Bioshock (XB360)

So a couple of weeks ago, Bioshock was released for XBox 360 and PC. This is my attempt at a spoiler-free take on the XB360 version, since that's the one I bought.

Story: (first 20 minutes, approx.) It's 1960. You start out as the apparent sole survivor of a mid-ocean plane crash. Struggling to keep afloat in the sea, you notice metal spires nearby. You swim to them, enter a pod called a bathysphere (holy crap, that's a real thing?) and descend into a decaying sub-aquatic city called Rapture. Created by a man named Andrew Ryan, Rapture was intended a refuge for persecuted artists, scientists, doctors, and other creative types. Very quickly it becomes apparent that Rapture is anything but idyllic. You are greeted by a blade-wielding psycho called a Splicer. You are unarmed, but assisted by a man called Atlas in herding the Splicer into a security trap.

From there you find a vending machine with a syringe in it. Inexplicably, and without prompting you jab the needle into your arm, and are endowed with magical-ish powers called plasmids. You pass out, and wake up when a giant robot-thing, a Big Daddy, stomps on by with a creepy little girl, a Little Sister, in tow. Seems the Little Sister wants to collect "angels" from the dead. She seems disappointed to find you aren't dead, then goes about her creepy little business.

Once you recover, it's off to kill, explore, and that sort of video game stuff. You are guided by Atlas from checkpoint to checkpoint. He want you to help him save his family, and I think your motivation starts as finding out what the hell is going on. Soon it becomes apparent that the Splicers are the main reason rapture has gone to hell, while the Big Daddies and Little Sisters, while creepy and misguided, are largely neutral.

Graphics: Simply beautiful. Numerous times I walked into a new room and just spent two or three minutes just looking at the room. It was pretty. It was very pretty. HD video is essential for this. Standard Definition was OK, but with HD there were colors and details I didn't even know were there, initially. Most of the rooms were not well lit, so I'd imagine countless details went unnoticed.

Sound: Great atmospheric sound. Water drops can be heard almost everywhere. The Splicers talk to each other when they don't know you're there, and taunt you once you're discovered. Early on, the Sounds the Big Daddy make is close to terrifying.

Gameplay: Solid. The enemy AI was adequate to make you think before diving into combat. Combat with groups provided some challenges. Early combat with a Big Daddy was borderline epic. Learning to use traps and the city's own security system to your advantage created a good sense of accomplishment when pulled off correctly.

Nitpicks: Most of this falls into suspension of disbelief, but it was a problem for me.

The hacking system was odd. It was a variation of the old game Pipe Dream. Also, there is no explanation of the enemy-recognition system for the security system. How does the machine gun know I'm hostile? What changes once I hack it? It was also strange that most of my power was obtained from vending machines.

As great as the sound was, it wasn't as directional as I'd like. Maybe I need a better surround sound system, but distance and direction of sound are important in a game that features a creepy atmosphere. Also, more dialogue for the Splicers would have been great. Developers, you may have 8-10 things for a character to say, but remember that I'm probably going to encounter a couple hundred of these guys, each saying two or three lines each before I drop them.

I mentioned earlier that most of the rooms were very dark. As much detail as the artists put into the environment, a simple flashlight would have been great so I could look at said detail.

In the vein of missing items, an inventory system would have been nice. Even one inventory slot to hold a bag of chips or the like would have been good.

All of that was minor, though. Easilly dismissed for how great the game was.

Big Problems: Death. There is absolutely no consequence for dying. Revival chambers are plentiful in the game. Seems you run over one each time you open a door. When you die, you are transported to the nearest chamber, revived at half health, full mana, and a short distance from where you fell. The only consequence of death was a few seconds lost in traveling back to your damaged enemy.

Choice. The game is supposed to be a bout your choices and the consequences of your actions. However, like every game that purports to be about choice, it comes down to two things. Are you an saint, or are you a bastard? There is absolutely no middle ground. Once you take a single step down the "evil" path, you're on it for good.

On the whole, it's a great game. Definitely wort a pick up.

Final verdict: Buy

Holy crap, that was longer than I thought it would be.