Graphically Bioshock brings it’s A-game in all aspects imaginable. The world of Rapture is so detailed and engrossing I found myself literally becoming lost in its beauty more than once. The water effects are the best seen to-date and from the moment you see it as you swim out of the downed airplane you will be calling your buddies to come check it out. There are also scripted moments a-la Half Life and some of them are simply breathtaking (such as the one where the plane crashes into the underwater tunnel as you’re moving through it) and they really add to the feel of the game. The main protagonist himself is very detailed, although you cannot see his legs or body, the arms are where everything takes place anyways. All of the plasmids have a different effect on your left hand and while some of them are downright gross to look at, they are that realistic looking. Each plasmid causes a different visual effect, such as fire or ice, and they all represent the world of Bioshock perfectly. The weapons are also very detailed and look authentic enough to the time period. The splicers, big daddies, and little sisters all will frighten even the bravest of gamers, man they look good. I mentioned the environments earlier but I need to reiterate just how awesome they look graphically; every bit of the city of Rapture merges together with the next section from a graphics standpoint. I know I thought to myself over and over again how this city looks as if an actual architect, with the help of an interior designer, built it. Nowadays all next-gen games look good so it’s the small things that set them apart from the pack, Bioshock has more “visual tidbits” then could be mentioned in a ten-page review. All in all this is one of the best overall looking games out there right now and should really set the new standard for the graphical overset of all future survival-horror video games.
Rounding out an almost perfect gaming experience is the audio. Booming out of a nice 5.1 speaker surround sound system this game just sounds great. The voice acting is some of the best out there, which is huge considering the entire storyline relies on it. Sound effects and ambient music are great as well and the soundtrack is downright freaky, plus it is straight out of a 1950’s time period movie. All of the songs are just twisted enough to fit into the horror world that is Bioshock. In conclusion I have to mention the two gripes I had with this game; 1) there is no multiplayer, and with all these awesome weapons/plasmids and potential insane maps/bots it would have been a welcome addition to a near-perfect game, and 2) the length of the game is quite short, clocking in one play at around 10 hours it isn’t something you will be playing for months to come. There is some replay value with the collecting aspect but really, who does that? This review could go on for pages but it really only needed to be five words long: go buy this game, now! The storyline, graphics, gameplay, audio; everything about this game is as perfect and next-generation as they get. This game could easily come out of no where to steal the trophy that is game-of-the-year for 2007; even with heavy hitter competition such as Halo 3, Mass Effect, and Call of Duty 4. Besides Condemned this is the only quality survival horror game out there on the Xbox 360 and there is no reason why you should not already own this game. I cannot say enough good about Bioshock so I will sum it all up in the same way I described the experience to my wife, “This is why I play video games”.
