Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Video Games: 28

28: Bioshock (PS3/360/PC)
Developer: 2K Games
Year: 2007

I know I did the sequel quite a long time ago, and I think I said something about how – while that game improved upon certain elements from the first game – it was not up to the standards set by the first game. Now I have an opportunity to talk about why I feel that way. If some of you feel the second game was better, I hope this is a post that presents my feelings on this matter in a way that is at least partially convincing (also, I don’t care if you disagree with me all that much, but I always love to hear about it!).

First thing’s first, the storyline is ten times the storyline from the second game. You play as Jack, a guy on a plane that suddenly crashes into the ocean near a lighthouse. By traveling in this stoic building and exiting down into Rapture, a huge underwater city that has gone to shit over the past few years. Andrew Ryan, the charismatic leader of the city, is at odds with everyone else, namely this guy, Fontaine. From this point on, you are led around a la System Shock 2 (in more ways than one) until you realize just who you’ve been working for, how long you’ve been working for them, and the extent of your actions throughout Rapture as you take out splicers (mutated fucks spliced with super-charged plasmids). While this game doesn’t tug at the strings of the heart like Bioshock 2’s story about a father and daughter, it sets up the world of Rapture and creates a deepness and authenticity to the world unseen in the second game’s mild retread. Discovering this place is a joy, as is discovering the twisted people that inhabit it.

One of the few things the sequel did right is the only grievance I have with the first game’s core gameplay mechanics: you can’t use guns and plasmids at the same time. But that’s OK, because it doesn’t hinder the fantastic FPS-style gunfights, as switching between a machine gun and then back to a lightning power is quick as hell. Mowing down wave after wave of splicers is never a huge bother, either, because the environments present opportunities to cheat and use aspects of the world around you to murder everyone. Hack security cameras, electrocute water on the ground, etc. All of these things aid in your quest. There are some mild RPG elements to be found here, too, like the inclusion of gun upgrades, new plasmids that can benefit you in a variety of ways, and the like. But the biggest gameplay element is one of those that the second game just didn’t nail: the morality of the Little Sisters. Choosing which path to take is huge in the way the world works and how real it all feels. The second game made a mini-game out of protecting them, but Bioshock makes it a goddamned challenge to capture them, presenting those nasty Big Daddies and their relentless protection of the ADAM hording little girls.

The visuals are astounding, too. While the narrative choices presented in the first game fill in the world around you better than they do in the second game, the first Bioshock also has the privilege of showing you what Rapture looks like, first. The water effects, lighting, particle displacement, and the models of the jerks with lead pipes at your backside are all awesome and feature distinctive looks. The architecture of Rapture is one of those things that is now instantly recognizable – one of the drawbacks of Bioshock 2; while it was fun to be back, very little looked “new” – and a joy to blast around in. The soundtrack, too, is awesome. The bass lines of the music are perfect, and the effects from weapons, the voice acting, and – in particular – the groans of the Big Daddies that populate Rapture are all unique and special, making the game feel polished as hell.

All in all, Bioshock is one of those “must play” FPS titles, I feel, from this current generation. For those that love story, its all here, with enough twists and turns and interesting characters to make the narrative drive awesome. For those that love action, there are multiple ways to solve problems and kill enemies, with plenty of guns and powers to suit everyone’s liking. At the end of the day, Bioshock 2 improved on all of these things, but like Perfect Dark and Goldeneye 007’s relationship, the game that changed the rules is the one to remember.

Classic Moment:
Of course I could talk about this game’s (ultra lazy but still fun) System Shock 2 (ripoff) twist, but the real classic moment is the first one in the game. The fire on the ocean, the dark black sky, and the single tower in the middle of water is effective, gorgeous, and instantly iconic and epic. Few games have as awesome and jaw-dropping an intro section, and Bioshock picks it up from one and just keeps rolling with it.

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Added March 30, 2017
There is an HD remaster of all three games in the series available that I should acquire at some point. But between FFX, FFXII, KH, Uncharted, and Skyrim, I’m already overloaded on HD versions of older games. Ah, well.