BioShock™ Remastered

I purchased the original game for a friend back in 2008 but didn't play it until recently. Actually, I was a bit afraid to invest myself and had trouble getting familiar with using the controller. I am no good with keyboard and mouse and Bioshock only supports XBox style controllers. Most games I played up until then was with a good old analog joystick. I played the remastered version in full glorious 4K and was instantly hooked. Learning to use the controller was much easier than I expected and the graphics of the remastered version with an RTX video card are magnificent. A variant on the 1st person shooter in a highly detailed decor and intellectual challenge along with an emotionally touching narrative makes this game a mandatory experience of the gaming genre.

The story is about an attempt at a utopia underwater, but things go south in a very violent way between residents, people in power, and criminals. As the player, you discover this place a few years later and through exploration and audio logs, you try to discover what happened. The gunplay is different because you are not a trained soldier, so weapons have strong kickback and inaccurate aim, but you have access to Plasmids as an alternate weapon type, that can freeze, electrocute, incinerate, and even throw back enemies.

The game is excellent in terms of gameplay, but every time it stops working, especially when trying to save progress, one of the times I tried to save my progress the game simply closed and when I returned to the game I had lost all my progress and went back to the beginning of the game, despite this I tried to redo everything again but the problems with the game crashing and stopping working continued, so I gave up. It's really a shame that a game as good as this has so many unresolved bugs.

Bioshock will take you to the fictional city of rapture; a libertarian utopia built away from oppressive governments that thieve your money just because they can. Unfortunately, this dream of freedom has been shattered by the usual suspects and you're about to find out what happened. I will start by saying that I loved the story, the artwork is astounding, and, while too arcade-like, the gameplay is fun and allows the player to customise their combat style. However, there are a few bugs that can cripple the experience and nearly made me quit: Firstly, on the wharf level, you need to take the pictures of 3 spider splicers. Somehow, I missed one and it wouldn't respawn, so I had to choose between a) restarting the level and saving once I got the camera to ensure I didn't have to redo all of it again, or b) try to glitch my way via console. There are different solutions online on how to enable the console, but this is what worked for me: copy the existing shortcut in the game folder and add the --console flag to the executable call. While in-game, press tab and type Ghost. Move past the wharfmaster. Once you're back on track, type Walk in the console to go back to normal. Secondly, the game crashes to desktop quite a bit on the last few levels, so quick-save regularly for your own sake, because the game won't do it for you. How is this a remastered version? Was the original version so f*cked that this feels good in comparison? Letting players soft-lock themselves is neglect of the highest order. This was diagnosed and resolved back in the 80s, when Maniac Mansion came out and players found they couldn't finish the game if they hadn't selected the right party. We're on the 21st century now, and it seems that modern day developers have forgotten the basics. It's ok if something's slipped through the cracks on release, but once you know about the issue, fix it FFS. 8/10. Would certainly recommend buying it for the story, but be aware of the bugs.

It's an iconic game, and it will always be iconic. Holds a perfect balance between a more RPG heavy Immersive Sim like System Shock 2 or Deus Ex, and Doom 3 for example. It atmospherically ventures into the spooky, the cozy, the cold hardness radiating from the scientific areas, and can pull the player into downright cognitive dissonance when it comes to how the game portrays the childhoods of the little sister. The systems in the game mesh together like cogwheels, the soundtrack and sound design is very fitting, and supporting of the game. Enemies are varied, but kept to a moderate enough amount, in numbers and in types, as to not be overwhelming. Tactical placement, and strategic thinking always wins, therefore the game challenges your planning abilities, which leaves the player with endless possibilities. Play it your way! There's a plethora of ways in which to fight the enemy. It starts with the humble wrench, which can be a indispensable tool for dealing with enemies, then there's your known and loved arsenal of guns, a crossbow, grenade launcher, and a chemical thrower; all with three different varieties of ammo. Then there's the camera, which lets you research enemies to get various bonuses. On the more magic like side you have plasmids, which toss, burn, freeze, shock, enrage, control, and veil the enemy in a thick cover of very aggressive bees, among other things What turns this game from merely a great game into a masterpiece is the setting. Rapture, the underwater city in which Bioshock takes place feels like a living, breathing entity, and much of the story is told by showing, rather than actually telling. Never before has Art Deco been used this effectively. Not much to complain about when it comes to the technical aspects, either. The odd crash here and there, but by far not as often and severe, than what other reviewers have written. It's a classic. Get it now! Alternatively get it it when it's on sale!