Like all good stories, the plot to Bioshock begins with little introduction and a huge emphasis on impact.

Beginning with the crashing of an aeroplane into the ocean, within seconds the player is subjected to the brightly-lit 1960's underwater universe that is Rapture, and subsequently, the psychotic and on edge population that comes with it. As an introduction it ticks the list of emotions like no other, these opening minutes being exciting, epic, unnerving and altogether tense. It is not only one of the best videogame openers of all time, but rather, one of the best fictitious openings, that truly has to be played or witnessed once by any fan of the medium.

Thankfully, this is no cheap-trick, and throughout the playthrough Bioshock continues to evoke a multitude of emotions while still providing consistently good gameplay. Okay, so on first impressions this is nothing more than just another mere first-person-shooter, but beyond the visuals, the game also innovates in many areas. First and most notably Bioshock adds a layer of RPG gaming to the experience. It may sound baffling, and while there's no battling mages or the like, there is a surprising emphasis on levelling-up and abilities, such as casting fire or freezing enemies. Again, it sounds odd, but in conjunction with the game's tone and story, it soon becomes second-nature.

The story though is one of the game's biggest draw, again, going against pre-conceptions and conventions of the FPS. Here there is no multiplayer, but with a single-player adventure so very on par with that of Half-Life 2, you don't need it. Beyond your arrival into Rapture the game world will continue to dazzle and awe, despite the ugly, sinister subject matter it occasionally represents. Full of backstory and with more than one significant plot-twist through the playthrough it's better experienced rather than described, but the game is undoubtedly an adventure in this respect, rather than just a mere shoot-em-up.

So it stands to reason then that mentioning the gameplay and shooting elements of a FPS last in a review is batshit insane, especially when the actual gameplay is so entertainingly satisfying. The gunplay on offer is successful, responsive, and in keeping with the rest of the game, always visually stunning and innovative. It is...fun, but with the game such an overall rewarding and enjoyable experience from beginning to end it is easy to forget about the characteristics of the weaponry entirely, simply because of the visual fireworks that will be going on around you. That said, judged simply as a shooter and nothing else, Bioshock is fantastic, the rest of the optional gameplay elements, obviously, just making the game all that bit sweeter.



Bioshock was released in August last year. While there's no doubt i'm completely late to the party in declaring this game's awesomeness, having just completed this game myself recently I am now all the more aware of the error of my ways in not playing this much sooner. The game is a rollercoaster of emotions, great gameplay, and audio/visual heaven, and if you didn't play it last year, then please do so, as soon as humanly possible.