The great Andrew Ryan. Imagine Charles Foster Kane (as in Citizen Kane) but instead of Orson Wells played by Vincent Price. An eccentric genius, a successful, very ambitious business magnate with some pretty radical ideas & philosophies. At some point in the 1940s, he built his dream society, a self-sustaining city state called Rapture, at the bottom of the sea, in the middle of the Atlantic. That’s right, an underwater city. Think 40s New York or Chicago, only underwater! Meant to be a utopia for the elite: artists, philosophers, visionaries of all kinds, you name it. Free from what Ryan saw as the restrictions and interferences of politics and religion.
But somewhere along the way, something went terribly wrong.
But somewhere along the way, something went terribly wrong.
It is the year 1960, and you, the player, are sitting in a small plane flying over the sea. You are watching some photos of, presumably, your family, when suddenly all hell breaks loose. The plane crashes into the sea, but you manage to swim to the surface. Luckily for you there is a small island with a large lighthouse right nearby. As it turns out, the lighthouse is the entrance to Rapture. You step into this mini-sub of sorts (I keep forgetting what it’s actually called) and you soon the Rapture in all its surreal beauty, while the recorded voice of Andrew Ryan makes an introductory speech.
As soon as you enter the actual city, it becomes clear that utopia this is not. Some guy gets killed right in front of you by an obviously insane zombie-like creature, equipped with a pair of nasty looking scythes attached to its arms, using them as claws and as climbing tools. But you’re still inside the sub, and the creature has gone off when the sub opens.
Someone is trying to contact you through a portable radio. Says his name is Atlas, a seemingly helpful chap, so off you go, exploring Rapture, while the disturbing story unfolds.
This game is basically a FPS, albeit one which is very story-driven. It’s not supposed to be rushed through like the Doom/Quake style of playing; Counterstrike this is not. In fact there is no multiplayer mode whatsoever, driving that point home. One could argue that Bioshock is actually an adventure game with strong FPS and - to a lesser extent - basic RPG elements.
In true FPS fashion you can pick up a number of standard weapons, from the classic wrench to pistols, machine gun, shotgun, rocket launcher, and flame thrower. All of these weapons have various types of ammo; for example, the rocket launcher can fire proximity mines as well as homing missiles and the more standard grenades, while the flame thrower can be equipped with napalm, “electric gel” (useful against mechanical targets) and even liquid nitrogen to freeze enemies. Along the way you will encounter various types of terminal where you can buy ammo or even craft some of your own.
Another big aspect of the game are genetic modifications you can subject yourself to. These are known as plasmids and gene tonics.
Plasmids are active implants that give you special powers which can be used to attack enemies, while some will come in very handy to grab stuff from a distance (telekinesis is fun) or just to progress and/or find hidden stuff. This is where the “Adam” substance comes into play, literally. Just like the twisted citizens of Rapture you will need Adam to get new and better implants to survive as the game progresses.
The other kind of implants are gene tonics. These are passive implants which basically allow you to modify your character, allowing your character to develop in various ways, e.g. to make yourself more skilled in something, or more resilient against certain types of attacks, etc.
This system of implants is a lot like the implants you had in the System Shock games, so fans of these games should feel right at home. In fact, a lot of the game mechanics are very reminiscent of SS. The people of 2K Games weren’t kidding when they said that Bioshock was going to be a spiritual successor to SS!There are more similarities; like in SS 1&2 you can hack the various terminals in Rapture to give you discounts on the stuff you purchase, or to give you additional stuff you couldn’t get otherwise.
Other ways to get stuff, by the way, are by looting the corpses lying around and the bodies of killed enemies that inhabit this sick world. It’s also the only way to get money, which can be used to buy stuff at the various terminals in Rapture. Interestingly, perhaps frustratingly, the game limits you to a maximum of 500 dollars you can have with you - and no banks in sight! Apparently they weren’t part of Ryan’s vision of utopia.
All that said, how is the game? Is it fun? Is it any good at all?
Well, I had a GREAT time playing it over and over! Finished my third game last week, and I’m itching to give it another go!
Everything about this game is top notch: every aspect of it screams QUALITY. The graphics are drop-dead gorgeous, making it a joy to explore the vast levels that make up the various parts of the city. All the rooms and hallways are totally unique – there is not one level or even one room in the game that looks like any other, so each one should be explored for goodies, ammo, money etc.
The music is film-quality and wouldn’t seem out of place in an old-fashioned film noir. Also, a nice touch is the use of 1940s & 50s pop music, such as “Beyond The Sea” and the Ink spots’ “If I Didn’t Care”, and even some classical music for good measure. There’s something wonderfully unique in a game where you explore a room filled with seemingly frozen/mummified people while hearing Doris Day cheerfully singing “How much is that doggy in the window?” or frantically fighting off splicers to the tune of “Waltz Of The Flowers” from the Nutcracker Suite.
Also of note is the great voice acting employed here. Throughout the game you will be in radio contact with various people, or by picking up audio logs left by others – another game mechanic brought over from the SS games, and used here to great effect. These help flesh out the backstory of Rapture, or just tell you more about what people went through in the events leading up to this.
Now, all this doesn’t mean much if the game play is no good. But thankfully it is! Basically the game is an FPS with added abilities, so most of the time you will be running around shooting the zombie-like splicers, enemy robots and the inevitable iconic characters of the game, the Big Daddies. Hacking terminals and robots will launch a mini hacking game in itself, which makes a nice diversion from the main routine of shooting genetically messed-up people in the face.
The various weapons with their different types of ammo and the plasmids which are tons of fun to use should keep the game last for quite a while; just trying out different ways to take out enemies keeps things interesting, and the ability to swap around gene tonics and try out the different enhancements mean you can try out different “character builds”, making it have some level of replayability.
As soon as you enter the actual city, it becomes clear that utopia this is not. Some guy gets killed right in front of you by an obviously insane zombie-like creature, equipped with a pair of nasty looking scythes attached to its arms, using them as claws and as climbing tools. But you’re still inside the sub, and the creature has gone off when the sub opens.
Someone is trying to contact you through a portable radio. Says his name is Atlas, a seemingly helpful chap, so off you go, exploring Rapture, while the disturbing story unfolds.
This game is basically a FPS, albeit one which is very story-driven. It’s not supposed to be rushed through like the Doom/Quake style of playing; Counterstrike this is not. In fact there is no multiplayer mode whatsoever, driving that point home. One could argue that Bioshock is actually an adventure game with strong FPS and - to a lesser extent - basic RPG elements.
In true FPS fashion you can pick up a number of standard weapons, from the classic wrench to pistols, machine gun, shotgun, rocket launcher, and flame thrower. All of these weapons have various types of ammo; for example, the rocket launcher can fire proximity mines as well as homing missiles and the more standard grenades, while the flame thrower can be equipped with napalm, “electric gel” (useful against mechanical targets) and even liquid nitrogen to freeze enemies. Along the way you will encounter various types of terminal where you can buy ammo or even craft some of your own.
Another big aspect of the game are genetic modifications you can subject yourself to. These are known as plasmids and gene tonics.
Plasmids are active implants that give you special powers which can be used to attack enemies, while some will come in very handy to grab stuff from a distance (telekinesis is fun) or just to progress and/or find hidden stuff. This is where the “Adam” substance comes into play, literally. Just like the twisted citizens of Rapture you will need Adam to get new and better implants to survive as the game progresses.
The other kind of implants are gene tonics. These are passive implants which basically allow you to modify your character, allowing your character to develop in various ways, e.g. to make yourself more skilled in something, or more resilient against certain types of attacks, etc.
This system of implants is a lot like the implants you had in the System Shock games, so fans of these games should feel right at home. In fact, a lot of the game mechanics are very reminiscent of SS. The people of 2K Games weren’t kidding when they said that Bioshock was going to be a spiritual successor to SS!There are more similarities; like in SS 1&2 you can hack the various terminals in Rapture to give you discounts on the stuff you purchase, or to give you additional stuff you couldn’t get otherwise.
Other ways to get stuff, by the way, are by looting the corpses lying around and the bodies of killed enemies that inhabit this sick world. It’s also the only way to get money, which can be used to buy stuff at the various terminals in Rapture. Interestingly, perhaps frustratingly, the game limits you to a maximum of 500 dollars you can have with you - and no banks in sight! Apparently they weren’t part of Ryan’s vision of utopia.
All that said, how is the game? Is it fun? Is it any good at all?
Well, I had a GREAT time playing it over and over! Finished my third game last week, and I’m itching to give it another go!
Everything about this game is top notch: every aspect of it screams QUALITY. The graphics are drop-dead gorgeous, making it a joy to explore the vast levels that make up the various parts of the city. All the rooms and hallways are totally unique – there is not one level or even one room in the game that looks like any other, so each one should be explored for goodies, ammo, money etc.
The music is film-quality and wouldn’t seem out of place in an old-fashioned film noir. Also, a nice touch is the use of 1940s & 50s pop music, such as “Beyond The Sea” and the Ink spots’ “If I Didn’t Care”, and even some classical music for good measure. There’s something wonderfully unique in a game where you explore a room filled with seemingly frozen/mummified people while hearing Doris Day cheerfully singing “How much is that doggy in the window?” or frantically fighting off splicers to the tune of “Waltz Of The Flowers” from the Nutcracker Suite.
Also of note is the great voice acting employed here. Throughout the game you will be in radio contact with various people, or by picking up audio logs left by others – another game mechanic brought over from the SS games, and used here to great effect. These help flesh out the backstory of Rapture, or just tell you more about what people went through in the events leading up to this.
Now, all this doesn’t mean much if the game play is no good. But thankfully it is! Basically the game is an FPS with added abilities, so most of the time you will be running around shooting the zombie-like splicers, enemy robots and the inevitable iconic characters of the game, the Big Daddies. Hacking terminals and robots will launch a mini hacking game in itself, which makes a nice diversion from the main routine of shooting genetically messed-up people in the face.
The various weapons with their different types of ammo and the plasmids which are tons of fun to use should keep the game last for quite a while; just trying out different ways to take out enemies keeps things interesting, and the ability to swap around gene tonics and try out the different enhancements mean you can try out different “character builds”, making it have some level of replayability.
1 comment:
Maybe I should install windows on the mac here and give it a go... :)
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