Ya, I know Bioshock came out approximately 7 months ago, but I didn't have my 360 until mid-January, and I didn't have Bioshock itself until a couple of weeks later. But now, a month after that, I have my review for this awesome game.
First off, let me say that this is one of the most well-written games I can ever remember playing. Everything clicks, everything makes sense, and everything is explained throughout the game. And there's even a twist worthy of "Saw" a bit more than halfway through. This really adds a lot of fun to the game, and you're not walking around killing Splicers for no reason.
The gameplay itself is great. You have your standard weapons that include a pistol, shotgun, and machine gun, along with some other cool weapons like the grenade launcher, crossbow, and chemical thrower. Each of these guns have 3 types of ammo that can be used at any time adding a lot of variety to your weapons. Everything is aimed through little reticles on the screen, and some weapons like the crossbow, pistol, and machine gun have a down-sight aiming option, but since combat is to fast-paced you'll rarely be using this. Along with your weapons are also plasmids, which are genetic modification enabling you to use special powers such as shooting lighting out of your hand, lighting people on fire, and freezing people. Those are just 3 plasmids, there are a lot more such as Cyclone Trap (places a whirlwind on the ground that launches enemies into the air), Insect Swarm (shoots a swarm of bees at enemies that can attack large groups), and Telenkinesis. The plasmids mixed with the standard weapons make for limitless possibilities when it comes to killing your enemies. The most fun way to do that is to be creative, never kill 2 enemies the same way. A question you'll often ask yourself (especially against Big Daddies) is "How will I go about doing this?" Will you launch an enemy into the air and have them land in an oil slick which you proceed to set on fire? Or maybe you'll cover a gas tank with mines and use Telekinesis to throw it at your enemy. You'll make so many spectacular kills, there's just so way to explain it.
Onto the enemies. They are as follows:
Splicers:
-Thuggish Splicer
-Leadhead Splicer
-Nitro Splicer
-Spider Splicer
-Houdini Splicer
Big Daddies:
-Bouncer
-Rosie
Security:
-Security Bots
-Security Cameras
-Turrets
First off, let me say that this is one of the most well-written games I can ever remember playing. Everything clicks, everything makes sense, and everything is explained throughout the game. And there's even a twist worthy of "Saw" a bit more than halfway through. This really adds a lot of fun to the game, and you're not walking around killing Splicers for no reason.
The gameplay itself is great. You have your standard weapons that include a pistol, shotgun, and machine gun, along with some other cool weapons like the grenade launcher, crossbow, and chemical thrower. Each of these guns have 3 types of ammo that can be used at any time adding a lot of variety to your weapons. Everything is aimed through little reticles on the screen, and some weapons like the crossbow, pistol, and machine gun have a down-sight aiming option, but since combat is to fast-paced you'll rarely be using this. Along with your weapons are also plasmids, which are genetic modification enabling you to use special powers such as shooting lighting out of your hand, lighting people on fire, and freezing people. Those are just 3 plasmids, there are a lot more such as Cyclone Trap (places a whirlwind on the ground that launches enemies into the air), Insect Swarm (shoots a swarm of bees at enemies that can attack large groups), and Telenkinesis. The plasmids mixed with the standard weapons make for limitless possibilities when it comes to killing your enemies. The most fun way to do that is to be creative, never kill 2 enemies the same way. A question you'll often ask yourself (especially against Big Daddies) is "How will I go about doing this?" Will you launch an enemy into the air and have them land in an oil slick which you proceed to set on fire? Or maybe you'll cover a gas tank with mines and use Telekinesis to throw it at your enemy. You'll make so many spectacular kills, there's just so way to explain it.Onto the enemies. They are as follows:
Splicers:
-Thuggish Splicer
-Leadhead Splicer
-Nitro Splicer
-Spider Splicer
-Houdini Splicer
Big Daddies:
-Bouncer
-Rosie
Security:
-Security Bots
-Security Cameras
-Turrets
--Machine Gun
--RPG
--Flamethrower
Along with these enemies, you'll fight bosses that will be modeled after certain types of Splicers (which I'll get to in a moment), such as Dr. Steinman (Leadhead Splicer), Peach Wilkins (Nitro Splicer), and Sander Cohen (Houdini Splicer). The main boss though, is the Big Daddy. These huge guys are the protectors of the Little Sisters, who harvest the all important ADAM from dead bodies. You are going to have to harvest or save the Little Sisters, and this isn't possible until the Big Daddy is killed. There are 2 types of Big Daddies. The Bouncer is the one you've probably seen before. He has the caged helmet and the drill on his arm. Though he's easier to kill than a Rosie, he's cooler...You just can't beat the awesomeness of that drill. The Rosies carry around Rivet Guns and will throw mines at you. These are generally harder to kill because it involves direct combat - its very hard to lure it into traps since it can attack from long range.
The Splicers are your main enemy though. These are people who have used plasmids and other tonics to genetically altar themselves to the point where they've been driven insane. First, the thuggish splicer. They attack with blunt weapons. The leadhead splicer will attack with either a pistol or a machine gun, but you use a melee attack when at close range. Nitro Splicers will either throw grenades or molotov cocktails at you. Spider Splicers can walk on the ceiling, have incredible agility, and will attack by either throwing these hook things at you, or running up close and whacking you. Last, the houdini splicer has the ability to teleport in the middle of combat. They attack by shooting fire (or in one or two cases, ice) out of their hands.
Security is the last of your enemies. Making up the security in Rapture are cameras, bots, and turrets. The main thing about all of these is that they can be hacked, which will make them friendly. Once you get to the point where you can easily hack anything, you won't have to worry about security anymore.
The graphics in Bioshock are absolutely incredible. The ting you'll be most amazed by though, are the water effects. They way the water shimmers and reflects and everything else water does is just great. Everytime you see the water (which will be a lot, Rapture is prone to leaks and stuff), you'll be like "Whoa!" The people and everything also look great. The best part about this is that you won't see any stupid glitches like splicers running through Big Daddies or people standing in the floor (much like I've seen far too much of). The physics engine and AI also contribute a lot to the game. The enemies are smart, and often you'll be using the environment around you to attack them (since we all know plasmids are much more fun than guns), and this turns out to be easy since the physics are so realistic. Fire Spreads. Water conducts electricity. This is the kind of stuff that makes Bioshock such a great game and fun to play.
Last thing I'll talk about is the sound. The sound design in Bioshock is ingenious. From footsteps to weapon sounds, to music, to voices, everything just works out perfectly. In a dark room glowing from the only light coming in through the deep-sea windows that has 50s music playing, you'll be given a sense of eerieness that makes you feel isolated, yet you know you're not alone. This is what is creepiest about Bioshock. You'll also notice the way the splicers talk. Some are religious, others are just plain crazy - you can tell from the way they talk. You'll probably get a bit freaked out when you can hear a splicer mourning for a lost child or shouting threats into the air from around corners. On the subject of voice overs, the Little Sisters will probably give you the creeps once or twice. You can hear them referring to corpses as "angels" just before they plunge their huge needle into the body and start drinking the blood they extract. Other sounds that were extremely well-done were those of the Big Daddies. Hearing the low clunking footsteps of the Big Daddies and their whale-like moans in an otherwise empty location is very creepy and very cool.
So, everything said, Bioshock is an incredible game. You'll definitely play this through a couple times due to the immense amount of exploration and experimentation that is possible in it, or maybe it's because you want to see both the "good" ending and the "bad" ending. Either way, you'll be having fun with Bioshock for quite a while.
10/10
--RPG
--Flamethrower
Along with these enemies, you'll fight bosses that will be modeled after certain types of Splicers (which I'll get to in a moment), such as Dr. Steinman (Leadhead Splicer), Peach Wilkins (Nitro Splicer), and Sander Cohen (Houdini Splicer). The main boss though, is the Big Daddy. These huge guys are the protectors of the Little Sisters, who harvest the all important ADAM from dead bodies. You are going to have to harvest or save the Little Sisters, and this isn't possible until the Big Daddy is killed. There are 2 types of Big Daddies. The Bouncer is the one you've probably seen before. He has the caged helmet and the drill on his arm. Though he's easier to kill than a Rosie, he's cooler...You just can't beat the awesomeness of that drill. The Rosies carry around Rivet Guns and will throw mines at you. These are generally harder to kill because it involves direct combat - its very hard to lure it into traps since it can attack from long range.
The Splicers are your main enemy though. These are people who have used plasmids and other tonics to genetically altar themselves to the point where they've been driven insane. First, the thuggish splicer. They attack with blunt weapons. The leadhead splicer will attack with either a pistol or a machine gun, but you use a melee attack when at close range. Nitro Splicers will either throw grenades or molotov cocktails at you. Spider Splicers can walk on the ceiling, have incredible agility, and will attack by either throwing these hook things at you, or running up close and whacking you. Last, the houdini splicer has the ability to teleport in the middle of combat. They attack by shooting fire (or in one or two cases, ice) out of their hands.
Security is the last of your enemies. Making up the security in Rapture are cameras, bots, and turrets. The main thing about all of these is that they can be hacked, which will make them friendly. Once you get to the point where you can easily hack anything, you won't have to worry about security anymore.
The graphics in Bioshock are absolutely incredible. The ting you'll be most amazed by though, are the water effects. They way the water shimmers and reflects and everything else water does is just great. Everytime you see the water (which will be a lot, Rapture is prone to leaks and stuff), you'll be like "Whoa!" The people and everything also look great. The best part about this is that you won't see any stupid glitches like splicers running through Big Daddies or people standing in the floor (much like I've seen far too much of). The physics engine and AI also contribute a lot to the game. The enemies are smart, and often you'll be using the environment around you to attack them (since we all know plasmids are much more fun than guns), and this turns out to be easy since the physics are so realistic. Fire Spreads. Water conducts electricity. This is the kind of stuff that makes Bioshock such a great game and fun to play.
Last thing I'll talk about is the sound. The sound design in Bioshock is ingenious. From footsteps to weapon sounds, to music, to voices, everything just works out perfectly. In a dark room glowing from the only light coming in through the deep-sea windows that has 50s music playing, you'll be given a sense of eerieness that makes you feel isolated, yet you know you're not alone. This is what is creepiest about Bioshock. You'll also notice the way the splicers talk. Some are religious, others are just plain crazy - you can tell from the way they talk. You'll probably get a bit freaked out when you can hear a splicer mourning for a lost child or shouting threats into the air from around corners. On the subject of voice overs, the Little Sisters will probably give you the creeps once or twice. You can hear them referring to corpses as "angels" just before they plunge their huge needle into the body and start drinking the blood they extract. Other sounds that were extremely well-done were those of the Big Daddies. Hearing the low clunking footsteps of the Big Daddies and their whale-like moans in an otherwise empty location is very creepy and very cool.
So, everything said, Bioshock is an incredible game. You'll definitely play this through a couple times due to the immense amount of exploration and experimentation that is possible in it, or maybe it's because you want to see both the "good" ending and the "bad" ending. Either way, you'll be having fun with Bioshock for quite a while.
10/10
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