BioShock reviews

Firstly, this IS an FPS above all else, but it is an FPS like no other that has been created, taking just as much foresight and thought as it does pumping rounds into the soon to be dead critters of Rapture!

If you're quick on the uptake, the story unfolds in a manner that you would expect it to, which is just fine by me in this case, because the story was an incredible one, and it is one I have since played through in the “mean” way (taking advantage of the innocents of Rapture) after playing it as the goody two shoes… though, I have to admit, such feeling as goes into this game… I actually did feel a pang of guilt every time I “did what I had to do to survive!”

For an FPS, it really is compulsive playing because unlike its peers, you are driven to uncover the next part of the story… my natural habitat in gaming is the FPS, but I rarely find one with a story as compelling as this one, and it is one of the greatest I have played since I've been in gaming (and yes, I remember such classics as Doom! … the first time around!!).

Besides the story though, there is the weaponry at your disposal, and the unique ways players will develop through the game to dispense with the critters of Rapture… in your right hand, you have a standard array of weapons, which at set points throughout the game will be upgraded… it's not always easy to find the upgrade points, but I did manage it, and they work beautifully! Usually coming at just the right points for progression, and by the time you find the points, you'll know which weapons suit your play style the best (for me, the trusty shotgun was upgraded first… but then I do love the up close and personal approach to these games)

Not only to you have the standard array of weapons found in every FPS but you have such things as Plasmids at your disposal in your left hand, these cover pretty much every other element you may have thought about controlling that the “bad guys” might have, such as fire, ice or electricity to name but 3, each has a different effect and each has a different use… for example, strike the water with an electrical strike and any critters caught in the water will indeed fry, as you would expect!!

Different attacks work better against different critters, and different plasmids suit different play styles! Personally, one of my favorite touches was being able to use telekinesis to lift up one of the bad people of Rapture, and launch them into their friends, because the AI will fight against itself, if you can set it up!

There are even mini games to this game where you get to “hack” the electrical items of Rapture, so find a vending machine; hack it and get cheaper goodies, find a safe; crack it and reap the rewards, can't get through that elusive door? Hack it! … The mini games on the whole are very very easy, but for the few that set themselves up as incredibly hard, you can use the almighty hacking tool on, or maybe you're just bored with the mini games… I wasn't exactly sparing with the hacking tools by the end, as I lost interest in the mini games, but there was always a readily available supply of goodies from a vending machine, even if sometimes it was a bit of a walk!

There is literally nothing bad I can say about this game, the only reason I was even bored of the mini games was because I was so desperate to progress the story line (I completed it in a little over a weeks worth of compulsive playing). It is one of the greats, and available on all platforms!

Definitely one to play, and to keep! Looking forward to the the next in the series, which is in actual fact going to be a prequel!!

If you play this game you risk starvation, dehydration and fatigue… because once you start, you wont stop for anything. Your family will think youve gone missing, your thumbs will cramp and your eyes will dry up and fall out of your skull from lack of blinking. THIS IS THE BEST GAME EVER. It blends every elememnt of gaming togeather. Shooting, Horror, Great Story-line, Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle solving, Setting things on fire, Intense battles and above all, edge-of-your-seat gripping gameplay that will suck you in a healthy, normal person and spit you out 2 weeks later a malnourished, hysterical addict. All you will care about is…more…bioshoc­k.....

One game to rule them all One game to find them One game to bring them all, and in the darknes bind them. THIS. IS. BIOSHOCK

Bioshock is pretty much the same game as System Shock 2 except that it's set in an underwater city. The upgrade system has been changed from stats based, to tonic based. Basically you have six slots in which to put upgrade tonics, and there's about 5 different areas of upgrades, ie combat, security, physical.

The research system has been changed as well. Instead of researching organs you find on corpses you now have to take photographs of everything. PSI Powers are now called plasmids, and you dont need to be holding anything to use them – you can just shoot electrical bolts from your hands.

System Shock 2 featured a unique, and at the time revolutionary, inventory system. This is no longer present in Bioshock. Now you have the more traditional inventory style of only being able to carry a limited amount of each item. The positive thing about this change is you no longer need to dispose of weapons to make space for hacking tools or medkits etc.

The difficulty level is PERFECT. Bioshock is incredibly well balanced.

The game world is stunning to look at and creates a feeling of “being there”.

The only negative thing I can think of to say about this game is that it borrows a plot twist from another game, but this plot twist works the second time around.

When the secret is revealed to you , you will feel the need for vengeance, you will feel angry. Bioshock will play with your emotions like no other game has. You will laugh, you may cry and even more amazing the game will actually make you CARE about digital characters.

This game keeps you on your toes and your eyes will be glued to the screen 95% of the time. Incredibly unique, it focuses on story as much as everything else, making it interesting, and pretty addictive.

Every game has it's setbacks – I found myself getting lost once or twice in the “free to explore” style world (to a certain point).

However the great maps make up for that. I have found myself more addiced to this than COD4 and Gears, and I give it a 9.7/10

Bioshock is a FPS that when looking through screenshots as on the left of this review you may think the cliche of “Ohh its a FPS with powers to electricfy enimies Not VERY ORIGINAL”

But all of that aside once you enter rapture (the name of the city) you become immersed in this amazing story that takes you from being fairly interested then to just being so immersed that you are looking for a big daddy to run out of your local primary school to protect a little girl from a bully.

One possible downfall for some gamers could be the lack of multiplayer but personally it doesnt affect how well constructed this game is.

There is always something to do and also has no problems with going through the story a few times after to enjoy the hidden paths and also to improve skills to make it easier to destroy the drill handed big daddies.

An amazing game through and through with amazing visuals and a atmosphere that will have you putting all the lights on at night just to get a drink of water.

I was a little disappointed with Bioshock. Not with the graphics or game play, they are top shelf but I felt the game was too short.

I have heard people saying Gears of War was to easy and not long enough but I still took my time getting through it where as Bioshock I was done in 4 days of on and off again playing.

I also felt there was a lack of range in enemies.

But otherwise a really great game.

Gameplay- BioShocks gameplay is one of the best I have experienced. If you look at the screenshots you would think it is just your average first-person shooter. Well if you assume that, your wrong. You can get power-ups called plasmids. Plasmids range from electric bolts to telekenisis to fire. You can use your plasmids to your advantage by using them on your enviroment. For example, if you have electric bolt equiped, and you fire an electric bolt at water, the water will become electrified and who ever in the water will get electrified as well.You also get a thing called tonics. You can equip tonics and the ones you equip give you the power that the tonic is. Tonics and plasmids add a very unique twist to the game. The controls are very easy to learn and are very simple. The AI isnt stupid but it isnt smart either.

Graphics- The graphics in BioShock are great. The enviroments look great and the lighting effects look amazing as well. The blood and gore look awesome. The junkies look creepy like they should and it all comes together very nicely.

Sound- The sound is realistic and sounds great. The guns sound like they should. When you change plasmids it has a cool sound to each plasmid and sounds like it too.

Value- BioShock is a unique game that any 360 owner should pick up.

Bioshock is one of the best first person shooters released so far. You fight your way through an immense underwater utopia called ‘Rapture’.

Bioshock is not an ordinary FPS, you have powerful guns with an innovative upgrade system and plasmid abilities that enable you to shoot fire, electricity, even swarms of bees from the palm of your hand.

Enemies are smart and take a bit of practice to get your aim right…as they jump around like crazy and use hooks to climb walls and hang from ceilings.

That's just a little bit of why Bioshock is one of the greats, its a must for all XBOX 360 gamers.

Bioshock 2 is also another must-buy game for the series!

A very high quality, enjoyable game. The water graphics are amazing. Confronting the Big Daddies is scary as they are incredibly tough to fight. There are not as many plasmid powers as I had expected. I mainly used the Telekinesis, Incinerate and Shock as they were the useful ones to affect the enironment such as electrocuting splicers in the water or melting ice to enter a funeral home. The variety of weapons is good. The RPG side of it is not as well developed, if you decide to be good and save Little Sisters then you cannot harvest even one or you will end up with the evil ending. It is an enjoyable shooter experience, the AI is fun to play against and they act realistically. The detail is great and you will actually want to explore around the city of Rapture. The story is what stands out, there is a huge twist and you will be shocked! The game is quite short, some of the gameplay can be quite repetitive such as collecting items to build certain things. The ending is quite a letdown, but the rest of it makes up for it. This is an enjoyable shooter, and the story and setting is what makes this game stand out. Worth the purchase!

awesome game with a story that will blow you away and upgradable guns wth multiple different ammo types. the game is structured so that you waont need to play the same way twice with tonnes of different tonics and plasmids at your disposal. also the level sizes are great with lots to do and look at.

I think that Bioshock is the best game i have played before in my life. It really hooks you into it and if you dont watch ont you might get addicted.

Cant wait for the Bioshock 2

Plot: Rapture…one of the most original and beautiful cities I've ever seen. And the reason behind its creation is funky too. I was kind of annoyed that it was like many FPS games, in which you play a mute super killer who gets sent on what can only be described as fetch quests. But you kind of ignored that when you went to pick something up, and find an insane doctor who tries to kill you with a knife, or a little girl protected by Godzilla in a old divers suit. (“What happened to the mini-nuclear cannon system thinger that butt rapes all the doomed?” Sorry…mate was playing a game and yelled that out) The twist near the end was pretty cool. I didn't exactly see it coming, although I did have a few certain theories.

Gameplay: Gameplay felt like a standard shooter, with the exception of the Plasmids. Then again, using them felt like just using different weapons. I like to compare the plasmids in Bioshock to the weapons in Prey. While they are incredibly unique, when you strip it all down, they basically act like your standard weaponry. However, killing a bunch of dudes with a single shot in water with lightning is damn wicked.

Graphics: For when it came out, some of the best water effects I've ever seen. Shadowing was as good as most games get, and the overall look of things was very colorful and shiny, but not much of an exception. I did occasionally hit a dead end because from a distance, a bunch of wreckage looked like a door. But then again, that can be said about real life, which is not as good as HDTV.

The Bad: There were many things that I expected but didn't get in Bioshock, which has taught me a lesson for games. The Big Daddies, while some of the coolest enemies ever in a game, their biggest (And hyped feature) was the drill on one of their arms. But aside from a single scripted scene, it was never used to tear a hole in someone. In fact, many of them had giant guns instead of drills. The game was incredibly easy, even on the hardest difficulty. Once you get the freezing plasmid, it got rather simple. The other biggest problem I had was the repeatability. Once you've completed the game, the only thing that seemed to make you come back and play it was to get some achievements. Or maybe to do it on an ever so slightly harder difficulty.

Although I'm normally the first to roll my eyes anyone starts proclaiming an FPS as ground-breaking, even I would concede Bioshock is a fantastic experience.

Yes, it's an FPS, and there are lots of those. But it's an FPS with a great story, fantastic art direction, moral choices and an incredibly zany array of weaponry (who needs shotguns when you can unleash killer bees upon your foes?!).

I really struggled to put this game down until I finished it. Great fun and highly immersive.

I normally get board of your basic shooter games but this took it to the next level its addictive,fun,cru­el,bloody,insa­ne all at the same time with the added alternative ending depend on your choices i difiantly recommend it to anyone looking for that different shooter game like me.

THIS GAME ROCKS!!! So many different things to do which gives it excellent reply value. The game looks stunning, the water is the the best I've seen on the 360. Deep and dark story line, what else could you want. BUY IT!!!

The controller didnt get put down for days when I turned this on, the end twist is a mind blow, highly recommend this game if your into FPS shooters.

Im not really one to play the one player shooter games. But I found I really enjoyed playing this, just the right amount of scary and really fun. Couldn't stop playing for hours.

Has some great parts and is exciting to play

Good game play .i like games like this where you have to find stuff push buttons and get pass the bad people. It is not just a shooting game

With a story that is several times better than most hollywood films around and with an original, disturbing backstory, this game deserves high stars for the story only, but luckily it has great gameplay too. Combining regular FPS play with insane “plasmids” (the games amazing elemental combat system) I'ts quite short but with lots of fun achievements and 3 different paths it is well worth replaying.

Great game.Can seem a little bit hard at 1st but once you get into you'll be on your way with flying colours.An addictive, well told story.

This game is great for teenagers and up. There are some horror scenes, but none that can't be tolerated. Great story. Highly recommend.