Bishock
(continued)
However, you have to get through their protectors first before you can
make this choice. In order to protect their wards, the Big Daddies will
attack any nearby splicers who are threatening the Little Sisters, so you
can use them to your advantage if you want to set things up that way. Just
be warned, that they will come after you next, so you need to be careful
around. One of the cooler plasmids you can use allows you to hypnotize a
Big Daddy, who will then follow you around and protect you, which gives
you added firepower. However, this only lasts for a short period of time,
and this hypnosis will end instantly if you turn on the Big Daddy and try
and take them out while they’re under your spell. Another cool thing you
can do with these creatures is to hypnotize them and set them off against
one another if you want to, which is a cool feature as well. One of the
great things about this symbolic nature of these characters is that it
gives you something that is simultaneously good and evil. This is your
enemy but can also be your friend, and this kind of makes a mini-boss
where you’re kind of reluctant to take out. This adds a different level
of strategy to the game, and makes Bioshock stand out from the hordes of
shooters out there immediately. This isn’t something you can blow
through mindlessly and really appreciate, in order to really get into the
game, you have to slow down a bit and get into the game’s backstory and
really soak in its atmosphere.
While
many shooters on the market showcase gimmicky and eye-popping special
effects, the developers here have used these effects in service to the
story in order to create a more immersive experience. Bioshock’s water
effects are impressive, but its pervasive wetness soaks through the screen
to create something that doesn’t just offer a transitory effective.
Instead, the developers use the pervasive water to create a sinking
feeling that permeates the action. Even the relatively dry areas of the
game are thick with atmosphere, where the light sourcing and shadows
create a feeling of dread around every corner. You can see characters in
silhouette at certain points, and get to know their motivations and
surprisingly feel a little bit sympathetic towards them. There’s one
sequence in the early part of the game when you come to a doorway and find
an old man hiding behind it. In order to pass through to his level, you
have to find a camera and take pictures of the various enemies so he can
do research. After you do all of these elaborate tasks, things take a
sudden turn and you find yourself on the other side of things. It’s this
interplay between good and evil, where you can never be sure of a
character’s true motivations that make Bioshock such an engrossing and
entertaining experience. Along the way, many of Rapture’s doomed
citizens left behind recorded diaries that add more depth and drama to the
back story and allows you to discover what really happened slowly.
It’s
a tragic story of ideals gone horribly wrong and as you find out more, you
become more sympathetic to the misguided citizens who now find themselves
trapped in an underwater hell. On the other hand, you also have the
city’s founder Ryan talking to you, sending you messages and watching
you every move as well, so you never really know if you’re acting on
your own or having your strings pulled by him. Bioshock’s writers have
done an excellent job in transporting players into this paranoid and bleak
reality, and this makes you almost literally feel your character’s
motivations in ways that most games can’t even begin to think about.
This works brilliantly to make the player feel more immersed in the
action, but also makes your motivations more ambiguous than you’d
expect. The choices you make have an impact, and how you proceed and
affect the other characters plays a huge role in how things ultimately
end. This is quite an achievement for a video game, and Bioshock presents
philosophical ideas, scientific progress and humanity itself as fodder for
discussion. It has the effect of making you think, at least a little,
before you mow down the splicers – you wonder if they are still human,
how human they are and if it’s even right for you to shoot them, as
violent and deranged as they have become. One of the more impressive
aspects of the game is the acting, which is brilliantly done and helps to
make the storyline even more immersive. The dialogue in Bioshock only adds
more depth to the story and you can piece together the broader story of
Rapture’s decline through these snippets. Its in these small pieces that
come together, that you discover what has become of these people, what
dreams they had and how the horrible situation they find themselves in
came to be. These elements are brought together almost seamlessly and by
allowing the player to discover much of the plot on their own, it makes
Bioshock’s plot more of a mystery that you can piece together as you
progress through Rapture’s bleak environs.
Irrational
Games (now 2K
Boston
) has poured a plethora of fascinating
ideas into Bioshock and many games would probably sink under the weight of
these ambitions. However, where the game sets itself apart is in its
execution, which is nearly flawless. The many small details, such as the
neo-fascist slogans on the posters, the game’s completely retro 30’s
look and the authentic oldies music helps to make this one of the most
immersive, evocative games produced on any next generation console. The
texture mapping, brilliant design
and beautiful look of Bioshock is nearly unmatched by and system to date.
Bioshock moves at an impressive frame rate throughout and the
characters’ animation and design is absolutely incredible from any
standpoint. Everything from its elaborate water effects to the ominous and
even haunted level design immerses you into a world that feels strange and
oppressive. The fact that the game looks fantastic is secondary, however
to how it plays. Bioshock creates a world and allows you to explore its
many alleys, corridors and rooms without ever feeling like you are on
rails. There is a slight sense of manipulation that comes into play later
on, but that only works to make the plot even more engrossing and
entertaining. You are given a number of different choices throughout the
game, but the key difference between Bioshock and most other mindless
shooters is that you have to deal with the consequences of your actions
which adds a layer of strategy and thought to your decisions that most
other games on the market probably wouldn’t even consider. There are a
few minor problems with the game that can be considered minor, such as the
too-frequent use of vita-chambers and the sometimes oblique mission goals,
but these are extremely minor complaints in what is otherwise one of the
most enjoyable and innovative shooters in recent years. Bioshock is
probably the best example of what games as a medium can create. Far from
being a game with lots of bells and whistles that you immediately forget
afterward, Bioshock’s thought-provoking backstory and brilliant design
will stay with you long after you’re done playing it. This is an
incredible game from any perspective, and its cohesive world, brilliant
story and immersive gameplay delivers what is an absolutely unforgettable
experience.
- Michael Palisano
Grade:
A+
