Bioshock Review PS3

Bioshock is one of my all time favorite games for good reason. Bioshock has one of the best storylines ever in a video game with inspiration from the classic novel Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. It is one of the few single player games that I keep replaying just to relive the experience and the atmosphere of the world of Rapture. The story centers on a group of the most creative minds led by Andrew Ryan, creating a city, named Rapture, beneath the Atlantic where they could create and do anything they wish without being confined to the governments of the world. The people of Rapture develop genetic plasmids that provide abilities to the user and begin to fight over the genetic material called Adam that allows them to mutate. The player is in an airplane that has a mysterious accident, which plunges the plane into the Atlantic near the entrance tower to Rapture and begins the adventure struggling to survive the twisted denizens beneath the waves.

Graphic and sound:

The graphics in Bioshock are stunning, from the Art Deco styled architecture and decorations, to the water surrounding and leaking through the city everywhere. The textures are highly detailed and often the player may just wander around in awe of the environment. Particle effects on the plasmids look good and the animations are fluid. My only complaints with the graphics are that sometimes character textures on splicers or a Big Daddy do not load, or when a player kills a splicer, the body may twitch involuntarily long after it is dead. This problem occurred more frequently on the XBOX 360 than on the PS3.

The musical score in Bioshock is one of the best I have ever heard and although it is not included in either the XBOX 360 Limited Edition or package or the regular PS3 game package, it is available for download for free on the 2K Games website. The sound effects are great, especially with surround sound enabled. The player will be immersed fully when playing in surround sound and hearing splicers or a Big Daddy creeping around the corner.

Gameplay and controls:

The game is a first person shooter that uses standard weapons like shotguns and machine guns with secondary or tertiary types of ammo such as explosive shells or electric shock shells. The secondary attack mode is using plasmids which range from incendiary, freezing, and electric bolts, to telekinesis. One can I either play the game through brute force charging or play strategically and place traps or use the environment to their advantage with the plasmids. Controls are very easy to learn with the trigger buttons used to switch weapons and plasmids and to discharge weapons or projectile plasmids. The PS3 version also has downloadable content for $9.99 that adds on a new game plus mode in which the player can replay the game after completion with all enhancements intact or try out one of the three challenge rooms which comprise of two puzzle rooms and one all out survival room.

Overall thoughts:

Bioshock is one of the greatest games ever created and the influence of Atlas Shrugged upon the development of the game shows. It took a great story written by Ayn Rand and twisted it into something even better and produced a visual that will impact players for years to come. It would have been an interesting treat to have a multiplayer component, but it would have detracted from the feeling of isolation one feels within Rapture. A sequel will be released this year and will include multiplayer as a separate entity from the single player excursion. Here’s looking forward to Bioshock 2.