BioShock Review
- Posted October 27th, 2008 at 12:27 EDT by
- 30 Comments
Review Score
- PSU Review Score
- 9.5
- Avg. user review score:
- 8.3
Summary
Despite being over a year old, Rapture shines through the dark sea like a lighthouse on a foggy night. 2K Games has delivered on its promise in providing PS3 owners with an equally impressive port as the original.
We like
- Visually mesmerizing
- Unique gameplay experience
- A story worth living
We dislike
- Framerate hitches
- Collision detection can prove frustrating
See PSU's review on Metacritic & GameRankings
Game of the Year. Immersive storyline. Incredible art direction. Stunning visuals. Unique gameplay. These are just many ways in which one may extol the qualities of 2K’s universally praised aquatic FPS, BioShock. Following months of speculation, 2K Games has finally brought their award winning title to Sony’s PlayStation 3 console, inviting you into the infamous failed underwater utopia known as Rapture. Despite initial grumbles regarding the $60 price tag, it’s important to note that 2K Games has not just simply ported BioShock over from the 360/PC. Instead, they’ve created an exclusive difficulty level and downloadable content for Sony’s black behemoth, which should appeal to even those who have already played the original.
For those unaware, BioShock takes place during the 1960s and follows the story of a young man that has just survived an oceanic plane crash. In order to stay alive, you find yourself swimming to a lighthouse, which eventually leads you to the underwater city of Rapture. This failed utopia was created by Andrew Ryan for scientists and artists to break free from the constraints of governments, communism, religion and other organizations that seek to restrict one’s full potential. Instead of a glorious society, the genetic manipulations and inventions created within this “world,” have sent the population into a downward spiral of despair, death and hopelessness. Your entry into this dark world has resulted in you having to fight your way through the city in order to survive and find out exactly what happened.
Welcome to Rapture.
BioShock’s gameplay is inarguably some of the most unique you’ll find of any modern release, and with good reason. Unlike other shooters on the market, 2K’s effort offers gamers a different experience each time through by giving the user many different ways in which to progress through Rapture. Whether you want to utilize a wrench, automatic weapons, plasmids or a simple combo of them all, you’re able to create your own style to progress through the story. Personally, I prefer to blast those deadly splicers with a jolt of Electrobolt and then finish them off with a nice wrench shot to the cranium. This may sound like an inhumane way to solve a problem, but when you have a genetic abomination running towards you with some cleavers, you’ll be quick to pull the trigger.
Plasmids aren’t just limited to electricity (Electrobolt). Rapture is home to a variety of plasmids that can fill up your arsenal. They include abilities such as telekinesis, incineration, sonic blasts, winter blasts, insect swarms and more. Finding a comfortable combination of these abilities will aid you in getting around the underwater city much quicker and efficiently. One other thing you should remember is that these plasmids also interact with the environment. Never hesitate to send a bolt of electricity into a pool of water containing a couple of splicers, a particularly satisfying manoeuvre that’ll fry them to a crisp in an instant.
Outside of Plasmids, there are also other forms of weapons made available to your character. Sometimes just a simple wrench can do the trick, but for those who don’t like to get too personal, you’ll also have a variety of firearms at your disposal in the form of pistols, tommy guns, revolvers and shotguns. In addition to rudimentary ammunition, you can also enhance each weapon with different elemental properties. An example of this is electric buck shot for your shotgun. If you want to take your offense even further, the ability to hack turrets and craft unique items are also viable options. This definitely adds a nice added effect to your repertoire of weapons.
The newest addition to BioShock, which is exclusive to the PlayStation 3, is Survivor Mode. This new difficulty level goes by the slogan “Every bullet counts,” and believe us, they’re talking in literal terms here – failure to abide by this warning will result in many, many deaths. What makes this mode so difficult is that the coding restricts the amount of bullets and cash you can pick up throughout the game. Unlike the other difficulty settings, this can certainly lead to some trouble as wasting a couple of extra bullets here or there can leave you in a fit of ... (continued on next page)
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Comments
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GunTeng
- 9:41am EDT - October 27th, 2008
- 6
I only played the PS3 demo & to be fair it isn't much to judge any game by.
But from what I have seen, its too confining for my tastes & the character feels as if he is wearing a deepsea diving suit,, when we know he isn't.
Maybe I will buy it some time when it goes platinum....but I don't think its for me (at the moment).
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hitman8062
- 10:41am EDT - October 27th, 2008
- 10
I fkn hated this game on 360 and i dont care what changes they made it is still the VERY worst game i have ever played in my entire life.
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mmntech
- 11:03am EDT - October 27th, 2008
- 11
I tried the PC version and it was just a disaster due to crashing issues. Tried the PS3 demo and it was alright. Bioshock seems like another generic shooter to me though on the same lines as the Jedi Knight series. I never really understood why reviewers like it so much. I probably won't be getting it.
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GunsOfLiberty
- 12:31pm EDT - October 27th, 2008
- 16
I've been waiting for ths game, and it finally arrived and it's among the best games on the PS3. Top notch stuff. It's really really good!!!!
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joeymetalgear7
- 1:36pm EDT - October 27th, 2008
- 18
lol i just completed it like 2 seconds ago its one of the best games ive ever played i was hesitent at first but seriously for a year old game its miles better than most of the stuff out at the moment, definetly get it
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trionghost
- 2:06pm EDT - October 27th, 2008
- 19
I played BioShock on PC last year, and i think it's peace of *hit. Linear, stupid FPS with unlimited enemies (but with limited bullets) and stupid story. Main disappointment of last year.
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GrugNorg0606
- 4:16pm EDT - October 27th, 2008
- 20
If you don't like this game there is something wrong with you. Maybe some people need to be reminded what it means to be a true gamer. I'll bet half of these nay sayers dont even know where bio shock got its roots!
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