Bioshock, an original masterpiece in the fps category (Bioshock (PS3))

Member Name: Lukey52

Product:	Bioshock (PS3)
Date:	14/08/09 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Original, engaging, at £10 rediculously cheap for the quality

Disadvantages: Little replay value other than increasing difficulty. Multiplayer would be nice

Bioshock was originally released at the end of 2007 however more than 2 and a half years later this game still stands as what I believe to be one of the finest games made to date on the PS3. Indeed it comes as a shock (haha...) that only one person has given this game the tribute it deserves by writing a review so I will give it the justice it deserves.

The game is set in the fictional underwater city of Rapture, the brainchild of Andrew Ryan. The game is set in the 1960's and portrays a city in which morality is not an issue. Due to this the altering of genetics has become the norm. This overuse of genetical altering "splicing" of the dna has casused the inhabitants of Rapture (aptly named splicers) to lose their minds.

You take on the role of Jack who at the start of the game handily crashes at the enterance of the underwater city, and are forced to enter the city in order to survive. As I don't wish to spoil the game I'll leave the details at that. Throughout the game in order to survive through the different levels you are also required to splice your genes. To do this you must collect Adam which can be harvested from Little sisters once you have defeated their protectors, the big daddys (a sort of boss). Going into a full explanation would be long and dull to read so I'll simply point you to the games manual for a full explanation. As a basic idea Adam can be compared to currency, and is needed in order to buy upgrades. Either new abilities such as shooting fire from your hands, or new perks like being undetectable by splicers when standing still.

Further interesting features include the ability to hack turrets which brings up a little mini game where you have to connect the tubes to allow the electricity to flow through the circuit. Once hacked turrets will fire at your enemies. The same can be done to security camera's which will send out bots to any enemies standing in it's view for a few seconds. Finally you can hack the different vending machines which allow you to buy items for a cheaper price. All through the same minigame. A final feature is your camera. Once you have obtained this you are able to take pictures of all the enemies in the game. The more pictures you take the know knowledge you gain on this particular enemy and therefore become more resistant to them or can deal more damage and so on.

The game itself has an extremely engaging storyline. It is also very unpredictable and had me going along the wrong trail on more than one occasion. There is no question that this is a horror survive game and most certainly won't be for everyone. The 18 rating should be a hint. The game is extremely clever in lulling you into full sences of security and then BAM scaring the life out of you. I can assure you after the first time my screen went black followed by screaming and suddenly things attacking me when I could barely see what was going on I had to play the rest of the game with the lights in my room on! This was not the only time and my heart spend the majority of the game pounding like a maniac. But that is exactly what I love in a game.

Overall this game is a masterpiece. Despite being in the fps category which puts it into competition with the likes of Killzone 2 and CoD it most definately holds it's own. The button configuration is great allowing you easy control of your weapons as well as your plasmids (powers) through the R1/2 and L1/2 buttons. The graphics are stunning and the views of rapture are detailed. Currently this game is selling at under £10 which is criminally cheap for such quality. And with Bioshock 2 on it's way in early 2010 now is as good a time as any to make sure you've played the original first.

Summary: Bioshock will quite literally make you jump like you've been shocked