BioShock weaves an engrossing tale set in 1960, casting the player as a largely-silent protagonist named Jack whose plane crashes somewhere over the Atlantic ocean. As he clambers out of the wreckage, Jack fortuitously sees a lighthouse amidst the waves and debris, and paddles over to it, discovering a bathysphere deep inside which leads him to the magnum opus of the maniacal business magnate Andrew Ryan: the underwater city of Rapture.
Come out and play with your Big Daddy...
Sadly, the city has seen better days, its streets populated by its deranged inhabitants and the hulking shadow of the Big Daddies (the ubiquitous chaps in the modified diving suits which adorn the game's cover art) who dutifully protect some very disturbed little girls (for more on this strange pair and the rest of the game's cast, why not have a read of our review of the Xbox 360 version?) - and Jack's journey into the dank bowels of Rapture leads him (and the player) to ponder questions of morality, ideology, and the dark side of human aspiration. To delve into any more plot-specifics would be a disservice to those who have yet to experience Bioshock's adult and compelling narrative, penned by director Ken Levine. Needless to say, Rapture holds some very dark secrets and shocking plot twists for those who have yet to play it.
How does one play BioShock, then? The core mechanics are actually very simple. Your left hand, and the L2 button on the DualShock 3, controls your plasmid abilities, which are genetic modifications enabling Jack to sprout electricity, ice, flames, and strangely, bees (among other powers) from his fingers. The plasmid abilities are numerous and fully-upgradeable, and much of the fun to be had with BioShock derives from the combination of these powers with your impressive assortment of firearms, mapped to the R2 button. Does one freeze their enemy and then shatter him with a well-placed grenade? Perhaps he could be set on fire and then electrocuted as he tries to douse the flames in a pool of water. The options are yours, and this is one of the game's biggest achievements - BioShock gives you the tools and sets you on your way to tackle combat in any way you see fit.
Someone is about to receive the cold shoulder... *gunshot*
So if you can rest assured that the title's visuals, narrative, and gameplay are up to par, the natural follow-up question is what the Playstation 3 version brings to the table. By all indications the title remains just as visually-stunning as it was a year ago, bursting with high-quality textures and incidental details which truly sell Rapture as a convincing locale.
Perhaps more significant is the content exclusive to the Playstation 3 version, namely the promised 'Challenge Rooms' and 'Survivor' difficulty mode. The former has been described as a series of challenges in which the player is tasked with using Jack's plasmid abilities in unconventional ways to solve puzzles and negotiate the environment, and the latter an enhanced higher difficulty which drastically reduces the amount of available ammunition and toughens enemies considerably, both of which could provide the game with additional replay value long after the story has come to its end.
No matter how these new additions pan out in terms of their quality and the amount of value they add to the package, BioShock is going to be a difficult proposition to pass up for the discerning PS3-owner when it releases this October.
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