BioShock GOTY Breakdown - Part Four: BioShock

Well, finally I will be able to answer the question Chris asked last week. But for a quick recap, here it is, "Tell me why BioShock won game of the year, when it was up against better games." Congratulations Chris, we will answer your week-old question to the best of our knowledge. And, without wasting your time with a second paragraph, Select Start will finish it's BioShock Breakdown starting right ...

Now, there are four main points to making a game: story, gameplay, graphics/sound and multiplayer. Some games omit the last feature if the developers decide to cut it out. In BioShock, the game lacks a multiplayer aspect, but you easily forget that when 2K Games provides you with such an interesting formula.

STORYLINE
I can't really say much without risking spoilers, so I'll just sum up the beginning. You play the mysterious silent hero, who is stranded on a deserted underwater utopia after your plane crashes over the ocean. The utopia, known as Rapture, was built by a 50's visionary that believed a new society must be created as an escape from the oppression of the surface world. Rapture, now in ruins upon your arrival, has changed from a beautiful civilization to a cesspool of greed, corruption and insanity. And so, your adventure starts as the explorer of this forgotten city and the last hope Rapture has of cleansing it's impurities. Did I pretty much sum it up? Yea, and that's only the beginning. As the story unfolds, you can't believe what happens and you will never have a second where the story ceases to amaze.

GAMEPLAY
BioShock doesn't have the regular ol' storyline you're used to and neither is it's game style. BioShock is both innovative and unchanging depending on whether the game is the first -Shock game you have played. I say this because BioShock had an earlier "cousin" franchise, System Shock, that undeniably resembles BioShock. While System Shock had a "psionic" power set, BioShock had the same type of power-up system used to add a supernatural element called, Plasmids. The plasmids system allows the player to obtain powers such as telekinesis, summon insects, electrocute, incinerate and freeze enemies. Before you ask, yes BioShock incorporates guns. You'll be able to get a machine gun that can eventually be upgraded by Rapture technology creating a more powerful and accurate weapon. And this is just the weapons system, which I barely skimmed the surface on.

The game also incorporate mini-games for the player. Throughout Rapture you will encounter mechanical turrets that open fire on you upon sight, but get close enough and you can enter a "Hack" mode that is really a small puzzle game. This puzzle game, if successfully completed, will allow you to modify the turrets mechanics to attack your enemies instead. This ability stretches towards cameras and flying automated machine turrets, so eventually you can create the perfect ambush for enemies. The turret systems are a small part of the BioShock gameplay, I could go on forever on what you can find, but I don't want to ruin the surprise.

GRAPHICS/SOUNDS
Here is where BioShock knocks it's competitors and it's other features out of the water. Graphically, BioShock blows any other game I have seen so far to smithereens. The water motion looks and reacts realistically. Fire, smoke, bullet-flash, and everything else that should normally stress a system, run perfectly. The scary thing about this is that it makes the game that much more realistic, and that's not really bad at all. The enemies have emotion that makes you dive straight into the story and it makes you feel for your mysterious hero. Character models will be running erratically towards you and you'll be tempted to let them hit you just once so you can get a close-up shot. The games "mini-bosses," the Big Daddy's, bring a sense of creepiness and their near-invulnerability to your weaker weapons make them a force to be reckoned with at first. After a while you'll be able to stand a chance, but be ready to have those "friendly" guys making you wear your ass as a hat regularly. Seriously, these guys started the ass-hat industry.

BioShock's soundtrack is dated. It's old, nothing of our time, full of crappy songs we don't appreciate and it makes the game f-ing awesome. There is no heroic Halo-like theme repeated over and over to help give you courage, instead it's all classics about love while you're fighting for dear life. The music, although being light-hearted, makes the game that much more scary. The distinct sounds of water dripping and distant sounds of enemies mumbling are made ever so pleasant by the idea that hundreds died dancing to that tune you're listening to at that moment. It's feelings like those that haunt you throughout the game. The voice-acting is clean and your character's lack of a voice makes it a bit annoying, but at that point you welcome his silence after all the crap you've seen. If you ever get the chance, sit still and listen to one of the records playing while observing the environment's creaks and haunting noises. See how long it takes before you say, "OK, I've had enough sitting here, I want to get the hell out of here. Now!"

OVERVIEW
BioShock lacks a multiplayer aspect and although that sucks for someone like me that loves online gaming, it doesn't once take away from what the game brings. With a storyline that makes you curse at the screen promising revenge, and a hauntingly happy soundtrack to make you wonder if you're to old to break out your old teddy bear, BioShock shows that original games still got it and it isn't always about vibrant colors, mainstream music and lots of flare. It's the game of the year and if I had to pick one, I would give BioShock the best chance. It was the game that wowed us all and made an impact on the industry by raising the bar on what games should strive for, and that what we thought the game of the year should be.

And I'm done. That's why BioShock won, Chris. The game of the year award should go to the title that revolutionized the industry the most and made an example of what we want to see from future games. And that was BioShock: nothing more, nothing less.

Thanks for the question, and next time pick one that doesn't take a week to answer. I'm only one guy, you know!

- R

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