Under the Sea.

So I’ll be finishing BioShock tonight. I literally was at the doorstep of the end boss before my gaming session was cut short by the powers that be. I’ll start off by saying that the art direction is simply incredible- the 1940’s film noir style is definitely underdone in gaming. This, accompanied by properly placed music and ambient sounds throughout, it really benefits having a Dolby 5.1 sound system for this title.

The pacing is excellent, as there really is no penalty for death; it keeps you cruising along without hesitation. There was however, a few moments where I found myself highly irritated with a few of 2K’s design choices. The in-game security system is annoying as hell- this is very reminiscent of the Metal Gear Solid franchise. It’s more or less “Oh great, I was detected again… guess I better spend five minutes running around and hiding from the computer AI.” Fortunately, halfway through the game you obtain a power up that allows you to stand still and hide from security once detected. To me, this is almost an admission from the developer that “yeah we know this is annoying the shit out of you.” Even after the power up you’ve just got to wait there for about a minute and half before you can continue on. This is just enough time to get up, check your phone, let the dog out, whatever.

This design flaw isn’t enough to drastically derail the experience, because BioShock stands alone in terms of narrative in the First Person Shooter genre. The story and the characters are memorable, and you actually care about what is happening, instead of running around and shooting everything that moves. I see why so many people are quick to label BioShock as game of the year, the first fifteen minutes alone are probably some of the most gripping and intense moments of gaming I’ve ever experienced. This high level of quality is continually presented throughout, making BioShock easy to recommend to any fan of the FPS genre.