Take the plunge…

BioShock is a single player FPS with some RPG elements. The game takes place in 1960 and opens with your character flotsam in the Atlantic the sole survivor of a passenger plane crash. Fortunately, you were unhurt in the crash and ended up in the water near an art deco light house. Quickly you discover it’s the only surface entrance to an underwater city named Rapture. Unfortunately for you Rapture was built on Ayn Rand style free capitalism mixed with bioengineering which has run amok leaving the city with only a sparse population of wacked out genetically modified zombielike scavengers called Splicers that are looking to kill whoever happens by.

As you enter the city you pick up a short wave radio. This is how most of the game objectives are communicated. Much of the game is spent exploring the city and learning its history in an epistolary manner through voice diaries, film strips, signs and graffiti as well as in game cut scenes. The start is appropriately disorienting but all becomes clear as you learn the city’s jargon. The plot presents many interesting ideas regarding individualism, ideology, laissez-faire capitalism, pheromones, mind control, bioethics and bio-engineering.

Artistically the game stands out with a beautifully detailed environment. All the art is steeped with early 20th century design from the game menus to the city’s architecture. Being a city founded on capitalism, advertisements and signage with period appropriate fonts and style for the various city services and establishments are present throughout. The dynamic lighting, dark grungy atmosphere and occasional scripted encounters give the game a survival horror genre feel. The ambient orchestral score fits perfectly and creates a heavy mood that combines well with the occasional in game radio playing music from the 30s, 40s and 50s. The designers went out of their way to make the city feel like it wasn’t built for the player. The levels make sense as areas of a once bustling city with hospitals, dental offices, bars, markets, apartment buildings, as well as utility and recreational areas.

There are seven different types of weapons that are eventually collected. Each has different types of ammunition (except the wrench of course). You can carry all the weapons you find but the amount of ammo per type is limited. I actually found there to be too many different types of weapons. I completed the game without really making use of them all. Ammo can be found scattered about, purchased at vending machines, or special types of ammo can be “invented” at special vending machines at the expense of little bits of junk that are also found scattered about. Another way to shoot the enemies is with a research camera. Once it has been acquired it can be used to discover weaknesses and obtain bonuses against them.

Throughout the game the player advances by using plasmids to alter the player character’s DNA to produce X-Men like abilities. While I found the plasmid system to be an excellent game mechanism it was also the most jarring to my suspension of disbelief. I was willing to accept a 1930s style city built at the bottom of the ocean, but how do you alter your DNA to give yourself the ability to shoot flames, freeze enemies or blast swarms of bees out your fingers? I would have rather they kept all the plasmid upgrades confined to a more realistic biology or presented a different explanation. But it does give the player a lot of choices. And because there are only so many plasmid spots available it forces unique character development.

Hacking can be performed by a timed puzzle mini-game. Security cameras, turrets and flying bots can be hacked to use against enemies.  The player can also hack open some locked doors and safes or hack vending machines and health stations to reduce their cost. There are plasmids which decrease the difficulty level of the puzzles.

The environment also plays into combat. Oil puddles can be lit on fire which spreads to enemies. Which can then run to a puddle of water to extinguish themselves, but the water can also be used to facilitate their electrocution. There are also the usual explosive canisters lying about. Using the telekinesis plasmid the player can grab nearly any game object and hurl it against enemies.

With the various weapons, plasmids, environment features and moderate stealth gameplay each combat situation presents the player with an opportunity to try out different strategies. Even with all these choices available, I generally found myself employing a small set of strategies that seemed to work best for me. In the heat of combat, I would follow my gut reaction to blast then later I would realize I could have easily electrocuted him instead since he was standing in water. I played through the game twice. The first time on medium then on hard difficultly. I found hard forced me to be more inventive and strategic.

Halfway through the game, I noticed the play mechanics as described above seemed familiar. I remember thinking to myself they don’t make games like this anymore. After a bit of research I found that’s because BioShock is an underwater 1930s style re-make of System Shock 1 and 2. Ken Levine the lead designer worked on System Shock 2 and created Bioshock as a spiritual successor. If you liked those games you’ll love BioShock. They improved upon a great formula and took it to a new and interesting place. BioShock 2 is in the works, I look forward to it and whatever future “shock”s Levine produces.

Rating: A