Bioshock was released last week, so on Friday I picked up a copy at the local Best Buy and spent the weekend playing it moderately.
First, the basics. It’s a first-person shooter with some role-playing elements thrown in for good measure. You play the survivor of a plane crash in the North Atlantic who discovers a lighthouse in the middle of nowhere. Exploring the lighthouse leads you to a bathysphere, which takes you down to the underwater city of Rapture, the setting for the game. It even comes complete with a short film by the city’s founder, Andrew Ryan.
The visuals are breathtaking. Rapture’s architecture is firmly seated in Art Deco, for which I must confess a great love. However, that alone wouldn’t be worth the price of admission. Bioshock also brings a wonderful distopian story set in a city founded as a refuge from the intervening forces of government and religion. In other words, Bioshock is Objectivist/Libertarian crack. However, something is very, very wrong in Rapture as you soon find out.
The story is told through a couple of channels. Your “guide,” Atlas, gives you bits and pieces as he directs you from location to location. Along the way, you can collect little personal recordings of individual inhabitants which provide history and back story to Rapture’s downfall. These diary excerpts are well done and really aid the milieu. As you progress further into the game, important personalities will also interact with you, driving the story forward. I’m only about halfway through the game (I think), but I do want to take my time. Like a good novel, the game should be savored, not devoured.
As for the original title of the post, well I’ll tell you this much. Adam is the building block to get some neat genetically enhanced powers, Eve is the fuel. And don’t mess with a Little Sister unless you’re willing to take on a Big Daddy. Of course, the Little Sisters have the Adam, so plan carefully.
-K
