Bioshocked

Having finally completed Bioshock in its entirety, and with enough time passed now to afford others the same chance, I feel it's safe to talk at great length about the experience.

Bioshock is without a doubt, one of the most important video games that has ever come out. It proves that the gaming industry is not entirely lost to the churning gears of uncreative sequels, and emphatically shows players what a game can be like when design and execution come together with utter precision. This is a game with tight game play, an engaging plot, and iconic moments that will forever adorn the halls of video game history.

From the moment the player first comes in contact with a formidable Big Daddy, there is a sense that the city of Rapture is alive. Even if the game is slightly more linear than advertised, the city never ceases to feel alive as its denizens and genetic monstrosities wander the broken halls searching for the game's most important form of currency: Adam. The inclusion of a resource collecting system in a shooter such as this one creates an interesting dichotomy in the game play and also helps the pacing a great deal. Intense gun fights are broken up by hacking sections, item creation, and even vending machines where the player can change his genetic load out. Even so, the pacing is nigh perfect as the player progress deeper into the city and goes more in depth into Rapture's horrifying past.

Each new discovery in the sinking city is provided via audiotapes, left for the most part by ghosts of Rapture's past. Thousands died as a result of the civil war which occurred long before the player arrives, and only in the aftermath do the cause and the key players become clear. As the story unfolded further, and the plot twisted and turned through Rapture's sinking corridors, I continually became more engrossed in the experience.

Perhaps the most interesting addition to the game's dynamic is the moral choice that is provided each time you defeat a Big Daddy. Either harvest or rescue the little girls and the ending changes based upon your choices during the course of the game, but the most interesting addition is not the system itself. Rather, it is the emotional connection that the game forces the player to feel with the Little Sisters. Would you kill something that used to be a sweet little girl in order to survive? Will you be a monster, or their savior? The choice is yours, and the ultimate outcome will likely chill you to your emotional core.

I could talk about how unbelievable the graphics and art direction are, and I could probably go on for days about the sound design and music, but I don't need to. Bioshock speaks for itself as one of the most complete gaming experiences to date, and even if it is relatively short, it is ultimately uniquely satisfying and compelling like few other games before it.