1 - The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.69960#676220]
2 - Harvie Krumpet [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.70751#701645]
3 - The White Chamber [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.71432#723554]
4 - WALL-E [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.71895]
5 ? The Life of D. Duck [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.72595]
6 ? JetSet Radio Future [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.73006]
7 - Star Wars: Battlefront (1 and 2) [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/326.73287.790938]
2 - Harvie Krumpet [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.70751#701645]
3 - The White Chamber [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.71432#723554]
4 - WALL-E [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.71895]
5 ? The Life of D. Duck [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.72595]
6 ? JetSet Radio Future [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.73006]
7 - Star Wars: Battlefront (1 and 2) [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/326.73287.790938]
Anyway, that more-than-a-year passed by, and as the date drew nearer to my birthday (5[sup]th[/sup] December), they began to ask me what I wanted for my birthday. I replied, ?My 360 back?. They asked me what else, and I replied, ?Money for a new computer?. Naturally, this gave them little choice, and they eventually gave in to my demands. I am now the proud owner of an Xbox 360 again.
Soon after, I became victim to another shocking discovery; I had lent all of the games I had bought for it to my cousins, because I had no use for them sitting in my room. Because I am not seeing them for a while, my friends agreed to buy me a game as a birthday present.
After an age of deliberating, and standing in front of the likes of Fable 2, Call Of Duty 4, The Orange Box and Fallout 3, I became the owner of Bioshock.
On a completely different agenda, if anyone has been paying attention to the ?Forum Games and RP? section recently, The Sorrow has set up the sequel to his amazingly entertaining and successful The Ratings War [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/362.77172 ], and I decided to join in to test my literary mettle with the other users on The Escapist Forums. This, however, was in vain, because I wound up losing in my first heat.
While this was close, and I was pitting myself up with one of the best in the first round, it got me thinking; ?How am I going to be a successful writer if I lose to the first person I come up against??
With this very thought in mind; I realized that practice was the key. And then I looked back on ?Lord Krunk Reviews? my pet project with this very aim in mind, and noticed how long since I made a review.
And so, I aim to rehash my little unsung series, with big plans in mind. With my 360 by my side, a new computer to be in my possession early next year, and a whole lot of games, books and movies at my disposal, I have brandished my pen in search of the literary Holy Grail, the secret to the big writers? success.
Watch out, Internet. Lord Krunk Reviews is back, with his 8[sup]th[/sup] issue.
Lord Krunk Reviews ? Bioshock
In 1960, a plane crashes in the middle of the Atlantic. You are Jack, the only survivor, who finds himself washed up to a towering spire sticking out of the ocean. Upon entering the spire, you are faced with a Bathysphere that leads you to the underwater city of Rapture, one man?s dream to create a utopia where one?s actions and skills determined their social standing, not governments, family ties or corruption.
Rapture was once a beautiful city supported by free industry, and further supported by the discovery of a substance called ADAM, which gives the person who takes it super powers, known as Plasmids.
Recent events have compromised this, and you arrive in the city to find a dystopian wasteland. With the help of a man named Atlas and a scientist called Tenenbaum, you must escape Rapture and pave your own destiny.
It?s over NINE THOUSAAAAAND!
Bioshock is a very impressive and detailed game, and for many reasons.
For one, Rapture is a beautiful place. The art is truly stunning, and really captures the old-timey style of the time in which this game was set. Not to mention the graphics, which are equally as beautiful.
The game?s music is executed brilliantly as well; in the scary bits, the discord completely enveloped me in the dark and sinister atmosphere, and then there were times when hordes of splicers (citizens of Rapture genetically altered by Plasmids) rushed at me, with humorously and oddly fitting songs such as ?Somewhere Beyond The Sea? and ?How Much Is That Doggy In The Window? humming in the background.
Bioshock is also extremely well-written, with extremely deep, detailed and haunting characters, creative concepts and a plot twist that rivals that of the original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Kudos also has to go to the creators for successfully making a city at the bottom of the Atlantic where people have super powers feasible.
The voice-acting is well-played, and I found myself genuinely attached to the characters I felt pity for the Little Sisters as they witness their Big Daddy guardians die by my hands, awed at the blatant and hysterical madness of characters like Sander Cohen, genuine hatred for the villains, and fear of the more sadistic and murderous characters; mostly ?Surgery?s Picasso? Dr. Steinman.
The game is also extremely engaging; you might notice a nod towards the Dr. Who episode ?Blink? as you play.
Another major element of the game is diversity. Most games of the same genre usually have a handful of characters; all American, who make snappy one-liners all the time. Bioshock consisted of one American as a main character, an Irish rebel, a Russian idealist, a Chinese inventor, a German scientist, a British engineer and an Aussie mechanic, just to name a few. Also, considering the fact that this game is set under the sea, you would expect to see a bland and reccurring environment. You would be wrong.
Those with a bit of nostalgia might notice that the ?hacking? minigame is actually a game of Pipe Dream. I found myself jumping up and down when I discovered this, as a part of my childhood had returned to me in the place I would least expect.
Collectibles such as audio tapes with backstory can be found dotted across the landscape, Plasmids can also be found, as well as several achievements (this is my first attempt at achievement-hunting; I chuckled at the contextual humour of the Irony achievement especially) to be achieved, ensuring replay value.
Lastly, and the biggest point of all: the creativity inserted into the game is outstanding. They have gone and done things that people have never done before (seriously, games of this genre usually involve the protagonist in a robot suit. What does jack have? A gaudy beige sweater, that?s what), in a place that no-one else would have thought of, and in a time that no one would have thunk. And yet, they still mange to keep it realistic.
Best of all, in searching for game pictures for this review, I discovered The Etch-A-Sketchist [http://etchasketchist.blogspot.com/].
Some seriously awesome stuff there; how does he do it?
While there are so many things I love about Bioshock, there are also bits I loathe.
In particular, Bioshock has a few little technical flaws and glitches that I would like to point out; most are fixable:
[li]Subtitles are badly timed, especially in the first level. This makes the game an issue for sub-lovers like myself. [/li]
[li]Issues during the ?hacking? minigame; there are occasions where placement of ?OVERLOAD? tiles make the game literally impossible.[/li]
[li]Blood-spatter, while beautifully horrific when smeared across the walls and floor, when it first comes out, it looks somewhat gunky.[/li]
Another issue I had was with the difficulty. The first few minutes I found relatively hard, but then I began to develop tactics (Atlas teaches you the ?one-two punch? technique at the start of the game; you don?t need anything more unless you?re fighting a Big Daddy) and found that I could finish the game without firing a single bullet.
Which leads me to my next point; you have a wide and awesome range of weaponry to choose from, but the Shotgun and Wrench are all you will ever be using (besides plasmids). I mean, you might go a bit overzealous and torch/freeze/electrocute your enemies with the Chemical Thrower, but it isn?t necessary.
My final issue was with the game?s final boss; which was ultimately disappointing. I really expected better, considering the quality of the rest of the game.
All in all, Bioshock is a marvelous and breathtaking game in the survival horror genre, and is a must-have for any serious gamer. If you haven?t played it yet, do so immediately.
This game was a prime contender for Best game of 2007, and if it was introduced in any other year, it would have got the gong. Regardless of issues, this game was brilliant, and I am glad to hear a sequel is in the works.
Here?s to hoping that it will work.
And now, an excerpt from one of my favourite webcomics - 'How To Play: Bioshock' by jollyjack. A nice summary, to say the least.
I set myself up with a challenge; make a Bioshock review without mentioning the words 'Big Daddy' or 'Little Sister'.
Does it work?
Does it work?
