Never one to fall prey to hype, particularly when it comes to gaming, it was with interest that I recently picked up a now half-price Bioshock to see what last years fuss was all about.
Although an original concept and the artwork, general design & soundtrack are superb, I was left disappointed. The levels are very repetitive & on the short side. There's a slight cartoony feel to the game, certainly not present in serious first person adventure shooter classics like Half Life 2, MGS, Silent Hill & Resident Evil, which dilutes any real sense of drama or horror and the perpetual gloom ultimately makes for a slog rather than an interesting journey through the levels.
The transformation into Big Daddy near the conclusion reduces the players view by about a third of the screen, the remainder being just solid black. This is restrictive & reduces the players full visual enjoyment of the finale.
On the plus side, the collectable Plasmids,Tonics & Power-ups are very good & perfectly balanced throughout gameplay making for a real sense of achievement
and occasionally relief when leveling up. Voice acting is excellent and the use of recognizable 40's popular music is inspired.
Bioshock is a refreshing take on the tired fps genre that's littered with War related content but doesn't push the envelope forward enough. Any sequel needs to be edgier, grittier with more varied & longer levels if the developers want it to join the company of classics.
Last years Game of The Year? Certainly not.
6/10
