Genre: First Person Shooter
Year: 2007
Developed by: 2K Boston
Published by: 2K
Platforms: PC, XBOX 360, PS3, Mac OS X
#63
Feeling Like: A man chooses, a slave obeys
What a year 2007 was for gaming: Super Mario Galaxy, Half-Life Two: Episode Two, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Halo 3, Mass Effect, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption just to name a few. The PS3 and XBOX 360 had been out for a year or two, so it was natural that we were starting to see stellar products from developers who were getting the hang of the hardware. Lucky us.
BioShock is a spectacular achievement. The underwater city of Rapture is as compelling a setting as any location in fiction, let alone gaming. A madman’s vision of what humanity should be, it’s art deco in a submarine, wrapped in an Ayn Rand blanket. With magic powers and evil scientists. And it somehow makes sense.
Even the simple act of walking down a hallway elicited an emotional response from me. The concept of an underwater city, realized in this level of detail, was shockingly beautiful. The casual glow from the city lights permeated every window, the dream realized by magnate Andrew Ryan is very easy to see in certain sections. Luxury and freedom from the government. After all, who is going to travel to the bottom of the ocean to bother you about taxes? But traveling through a utopia isn’t very interesting, so naturally everything has gone to hell. There are leaks everywhere, deranged addicts, pompous psychopaths wanting to rule the roost and, most terrifying of all, the Big Daddies.
What’s a nightmare without a monster, after all? They’re lumbering guardians, you can hear their heavy footsteps coming. It’s like if the Incredible Hulk put on a diving suit from the 1930s and switched out a first for a drill. The best part is, they’ll leave you alone as long as you leave them alone. But where’s the fun in that? You better be ready for them, because the second you shoot in their direction they’re going to charge you in the name of defending their ward, the Little Sisters.
It’s far more moving than it should be. I’ve gunned down many a big man in games, but when I finally succeeded (after dying multiple times), the Little Sister would tragically hover over the Big Daddy’s body, crying out “Mr. B! Mr. B!” God, I felt terrible. When you “claim” the Little Sister for their valuable resources, you can choose to harvest them (you fucking monster) or save them – saving them results in less rewards, but then they turn into a real girl and thank you for saving them. In no reality am I picking to harvest them. I’m terrified of picking the immoral choice in life, and while gaming allows us to do things we never would dream of doing, I still want to be the hero and a nice fella. Easiest choice ever. Plus, it leads to the nice ending. Aww, I like nice endings!
It’s still one of the best looking games I can think of. The green haze that permeates each area feels like a warm blanket. Just like a city, it has a dozen different areas from the slums, to the marketplaces, to laboratories, to libraries, to luxurious residences. I never felt frustrated getting lost, since I never knew what was going to be around the corner. Sometimes it would be a Big Daddy and Little Sister. Sometimes automated turrets. Sometimes vending machines that provided much needed health. I loved the constant audio cackling from the Circus of Values. As annoying as it is, there is no sweeter sound in Rapture when you’re near death.
Grabbing audio logs and listening to various colorful characters narrate their plights may seem cliche now, but in 2007 it was a brilliant way to give exposition without throwing it in the player’s face. For one, I didn’t have to collect them all, but I was rewarded with my exploration with unveiling new information about the city and its residents. Secondly, the voice acting is top notch, as good as it gets. There’s enough dark humor and period piece slang that each recording felt like a monologue from a radio play. This is storytelling and art, as much as it is a game about shooting things in a dilapidated dystopia.
The freedom of weaponry ties right into the themes of choice. There are dozens of ways to take out splicers – you can shoot bees at them, or whack them with your wrench. Or both. You can lightning blast a pool of water, or you can spray and pray with a tommy gun. You can use telekinesis to pick up and throw virtually anything not nailed down to the floor. Fire is always a good choice. My favorite was hacking turrets so they would lay their wrath upon my enemies, and not me for once. Why get my hands dirty?
The origin of Frank Fontaine’s “Would you kindly?” is one of the industry’s great twists. It’s a brilliant narrative trick, one that is both original and unique to gaming itself. It ties gameplay to story, an extremely rare occurrence. It made me retroactively appreciate my previous several hours of gameplay that much more. It’s so good, I won’t dare spoil it here, even 16 years after the game’s release. Bravo, 2K Boston!
There isn’t a single part of BioShock that feels half baked, or underdeveloped. The propaganda style intros for new plasmids made me chuckle. The campaign never overstays its welcome, clocking in around 12-15 hours. The scenery is awe-inspiring, right up to the last boss fight. There are creepy moments, as the shadows always hide something lurking. The arrogance of man, the dangers of science and the horrors of violence are present in some video games, but not on full display like in BioShock. One of my favorite trilogies originated here and I’m still seeking something similar to scratch that itch. I haven’t found it yet. The shooting doesn’t feel quite as tight as the rest of the experience, but that’s about the only nitpick I can fathom. BioShock is a tremendous game, and the only reason BioShock 2 is higher is due to one very specific part, but it’s difficult to argue against the original being the best of the bunch.
The 500 