Bioshock 1 Review

Bioshock is a First Person Shooter (FPS) game in which you find your way into an underwater city, Rapture, after a plain crash in the middle of the ocean. In this new and twisted place you will have to fight if you want to survive!

Plasmids and Tonics for sale.

Other than moving around and shooting things with 8 different weapons you will have access to a variety of special powers, the Plasmids! It is not magic my friends, it is genetic science. There are a wide variety of Plasmids, ranging from simply burning your foes, moving things with your mind to creating spectral decoys of yourself.  You can also find special serums called Tonics. They enhance your physical, combat and engineering skill. With that you will have plenty of choices for managing different play styles, but all of this power is not for free, you will need to gather Adam to pay for this.

An unprotected Little Sister.

Adam is a special currency that can only be gathered by interacting with the Little Sisters. They are the ones that can unleash your powers. Unfortunately they are not alone. Their protector, the Big Daddy, is there to prevent any wrong doing against them. And believe us, they are a force to be reckoned with! To help you break through them you will find weapon upgrades scattered into the city, giving your favorite weapons a much needed boost.

Hacking mini-game.

The singular thing about life in Rapture is that many of the challenges you face can be transformed into an advantage. All machines in the city can be hacked through a tile puzzle mini-game and forced to help you instead of the enemy. You can convince that Big Daddy to be your body guard. You will also find plenty of money laying around that you can use to restock in vending machines. One final interesting mechanic is discovering enemies weaknesses and gaining increased damage through repetitively photographing them.

Bioshock 1 has an amazing setting and great plot. A very unique art style and, despite being a little rough for today standards, a solid gameplay that marked the industry as one of a kind, not an easy feat considering all the shooter games out there! If you managed to get the remastered version you can watch some director commentary videos on two of the developers talking about the decisions behind the game and how their limitations, at that time, shaped the experience you have. If not, you can watch them on Youtube.