Bioshock, the first person shooter from 2K Boston/2K Australia is something new and a pleasant surprise from the usual clone like similarities of other titles in this genre.
As plane crashes in the ocean, you swim through the flames and wreckage to a nearby lighthouse and enter an underworld city of alternate technology with a special 1950's nostalgia. You quickly find a world of utopia gone terribly wrong as you make your way around, learning what exactly is happening through audio diaries, wall posters and others you meet in the city of "Rapture".
Using stealth or full force combat to kill mutants and robotic drones, you gather weapons, money and strange technology called "plasmids" powered by a intravenously injected substance called "EVE" that can let you shoot lightning bolts, telekinetically move objects, fire flame burning anyone in a room, enrage your enemies into fighting themselves, and more, plus the usual pistols and machine guns and ammo of a conventional First Person Shooter. The further you progress the more you learn about the ill-fated city and it's populace with its excellent narrative and interactivity. A mortality tale ensues as you choose between killing or saving "little sisters", young girls with a valuable slug-like creature called "ADAM" inside them, and there scientists protectors wearing dive suits.
The enemies consist of 5 variants of genetically altered junkies, searching for the ADAM responsible for their appearance. Leadheads, Thugs, Nitros, Houdini Splicers, and Spider Slicers. These opponents carry different weapons and abilities. A short bolt of electricity to stun them and then switching to a gun to finish the job is the usual way to fight, as the game progresses, this becomes harder. Robots, doors, safes and vending machines can be hacked using a mini-game feature where you arrange pipes to suit a flow of liquid to reach one end of puzzle to another. If you are successful, a door will open, vending machines become cheaper and the Robots drones will work for you, following you around freely killing other drones and enemies.
Using a modified version of the Unreal Engine, Bioshock delivers high playability with great controlling, the water effects are especially worth noting with the developers hiring a water programmer and water artist to make sure you'll instantly notice this in the opening scenes of the game. The lighting and shading is excellent and the audio is of great quality as it constantly changes with the ambience. Automatically suiting either DX9 or DX 10 cards, you'll see superb fine details everywhere you look.
The story blends well with the action, what you see and hear in the narrative style environment keeps you entertained and focused as you are rewarded with more knowledge as you progress. This is where the game stands above the rest of the competition. A very exciting and original game that will defiantly please in mass.
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