E3 Impressions: Bioshock (Page 2 of 2)
- July 23, 2007 16:14 PM PST
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Bioshock has some interesting powers for you to use but sometimes, a shotgun to the face is the best way to go.
Welcome To Paradise
After walking us through this intense level (again, we don't want to ruin the surprise but many bullets were expended, some inventive traps were set and a lot of enemies were left dead on the ground), the Xbox 360 controller was handed to a member of the audience and we were treated to the game's opening sequence.
Much like the opening tram ride sequence of another memorable FPS game, Half-Life, Bioshock's initial moments do a fantastic job of setting the tone and the mood of the game to come. You feel a sense of not only impending doom but of excitement as well: you know something major is going to happen and you are going to be at the center of it all.
You begin the game on an airplane. There is a weathered photo and a cigarette in your hands. The photograph is meaningful, that much you know, but before you can decipher its meaning, it happens: the screen fades to black, the plane's engine chokes and the cabin violently heaves. You are thrown around like a rag doll and the next thing you know, you're choking on seawater. You try to gain your bearings and when you finally find your way to the surface, you find yourself surrounded by the burning wreckage of the plane's fuselage. There is nothing you can do but swim for your life towards the mysterious lighthouse that is nearby.
Dream A Little Dream Of Me
We won't say anymore about the game's opening sequence--do yourself a favor and keep yourself ignorant of as many hard details you possibly can or you'll ruin your appetite for the game when you finally play it--but honestly, words fail to do Bioshock justice. The unique aesthetic design of the game; the inventive combat and spooky atmosphere; the compelling story and characters: it all looks as if it will result in yet another memorable game experience on par with the company's former efforts.
While the jury is out on whether or not a mainstream audience will appreciate and accept Bioshock's unique (some would say a little too unique) world and sensibilities, there is no doubting that Irrational's latest title has the potential to reach, if not outright surpass, the high bar that System Shock 2 set when it first debuted on the PC.
The unique level design of Bioshock should help set it apart from the rest of the pack but will the average gamer find it too different?
Anyone who's spent time aboard the Von Braun and the UNN Rickenbacker from System Shock 2 will find this scene familiar.
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