BioShock Xbox 360 Review Portland OR

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When BioShock was announced, few would have known the impact it would have on the gaming landscape and few would have known just how well it would turn out. Coming from the guys behind the two System Shock PC games, there was history but there was also unknown. This was a brand new take on the 'Shock' style of games and both System Shock 1 and 2 were very complex, perhaps too complex, for today's more casual gaming world. However 2K Games have proven us all wrong and BioShock has not only turned out to be a contender for game of the year but perhaps the first game to really make you buy a next generation console. Yes, the game really is worth a couple of hundred bucks if you have to fork that out.

When BioShock begins, you are on a plane which suddenly takes a turn for the worse and you end up neck deep in one of the world's big oceans, with no other survivors and no food. Conveniently you spot a light house, and from there you discover the world of Rapture, a failed utopian society where one Andrew Ryan tried to take the best of the world as we know it and build an undersea society for the elite and rich. As the previous sentences suggest, this under water world has failed and this is where the game kicks in. It grabs you by the scruff of the neck and does not let up until the final credits roll. If ever there was a game that you just could not put down, could not stop thinking about when you're away from it and continuously coming up with strategies, this is it.

BioShock at its core is a first person shooter and if you want to play the game like a typical FPS, you can. That's the beauty of this game - there are so many ways to play it and almost anyone can play it. The developers have really tried to make this challenging for hardcore gamers, which it is, but also give casual gamers a reason to play with an extremely easy difficulty level and even an arrow showing you where to go. It is clear that the developers wanted to ensure as many people as possible would get the full story, and for this they have to be commended.

There is also a side story to the game which can be completely ignored if you wish and that is the presence of Big Daddies and Little Sisters. During his failed campaign, Ryan turned some little girls into monsters and you can either save them or harvest them for their power making you a more powerful character. The latter option however puts you on the bad side with Big Daddies, one of the most formidable foes you will face not only in this game, but in gaming in general. The fights with the big daddies are some of the highlights of the game, but it's also interesting that 2K Games has given you the option to plow through the game without even touching one.