choice in this game. You chose between "harvesting" and "saving" what appear to be little girls. They try to add some ambiguity as far is what is the right choice but, honestly, if you are scratching your head over what to do in this situation, I don't want you around my children.

10. There are multiple endings but they are not worth replaying the game for.

11. It is worth replaying to try out new combat mechanics or just for fun. Higher difficulty levels are worth checking out because in addition to making enemies more powerful, it adjusts random loot drop frequencies and makes certain powers take more energy to use so you do really need to adjust how you go about things rather than just aim and dodge better.

12. There are vending machines that yell at you in this and it's the most annoying thing ever.

13. And for my last point: The inevitable comparison to Infinite: I like this one better. The storytelling in the later game is better but since the combat in Infinite is even faster paced and more frenetic, the disconnect between the thriller atmosphere and the combat is even worse. The original Bioshock just feels better and more consistent to me. If you like one, you'll like both though, each being great games in their own right.