Review - Bioshock

A fifties dystopian society gone wrong? Steam hydrolic powered apartment complex? Maniacal medical experiments, twisted artistic creations, and mind control? If you answered an emphatic 'yes please!' to these questions then there is a lot in Bioshock that you will love. You'll probably have to grow a healthy appreciation for getting a drill smashed into your face by a hulking ogre creature in a deep sea diving outfit called, worryingly, 'Big Daddy'.

References to 70's British wrestlers aside Bioshock has a lot to offer. The haunting underwater world of Rapture contains many murky delights for the intrepid adventurer. The haunting twisted locations will stick with you for quite some time and the jerky movements in the shadows might add an extra level of frisson when the power next goes out in your apartment.

There is a strong literary and philosophical theme to Bioshock which is highly commendable. Squatting down in a puddle listening to the echoing rants of an insane photographer really struck me as a moment to be cherished. Its much to the credit of the developers and the game's System Shock pedigree that so much content was put into the game from believably insane philosophers to authentic looking future 50's art and architecture. The art deco atmosphere of excess has been exaggerated to an extreme and often estranged degree.

Much has been made of Bioshock's 'Ecological A.I' which supposedly makes the 'inhabitants have interesting and consequential relationships with one another that impact your gameplay experience' but this only really boils down to one moral choice made by the player throughout the game. This influences how tough the game is for the player but not much else. The write up on the box asks 'do you exploit the innocent survivors of Rapture...or save them' but ultimately this is not in the full extent of your choices. It's a direction that games should definitely move towards but the movement here towards genuine head scratching decision making falls short by quite a long way. Another structural shortcoming shows itself in the save system. Player death is not penalised whatsoever merely relocating, but importantly not resetting, you to a save location previously past. This means that you can trounce around the game hitting people with a wrench for great justice but ultimately a severe lack of lulz. All tension and pant-wettingly scary moments are also negated by this feature and I think its a great shame that the game is made so easy by this design decision.

This game is excellent and it seems that not very many compromises have been made from the artistic vision through to the production. There are many uncomfortable relationships and revelations to sink your teeth into and its well worth the money. It wont change your life but will twist your imagination. There is no delicious cake but much delicious loli.