Product Description

BioShock lets you do the impossible as you explore a mysterious underwater city. When your plane crashes, you discover Rapture - an underwater Utopia torn apart by civil war. Caught between powerful forces and hunted down by genetically modified "splicers" and deadly security systems, you have to come to grips with a deadly, mysterious world filled with powerful technology and fascinating characters. As little girls loot the dead, and biologically mutated citizens ambush you at every turn. Now you're trapped, caught in the middle of a genetic war that will challenge both your capacity to survive and your moral allegiance to your own humanity. Make meaningful and mature decisions that culminate in the grand question - do you exploit the innocent survivors of Rapture to save yourself - or risk all to become their savior?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #332 in Video Games
• Brand: 2K Games
• Published on: 2007-08
• Released on: 2007-08-21
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .57" h x 5.46" w x 7.54" l, .38 pounds

Features

• Biologically mod your body with plasmids - genetic augmentations that empower you with dozens of fantastic abilities
• Take control of your world by hacking devices and systems
• Upgrade your weapons at Fire-For-Effect stations located through Rapture
• Pick up materials in the city to modify them at U-Invent kiosks
• Explore an incredible and unique art deco world hidden deep under the ocean, vividly illustrated with realistic water effects

Customer Reviews

Wow
I have been an avid PC and console gamer for...well, as long as there have been PC and console games, and have probably played hundreds of the darn things over the last two decades, and I can comfortably say, that Bioshock, is one of the top two or three games I have ever played, and absolutely the best console game.

It's one of those rare games, that has all of what you love about a great game, with none of what annoys you. I realized, after about 10 hours of play, that absolutley nothing was ticking me off. If there was ever a game that got everything right, it's Bioshock.

Normally, you hear much about a shooter having an "absorbing story", and you're just like: "yeah, yeah, just shut up and let me shoot you". But Bioshock, actually does. The bleak, dystopian world scenario is hardly new in gaming, but Bioshock puts a great twist on things; and the art-deco 1940's sci-fi world is very refreshing and incredibly rendered. If you are as sick as I am of endless hallways filled with crates, you are in for a helluva treat. Not only does this game look amazing, but the design is so good, and so original, that it really does "absorb" you.

The biggest suprise to me, was level of literacy, and period detail. This game wasn't really designed for modern kids, and certainly wasn't designed by one. The villian, an obvious nod to conceptual novelist Ayn Rand, ends up being more complex than the average "evil rich corporate Republican" guy we're all so sick of by now, and not only is the voice acting a-list quality, but they even speak pretty authentic 1940's dialogue, with accurate period inflection. If you watch an old movie from the 40's you'll notice that not only was the slang and colloquial language different, but so was the actual style of speech. The characters in Bioshock don't sound like modern mallrats in seersucker suits, they sound like people from the 40's. The sense of period is very accurate, moreso than most Hollywood films (although a "German" lady character has a very obiously Russian accent lol).

Even the shooting, was fabulously fun. When I first started playing, I thought "oh no..shooting old revolvers isn't fun." But don't forget, even though Bioshock takes place in the 40's, it's still a sci-fi what-if adventure, and the assortment of weapons are a gas to use. And "adventure" is really accurate. Even though it's an FPS with a fair amount of bloody shooting, it really feels and plays more like an old Sierra adventure game than a Quake-style shooter. The plot matters in this game, unlike many others, and you spend more time exploring the amazing world and solving puzzles than actually shooting, so consider that a mild warning if you are a shooting "rivethead".

Bioshock is a very long game, but it was so addicting, that I played it almost non-stop for 4 days and finished it. I actually just rented it, because normally games that are centered on plot don't have a lot of replay value for me, but this one I can imagine playing over and over, so the lack of multi-player doesnt really matter to me here. I'll be buying this sucker as soon as payday hits.

In short, the hype around Bioshock is no hype. This game even killed Half-life and Halo for me, and that's saying a lot. Halo3 is going to have a helluva climb to even get near Bioshock, and i never thought I'd say that.

To wrap-up, even though much of Bioshock's conceptual nods and references will probably sail over the heads of most modern teen gamers, it won't matter a darn. They'll be to busy being knocked out by the best visual world and gameplay mechanics I've ever seen.

If you buy one game this year, make it this one.
I thought Gears of War was a good game, but I believe Bioshock outdoes Gears of War on multiple levels. First, the storyline is solid, I feel like I am participating in a self-directed movie, opposed to the typical experience of a weak storyline combining together sequences of violence. Second, Bioshock is not about who has the biggest gun, there is an element of strategy not found in previous FPS games with the exception maybe of Gears of War. Finally, the game is intuitive, easy to pickup. I am not a big fan of FPS games, typically enjoying games like Civilization IV, however, this game is one big exception.

Game of the year - so far
Having a bit of hype surrounding it before it's release, BioShock does not disappoint one bit. In fact, as far as first person shooters go, games rarely get any better than this. BioShock takes the FPS to new levels thanks to it's brilliantly realized atmosphere and setting, and a story that is so engaging you'll think that you were playing an RPG. Taking place in a secret underwater city called Rapture, you get put right in the middle as things go very, very wrong quite quickly, and it's up to you to save the day using a barrage of traditional weapons, and some newfound abilities as well. What makes BioShock so great besides the atmosphere and storyline are the character customization options which really allow the gamer to get into the game and tinker around to your advantage. The overall presentation, from the sound design to the wonderful voice acting to the grimy atmosphere, make BioShock one of the best games to hit the XBox 360 yet, and definitely one of the best FPS' to come out in quite some time. If there's any downsides to BioShock, it's that the game has a lack of enemy variety and that it is a little too forgiving to the gamer. Despite that though, BioShock is a masterpiece of modern gaming, and any and every 360 owner should consider this an essential pick up.