After surviving a mid-Atlantic plane crash and miraculously stumbling upon an underwater metropolis, “BioShock’s” dazed and confused protagonist is asked a pivotal question: Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his own brow?The philosophical and political overtones of “BioShock” smack players in the jaw before they even arrive in the city of Rapture, a submerged and immersive city created by an engineer too brilliant, rich and egotistical for the limitations of democracy, socialism or communism. No, Andrew Ryan wanted a place where an artist’s canvas has no edge and his art has no censor, where a scientist’s experiments can make Josef Mengele look like a saint, unbound by “petty morality” as he calls it. But like any governing body, it has its flaws, and thus Rapture ultimately lives up to its name.
Set in 1960, players assume the role of Jack, the sole survivor of the crash. After escaping the wreckage and venturing into Rapture’s main entrance, an eerie instrumental rendition of “Beyond the Sea” guides Jack into a darkened bathysphere. It’s there that players learn about Rapture’s creation and purpose. Founded just after World War II, Ryan built the city as a haven for rich and talented people. Unknown to the rest of the world, Rapture is a place filled with art deco architecture, neon lights and, now, an abundance of psychopaths.
Those psychos are called splicers; distorted, disgusting shells of people overtaken by an addiction to drugs called ADAM and EVE, which grant humans supernatural powers. The powers are referred to as “plasmids,” which can be purchased as easily as a bag of chips in a vending machine in Rapture, so long as the buyer has ADAM. When ADAM ran low, the people turned on and killed each other to extract it from their bodies. More disturbingly, the source of ADAM comes from mutated adolescent girls called Little Sisters, which are each protected by their own Big Daddy, a gargantuan guardian sporting a deep-sea diving uniform and a drill on his arm or an arsenal of explosives. Too bad Jack arrived late to the party, because he steps unknowingly into the middle of this civil war.
In addition to surviving and defeating splicers, players have to make moral decisions. Should they face the Big Daddies and save the Little Sisters, just ignore them or go on a killing spree to max out their ADAM? Each decision affects the outcome of the game and is one of many gameplay aspects that make “BioShock” one of the deepest (both literally and figuratively) games in the history of the industry.
The game is a true masterpiece on many levels. Detailed and unique visuals consume the screen, a perfect soundtrack echoes through the city’s corridors and RPG-like power-ups via plasmids keep the game’s action fresh all the way to the final boss. Players can freeze opponents, stop projectile weapons in mid-air, electrocute and set enemies on fire and even release a swarm of killer insects, all of which come straight out of Jack’s non-shakin’ hand.
The story engulfing “BioShock” is both engaging and disturbing. Biblical allusions stand out and morals are the only limitations to the extent of Jack’s powers. A somewhat predictable, albeit original, twist toward the end will have players scratching their heads and letting out an “Oh, I see” simultaneously.
Despite its outstanding qualities, “BioShock” has its flaws. Corpses have a tendency to twitch unnaturally, the save system competes with a seemingly useless revival system and the final boss is easier to beat than a disgruntled Big Daddy. The story’s bad ending is better than its good one, which surpasses the ending of “Metal Gear Solid” on the cheese factor.
Flaws aside, “BioShock” still stands out as the new killer app for Xbox 360 and, debatably, PC. If it doesn’t sink as a sleeper hit, its developers will be drowning in money soon enough, thus having earned the sweat of their own brows.