Here’s the first in our series of Reader Reviews. This one comes from Fragloser for the hit title BioShock. Read and enjoy….

If you haven’t heard of Bioshock, it’s a FPS with a twist. It is kind of related to the System Shock games, but I wouldn’t say it is a sequel. With most FPS games, you know what you’re going to get right away. You usually get guns as you progress, and they just get more powerful until you finish the game. However, Bioshock is very different from these games. During the game, you get plasmids which alter your genetic code, giving you powers to do things such as shoot electricity at enemies. Here is a breakdown of some of the elements in Bioshock for the 360.

Presentation and Graphics: Bioshock is set in the 1960’s, and it will “wow” you as soon as you load the first level. When you first see the water in this game, you know that the developers put a lot of work into the water effects in this game. In addition, the fire looks particularly good. The great thing about the graphics is that Rapture is styled in an “art deco” manner. This means that as you look into each room, you get taken in by all the visuals, which helps you feel like you’re actually in the game, unlike WWII games where you pretty much have an idea what everything should look like. My only minor gripe is that you will see a lot of the same enemy models over again, which sometimes don’t look as detailed as I expected. However, don’t let that draw you away from the game, the world looks amazing, and the visuals are on par or better then those of Gears of War. 4.75/5

Sound and Music: While many people would consider a shooter like Bioshock to have bland music, it is the complete opposite. As you walk through each level, you hear the creepy background music that is constantly playing. As you walk around, you will hear enemies talking to themselves, which gives the game a personal side, hearing the A.I talk with themselves. There are also scary, yet humorous sounds of the vending machines as you walk up to buy something from them. When you fight enemies, the plasmids and guns all sound up to par, each with its own authentic sound. As you pick up diaries, the speakers sound like they are actually from rapture, which draws you into the game even further. Finally, if you crank your T.V louder, you can hear all the sounds and creaks of Rapture which is very nice. Honestly, I have no complaints about the sound or music, it was executed flawlessly. 5/5

Gameplay: Bioshock is a FPS where you can play it like a FPS, or you can play it how the developers wanted you to play it, which is using your plasmids in creative ways throughout the game. For example, if you light an enemy on fire, they will run towards water. Once they dive into the water, you shock them with electricity dealing a huge amount of damage without expending any ammunition. The rest of the plasmids flow very well with the game, but I won’t go into much detail about them, because I wouldn’t want to ruin all the exiting plasmids you get in the game and their great uses. The whole idea about Bioshock is that each player would play the game differently. My friend and I played this game while talking with each other as we played. We found that we both played the game much differently, which lead to different techniques that we used throughout the game. The A.I in this game is very good. Enemies just walk around rapture, living their everyday lives. They are accompanied by other NPC’s, such as Big Daddies. It is very interesting to see how the NPC’s interact with one another. Some people complain that the NPC’s re-spawn. However, they don’t really respawn. Instead, more NPC’s that are exploring the world happen to wander where you are traveling, just like what would happen in the real world which is why Bioshock excels yet again. This also will help if you need extra money or ammo if you are stuck in the game. The gameplay is very smooth. I never once disliked it, and always found it fresh and interesting. 5/5

Multiplayer: Hmm, there is no multiplayer mode present in Bioshock. While this is a letdown for many, I don’t see how multiplayer would have worked that well if they put it into the game because of all the plasmids. I feel if they included MP, it would have been unsuccessful, and wouldn’t appeal to a large audience of people. N/A

Lasting Appeal: Without multiplayer, many people will think this game has no lasting appeal. However, this is not the case. There are 3 endings to this game, which made me want to replay the game again. However, I have not got the chance yet. Also, if you are into achievements, this game has plenty to earn. I would recommend playing the game through on hard the first time, taking your time to explore all the levels thoroughly which will last you 20-22 hours depending on your skill. After beating it on hard, you should go back and play on easy, getting any achievements you missed, and trying to earn the 2 other endings. I’m guessing that replaying this game will take you 6-8 hours. 4/5

Buy or Rent: Depending on your style of gameplay, you can either buy this or rent it. If you just want another game to play through on easy and just push through it, then just get a 2 or 7 day rental for this and that will be enough time. However, if you want to immerse yourself in the world of rapture, and play through for the 3 endings, I would consider buying this. I know that a few months from now I’m going to want to go back to rapture, just to revisit all the amazing things that I experienced.

Final Word: Bioshock is an amazing game; I would rate it game of the year. The experience is just so unique that you will never play anything else like this again. While playing this game, you will constantly be surprised by everything you see. I was drawn into rapture, and I felt like I was actually there, experiencing the world. I do not think many games deserve a perfect score. However, as soon as I got this game, I beat it in 2/3 days on hard. I believe that my total play time was 21-23 hours. Basically, I woke up and played this all day, because the game always had something fresh to offer, and never got to the point where it was just the same thing over and over. Bioshock is the type of game where you can play all day, which gives it that upper hand over other games.

Overall: 5/5

1 = Not worth the bandwidth.

2= Demo is enough, not worth your money.

3= Game is good, depending on the price, seriously consider picking it up.

4= Worth your money. Should provide some good times for quite awhile.

5= Buy the game. Lock your door. Pick up a case of beer. This could take all night.