“BioShock” was officially released in 2007 (same year Assassin’s Creed came out) on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It received universal acclaim from critics and gamers alike winning numerous awards. The game spawned two games titled, “BioShock 2” & “BioShock Infinite.” All three games are remastered in one collection on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
“System Shock” is getting a remake this year. I’m gonna confess. I never played the game and its sequel. Once the upcoming remake is out, I’ll give it a shot. I’m aware BioShock is a spiritual successor to System Shock. Recently, Netflix announced they are currently working on a film adaptation of BioShock.
This review contains no SPOILERS whatsoever. Keep in mind, I’m only reviewing the remastered edition solely on single-player.
Good & Evil Aspects
Good: Ken Levine did an excellent job directing the game.
Graphics still hold up giving us players an immersive experience set in an underwater city filled with great unique level designs and character models.
Gameplay/Mechanics is presented as a first-person shooter. You navigate your way through an underwater city overcoming enemies using both powers and weapons. A unique mechanic involving hacking gives you limited time to connect pipes. If you fail, you lose health or trigger an alarm. If you successfully hack a vending machine, prices are deduced. You can also hack safes, turrets, security camera and keycodes. If you die, you’re transported back to the closest chamber available. In order to stick around longer, first aid kits restore your health. A blue syringe called, EVE restores your powers. Consumables like bandages and candy bars restore small amounts of your health and power meters. If you smoke a cigarette or drink alcohol, they will reduce a small amount of your precious health and power meters.
Combat never gets old. Using a mix of powers and weapons really come in handy. As you collect plasmids, you shoot lightning, light enemies on fire, freeze a random goon and my favorite has got to be the power to summon bees. That’s right, command a swarm of bees to sting your foes. Every time I see someone getting stung by a bee, I always shout this quote from “Tommy Boy.” “BEES EVERYWHERE!” “YOUR FIREARMS ARE USESLESS AGAINST THEM!” Anyway, my favorite weapon is a crossbow. Besides, bullets, alternate ammo like armor piercing bullets lets you exploit an enemy’s weakness. Taking photos of enemies, fills up a portion of a meter. Once it’s full, you learn about an individuals’ weakness and grants you bonus damage.
Enemy variety ranges from melee, ranged and teleporter. A Big Daddy (has nothing to do with Adam Sandler) can be really tough. If you defeat him, you can either spare or harvest a little girl for ADAM. A currency to spend upgrades on health, new powers and boosts.
Besides ADAM, you spend money on ammo, first aid kits and EVE at any vending machine.
The game is influenced by the “Resident Evil” series and the first two System Shock games.
Audio Recordings reveals the backstory of Rapture and its inhabitants. Sander Cohen is my favorite.
Arc Words are “Would you kindly?”
Andrew Ryan is based on real-life tycoons Howard Hughes & Walt Disney.
Songs such as “Beyond the Sea” are played in selective moments as the game is set in 1960. The aforementioned song was also used in “Goodfellas,” “Austin Powers in Goldmember” & “Finding Nemo.”
Opening Scene establishes what you’re about to see will blow your mind.
A Plot Twist changes everything.
There’s a good and bad ending. If you spare the little girls, you get a heartwarming outcome. If you harvest all of them, you get a savage outcome.
Once you beat the game, New Game Plus allows you to carry all your inventory from a previous save file giving you more replay value. If you play on Survivor Mode, you won’t revive at a nearby chamber. Meaning, it’s a permeant game over. Think you can beat it?
Evil: I couldn’t nothing wrong. I’m giving Ken Levine and his crew an Extra Point for making a flawless game as possible.
The Final Verdict: A, FOR APEX!
BioShock is without a doubt, a masterpiece. Every single positive aspect indicates why this game is worth your spare time. If you’re new to the BioShock series, I strongly recommend all three games in one package.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 