Bioshock impressions

For the last 2 days I have been able to devote a good chunk of time to Bioshock.  So far, the game lives up to the promise of being a strong Game of the Year contender.

 

I'm about 15 hours in and I really do not want the game to end.  The world of Rapture - the game's underwater city - is one of the most impressive and intricately created game worlds ever made.  Every room, every corner, every last detail is masterfully rendered.  No matter where you look, close inspection hints at a history.  Advertisements, vending machines, all now abandoned and destroyed.  Bodies decaying, messages written in blood, water seeping in from cracks, it all comes together to form one of the most atmospheric games in history.

 

It really helps that on a technical level, the game is pushing the 360 in ways few other games have.  Visually, the game stands, in my opinion, as the most impressive title to date (sorry Gears of War).  It works on all levels: geometry, lighting, art direction.  The water is to die for.  The color pallette is perfection.  Above all, the visual style, with its art deco retro-future look, is what ultimately sucks you in.

 

Surprisingly it gets even better on the audio side.  I knew I was in for an audio treat when entering the mysterious light house at the very beginning and hearing an instrumental rendition of "Beyond the Sea" as if being played by a phonograph in the distance.  Once you arrive in Rapture your surround sound system is in for a workout.  There is constant sound around you.  The city is slowly succumbing to the ocean and you hear creaks and groans, water dripping, you hear Raptures deranged citizens talking, their madness coming through clearly in their dialogue.  And then of course, there are the Big Daddies.  You hear these behemoths from 2 rooms away, their footsteps echoing through the walls.  Their bellowing roar, once engaged in combat, shakes the screen, blurs your vision and sets your subwoofer into a frenzy.  You feel it, more than you hear it.  Well, I shouldn't say that, because you definitely do hear it. :)

 

Because of how well the visuals and audio come together, and how realistic Rapture seems, you can't help but get completely sucked into the story.  You really do want to discover what happened here.  I won't go into story details here, not only because I am still only halfway through the game and am not sure what is going on, but because I also would not want to ruin it for anyone (who am I kidding, nobody is reading this).

 

I'll be giving further impressions and even commenting on the game's negatives in the future, for it is not perfect of course (and I love writing about my gripes)  =)

 

But Bioshock, in my opinion, stands as the best example and what this new generation of gaming has to offer.  Not just on a technical level, but in overall quality, detail, story and execution.