So as we wrote last week, we here at the FV Fun Palace got our bloody hands on a couple copies of Bioshock a full week before release thanks to the screw ups at Toys R Us. I’ve been playing the crap out of this game and i’m going to tell you a bit about it but i won’t give you any spoilers… at least without warning. Click on for a full review and gameplay video.

So as you already know 2K’s Bioshock is one of the most hotly anticipated games for the PC & Xbox 360 this summer, nay this year. It’s received glowing reviews from every major gaming magazine and blog. This fair internet publication i am happy to say is for once agreeing with them.

I rocked the demo when it appeared on XBL last week. The gameplay was just enough to get me excited.

So now i finally had the real game in hand and played through the first part of the first level again. By this time it seemed like an old friend. If you don’t know, you start off in a plane which crashes into the briny deep. It seems like you are the only survivor floating amid a sea of flames. At first you might not even realize this is where the game has started. A lot of people have said they thought it was still part of the opening cinematic. You wade your way out of the flames, while the plane sinks behind you. You climb on the the steps of a tiny man made island and walk into a doorway. Here is where you enter Rapture. You take a Bathosphere, which is like an underwater elevator / subway down to the depths below.
Rapture is an under the sea Utopia thought of and created by a super rich megalomaniac, Andrew Ryan. Rapture is where everyman can have the sweat of his own brow for himself. But as they say all good things must come to an end and it seems Rapture’s run as a Utopia on earth is over. In rapture genetic scientists figured out ways to sell tonics and plasmids which enhanced and changed the human body and gave it’s users amazing powers. Absolute power corrupts absolutely and the same goes for Rapture, it’s founder and it’s citizens. It is now littered with corpses, partially burning, partially frozen, and partially underwater. The different mini cities and wings of Rapture are over run with genetic nightmares known as Splicers, Little Sisters and Big Daddies.
Anyway that’s enough of the story to whet your appetite. Plus by now most of you like minded dorks probably know most of this by now. Onto the real review.

Atmosphere:
Rapture was a post WWII project, much of the architecture hearkens back to the 20’s-40’s. The typefaces on the signage are all gothic and the music playing from the broken down jukeboxes and old phonographs is usually from the 40’s. If you’re lucky you might even hear, or think you hear Billie Holiday and Dean Martin coming from an old juke in the distance in a long abandoned cafe. Even the poster art and advertisments on many walls and cafes are beautiful and fit the period perfectly. Much of Rapture is very dark, the city being in disrepair and underwater. Many tunnels to different buildings are leaky and steamy. Some areas are frozen and others full of oil and fuel. Some areas have plants, trees and even streams. And in many cases you can melt the ice, ignite the fuel etc with your plasmids. The sound design in this game is for lack of a better term, FUCKING AMAZING. If you don’t have at least a 5.1 sound system you should rob a bank and buy one before buying this game. The score and soundtrack fit the environment perfectly. The sounds are creepy as hell in this game and help to immerse you into Rapture. One of the first times you see a Big Daddy you actually hear him first. It’s like in Jurassic park when that T-Rex comes from the distance. Your controller rumbles and the subwoofer sends a thump…..thump…..thump of footsteps. You actually turn to the direction of the sound and see him. He moans like a whale and it’s scary as anything the first few times you see one. The sound design all matches up perfectly too unlike some games. If a Splicer is talking in the background to the back and left of you, you can be sure to turn that direction and see them there.

Gameplay:
Bioshock is classified as a FPS. But this is not your everyday shooter by any means. I like to think of it as a choose your own adventure game. It borrows from RPG’s, adventure games and FPS and combines them all in a very satisfying experience. The field of play is very open. Unlike FPS gears of war you are not on rails. You can openly wander around certain parts of the map to find things you need and achieve goals. It’s not as open as Crackdown where you can wander the whole world but you have a lot of options which makes the game interesting and offers re-playability. One of the reasons i say this isn’t your everyday shooter is because running around and shooting people is rarely the best option to kill them in this game. In fact many times it’s the worst. You have to find the proper tools and gain the proper powers and use them effectively against the proper enemy. Thuggish Splicers are easier to kill with let’s say one Plasmid (genetically modified ability) and a shot or two from a gun or weapon. But this same technique on a Big Daddy will fail and take you all day. While wandering Rapture you need to really keep your eyes peeled. There are items left all over the place which you will need to achieve your goals and gain abilities. You can find things like money, food, weapons , first aid kits, Eve Hypos (which you need to use any Plasmids), and ammo. You can use the money to buy all kinds of things from the vending machines that are all over the place. Another really fun aspect of the game is Hacking. When you first approach a vending machine you will be asked if you want to hack it or buy items. If you hack the machine all the items in it ill become cheaper. To hack a machine you play a puzzle game which involves moving sections of pipe together to direct a flow of liquid from one part of the machine to another. It sounds much easier than it is. And the further along you get in the game the harder it gets. Hacking also works to turn off security cameras, gun turrets and flying security bots and make them your ally. This is one feature i really like. This way you can hack some cameras and bots, and lure your enemies into a room where they’ll be dealt with swiftly without you wasting and Eve or ammo.
Another interesting aspect of the gamplay is moral choice. When you kill a Big Daddy who has a Little Sister Companion you choose whether you want to harvest the Adam from her (which kills her) or rescue her. These choices change the outcome of the game and also enhance the re-playability.

Graphics/Presentation:
At first the demo disappointed me. And the very beginning of the retail game did too, mostly because i was looking for problems more than i was looking for gold. The hands sticking out in normal FPS fashion didn’t look finished to me. I mean the water in this game looks AMAZING, the flow, and the ripples etc etc. But some of the weapons and such don’t look as nice TO ME. But alas i am a harsh critic. Other wise the graphics are pretty fucking amazing. As i said the water is sick, flames, steam and smoke also look very realistic and well designed. The citizens of Rapture are varied and look horrifying. The various types of Big Daddies and Little Sisters really shine. I would say they are by far my favorite current gen console bad guys. They just look beautiful and well thought out. The type design in this game is very nicely handled. Electrically lit signage, neon, backlit, etc all look great. One amazing thing many people might over look in this game is shadow. If a Splicer or Big Daddy is standing in front of light their shadow will extend and move as they do. This helps make the game very spooky and more realistic. I don’t know if i’ve ever seen a game handle shadow so artistically. Overall besides my nitpicking, i really can’t complain. It’s really Beautiful.

To sum it up, i think the best way to review this game is to say this is the must have game on this generation of consoles. If you didn’t have a 360 but thought about getting one, now is the time!

i know i left a lot out of this review but man, i don’t have all day! Plus i don’t want to give away any spoilers. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments if you’ve also been playing the retail version (steve t. !)