"BioShock"
DEVELOPER 2K Games
PUBLISHER 2K Games
GENRE Action, Roleplaying, Horror, Shooter
PLATFORM Xbox 360
RATING M (Mature) for Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
AVAILABLE Now
PRICE $59.99
It's been nearly two years since the launch of the Xbox 360. During that time, there have been several good games released. None of them really let the 360 stretch its legs.
"BioShock," the new first-person shooter from 2K Games, does that and more.
Billed as a "spiritual successor" to the System Shock series, "BioShock" takes full advantage of the 360's next-generation capabilities to give players top-notch graphics and sound, building an atmosphere of horror and wonder complete with realistic water effects, beautiful architecture and chilling scenes of carnage.
In the game, players are the only survivors of a fiery plane crash in the North Atlantic in 1960. After hitting the water, they must make their way to the only land in sight, a distant lighthouse. Along the way, they must negotiate patches of burning fuel and oil and avoid the sinking fuselage of the plane.
Once inside the lighthouse, players find nothing but a submersible capsule. Once they climb in, they are treated to a filmstrip describing Rapture, a city hidden beneath the sea. Originally constructed as an idealistic society for a hand picked group of scientists, elite individuals, and industrialists.
At least, that was the original intention.
Now the city is littered with corpses, wildly powerful guardians roam the corridors as creepy little girls called "Little Sisters" loot the dead and biologically mutated citizens ambush players at every turn.
As players explore the underground city and try to help the mysterious figure known only as "Atlas," they encounter audio logs, genetically-induced ghostly playbacks of past events, and radio messages, about Rapture's fate and history.
They also gain access to "plasmids," genetic augmentations that empower them with different abilities, from telekinesis to electricity to the ability to send a swarm of hornets hatched from veins in their arms.
Players can also take control of mechanical devices and systems through a hacking mini-game which requires the player to complete a pipe system between two points. A successful hack allows players to reprogram enemy security bots into personal bodyguards, modify vending machines to change prices, open locks and safes and take control of machine gun turrets.
Players can upgrade their weapons at Fire-For-Effect stations located throughout the city and craft variations of ammunition and plasmids by picking up materials in the city to modify them at U-Invent kiosks.
But be careful. While most the enemies in the game can be spotted from a distance - they tend to talk to themselves - some take a stealthier approach. There's nothing worse than searching a desk, then turning around to find a mutant scavenger standing a foot away, ready to bash your head in.
Aside from the excellent combat and character development, BioShock also presents players with a moral dilemma. As they explore the art deco world of Rapture, they will eventually come into contact with the Little Sisters and their hard-to-kill bodyguards, the "Big Daddys."
The big question players face is actually pretty simple. Exploit the innocent survivors of Rapture, "harvesting" the Little Sisters in an effort to save themselves, or saving them by reversing the process that left them as looters of the dead?
How players answer that question determines which of three possible endings players will encounter, and to some extent, what happens along the way, giving the game a high replay factor despite its lack of multiplayer modes.
Bring a towel. It's wet down here.