Sometimes, the story just comes out right and solid while seeming not to care in the slightest. This sort of thing happened with Halflife and it has happened more times than we'll give it credit for. Bioshock, as a whole, has done this with varying levels of success but with a standard that has not yet been squelched. It is one of those unique settings that is both diverse while maintaining several elements that fans have grown accustomed to. The first game bears its unique qualities through its setting and its storytelling abilities. It sets the standard very well and it's very interesting in many regards.
SPOILERS should probably be on your mind before you venture through this article. Bioshock is a very intricate and advanced level of detail when it comes to both its gameplay elements and its deep dive into the psyche and lore within itself. There is a lot of insanity in this storyline and there is a lot of deception that you can see starts from the very beginning. You meet characters and you think you know what you're doing but the story will pull the rug out from under you more than once.
You'll notice, very early on, that the setting and the lighting are absolutely sinister and beautiful at the same time. If you love horror and you love steampunk, then your wish has been granted. I hope you also like machine guns and flashy powers because they have those in droves as well. It's almost hard to think of where to begin because there is so much while simultaneously being a very close knit package both through story and gameplay together.
The Adam and Eve system come with both story and gameplay elements by themselves. So much so, that they pretty much deserve an article all there own. The ability to control elements of fire, ice, bees and the ability to switch between them to gain the upper hand is pretty staggering. Once you get the lightning ability, it's just a matter of getting an enemy in a puddle and zapping multiples of them all at once. The same can be done with fire and fuel, it's a pretty wicked sight, but be sure you don't get caught in it as well!
The Big Daddies and Little Sisters are also a gameplay element that must be at least touched on. As said before, this goes deep into the game itself and end up shaping the ending. It's almost absolutely essential that you kill the Big Daddies and save the Little Sisters. You get more power from killing the Little Sisters but you also get no other favors and you get a very bad ending as a result. The power you get from saving the Little Sisters is also palpable, so it's really well worth everything. The Big Daddies, however, pose a big problem. That armor is thick and they are mean with that drill and their strength. Good luck and bring your big toys.
The story can drag in some areas, but not very often. It is a bit of a long game, especially if you don't know what you're doing and you're looking for all of the secrets. Some of the hallways and progression points can get a little confusing. Just remember to save, and save a lot! You will be going through some very long levels and some of the missions can get long-winded to where you tend to forget. Try not to, for the love of God!
The characters you meet along the way can range from absolutely psychotic to just a tiny bit murder-happy. Once you meet your first Splicer, you tend to find more types of them are just more of the same. The point is, they're trying to kill you and you need to put bullets into their brains in order to stop them. The story of how they got like that has to do with the Adam that courses through your veins and the fact that they didn't take to it as well as you did. In fact, their addiction to it is what killed Rapture in the first place and drove the proprietor mad but that's all for later. Right now, you need to get to da choppa!
No, you always feel like you're progressing toward something and you always feel like you're getting deeper into this conspiracy of lunacy. You even find out that you're part of the conspiracy, and your mind isn't exactly as stable as you thought, but now you can control bees and the enemy didn't see that coming, did they? They certainly seemed surprised to get stung so many times.
If you haven't already guessed that this is a very large recommendation, then I would like to make that very clear. If you haven't tried this game, consider it a reason to put it on your system as soon as you possibly can. Do yourself a favor and give it some hours of your life and it will enrich it quite a bit. Bioshock also has some very good sequels, though how good they are varies with your tastes. We'll get into that later. Just remember to try and take your Eve with some water.
