Choosing the Impossible

I must admit a slight bias towards this game prior to my analysis. I played Bioshock on the PC long before playing it on the 360, the time difference being about three months. Though in all reality the differences between the versions are minimal at the worst, I felt that it would be best to admit it before launching into this reminiscence. Thus, what shall follow will be a mix of my memories from both systems, pulling both the best and the worst.

This game is phenomenal. That's the quick and dirty way to describe the over thirty hours of enjoyment this game gave me on the first of many playthroughs. It's an rockin' n' rollin' romp through Rapture that leaves a rather large grin on my face. But it's about time to get into the pipes and cranks that makes this game good, both in game and in the achievement list.

Any gamer worth his salt knows that in order to make a solid next-gen game, there's a couple things needed to draw in the crowds. First is graphics, the shiny-sparkly bits that make the game leap out from the screen and throttle you with strange mutated hands. For those who don't know what it looks like (which can be remedied by browsing the extensive site or buying the game), Rapture is a strange fusion of freakishly grotesque and functionally gorgeous. Intricate stone and woodwork intertwined by pipes and steel supports give the underwater utopia the impression of being a vivacious metropolis with a flair for the flashy. Of course, everything in this decaying city is based on early to mid 1950's decor mixed with a strong dash of steampunk to give it a unique flavor. In short, Rapture is, in a way, a gigantic fluke. Each piece on its own is marginally good, mediocre at best, yet somehow as a whole, the city truly comes ALIVE.

Speaking of being alive, ZOMG THE PLOT IS AMAZING. Allow me to summarize it, at least, without revealing any spoilers. Andrew Ryan creates Rapture and populates it with smart and rich people. Smart people make breakthroughs in science. The whole place goes down the tubes. Insert faceless / nameless protagonist who's sole purpose first to help this Atlas guy save his family while somehow surviving himself. To that end, Bioshock does its best to make you think that around every corner is something out to kill you. It's not a horror or survival game, perse, but it's still a fine example of suspense and atmosphere. Dark corners and dimmed light sources give the impression of doom and gloom whilst the music (in the few areas it shows) and other such surviving remnants of the gigantic party on New Years Day 1959 still give off an aura of happiness, wealth and prosperity.

And then there's the combat. The shooter controls are not quite as solid and steady as a game devoted ONLY to being a first person shooter, yet somehow this point can be dimissed immediately by the other form of direct combat: the plasmids. For the Rapture-illiterate, plasmids are the powers that allow the player to do awesome stuff like shoot lightning out of his fingers, create flames with a snap, or lift objects and chuck them hard using only the mind. These simplistically enrapturing abilities are the perfect counterbalance to keep Bioshock from falling into the pit of a standard shoot-em-up game. I know that each time I set off a plasmid, I could not help but let out a little chuckle of pure joy. How often can you "light up your foes to a thousand degrees?"

Ah, the citizens--the final twisted inhabitants of a warped city. I'm not going to lie; the people were the ones who creeped me out the most. If it weren't for them, I'd move to Rapture in an instant. I feel no remose in mentioning the first moment a splicer (for that is what the citizens post-mutation are called) appears on the screen. The scene, though difficult to make out completely on the first run through due to darkness and shadows which enhance the atmosphere, is violent and creepy, portraying perfectly the desires of those wandering the wet streets. An unexpected but beneficial side-effect of the sequence is that I felt no remorse about killing every splicer I came across; rather, I found myself laughing sadistically as I shocked people in the water or lit them on fire or clubbed them over the head with my trusty wrench. In Rapture, you kill or be killed, simple as that. Yet, even as I found myself plowing through the hordes of splicers intent on dissecting my various physical features, I found myself pitying them. Strewn throught the game are Rapture's version of cassete recordings, each telling independently mere fragments of the complete story of the city prior to the player's arrival. As more and more are played, the picture comes into full focus similarly to a puzzle nearing completion. Only then, with the scene complete, did I fully realize the minute details placed into the grand city. Only then did I see the big picture........and I loved what I saw.

This portrayal of my perceptions would not be complete without a brief mention of the achievements in the game. For those with short memories, allow me to reiterate that my first experience with Bioshock was on a PC, thus no achievements. Only after going back and attaining a copy for my white box of doom have I been able to experience them. It should then be no surprise to all reading this that all but three achievements I unlocked I did so on the first and only playthrough on the 360 I have done so far. The three yet locked are "Historian" (which was impossible to complete due to one of the audio tapes not spawning, a minor glitch which I will remedy with a quick speedrun on easy), "Seriously Good at This," and "Brass Balls" (both of these will be attained on a single run through on Hard). Obviously, the game has the standard level completion achievements as well as the game completion achievements. What's a game without them? Mixed in with those are achievements for weapon upgrades, plasmid and tonic collection and upgrades, research completion, and minor activities (examples being shocking people in the water or hacking). These are all well and good and give the player something to strive for. Where the achievments shine, however, is with the pictures associated with the said achievements. Whereas most have bland images or screenshots based on a level, the achievements in Bioshock are small icons in that 50's art style based on the achievement itself, a nice touch.

If one were to dissect Bioshock and attempt to experience it in fragments, each piece would seem mediocre, passable at best. The shooting isn't amazing; the plasmids are unique in execution though the concept is not new; the plot has been done before (though Bioshock takes it to a new and completely unique peak); and the achievement list is not something strikingly memorable. However, Rapture, the city itself, is the shining gem that wraps around everything, pulling it together. Were this game set anywhere else or anywhen else, it would be a disaster, too incoherent to entertain. But, deep underneath the surface of the water, Rapture serves as anchoring point which allows the rest of the game to drive home with the player. I know it did for me.

As I said to a friend of mine when I finished, "After a point, I stopped caring about the plot. I stopped caring about Andrew Ryan and Atlas and Fontaine and the main character. I just wanted to see Rapture. Rapture was the biggest character in the game, and I fell in love with it."

Overall Gamerscore for Bioshock: 975/1000
+ Rapture. 'nuff said.
+ Solid combat with unique elements
+ Looks gorgeous
+ Plays smoothly and is always fun
+ Well worth every penny spent