Bioshock Review

The essentially linear experience that Bioshock delivers is impressive and those who experience the game to it's conclusion will undoubtedly remember it for years to come.

Genre:FPS
Available for 360 and PC

One of the most hyped games of 2007, Bioshock turned out to be one of many games to live up to most of it's hype. Now before I get attacked for having assaulted one of the most intense and surreal games in recent memory, allow me to explain. Bioshock promised to deliver an experience that let the user choose. Do you let the splicers kill each other or do you turn them against a sentry bot. Do you use antipersonnel rounds on the splicers or do you shock them while they stand in a puddle of water. Certainly you decide the tools of destruction that you will employ through your journey and this is where Bioshock really shines. With so many options for dealing death as well as for customizing yourself, you can imagine the game having a great deal of replayability. Unfortunately, the replayability of Bioshock is squandered by the game's linear story. Perhaps I expected too much from Bioshock, however, this game claimed to give the player moral forks in the road and while there are choices in this game, you will probably find yourself feeling very limited. With that said, the essentially linear experience that Bioshock delivers is impressive and those who experience the game to it's conclusion will undoubtedly remember it for years to come.

Those who remember the Fallout games will more than likely associate some of the style and charm of Bioshock with the dark humor that those games possessed. Certainly Bioshock can be dark and the loading screens can be humorous, however, the connection to Fallout ends there. Bioshock is an FPS. Certainly the weapons and tools at your disposal aren't the usual fair, however, the majority of the game has you pitted against creatures and machines with the sole intent of your destruction. Unlike in real life where every person you meet might actually not be your enemy, in Bioshock and in the FPS genre in general they are. This ultimately means that the second you see something move you shoot it. No one is your friend in this game except for the guy holding the other walkie talkie, Atlus. Though he seems to have a habit of beginning his sentences with "would you kindly", Atlus seems to be your one friend in this utopia gone wrong known as Rapture.

Being an FPS you of course find the usual pistol, shotgun, miscellaneous rapid fire weapon, grenade launcher, etc. Bioshock adds a little extra something to each of these weapons with different types of ammo. For example, the antipersonnel rounds work very well against splicers, however, you would be wasting them on a turret. The game does a fairly good job of ensuring that you have the right tools for any given combat situation. In some ways, Bioshock can begin to feel like a survival horror game and you may find yourself trying to conserve certain types of ammo for an anticipated encounter. As you progress you'll even be able to craft your own ammo at special vending machines. You'll also find a resource called atom that will allow you to purchase special abilities and plasmids(or the genetic equivalent of magic) that let you create decoys, throw bolts of lightning, or even turn your wrench into a freezing rod. There are enough options in this realm that you can combine different attributes and use them in tandem. With enough of the wrench skills equipped you can freeze enemies, steal their health and grant yourself the ability to move silently with a single swing. You'll more than likely find yourself using a combination of traditional guns as well as plasmids, as specializing in one or the other isn't really feasible for very long. My only disappointment with the weapons was that I never really found an effective sniper weapon, however, sniping opportunities are rare in Bioshock. You'll often be caught off guard by splicers and then the next moment they'll be closing the distance that you would normally need to use a sniper weapon. The combat of Bioshock would almost be ill suited towards a sniper weapon as at times it would seem that it makes a goal of scaring you.

(SPOILER ALERT)

The combat of Bioshock is indeed filled with choices, however, the exploration and "moral decision making" part of Bioshock is lacking in this department. Essentially you either choose to harvest the "little sisters"-the creepy little girls that carry needles with them and are escorted by massive body guards- or you choose to save them. Save all the little sisters and you get the good guy ending. Harvest the little sisters and you get the bad guy ending. The most disappointing part of this is that if you save all but one little sister and harvest that last one then you get the bad guy ending. What frustrated me the most was that for a game that was hyped as giving you moral choices, the choices that you would ultimately want to make throughout the game are beyond your control. If only this game had achieved the same moral complexity as KOTOR or Mass Effect. Instead you either choose to harvest or you choose to free these little girls of whom you really know very little. You have no control over killing some of the most important characters to the story and I can't imagine that the developers would have needed to spend all that much more time to allow for the player to make those choices. The game uses a technicality in the story(mind control) in order to avoid branching story paths. This honestly seemed like taking the easy route of gaming development. Of course you have no branching story paths in Bioshock because your being mind controlled through the entire game. I'm sorry but this game over promised in this department. Bioshock is ultimately an entirely linear experience and that's why very few people will play it twice. Even with all the customization of weapons and plasmids, Bioshock's story is the real reason why people finish this game and ultimately it is in the games twisted turn near the end that will turn people off from playing it a second time.

(END SPOILER ALERT)

Bioshock could have been the best FPS of 2007, hell, it could have even been game of the year, however, Bioshock failed to deliver to the player exactly what it promised, the ability to make real moral decisions. With that said, Bioshock is an extremely enjoyable experience as an FPS and regardless of it's black and white choice, offers a story and dialogue that can't be found anywhere else.

Rating:Rent

Portal Review

One of the most enjoyable and thought provoking experiences you will encounter in 2007.

Genre:Puzzle
Available for 360, PC and at some point in the future PS3

Portal places you into a linear world where you'll find yourself rewarded for thinking outside the box. Portal structures itself as a series of levels that progressively ramp up in difficulty. Portal is also one of the few games that successfully uses dialogue to make you laugh. Using the same engine as Half-Life 2 you'll find the controls and graphics familiar; however, this is not a first person shooter. As much as Half-Life and its sequels have innovated the FPS genre, Portal is a step in a completely new direction.

The premise for gameplay in portal is simple. You can fire blue and orange portals. One portal by itself serves no purpose and cannot be entered, however, in combination a blue portal will move the player to an orange portal or visa versa. Portals can only materialize on flat pale colored surfaces. When you fire your portal gun a blue or orange circle of energy will move to the target surface that you were aiming at and unless an obstruction blocks your path a portal of the appropriate color will materialize. A quick example of how it works for those who are still lost: You fire a blue portal at a ceiling far above you. You then fire an orange portal aimed at the floor just in front of your feet. Enter the orange portal and you will fall out of the ceiling where you shot your blue portal.

The graphics are impressive for a puzzle game. Presented from the first person perspective, you may actually find yourself immersed in a genre that most people consider by today's standards as casual gaming. You may even start to try and find practical applications for a portal gun in real life (blue portal at the top of a slide, orange portal at the bottom). All humor aside, in a genre where the greatest competition for graphics usually boasts a series of colorful circles presented in a square grid, Portal reigns supreme.

The audio is inventive. It's not often that you'll hear someone describe the audio of a game as inventive but the creators of Portal definitely fill that bill here.

First, everything the droid turrets (which you encounter about midway through the game) say is sung in what I refer to as tonal patterns. Think of the TV network NBC and replace those notes with "I see you" and then you might understand what I'm talking about when I say tonal patterns. Regardless of whether that went over your head or not, these little turrets are not only an interesting part of the gameplay, they're also inventive and fairly comical.

Second, the computer monitoring system is hilarious. You're constantly passing cameras through Portal's many halls and rooms. These cameras are part of the computer monitoring system. Occasionally in the beginning the computer's voice will aid you with tips on how to proceed through the puzzles and even in this environment the voice will throw in a joke or two. As you get to the 4th or 5th area the computer will start to say such things as, "This room is impossible, don't even bother trying to solve it" and in general will be a source of humor rather than serve as a guide.

Finally, the music in Portal, although occurring only once in a while, is memorable and suits the general atmosphere of the game. The ending theme song is a variation on the main theme and is worth beating the game several times simply for another listen. You might not notice the general lack of music in your first play through, as the computer monitoring system and droids help to fill the silence.

I should mention Portal isn't as long as games tend to run these days and it leaves you craving for more. Portal will probably take the average person 4 or 5 hours to complete. This doesn't sound like much when you compare most games today averaging at least 15 hours of gameplay. The length of Portal is actually more than worth the cost though. If you get it as part of The Orange Box you can consider it as 1/5 of your 60 dollar purchase. Essentially, for little more than the price of admission to your average movie theatre you get Portal. Certainly you get your money's worth, as Portal doesn't attempt to drag out any gaming conventions in order to add more gameplay time. Every puzzle, every moment, every line of dialogue is worth your time. Portal does what almost every other game doesn't in this department, it makes the entire experience worthwhile and highly enjoyable.

Rating
PC version:Buy
360 version:If the only game you would consider playing in The Orange Box is Portal then rent it, otherwise, Buy.