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SWEATY PALMS - Its sheer Rapture
By LS Yuri Ramsey
Edition 1176, October 4, 2007 |
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| MASTERPIECE: Bioshock is one of the most atmospheric games ever made. It’s pretty much perfect. |
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- Welcome to Rapture -
Bioshock
2K Games
PC, Xbox360 (MA15+)
After surviving a plane crash near the surface entrance to Rapture, you take refuge in the decaying, dystopian metropolis built on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
Finding the population have descended into madness you slowly discover through audio journals, and conversations with various inhabitants of the city, what has occurred to cause the downfall of Rapture.
Use Plasmids and Gene tonics to ‘splice’ your genetic code to give you extra abilities.
There are around 70 to discover and you will need to use them imaginatively if you want to survive. The game encourages lateral thinking and is not just a mindless shoot-everything-that-moves type of game.
A major element throughout the game is the Little Sisters. They are little girls who have been implanted with a sea slug which has physically modified them to produce ADAM (the stuff that allows you to splice Plasmids and Gene Tonics).
To get to them you will have to tackle their protectors, the Big Daddies, huge lumbering brutes in modified diving suits, who are incredibly dangerous. This is where the game forces you into moral decisions. After killing their Big Daddy and capturing the Little Sister you can either harvest her for ADAM (killing her in the process) or rescue her by killing the implanted sea slug. This only nets you half the ADAM you would get if you harvested the Little Sister. So more power, or moral high ground… your choice.
The 1950s art deco architecture of Rapture is beautiful. Each and every room is different; it’s not just generic corridors, but grand architecture on a colossal scale. The developers have not just created an extremely functional city to explore, but have created a work of art.
The sound is the best I have heard in any game. Just listening to all the clanks and groans of machinery, the constant trickling of water, the litanies of the splicers (citizens which have been driven mad from too much ‘splicing’) as they wander the city mourning what they have become, is fantastic.
Playing Bioshock is a joy. All the elements blend so well together to make it one of the most atmospheric games ever made. The masterful audio, voice acting and stunning visuals makes you feel as if you are in an undersea city on the brink of collapse.
Bioshock is a hard game, but attains the happy balance of being difficult without being frustrating. Bioshock has set the standard for all story-driven shooters. It is a masterpiece of game design and should be considered an essential purchase.
5/5 stars
– LS Yuri Ramsey |
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