Thursday, July 24, 2014

XBOX360 Video Game Review: Bioshock

My, my, my, where to start when it comes to XBOX360's video game Bioshock? 
 
First I will start off by saying this game is not really aimed at girls, however after reading a few promising reviews online about this game, I had to pick up a copy for myself to see what everyone was going ga-ga over.

Turns out there is damn good reasons to go ga-ga over Bioshock. First and foremost this game is absolutely stunning. Bioshock, by far is the graphic king when it comes to games on the XBOX360, and believe me, I've seen my fair share of gorgeous games... nothing though, and I mean nothing takes the cake quite like Bioshock.

The game starts of visually beautiful. A plane blows up, and lands in the water. At first I had no idea what was going on, and I thought that the beginning game play was still the beginning opening sequel... seriously that is how stunning it is, when the cut scenes are as beautiful as the actual game. I was impressed.

Quickly I realized this was a first person shooter game, which normally I would hate, because under no circumstances do you ever visually see your paying character on the screen. Your eyes are supposed to be your characters eyes, so really you see the world as if you are there in it. Personally I like being able to see my character because it gives me more control on seeing who/what is about to sneak yup behind me.

At first I didn't quite comprehend what was going on, but as I got deeper and deeper into the game understood my missions more clearly. The year is 1960, and after the plane crashes you swim to a lighthouse that is literately in the middle of the Atlantic. Once I was inside of the lighthouse I discovered that this lighthouse was actually an opening into an underwater city called Rapture.

Not to long into the game I was immediately being overrun with zombie like people which when they come seriously scared the crap out of me, because they come running at speeds like some sort of super human zombie the moment they see you. Some try and smack at you, and others have weapons. These creatures are not actually called zombies though, they are referred to as Splicers, and their only aim is to try and kill you.

Quickly in the beginning of the game I was able to find weapons such as wrenches, pistols, and other fire arms to kill these creatures. You can find weapons and other tonics you will need to fight either in the environment you are in, or by searching a corpse.

It's not the creepy looking Splicers though that will have you in awe and in suspense, nor is it really the actual fighting in the game that takes place that impressed me. It was the environments, the story told to me as I went on, the creepy vibes that the game gives off from start to finish. The Victrola type music that plays in the background that keeps you fearing whatever may be lurking around the corner. It's the strange voices of children that you can hear; the residual energy of past ghosts who roam hallways replaying their death or re-enacting an event, and the deliciously creepy vibes that you get when you hear an old diary recording from a past person who once resided the environment you are now in.

The game has this quality about it like in scary movies, when all of a sudden a character is in the present time, and then suddenly is brought to a retro time at the blink of an eye die to some weird time portal, only the place he/she is now in is haunted, and you just KNOW something bad is about to happen. If you've ever seen the scary movie Ghost Ship, you'd know exactly what I meant.

Everything about the first few places I explored were completely retro, but that haunted retro, dashed with futuristic robotic creatures as well as zombie.

A game truly never was able to work up emotions out of me quite like Bioshock. The emotions I felt the first few minutes of playing were of fear of the things that lurked, and curiosity of the environment I could explore.

As you move on through the game, you will be fighting off a lot of strange zombie like creatures, weird killer robots, and in some cases even children Splicers. Every room I went into I was able to find new things, new weapons, secrets, cures, money, and needles which I could use to self inject myself with to use as new powerful weapons, such as shocking enemies that came near.

The most frustrating thing about Bioshock though is that the deeper you get into the game, the difficulty level seems to skyrocket with each new room you pass through. The game went from having a mysterious 'solve the mystery' feel, and quickly jumped into all out war, and this all occurred nearly 1 hour into the game. It got frustrating because making head shots to certain enemies is close to impossible, especially when they are running at you in groups at high speeds. Making a head shot to a creature kills it faster, but it is a very hard thing to do. Before you know it, you are able to shoot one, and you are being attacked at all sides by 4 more. I honestly found the first weapon I picked up (the wrench) to be the most efficient weapon while playing the game. It made things frustrating because the investigator in me wanted to search through every corpse, every desk draw, and every cabinet or shelf I could find. This sometimes got difficult, especially when you have a clan of Splicers and machines shooting rounds at you.

The city of Rapture is huge, and it would be really easy to get lost, however thanks to the gold arrow that will be located on the far right hand of the screen, you will be finding your goals and destinations in record times if that is really all you want to do. The arrow basically leads the way, sort of like in Crazy Taxi.

There will also play the voice of the city's creator, Andrew Ryan who gives you a better understanding as to why Rapture is the way it is.

Sounds:
 
As stated earlier, the sounds in Bioshock are what works up emotions while playing. The music plays in the background sometimes loud, sometimes softly.. .but the music adds to the scary tension you will be feeling, it truly ups the notch on fear, and ties in with the game play to the tee. Without the freaky music being played in the background, this game wouldn't quite be the same.

Other sounds of course are the sounds of your gun going off which have a lifelike sound quality to them. You will also hear the Splicers at times having arguments, or singing. It just adds to the whole creep-fest you are in, and it's awesome.

Controls:
 
Controlling your way through Rapture is pretty simple, you simply use the joysticks to move about and look around. You switch weapons and can view maps by using the R buttons, and you shoot or hit using the upper controllers trigger button.

The only annoying thing about the controls is the fact that turning around to defeat enemies at your back is annoying. You never really know when one or two of them are going to sneak up on you, and constantly having to turn around to check your back grows tedious after awhile.

Graphics:
 
Nothing, and I mean nothing has ever looked this good. I have no problem saying that this game gives off graphics as stunning as a Bluray disc. I played this on a Samsung 1080p HDTV, so I'm sure it amped the games graphical glory up. For those of you with HDTV's, you're truly going to come across some jaw dropping environment's. There is truly nothing as impressive as looking through windows out into the underwater world outside, where occasionally a whale may pass through.

Overall:
 
Bioshock is beautiful, there is no other way to put it. It works up emotions, which many games have strive to do. Bioshock though managed to capture it, and it is a game you won't want to put down.

It gets you involved, sucks you in at the moment you turn it on... and in my opinion it is the best first person shooter game I have ever played. Like I said, normally I hate first person shooter games, but Bioshock is on a whole other level. Its fantastic. For me Bioshock was an excellent scifi story, a flawless work of art, and the most wonderful game I have ever played. There are not too many games out there aimed at girls, and me being a girl, I can honestly say this is one that anyone will appreciate.
Rated M, for mature audiences.

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