BioShock

£15 Pre-owned Game in the tin box (sorry for the overly bright flash, its quite a dark day by August standards), spotted for £15 in Zavvi, £20 new at Game

"Just another first person shooter" I thought as I watched the advert on TV that seemed to be all constant shooting, reminiscent of the old Quake deathmatches I took part in when I was a teenager, constantly getting beaten by my caffeine fuelled friends with keyboard-mouse-Voodoo2SLI-19" CRT setups.

Fast forward a year later, and I buy an Xbox 360, download the demo and promptly purchase the game.

Where do I start? Firstly, the graphics. From when you initially swim in the real looking water, looking at flames so lifelike you can almost feel the heat, look up and there is a mysterious looking lighthouse in the middle of nowhere. The whole scene is breathtaking and you know you are in for something special.



The setting. The game is set in an underwater utopia built in the mid 40s by industrialist Andrew Ryan. I am a huge fan of early 20th century architecture and styling, so the whole art deco setting really appealed to me. The buildings, the adverts, the neon signs, the retro-futuristic technology and just standing by a window looking out through the water at the surroundings, all rendered by the fantastic graphics. Much more appealing than random space station corridors.



The story. I do not want to give anything away, but the story is so intriguing, from what the player finds out through audio diaries to the way the events unfold that a film is to be made.

The usual weapons are present, pistols, machine guns, shotguns etc, but the player can also use plasmids which allow you to send fire, ice or even wasps from your hands. A finite number of plasmids can be carried at any one time, so you need to choose carefully.

I am currently on my 3rd tour of Rapture city, 1st time on medium with the good ending, 2nd time on hard with the mean ending, trying to find the secrets in every level. The 3rd time, just for the sake of it.

Overall 10/10 recommended. Coming out soon for PS3, a movie has been rumoured, and a prequel is on the way.