Bioshock
PUBLISHER: 2k Games
DEVELOPER: 2K Games (Marin)
Played on: PS3
Initial impression: Art Deco FPS.
Liked:
- The plot
- Plasmids
- Environments
- Hacking
Disliked:
- Research Camera
- The "puppy" audio
On The Fence:
- Challenge Modes
It's somewhere in early 1960 of an alternate universe and this game starts with a plane crash near a mysterious lighthouse in the middle of the ocean. It tells you nothing about who you are, the where or why of anything you're doing for quite a while. In fact, like most good psychological thrillers, it slowly reveals these details over the course of many hours... and when you realize what is going on, it's nearly too late. The first thing you do after crashing is decend in a bathysphere (like a cable-controlled submersible) to the underwater utopia known as Rapture.
This place has seen better days, indeed. Glass walls are cracking, water is streaming lazily around the tunnels... oh, and most of the inhabitants are bat-shit crazy. A radio in the sphere supplies the disembodied voice of a helpful survivor who wants you to help him get out of here.
Atlas guides you around, supplying numerous hints on how to survive in this hellhole while filling you in on what the hell happened. And of course -- there's a twist. This game's story had me glued to the seat. I couldn't wait to play more. The characters seemed genuine and even likable (yes, even the one who end up being off their rocker... like Sander Cohen).
The common enemies are called Splicers, named so to reflect how they've hacked their genetic code with plasmids.
To the main aspect involving he name, you are able to 'upgrade' yourself by injecting plasmids - some sort of genetic mutation that allows you to do various near-superhuman feats like shoot fire or ice from your fingertips. Among the more interesting ones are strategic skills like casting a holographic decoy to help sneak by enemies. Plasmids are powered by a substance called Eve, and are purchased by obtaining a substance called Adam. Adam can only be acquired by hunting down zombie-like girls called Little Sisters who have been programmed to collect it from dead Splicers. They are protected by large, altered men named Big Daddies. To get the Adam yourself, you must take out the Big Daddy, then face the moral choice - release the Little Sister from her zombie trance, or kill her and harvest the Adam-producing slug in her belly. The difference in Adam is not all too great, but killing them brings in more. Obviously, your choice determines the ending.
The environments are crazy. Imagine an art deco civilization built underwater, and you'd be about half way there. The sea blue-green out every window is eerie, especially when combined with flickering or non-functioning lighting and the sounds of water dripping or enemies grumbling to themselves.
There are killer turrets and search cameras that summon flying machine gun weilding sentries all over, but you can 'hack' them. This opens up a puzzle mini-game that resembles Pipe Dream. Connect pipes from point A to point B before the liquid flows. If successful, the turret or camera works for you, shooting enemies whenever they come near. You can also hack various vending machines found all around the city. This lowers the prices significantly, which is very helpful early on.
One thing I really didn't like was the research camera. You get this thing kind of early on, and as you go through the game you can take pictures of enemies to learn their weaknesses. Thing is - I totally forgot to use it through about 75% of the game. The benefits on doing the research didn't seem significant to really matter. Even after getting 100% research on Big Daddies, they didn't go down any easier. In fact, it was more a combination of experience and certain weapon/plasmid combos that gave me more of an advantage than the Research Camera.
Without spoiling too much, there is a point where you find a certain audio diary I did not like. You find dozens of these all over Rapture, but this one is significantly disturbing. It involves harming an animal - a puppy, actually. Now aside from my ASPCA membership and views, I had just lost one of my own dogs about the time I found this in-game. The pain of losing my dog combined with this... ech... well I can see WHY it was put in there, but honestly if it were something that didn't make noise (like a frog) then I probably would accept it a bit more. It's a sensitive subject for me on a personal level, so I can't hold it against the game, really. I just wish there was another way they could have presented that.
All that aside, for the PS3 you can download (not for free) three Challenge Maps. The two I've tried so far are a lot of fun, though a bit vague. I had no idea what I needed to do in one of them until I looked up a hint online. These are what they say they are -- challenging, though part of me thinks there just isn't enough to them. I kind of wish they were a little easier and there were about 5 more.
This game mixes FPS with some pseudo-RPG elements and the occasional Puzzle game.
The Biblical and Philosophical overtones are insane.
Great game, though main story replay isn't all too enticing. 9/10
PUBLISHER: 2k Games
DEVELOPER: 2K Games (Marin)
Played on: PS3
Initial impression: Art Deco FPS.
Liked:
- The plot
- Plasmids
- Environments
- Hacking
Disliked:
- Research Camera
- The "puppy" audio
On The Fence:
- Challenge Modes
It's somewhere in early 1960 of an alternate universe and this game starts with a plane crash near a mysterious lighthouse in the middle of the ocean. It tells you nothing about who you are, the where or why of anything you're doing for quite a while. In fact, like most good psychological thrillers, it slowly reveals these details over the course of many hours... and when you realize what is going on, it's nearly too late. The first thing you do after crashing is decend in a bathysphere (like a cable-controlled submersible) to the underwater utopia known as Rapture.
This place has seen better days, indeed. Glass walls are cracking, water is streaming lazily around the tunnels... oh, and most of the inhabitants are bat-shit crazy. A radio in the sphere supplies the disembodied voice of a helpful survivor who wants you to help him get out of here.
Atlas guides you around, supplying numerous hints on how to survive in this hellhole while filling you in on what the hell happened. And of course -- there's a twist. This game's story had me glued to the seat. I couldn't wait to play more. The characters seemed genuine and even likable (yes, even the one who end up being off their rocker... like Sander Cohen).
The common enemies are called Splicers, named so to reflect how they've hacked their genetic code with plasmids.
To the main aspect involving he name, you are able to 'upgrade' yourself by injecting plasmids - some sort of genetic mutation that allows you to do various near-superhuman feats like shoot fire or ice from your fingertips. Among the more interesting ones are strategic skills like casting a holographic decoy to help sneak by enemies. Plasmids are powered by a substance called Eve, and are purchased by obtaining a substance called Adam. Adam can only be acquired by hunting down zombie-like girls called Little Sisters who have been programmed to collect it from dead Splicers. They are protected by large, altered men named Big Daddies. To get the Adam yourself, you must take out the Big Daddy, then face the moral choice - release the Little Sister from her zombie trance, or kill her and harvest the Adam-producing slug in her belly. The difference in Adam is not all too great, but killing them brings in more. Obviously, your choice determines the ending.
The environments are crazy. Imagine an art deco civilization built underwater, and you'd be about half way there. The sea blue-green out every window is eerie, especially when combined with flickering or non-functioning lighting and the sounds of water dripping or enemies grumbling to themselves.
There are killer turrets and search cameras that summon flying machine gun weilding sentries all over, but you can 'hack' them. This opens up a puzzle mini-game that resembles Pipe Dream. Connect pipes from point A to point B before the liquid flows. If successful, the turret or camera works for you, shooting enemies whenever they come near. You can also hack various vending machines found all around the city. This lowers the prices significantly, which is very helpful early on.
One thing I really didn't like was the research camera. You get this thing kind of early on, and as you go through the game you can take pictures of enemies to learn their weaknesses. Thing is - I totally forgot to use it through about 75% of the game. The benefits on doing the research didn't seem significant to really matter. Even after getting 100% research on Big Daddies, they didn't go down any easier. In fact, it was more a combination of experience and certain weapon/plasmid combos that gave me more of an advantage than the Research Camera.
Without spoiling too much, there is a point where you find a certain audio diary I did not like. You find dozens of these all over Rapture, but this one is significantly disturbing. It involves harming an animal - a puppy, actually. Now aside from my ASPCA membership and views, I had just lost one of my own dogs about the time I found this in-game. The pain of losing my dog combined with this... ech... well I can see WHY it was put in there, but honestly if it were something that didn't make noise (like a frog) then I probably would accept it a bit more. It's a sensitive subject for me on a personal level, so I can't hold it against the game, really. I just wish there was another way they could have presented that.
All that aside, for the PS3 you can download (not for free) three Challenge Maps. The two I've tried so far are a lot of fun, though a bit vague. I had no idea what I needed to do in one of them until I looked up a hint online. These are what they say they are -- challenging, though part of me thinks there just isn't enough to them. I kind of wish they were a little easier and there were about 5 more.
This game mixes FPS with some pseudo-RPG elements and the occasional Puzzle game.
The Biblical and Philosophical overtones are insane.
Great game, though main story replay isn't all too enticing. 9/10
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