Game Review: BioShock (Xbox 360)

BioShock (Xbox 360)

Overall Score: 9/10
Pros: Great story, art style, graphics, gameplay, pretty much everything.
Cons: You really got to pay attention, and sometimes it gets a little bit slow.

This game had a lot of hype before it was released, and then there was a lot of hype when it was released due to the high review scores that it got, including a 10/10 in Game Informer, my favorite gaming magazine.

First off I'll list the high points. I absolutely loved this game and had a massive amount of fun playing it. The world of Rapture is practically living on this box of circuitry in my living room, showing everyone who picks it up what is truly possible with next generation technology. Everything about this game screams "next-gen". The graphics are absolutely stunning, and the art deco art style prefectly fits the world and gives it a unique look compared to other games of this era, although my game actually froze once and there were some frame rate issues towards the end, but nothing major.

Combat is super smooth, playing just like any other FPS. I was worried initially that the game would be awesome but the actual gunplay would suck. Well, it plays just as smoothly as Halo 3 or any other FPS game that you can think of. The encounters are intense and play out just like any other game, though the simple depth and detail of the world of Rapture help to add a little bit of extra "oomph" to each encounter, making it feel somewhat different from other shooters while feeling the same. The Big Daddies are absolutely awesome, both from an artistic side and a gameplay side. They look completely stunning, with either their really cool drills and multi-bubble helmet or their rivet guns. And like one review said, you have never been punched in a video game until you've been punched by a Big Daddy. They are super hard every time that you fight them, and defeating them is one of the most satisfying experiences of any game I've ever played.

The whole world of Rapture is breathtaking. Everything about the world seems perfectly sculpted and placed, and it really seems like it could be a real city underwater. I cannot describe enough how amazing the world of Rapture feels. The Audio Logs lying about add a whole other layer of immersiveness to the world, eschewing the needs for actual cutscenes, and the few cutscenes that do appear are absolutely awesome. Then we get into the actual ecology of the world, with the Little Sisters, Big Daddies, and Splicers. Each enemy in the game feels unique and their unique places in Rapture's halls is clear. The Splicers feel really screwed up and destroyed, the Little Sisters feel weak and weary while at the same time being completely creepy, and the Big Daddies appear as freaky and awesome as you think they can be.

Also, deserving of special mention is the Plasmid system. When I read about the game and how you could use telekenis and differeny powers like that, I was honestly a little worried. Usually when you think of powers like that you think of a traditional RPG where you are leveling up and stuff like that, and so it uses menus heavily. Thankfully I was surprised with the menu and control system for the plasmids, making them one of my absolute favorite elements of the game.

Now, onto the negative aspects of BioShock. First off, the story, while completely interesting and awesome, did have some annoying goals to it. I didn't like having to complete the 'find the item' quests, where you just walk around and look for a number of items until you've found all of the required ones. That kind of annoyed me.

Another thing was that at times it didn't feel paced right. I would be walking around and exploring and then there would be a string of action and then another exploring part, which is really quite normal for any game, but for some reason it didn't feel natural, it felt just a little off beat at some times.

The final thing is the endings. Both of them are pretty interesting, but they just end really, really quickly and don't really give an ending to the story in the traditional sense. I don't know, I just felt like I wanted more from the story. Oh, well, here's hoping for a sequel!

Really, these are minor complaints, and the score that I gave the game reflects that. I really liked the game, and it is definitely on my favorites list, but I don't think that it was perfect.

Now, even though this is a review, I have to broadcast my hopes for a sequel, a quality sequel. The world of Rapture is so huge and so detailed that it is just begging to be explored, and that is something that I just can't get out of my system, the want and need to explore that world. It is just so awesome and I know that there are probably a thousand other stories that you could tell within that setting. I just hope that Irrational Games, or 2K Boston, goes on to make an absolutely awesome sequel with a story just as awesome as this first game.

Concept: Make a living, breathing world in a video game and make a killer video game overall. Oh yeah, and tell an awesome story and have an awesome art style and all that stuff.

Graphics: The art deco style that everything has gives the world of Rapture a perfect 1940's nostalgic vibe that I, 1) really like, and 2) just can't get over.

Sound: The music is pretty good, although no theme really stands out, but the voice acting is what you really look forward to. With over 100 audio logs, as well as actual characters in the game world, you'll hear plenty of awesome voice acting. The Little Sisters are particularly creepy.

Playibility: Plays just as smoothly and great as any other FPS, but perhaps it plays even better overall considering it gives you Plasmids and guns to fight with.

Entertainment: Trust me, the entertainment is there, you just have to look in all the right places. Completing the game and really getting a sense of what went on beneath the sea can be a little bit challenging, with all of the audio logs and piecing together information, but that just adds to the experience.

Replay Value: Very, very, very high.