#14 Bioshock

Game Info

Publisher: 2K Games

Developer: 2K Marin, 2K Boston, 2K Australia, Digital Extremes

Platform: PS3

Genre(s): First-Person Shooter

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: October 21, 2008

Intro:

It had been approximately one year since I had descended into Rapture and it felt good to be back.  You notice things when you go into a game that you didn't notice the first time.  I didn't remember actually being on the airplane, for instance.  As I looked around in the water I remember thinking, "water is hard to render".  I heard my character breathing and grunting and wondered if the water was cold.  I found myself looking around to see if there was ice amidst the flames.  I tried to hang on to some floating debris and was pleased to find it reacted as a piece of light debris would, popping up and kind of skipping away.  The flames and the water weren't the most realistic looking, but the sound effects drew me into the game immediately.  I felt as if I were immersed in that water with flames around me.  I looked around for others and watched my plane go down.  That was the best part of the intro for me--watching the plane sink into the water.  The artists did a fantastic job of this animation and I was fascinated with watching it.  I climbed the stairs to the tower and descended into a bygone world that was crumbling and chaotic.  The opening CG of a metropolis of neon lights with whales and other sea creatures swimming through it was absolutely stunning.

Getting Going:

I don't have the advantage of reviewing this game having never played it before, but insights into what was to come actually made the game more fun this second time through.  I found myself listening to Atlas more and took notice the first time he said "Would you kindly...".  At first, I couldn't find my weapon and I had to go back in and adjust the lighting a little more.  The game makes things easy on you by highlighting objects of interest.  It was amazing just to walk around rapture again: to hear the sounds, the music and take in the sights of this now crumbling metropolis. Atlas introduces you to various aspects of this undersea world as you encounter them which seemed to serve as a unique tutorial.  I enjoyed this aspect of the game as, often in gaming, I find I am at a loss to know what creatures I'm fighting or where I am in a city by name. 

Fun:

Bioshock is a game that, for me, is totally immersive.  It's the first game that has felt that way in quite some time.  It takes advantage of the surround sound so that you hear water dripping on your left while something is moving over to the right.  The lighting is dim and I found it more immersive to play in the dark as you wander around this undersea world.  Splicers occasionally attack without you seeing them coming, but often, they talk to you before they attack or you catch them unaware in their daily activities.  The only thing that took me out of the immersive world was when I earned a trophy.  This is actually a pet-peeve of mine, however.  I understand that achievers want to earn all of the trophies and probably like the recognition, but, for me, when that trophy dings and appears, it reminds me that I'm playing a game.  This is trivial, however, compared to all that 2K has achieved in making you feel totally immersed in this game and to feel as if you are the person involved in this story.

Visuals:
Bioshock, for me, is one of the few games that I've ever played that tells the story through visuals and sound.  The only thing I found inconsistent was that the look and feel of this city appears to be set in the 1940's from the advertising to the scratchy recordings, but banners and falling decorations seem to indicate that this city fell on New Year's Eve 1959.  Still, everything seemed to come into play and nothing went un-themed from the garbage cans to the decadence of the molding and neon.  Barriers were appropriate. I walked into a tunnel and my plane came crashing through the tunnel, blocking my way and filling the area with water.  It was a stunning graphic and a very creative use of barriers.  It impressed me that barriers were not placed as an afterthought, but were so well-designed.

Sound:
For me, this rated as highly as the visuals for gameplay excellence and immersive gameplay.  Making full use of my surround sound, I could hear splicers coming up behind me and hear stories going on around me.  There is much to listen to in this game from your surroundings to what it is exactly that Atlas is saying to you.  This is definitely a game to play when you are alone.  If someone is talking to you while you are trying to play or talking around you, you are going to miss a lot.

Intelligence:
Some of the enemies in the game are aware of you, but some are in their own little world.  I didn't try walking around an enemy that was involved in something to see if they'd notice me or not.  Perhaps I should have.  I guess the only thing missing with the splicers would be one or more of their stories.  You realize what happened to them because of the environment, but why are they attacking you and each other?  There seems to be some humanity left in them, so I'd like to see more ethical decisions in this game regarding the killing of splicers, not just the saving of the little sisters. 

Immersion:
As I've stated before, this game is the first in many years to make me feel totally immersed in the environment.  Splicers attack you in the darkness.  It makes full use of the surround sound and the graphics to draw you through the environment while using the same to tell the story.  This game is the game that is the inspiration for the stories I want to tell in the games I'd like to make.  I think I noticed the use of barriers even more in this run-through of the game because I'm currently playing a game that seems to put assets in kind of haphazardly to block your way.  The poor use of barriers in that game made the unique use of barriers in Bioshock more obvious.  My only complaint about immersion is the use of trophies.  Having a pop-up accompanied by a sound every time you earn a trophy is a startling reminder that you are not in Rapture, but are sitting in your livingroom playing a game.  I think trophies earned should be a part of save points at the end of a play session.  If a game saves automatically, the save itself is immersive.  Then, when you decide to end your session, you can see your accomplishments.  For players who want to see if they've earned a trophy they were going for, perhaps there could be a menu option as well.  But, immersive gameplay is ruined by pop-ups.

Camera:
My only problem with the camera is that it never seemed to go where I thought it would.  I tried to invert the y-axis, but then up and down were backward.  It seemed to me like either left and right were off or up and down was off.  This is a minor problem for me actually pointed out by a newer player and I didn't notice it my first time through the game at all.  I think we get used to it one way or the other.  As with all FPS games that I've played, I often find myself swinging around wildly trying to find out who's hitting me, but that's my over-reaction and not the fault of the game.

Controls:
I had no problems with controlling the game and thought the controls were well-thought out and executed.  They're easy to use and it was easy to switch up weapons during battle.

Ideas: 
Immersive story-telling seems to be the primary goal of Bioshock and 2K executed this very well.  I loved the tape recordings left behind for you to find and listen to, much like the satellite uplinks in Infamous.  The walls have postings and notes that are part of the story, not tacked up for purely environmental show.  It seemed like every asset in the game was there to add to the story and I am inspired to take this aspect of Bioshock with me in my own career. 

Memory:
I started this review by stating that it had been approximately a year since I had played the game for the first time.  It is one of the few games that I've played through and kept in my library.  Playing again, I find myself very interested in playing through this entire game.  I know why I've kept the game.   If I only had 50 words to tell the high point of the game, I think I would only use 3:  "It's totally immersive".