Product ReviewsBioShock (Sony PlayStation 3, 2008)

Good, but could use some improvement

Andrew Ryan, a man with a vision of utopia, creates the city of Rapture located deep in the Atlantic Ocean. His philosophy involves you being the best that you can be even it means disregarding the idea of God or other people.

You play a silent protagonist that survives plane crash at the beginning of the game. You enter a mysterious lighthouse only to be transported to Rapture, a city filled with mystery and horror. In Rapture, you will find plasmids, which is basically a drug that alters your DNA in order to give you supernatural powers that involve things such as electricity, fire, and telekinesis. In order to become even more powerful, you need to obtain ADAM.

In the game you will encounter enemies such as splicers (ADAM addicts), Little Sisters (ADAM gatherers), and Big Daddies (Guardians of Little Sisters).

Combat is pretty solid. The controls were good and battles were very challenging. This is a First Person Shooter that requires you to think. You cannot gun down everybody easily like in Call of Duty.

The graphics for this game are amazing especially the water. This should be expected since it is running on the Unreal Engine 3, which is the same graphics engine that is responsible for Gears of War's graphics.

I did have a few problems with the game. The hacking mini-game is frustrating. If you fail a hacking mini-game, you either lose health or alert security. Another problem is the reloading animation. In the game, you can use different types of ammunition for your guns. However, the animations are too long and it is easy to get killed in combat while reloading. Another problem is that the wrench is probably the most useless weapon in the game. You barely do any damage with it. Also, if you are into games with multiplayer, then prepare to be disappointed because this game does not have multiplayer.

Overall, this is a very good game. However, it does have its flaws.Read full review...

compelling gameplay

This game is not your typical shooter and is just a bit creepy. I wouldn't recommend it for small children. I actually played Bioshock 2 first and loved it. I am only about 15% into Bioshock but it is proving to be every bit as good as 2. I highly recommend it.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: happyseller108

One of the all-time greats

This is an excellent shooter with a very rich story-line. The game is approaching 10 years old and has aged quite nicely. I would put it in that Doom or GoldeneEye category for being a revolutionary shooter. Very clean feeling controls with almost an arcade simplicity. It's hard to stop playing once you get started. Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: marcus8375

All I can say is 'Eh . . . '

After hearing that this game was a gift from the gods bestowed upon the mud-caked humanity meant to bring forth from their ignorance into a golden age of enlightenment, I became skeptical. Still, since everyone not speaking to me through the lens of a magazine still raved about it, I plunked my dollars down to see what all the damn fuss was about.

Now, after playing Bioshock, I can say that I honestly did not expect the game to be so powerfully mediocre. I was expecting something really good or really bad, and I am truly amazed that it stuck so ardently to the absolute middle of the ground. Bioshock is the unsweetened decaf of video games.

It is a first person shooter, and so I was presented with guns and what to use them on early in the game. And you eventually get about eightish guns, which can be upgraded using the game's much vaunted 'role-playing game style capability progression' system. Sort of. Apparently, you upgrade guns by taking them to vending machines, which can only be used once per machine. By the way, I hope you enjoy vending machines, because you're going to be spending a lot of time at them, as they're the place to get most items and 2/3 of your ammo.

Then there's the 'magic system,' which involves genetically altering yourself to get cool powers, like the ability to shoot bees out of your hands. Again, not making it up. You get the power to shoot bees from your hands. Or hurl brainwashing juice. Or set things on fire. While neat, they're all pretty much rubbish, as there is virtually no reason to switch away from the electricity power, which does more for getting you through the game than all the other powers combined, and does it more efficiently than any others. The game also gets extremely stingy with EVE, the juice that makes your powers work, as you progress.

I'm sure some of my colleagues in the reviewing business would take the opportunity to rave about the game's graphics, but I feel obligated to point out that while the game does look good, that is usually a liability. The enemies move in a strange, wooden sort of way that makes it hard to believe that they are human, or were even once human. The only exception is the enemies that appear on the cover, the Big Daddies, who actually move with some degree of fluidity and like the huge, unstoppable juggernauts they're supposed to be. Though truthfully they're pretty much not -- you can find or make the ammunition that renders them a fight of mild difficulty at best, and that's assuming you don't just slap them with the electricity power and watch them twitch as you pump them full of bullets.

Another relentlessly overhyped aspect was the story. The story, like most games these days, is not interactive in the slightest, and is mostly played out in optional tape recordings you listen to. In several places, you will be clearly, obviously prevented from doing something so that the story can be played out in front of you, which has an effect kind of like taking the concept of interactivity and grinding beneath a hobnailed boot. I would expect a game yakked about as much as this one to at least respect the conceits of video gaming, rather than choosing to go around them like they were an obstacle.

All in all, the game has this 'What would you get if you crossed Halo with Fable?' vibe, which makes me wonder, in turn: 'Why would you want to mix two utterly mediocre games together and expect the whole to be greater than the sum of the parts?'Read full review...

Freakin' awesome game

I played this game before on the Xbox 360 but now I have a PS3 and I never beaten this game, just had it on the backburner but after picking it back up again, I am so in love with this game and the world that was crafted for it. 10 out of 10. We need more Bioshocks and less COD.Read full review...

Awesome!

If your reading this your likely trying to decide whether or not to purchase Bioshock. Well, I am going to say right now that it is not for everyone. The storyline is thought-provoking and some of the scenes may be too graphic for some. That said, this game is an excellent shooter-horror game. It isn't like Dead Space or Resident Evil because your never really ever in danger of running out of ammo and if you ever die you'll respawn at a vita-tank with life and EVE. This is one of the best FPS's I have played in a long time and I am likely going to play through the game again and again gleefully.

The graphics are really really good, the sound's are perfect, and the controls don't suffer from being nonresponsive as some shooters turn out to be on consoles.

The game does have some moral quandries, like if you should kill the Little Sister's or not. These moments give you ADAM which is used to power up your plasmids or buy passive abilities. The choiceis completely up to the player, but I will say that there is a difference in the decision you make.

The ways to kill your enemies are only limited by your imagination and the environment at the time. You can use the powers of electricity in water to shock them to death, light a patch of gasoline on fire and watch as they try to run through it to get to you, and many others.

This game is amazing and if your into story-driven FPS and aren't worried about not being able to play multiplayer then I completely encourage you to pick this up. Or if your a PS3 owner and were neglected when it came out for the Xbox 360 and PC, and are a fan of the genre, then I totally am recommending adding this to your collection.Read full review...

Must play game!

Bioshock is a very impressive game. I have been hearing about it since it came out, and finally after so many other things in life, picked it up and played it this Decemeber. Im on my second playthrough and I plan to do one more after to complete my trophy collection.

Graphics 9.5: This game really blew me away with the opening scene. Without going to far, you see water just so rich and vivid in detail and the night sky to when you finally make it to the tower all in one fluid motion. The enemy motions are fluid and representative of the people. Everything is detailed and the city of Rapture is loaded with supplies and things to aid you in your adventure at every corner. Only flaw is when you walk to fast or mainly when you load, the textures do not load in time so it looks like a ps1 game but after a few seconds it reappears. Again minor and usually only when you load to much.

Gameplay 10: The fun of Rapture is the weapons you find to tackle the baddies. You also find "Plasmids" which are powers such as fire to light up your enemies and "Electro Bolt" to shock and stun your enemies. Combine them with your surroundings of oil slicks and your weapons as well as upgrades to your self known as "tonics" and you have a very good FPS/RPG. This is a FPS but no were near other generic titles were you just shoot and heal. It plays very well like a RPG you "level" up by upgrading your health and abilities and other things. The fights are incredible, very smooth even with a lot going on.

I could write more about Bioshock but there is to much detail to go into. The sounds of its citizens means you will want to listen to their speeches and will love some of their dialouge. You might be a little scared when you first play since their is a few scares but usually only in the beginning and you get use to Rapture. The story is well done, and will uncover a few twists and will definately shock you when you reach a certain point. Pick up this game if you haven't and play it! The city of Rapture is a beautiful experience and is simply one that can't be missed.Read full review...

exciting theme and mysterious characters

This game is definetly an out of the ordinary game, it has lots of new ways to kill your enemy and it's not just boring old guns. There are many weapons that you can attack your enemy with; from guns to wrenches to super human powers. I can't decided on what I do not like about this game because I have not played the whole thing yet and I am no where to judge the plot or complete gameplay of this game but I do know that I am very excited to play the whole thing and move on to the second game. The reason why I bought this game was That I got a free poster of Bioshock 2 and since I wanted to hang it up on my game room wall, I decided to buy the first game because I am one of those people that can't see the second movie before the first.Read full review...

Basic controls, creepy areas, and a fun shooter makes it an enjoyable game

A game I love to play and will probably always enjoy.

This is a great shooter game with a mix of special powers thrown in on top, the spooky atmosphere of Rapture made this game great to play at night in the dark for the few times it manage to spook me.

The controls are simple one side for guns/weapons and the other for plasmas ("spells") the old time look was also a nice touch and made the game memorable. The vending machine was a new touch in order to get supplies you needed but they fit in with the story line and made the place more realistic instead of just items randomly placed you had a local source to buy.
The fights were pretty basic one with better aim wins, that is until you come across a Big Daddy (as seen on cover) in those fights you have to have somewhat of a plan as just a few hits from them could easily wipe you out.

For the parts i didn't enjoy were the under abilities of the plasmas i found my self even barely using them through out the game with a gun was more effective.
Second I didn't like the fact we were given little or no choice in story line, but I can live with that as it was a fun story to play through, and enjoy.

I do have one thing to say about a comment that you have to kill little kids or the kids are the ones killing, that was wrong you have a choice you can either save the Little Sisters or Harvest them, and they are not the ones killing anyone (that is the adults themselves) they are scavengers harvesting ADAM from corpses or "Angels" as they call them.Read full review...

A great game at great price!

The game plays great and despite it's age the graphics still hold up! The story is compelling and keeps me coming back for more!

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: schoobiedo