This is a type of game that mesmerizes with it's visual surroundings and audio. It's the type of game you think a lot about. The entire premise of the game is about being in an underwater city(or whatever it is) and it's hard to dismiss this game as just a typical first person game. Is it a horror game? In a sense, yes, but then there are moments where you find yourself invincible with plasmids and then it doesn't feel like a horror game anymore. Every fight seems epic as you go up against TWO Big Daddys or fight a room full of Splicers in the dark. BioShock is a game not to be skipped. Even for a rental, don't miss out on an amazing game.

I know I won't make many friends saying this, but I did not enjoy Bioshock. It's not a bad game by any means, but neither is it a great game. It's an okay game that looks and sounds beautiful. Bioshock does deserve praise, but not nearly as much as it's gotten.
The visuals are, indeed, stunning. I'll admit that I played the demo and made the decision to buy the game durring my first underwater decent to the city of Rapture. If someone said "picture an underwater city that was build durring the 50s," I'd have pictured exactly what Bioshock offers. Unfortunately, you are never really offered much of a chance of scenery. Occasionally you'll pass through one archway that will be covered in ice, every now and then a room will be filled with water, and every now and then a room will be completely dark, but it all looks like the same rooms that you're in. There are games out there that make this offense worse, but the graphics are Bioshocks best feature, so i feel this is a bigger problem than usual.
The audio in the game also contributes greatly to the atmosphere of the game. You hear the constant dripping of water, making you feel like Rapture is unnatural and nature is doing all it can to destroy it (I can't really describe it accurately. You'll know what i'm talking about.) You'll occasionally hear an old phonogram playing some old music that really does add a generally creepy element to the existig general creepiness. But as far as in-game music goes, bioshock has almost nothing to speak of. Silent Hill uses random ambiant noises to screw with your head, but it also has the best panic music I've ever heard, and even when there aren't monsters running all over, the music still adds to the atmosphere. Bioshock has a few moments, and occasionally it will have music in the form of the aforementioned phonograms, which is creepy, albeit at first. The developers were trying to go for a more realistic feel, and I'll grant them that if you're being chased by monsters in real life you won't have a soundtrack to accompany it, but it only works for the first portions of the game. It gets really quiet.
The only note-worthy gameplay element is the Plasmids, flourescent over-sized syringes that give you super powers. Yes, it does add an element of strategy to the gameplay, especially bringing the environments into your strategy; however, I cannot bring myself to call a game that gives you superpowers "original." Granted there is one that turns your hand into a hive of wasps, which is by far the most bad ass thing i've ever seeen, but they're not all like that. They all end up being lightning, or fire, or kenetic powers, and we've seen all those before. It's interesting, but not original.
Bioshock is a first-person shooter. This means you have guns, and you should use them. I say should, because ammo becomes an issue. There is plenty of ammo to be found, unfortunately your guns can hold enough for about three full clips before you run dry. The point of survival games is to horde ammo, and the point of first person shooters is to use it. You constantly have so little ammo that you hesitate to use it for fear of needing it seconds later. This is NOT how I want my FPS to feel.
The combat is completely uninspired. You shoot things. You can shoot turrets, or a bunch of a bunch of enemies that look the same, or Big Daddy's. That's it. The enemies aren't that interesting, and with excluding the Big Daddy's (they're optional), there are hardly any bosses to speak of. And i killed a few of those without realizing they were bosses.
There is also a half-hearted attempt to add morality to gameplay, but there are two endings, and those depend on whether or not you want to kill little girls. That's it.
This is my problem with Bioshock. It's an average FPS with high production values. The only things that stuck with me were the portions that were scripted. It's not a BAD game. It's a repetitive and uninspired game that looks awesome. Rent it.

BioShock. The name of this game is most recognizable in the Shooter category. This game delivers more than what an average human being can take. The game starts off when there is a plane crash in the ocean, and you have to swim to safety. You are introduced to the eerie-ness of the city Rapture. There is hardly any light to guide you, and you are suddenly frightened by Splicers. Splicers, essentially the most important things in the game. They provide you with items and research. You must kill them off and fight your way through. Through out the game, you enter different areas of Rapture, an underwater city and find odd and somewhat intriguing characters. The storyline in this game is AMAZING. I won't give away any key points, but I will say that the storyline is very creepy and entertaining. Your main objective is Andrew Ryan. You must get to him and kill him! But there is an even better boss in the end, but I won't spoil that. The guns and weapons you use in the game are quite fun to use. The best ones in my opinion are the Machine Gun and the Shotgun. You can upgrade weapons and make them 10x more epic. Lets not forget about the Plasmids. Plasmids are these things that include things such as fire and ice to kill the splicers with. Now, Big Daddy's. These guys are the fish bait for Little Sisters. Little Sisters are orphan girls that a lady named Tennenbaum took care of. But, have been released and Big Daddy's get them and use them as helpers. But you, the main character, must save or kill the Little Sister. Adam and Eve. Not to be confused with the famous Biblical characters. Adam gets you your plasmids, and Eve restores your plasmid energy. That is pretty much all about the game. The one thing, is that there is no multiplayer, and I wish there was some more content. But hey, who can argue with this?

THIS GAME WAS CRAZY THE PEOPLE SEEMED LIKE THEY WERE ON CRACK AND BIG DADDY WAS WIERD AND A GOOD STORY MODE

From the beginning you can tell that Bioshock is something special. The amazing visuals grab your attention and never let go. From the mysterious beginning to the mind bending end the storyline is gripping and takes you in directions no other game ever has. The world of Rapture is a beautifully rendered underwater city that has an interesting ruined art deco that will have you wondering what is around every corner. With customization options up the wazoo and battles that never play out quite the same way, the game has quite a bit of replayability. I couldn't write a review without mentioning the iconic Big Daddy and the terrifyingly sweet Little Sisters, which will pose an interesting moral question to players. Do yourself a favor and pick up Bioshock

When Bioshock first came out and the reviews started pouring in for this game, I was really intrigued. I wanted to get the game right away, but when it came out, I didn't have the time to put into it so I held back for almost a year. When I finally played the game, it lived up to all the hype and awards it received.

The game starts with the main character on an airplane. The airplane crashes in the middle of the ocean next to a tower extruding from the surface of the water. You enter this tower and enter the world of Rapture, a place built so scientists would have free power to experiment as they please and citizens to get away from a structured government. At one point in time, some experiments went wrong and started to transform the population into monsters. Your goal in the game is to find out what's going on, and to escape alive.

The gameplay is some of the best I have experienced, especially coming from a 1st person shooter. The story is well thought-out, the entire game has a creepy feel to it, and you soon find yourself absorbed. Along the way you find "Little Sisters", children that suck out power from dead corpses, and "Big Daddies", their protectors sheathed in a gigantic diving outfit. Every single Big Daddy you fight is an epic battle, with you using strategic powers and tricks to take them down.

The story is told through recordings you find along the way, which makes you search in every nook and cranny to get the most out of your experience. The visuals are amazing; I couldn't get enough of this game.

There is only one gripe I had about this game, and one only. The game seems really short, and there is very little replayability to it. The good news is that the game can now be bought new for around $30-$40 bucks, so it is a definate must buy.

bioshock is easaly the greatest game ever on the 360 posibly one of the greatest games ever made on all systems. the storyline is engaging and addicting. the graphics and sound s are just plain amazing. and it is insanly fun to play. the only thing i wish it had was multiplayer, if it had multiplayer it would deffinatley be the greatest game ever made

It's almost blasphemous in this day and age to have a shooter with no multiplayer, but this game is so great that it doesn't need it. In fact, it's so unique that most people wouldn't even want it. This game is all about atmosphere, which is delivered brilliantly and would be destroyed by any sort of multiplayer. The setting is an underwater utopia in which society has torn itself apart after the residents went mad due to 'splicing,' which is essentially genetic modification that grants it's user magic at the cost of his/her humanity. When you arrive, the surviving residents are completely insane, rant and rave, and attack you and the Little Sisters. Then they're in for a tough fight with their protectors, the Big Daddys. You'll know a Big Daddy is nearby as it slowly makes it's way to find and protect a little sister, and it's harmless unless you threaten it or a little sister first. You can feel through rumble when a Big Daddy is stomping around nearby, and you can hear their bellowing from quite a distance away. It's truly a unique experience, and I really don't want to give anything else away. Seriously, if you haven't played this already, go get it right now!

Gorgeous game and it scared the hell out of me. I'm not ashamed to admit this was the first shooter that I played for hours. Even with the inexperience, BioShock was intriguing enough to keep me playing.

If you think BioShock is just another first-person shooter, you're dead wrong. A captivating story leads you through a mysterious underwater world of bizarrities, including robots, creepy little girls and genetic enhancements. 20 minutes with BioShock and you won't be able to put it down.