BioShock or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying...

...and love the console.

I've been puffing my chest for PC gaming advocacy for years now. With only occasional dips in the console creek. I purchased an Xbox 360 for my birthday last September in what I would consider a weaker moment. The system usually collected dust outside of Gears of War and Crackdown. I beat and sold both within 3-4 weeks of purchase, they both had good single player elements, but nothing that truly grabbed me. They really shinned at cooperative play (co-op) and would have gone back to the store a lot sooner without it. Live has its merits, but only talking to one person at a time, outside of the game I'm playing, seems like a step backwards when compared to VoIP applications on the PC.

My slow slide towards the console starts with high quality single player games in high definition. This past Wednesday was the first time I purchased a first person shooter for a console since GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64 (ten years ago). BioShock is the game that broke my video game console's back I'm afraid.

This game would look jaw dropping on a 15 inch CRT, let alone 50 inches in high def widescreen. Of course it is a raw numbers game, there are a lot of pixels and polys on the screen working over time, but art direction really ties it all together. The game play is engaging, there is a real survivor element to managing ammo and powers. There is five different ways to approach every fight and none of the them is necessarily the right one. Catch an enemy on fire and they will make for the closest water source (if one is available), when they dive in to put out the flames electrify the water to finish them (wow that sounds violent when I write it).

Ultimately the story is what really sinks in the hook. It is told through found recordings of small cast of characters and direct contact via in game radio. There is a slow progression to insanity that really heightens the experience. When you eventually get to fight against or interact with one of the characters it seems like you already know them or at the very least know their motivation. When I do actively think about what is going on in the game, it seems odd that everyone in this underwater paradise would record audio journals and leave them strewn about the world. It is a product of the game play though, the story is slowly trickled out to the player, keeping them transfixed.

To sum up, this is the first game that truly feels "next gen" in its approach to game play, graphics and story telling. This game is art, no ifs, ands or buts about it. Roger Ebert can bend over and kiss his hind parts as far as I'm concerned.

Ugh, I know another post about video games (doesn't he have another blog about games), two in fact. I promise no more after this one, well not directly, but man oh man this game is gripping.