When 2K Games created BioShock, they set out to remake the first-person shooter, and that is exactly what they have done. BioShock possesses all the elements that first-person-shooter fans love; in addition to nine modifiable weapons with three different types of ammunition, it also blends in wonderful role-playing games’ elements: plasmids that give the player powers to shock, freeze and set enemies on fire.
The game takes place in Rapture, an underwater utopia built by filthy rich visionary, Andrew Ryan (comparable to Howard Hughes), not for freedom of press or religion, but technology. After seeing the many piles of debris, leaks in the wall and the dead bodies, it becomes clear that something went horribly wrong with this city, and the tale that follows is gripping. Much of the story is told by various recorders collected while exploring, and explanations enhance the player’s feeling of suspense, and slowly the pieces begin to come together.
The environments are rich in detail and vary greatly. Players will wade through flooded taverns, creep around a forest grown underwater, run across a noisy casino and even shoot enemies in a concert hall. These places are also fully reactive. If you hit a glass bottle with the wrench, it breaks; or if you use fire on a pool of oil, it ignites. Most everything can be picked up with telekinesis and hurled at the enemy, or simply moved aside. Seldom does anything distract the player from believing what they see, despite how fantastic it may seem.
This reality is greatly enhanced by the intuitive non-player characters that populate the world. The slow, lumbering Big Daddies carefully protect the venerable Little Sisters that gather the genetic material called ADAM that players use to improve their character. They will go about their business if you leave them alone, but attack and they’ll bring you down quick.
In a battle, this advanced AI system means enemies will lay traps as the player chases them, try to heal at health stations, duck behind cover or even put out a fire by jumping in the water. Intelligent players can learn to exploit this new system. For example, set an enemy on fire and when they jump in the water, shock them; hack the health station and when enemies try to heal, they get poisoned instead.
With the many years of work put in, BioShock may end up being the best offline, single-player game of the year.
