It's all about the Bioshock

Having finished Halo, and taking some time to play a couple of rented game (Too Human and The Darkness), I finally sit down to play the next game I am going to tackle.... at least until Rock Band 2 comes out in a just over a week.

The game is Bioshock.
The setting: a scientists/entrepreneur built a city underwater in 46, inviting all the people he thought would fit into his utopia (a Randian/Nietzschian Utopia I get the feeling). The game is set in 1960, and you are a the survivor of a plane wreck, who made it into the city.

There is a lot of bio-engineering going on – most people in the city are changed and crazy. You end up getting a shot that alters your genetics (giving you the ability to shoot electricity) right away, and you go from there. The visuals of the city are very art deco, and the music is eerie – except when the radio plays music that is in game, like The Blade Runner song, or Lady Day esque God Save The Child.

And that brings up to the little girls. They have some amount of gene material that when you use it, allows you to get more mutated (such as gaining stronger skin for extra health or defense). You can get this stuff two ways – doing a full harvest, which gets you more, but kills the girl, or getting it from her without killing her which gives you less. But one of the mad scientists tells you if you let them live, you will get something special from her. Being the person I am, I'm saving the girls. It was right after killing the “Big Daddy,” a girl's guardian, and getting the prompt on what do do with the girl that “God Saved the Child” plays the first time.

Back when I played Doom the first time (and Heretic to a similar extent), I was completely drawn into the world by the music, the graphics, the atmosphere. I haven't been that drawn into a FPS for a long time. Until now. This game is the most atmospheric game I have played in forever.

I've beat 3 levels of 16, so I'm not that far into it, but I am really really enjoying playing this thing. Amazing.

And now back to creeping through an underwater city killing crazy splicers.

Games played since last post:

Too Human (360)
Half Life (PC)
The Darkness (360)
Pac Man (Arcade on PC with emulator)
Moon Cresta (Arcade on PC with emulator)
Solitaire (PC)