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| Source of the image: Promotional logo title of the game owned by 2K Games |
"One of the most revolutionary First-person shooter games ever created"
“Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his
brow? 'No!' says the man in Washington, 'It belongs to the poor.' 'No!' says
the man in the Vatican, 'It belongs to God.' 'No!' says the man in Moscow, 'It
belongs to everyone.' I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something
different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture, a city where the artist
would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty
morality, where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the
sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well.” (Quote from Andrew
Ryan in the beginning of the game)
Source of the video: Uploaded by YouTuber Johnny AM
Bioshock Trailer in HD
Developer(s): 2K Boston, 2K Australia
Publisher:
2k Games
Director:
Ken Levine
Platform(s):
Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PS3, Mac OS X, iOS, PS4, Xbox One
Release
date: 21 August, 2007
Genre:
First-person shooter
Mode:
Single-Player
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| Source of the image: https://www.unilad.co.uk/gaming/check-out-bioshocks-iconic-opening-minutes-remastered/ |
“I believe in no God, no invisible man in the
sky, but there is something more powerful than each of us: a combination of our
efforts, a "Great Chain" of industry that unites us. But it is only
when we struggle in our *own* interest that the chain pulls society in the right
direction. The chain is too powerful and too mysterious for any government to
guide. Any man who tells you different either has his hand in your pocket - or
a pistol to your neck.”
Synopsis (with no spoilers):
The game sets in 1960, a plane that
overflies the Atlantic Ocean shuts down and gets lost in the sea, only one
person survives the crash, Jack, the protagonist of the story, he makes it to the
surface of the water and swims his way out into a strange lighthouse nearby.
Once he enters it, Jack discovers a bathysphere terminal hidden underneath the
construction, with nowhere else to go, he gets in, and travels beneath the sea
to a mysterious, breathtaking city, called Rapture, whose name is revealed by
an audio recording of its creator (Andrew Ryan) inside the bathyshere, according to him, the city was constructed to resemble an “utopia”
that contradicted the restricted government control of the “outside”. Once Jack was guided into the interiors of
Rapture, he was immediately contacted via radio by a person named Atlas that
guided him safely through the city, explaining the history behind Rapture while
giving him “subtle directions” of what to do. Atlas said that Andrew Ryan had
captivated his family and that he was responsible for the fallen utopian state
of the city. For that, he wanted Jack to kill Andrew, convincing him to absorb
a substance called “ADAM” that not only would give him “super powers” but would
also help him survive to the Splicers and others creatures that roamed around
Rapture. “ADAM” was provided by the Little Sisters that walked around the city
accompanied and protected by their Big Daddies, Jack had the possibility to
either kill them or save them to obtain ADAM, but by killing them we would
harvest more of the respective substance. During the game, he would travel
through many parts of the city, defeating many important figures from Rapture
who had gone crazy… but in the end, Jack would learn something extraordinary that
would change the meaning of his life and everything that he knew until now… his
destiny was somehow connected to Rapture since the very start… now would you
kindly play this game to figure out the rest?...
Source of the video: Uploaded by YouTuber Seouker
Bioshock
Launch Trailer debuted 12th of August (2007) on Spike TV
Review:
Combat - I’m going to first begin
with this topic, because I think this is one of the most fun and important aspects
of Bioshock, the main character of the story can either use firearms (with
different ammunition types), melee weapons or plasmid powers, to attack the
creatures around him, the last one being the most popular one in the game, the
plasmid powers that are a total of 11 (can only be used/activated in a limited
quantity) - Cyclone Trap, Electro Bolt,
Enrage, Hypnotize Big Daddy, Incinerate, Insect Swarm, Security Bullseye, Sonic
Boom, Target Dummy, Telekinesis and Winter Blast - are bought from the
Gatherer’s Garden Machines with the Adam collected from the Little Sisters.
Jack has a health meter, when decreased can be restored with medical packs, and
a Eve meter, that lowers when using the plasmid powers, although it can be
restored with Eve syringes scattered around the maps (the health and Eve meters
can be upgraded with additional plasmid tonics that can be bought in Gatherer’s
Machines). The protagonist can also use traps to lure enemies, environment
tactics to kill opponents or a more stealth approach to eliminate his presence
around enemies (by hacking security cameras or turrets). When the playable
character dies he will be resurrected to the closest Vita-Chamber that he
passed through.
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| Source of the image: http://www.wtfgamersonly.com/throwbackthursday-bioshock/ Jack using Electro Bolt to kill Splicers in the water |
Gameplay - The game is very linear,
of course you can explore Rapture by your freewill, but it’s mostly given your
way out through pointing arrows on top of the screen, according to the
objectives presented (this of course can
be disabled in the gameplay options). The player explores various maps with
beautiful and enigmatic settings, while completing quests, tasks and collecting
record players that explain little by little the history behind the city. There
is also mini-games that can be done while hacking some of the devices in
Rapture, where you have to connect two points with a certain amount of pieces
in a limited amount of time. And a research camera, given to the main character
almost at the beginning of the game, while taking photos of the creatures, more
knowledge is revealed, that will help you defeat them easily the next time you
encounter them. You can collect money by searching the bodies of killed enemies
or by exploring some of the objects in the map, this money can either be used
in vending machines or for other strategic things (for example, in hacking).
Characters - As in the main characters
of the storyline, we can stand out, Jack (protagonist of the game, a young man
that cannot prevent his fate of discovering the mysterious underwater city);
Andrew Ryan (the founder of Rapture and the main “antagonist” of the game);
Atlas (an important character that guides Jack through the fallen utopia) and
Brigid Tenenbaum (known as the “mother” of the Little Sisters, a geneticist who
discovered the ADAM substance). There is also major characters that include,
J.S. Steinman (a well known surgeon that lost his sense of morality because
of ADAM); Julie Langford (a scientist who created the Arcadia garden, which
supplied Rapture with oxygen) and Sander Cohen - one of the most craziest characters - (a poet, composer, sculptor and playwright that went mad with the descent
of Rapture, becoming sadistic and easily amused with the death/torturing of
others who didn’t "satisfied" the perfect artistic vision that
he had in mind for his shows).
Enemies - During the game, the
player encounters various types of opponents, the most common ones are the Splicers, creatures that were once human but due to ADAM transformed themselves into monsters, they are divided in many different types (Thuggish Slicer, Leadhead Splicer,
Spider Splicer, Houdini Splicer and Nitro Splicer); Security devices, such as
surveillance cameras and turrets can represent a big threat too; and of course,
not left to mention, the Little Sisters protected by their Big Daddies, that are
always keeping an eye on them and once they see you trying to get close to the “Little
ones”, they will try to exterminate you at all cost.
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| Source of the image: Concept Art for Bioshock owned by 2K Games |
“Look, Mr.
Bubbles. It’s an angel! I can see light coming from his belly. Wait a minute…
he’s still breathing. It’s alright. I know he’ll be an angel soon.” (Quote from one of the first Little Sisters to appear in the game)
Your actions # Different endings -
Your values and actions during the game when interacting with the Little
Sisters will be put to test, as you have the choice to either save them or
harvest them to obtain ADAM. If you choose to save all the Little Sisters, you
will get a Good Ending, a Bad Ending will result if you harvest all of them and
there is also an Extra Bad Ending that closely resembles the normal Bad Ending,
the only thing that changes is the way the narration of the final
scene is done and pronounced. I’m not telling more about the endings, because
if you want to know more, you will have to play the game to find out...
Environment - The player visits many
outstanding places in Rapture submerged under the vast water of the ocean,
depending in the level of what you are in, the areas can either be dark or very
bright with elements that characterized the 50’s always present. Bioshock
manages to create unique and perplexing surroundings that will give you a
remarkable will to investigate and question what catastrophic past events
happen in the city. The aquatic atmosphere is also going to give you a resemblance of a loneliness feeling
like you’re isolated very far away from the outside world, making your experience of
exploring Rapture seem almost realistic and thus providing a gaming experience that you will definitely never forget.
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| Source of the image: http://bioshock.wikia.com/wiki/File:Kashmir_Atlas_downstairs.png (Screenshot taken by J.L.Biggs from: http://digitalfrontiers.tumblr.com/) A scene of Kashmir Restaurant (Level: "Welcome to Rapture") |
Final analyses in one line: “If
someone says that videogames are not considered a work of art or an artistic
form of expression, show them this game and they will instantly change their
minds...”
My Final Score: 10/10
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioShock
http://www.imdb.com
http://bioshock.wikia.com
https://www.gamefaqs.com
My Gaming
Experience
A.K.
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