So, about Bioshock...

[nockergeek]

The good: Absolutely beautiful to look at; one of the best-looking games that I've ever seen. The water effects alone are works of art. The goal-based structure is very engaging, and on one or two nights kept me playing far later than I should - the classic "Ooh, just have to finish this one last task" pitfall. In addition, the automap is invaluable, both in terms of keeping your bearings straight and in helping you return to vital supply points. The controls and gameplay are solid; I never felt like I was struggling against the controller, the interface, or cheap enemies. Finally, the story unfolds in a very organic fashion, and the visuals and audio combine with the writing to create a very compelling narrative.

The bad: The ending - well, the good ending, anyway - is a bit of a letdown, mostly because it's very brief and anti-climactic - it's more satisfying than Dead Rising's ending, but only slightly. The difficulty drops off as you near the end of the game and become increasingly powerful/better equipped, and all the developers tried to overcome this solely by making the same enemies tougher. As a result, a lot of the weapons feel underpowered, especially the shotgun. The enemies Also, the occasional "unhackable" vending machine or security camera - one where there's no way to get past all the alarms and overloads - are a pain in the ass. There's no real replay value; just going through the game once will get you around 70% of the achievements, and once the story's been told, it loses its punch in further retellings.

The ugly: This was done by the same people who did System Shock 1 and 2, and it shows. It's almost as if someone took a copy of System Shock 2, filed off the serial numbers, and threw it into a blender with an art deco design book and the collected works of Ayn Rand. It's also a very dark game - not in terms of content, necessarily, but just the fact that a lot of the areas aren't well-lit. A minor quibble - the darkness adds to the ambience, but after playing Half-Life 2 I'm spoiled by that game's flashlight. An inventory screen for all your random invention bits would have been nice as well.

The verdict: A very good game, and one I enjoyed playing. However, I just can't see myself playing through it again, so I'm glad I borrowed it rather than buying it. A wonderful game, but I don't know if it's sixty dollars worth of wonderful. As a rental or a borrowed game, though, I'd absolutely recommend it.

Comments

[the-buzzard.livejournal.com]

This was done by the same people who did System Shock 1 and 2, and it shows. It's almost as if someone took a copy of System Shock 2, filed off the serial numbers, and threw it into a blender with an art deco design book and the collected works of Ayn Rand.
And all the depth taken out :(

[animarelic.livejournal.com]

However, It is absolutely $30 worth of wonderful, which is what I paid for it. :)

[nockergeek.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. I'd even go so far as to say it's $40 worth of awesome.