Bioshock was a monumental release for the Xbox 360 last September. Just over a year later, 2K Games’ masterpiece has been ported over to the delight of Sony fans everywhere. The question whether the game is worth buying was answered by the mountains of praise it has already received. Whether to buy the game for the PS3 is another question entirely. If you own a PS3 and do not own an Xbox 360, buy this game immediately.

Is this the best looking game on the PS3?  No, but it is still in an elite class. There are some instances where mapping can be an issue and not every inch of the game is perfectly done, but let’s face it folks, not one of us could even fathom putting together a game of this magnitude.  I am not easily startled, but there are quite a few times I almost shit myself.  Ripping a little girl’s stomach out for ADAM might be the single creepiest thing in the history of gaming.  Although, they strike a cord with some of the things you do not see.  There are many times that a shadow looms around the corner or that feeling you get when a Big Daddy is stomping around and banging the wall for a Little Sister to come out. You just know you are in for a fight.

The game has many redeeming qualities and the sound is one of the most prevalent. If you can say with a straight face that hearing 50’s music on a record player skipping while you are trying to club a half dead Splicer with a wrench does not at least make you a little uneasy, you are not human.  Never in my life have I seen a game that has the audible emotional power this game does.  The sound and music make you to feel like you are experiencing every moment of it and succeed with flying colors. 

This game is called a FPS, but its much more than that.  Yes, you do shoot, but there are elements of RPG laden throughout.  The game also forces you to make decisions on which plasmids/tonics to buy/equip and whether to harvest the little creepy sisters or save them.  The hacking mini-games are essential to success and the AI is as smart as I have ever seen.  The ability to create your own ammo is something out of Oblivion. The game forces you to think and react instead of blindly running through.  The controls are also extremely responsive. They are simple yet effective. This is another area where Bioshock is far above almost every game on the market.

There is no multiplayer or co-op, but the game is as big as you want it to be. People who have claimed to have beat it in 10 hours absolutely rushed through it. The game is meant to be explored; every inch, nook and cranny.  Try playing the game on its hardest difficulty and do not harvest any of the girls.  See how much different it is. One unique feature to the PS3 version is Survival mode (even harder with no Vita-Chambers), so there’s more challenge there than the Xbox 360 edition.

To answer my previous question, why should you buy the PS3 version over the Xbox 360? The PS3 version is almost identical in every way to the 360, but there are some issues. Most noticeably, the graphics are not as sharp as they could be. There is a patch coming to fix this, but will not be available until November 20th. All the plasmids from the Xbox 360 downloadable content are built in, but they are not worth a new purchase on their own merit. The controls are not as tight as the 360 version either. Having triggers over the PS3 L2/R2 buttons is a huge advantage, in my opinion.  The 5GB game install is a pain in the ass and every time you want to save, the XMB comes up. Another subtle annoyance.

After all that, if you own a PS3, buy the game. It is that good. If you have a 360, I would recommend that version, but chances are if you have a 360, you already played/bought/beat it anyway.  This is a special game and there are not many like it. Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams will be nothing short of incredible, so get caught up on the story already.

Overall: 9.5 out of 10

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Note: With the upcoming graphical patch in place, this score would be a 10.