Bioshock probably sounds something familiar to the medical world, but it’s absolutely not the case. Perhaps, it’s the stark opposite. Bioshock is a game series, with its first edition released in 2007. Within a few weeks of its release, it garnered immense popularity and recognition in the gaming world. In hindsight, it is considered one of the greatest games in history due to a number of factors. These factors have made Bioshock a pioneer in the gaming world.
A splendid piece of work in 3 games, produced by Irrational Games, has set a unique standard to meet for the successors to follow. The dense and captivating storyline, exceptional graphics and highly intriguing game features make it a one of its kind game. It is a first-person shooter game that has a movie like a storyline enriched with a lot of interesting facets.
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An outstanding aspect of the game, amongst many others, is its setting and theme. The player lands in an underwater dystopian city, Rapture – a former utopia. You can see the traces of utopia underneath the destruction and eerie atmosphere of the game. This, also, slightly brings a horror element to the game with direct questioning of your morals in situations you can’t even imagine being in and terror of a world that could have or almost does exist.
Another one is the fact that the player can turn anything and everything into a weapon, while exploring, that can be used to tackle the enemies. This, in particular, is quite an empowering feature that instantly became one of the highlights of the game. Players love being given the authority when it comes to the arms and ammunition they can use in such first-person shooter games. Unlocking and choosing from a traditional set of pistols become quite boring and rigid at times, which was common in all Bioshock contemporary games and even to this date.
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Another interesting and memorable facet of the Bioshock is its enemies. Andrew Ryan, probably the only human left in the city, is the founder of this dystopia. Big Daddies are to be feared the most and are encountered throughout the game. The works of Ayn Rand, more particularly the Atlas Shrugged, laid the foundation for the philosophy, design and dystopian world for the developers of the game.
History/Plot
Bioshock is set in the 1960s, in the city of Rapture underneath the Atlantic Ocean. The protagonist of the story, Jack, is the only survivor. He has to fight the repressed citizens of the city who are addicted to a genetic material named ADAM. Moreover, the founder of this dystopia, Andrew Ryan, leaves no stone unturned to make things difficult for Jack and make his survival doubtful. The only beacon of hope in this ruined world, or the game, is Atlas. He is a rebel seeking a safe escape to the surface for his family and himself.
During his quest for survival, Jack comes across the Little Sisters – young girls turned into monsters with sea slugs in them. These Little Sisters are a code for Jack’s survival. Atlas instructs to kill them but Dr. Tenenbaum suggests to save the Little Sisters. These girls are an important part of the game with reference to the morality of the game. It puts the player in question as to whether it is moral to kill little girls or not. They contribute to three different ends of the game that depend on the way Jack treated the Little Sisters.
Gameplay
This game is like none other; giving as much liberty as possible to the player to get the full experience of the game. It allows you to combine various objects and pieces around the city into custom made weapons and ammunition that can be utilized to fight the enemies and get closer to survival. Not only weapons, but traps, hacking devices, and Gene tonics can also be produced out of the raw material that the player collects. The player can hack into all kinds of electronic devices, giving a more real-life experience within a game.
It has a Research Camera in it as well, something quite natural for such type of games. It helps the player know about the whereabouts of hidden rewards and other inhabitants of Rapture. In case Jack dies, he will regain a life starting from the nearest Vita-Chamber absolutely free of cost. This comes as an advantage here because in many other similar games, paying for a new life or the limited number of lives can restrict the fun factor or full-fledged gaming experience.
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An important feature to look out for is the Plasmid. It enables special powers in Jack, such as Telekinesis and Electro Bolt, which can be used to fight off the deranged citizens of Rapture. Gene Tonics are also useful and should be redeemed where ever they are found in Rapture.
Health affected during combat can be healed with the help of First Aid Kits and EVE Hypos. Or the player can also go to a nearest Health Station to regain the health. The currency used in Rapture is either in terms of the ADAM or Rapture Dollars. ADAM can be used to buy upgrades from the Gatherer’s Gardens and the Rapture Dollars can be used to buy other benefits.
Fun Facts about BioShock
- The character of Andrew Ryan is played by the same actor who played the role of Principal Snyder in Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Armin Shimerman, the character actor, also contributed to many other splendid works. He is known for playing a significant role as Quark in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Quite surprisingly, he also landed an important role in the adapted version of Atlas Shrugged’s film.
- The famous Little Sisters of BioShock, who went on to become a favorite of gamers around the globe, were never the first thing that came to the minds of the developers. The first idea was of ‘gatherers’ amongst many other initial ones. The choice was left on the players, whether to kill them or save them. But in the end, the developers decided on young girls to give a tough challenge to the players morally and ethically. Because killing the girls would earn them more reward than leaving them alive being the monsters they had turned into. This was just another tactic to add another dimension of ethics to the game.
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- The Bioshock series is known for how they have quite convincingly merged the real world with a fantasy world. With subtle real-world references and contextual pieces of evidence here and there in the game, they keep the interest level of the player intact. Similarly, at one point in the Bioshock Infinite game, Elizabeth stops near a game she happens to recognize and exclaims that this is the game that was delayed three times already. The *background of this is the fact that Bioshock Infinite was itself subjected to a number of delays before its release.
Conclusion
BioShock is surely one of a kind games. Its the type of gameplay that you barely ever come across these days. Many game developers in the contemporary world have claimed to have taken inspiration from BioShock, and rightly so. The layers and dimensions added to a simple first-person shooter game was a marvelous and successful attempt. The juxtaposition of a convincing, exciting sensible yet fantasized storyline along with attractive graphics and design and a theme that keeps the player hooked to the game – it surely is an all-rounder.
Resources:
https://www.redbull.com/mea-en/10-bioshock-facts-you-probably-never-knew
https://screenrant.com/facts-you-did-not-know-bioshock-franchise/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioShock
https://bioshock.fandom.com/wiki/BioShock