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Going out of your depths in the FPS game BioShock

It’s not a secret that my favorite game genre is horror, whether it combined with an FPS game or RPG. While not a typical horror game, my favorite Bioshock is the original released on Xbox 360. If you want more BioShock news, check out my post here.
A week ago, I watched a video on Bioshock and realized that I hadn’t played the first one since my teens in 2008. After mulling it over, I paid that old Rapture a visit.
The Overview
The Bioshock game has a strong narrative and atmosphere. As a first-person shooter, it immerses you in unique settings, deep story, and integration of RPG mechanics.
At the start, you’re thrust into the role of a survivor, pitted against the extremists and unstable inhabitants of the underwater city Rapture. The journey will test your skills and resilience.

This game offers interesting characters, fun gameplay mechanics and good replay value to find things you missed.
The Story of Rapture
Set around the 1960s, you play as Jack, a man raised by a wholesome family who takes a plane over the Atlantic. Suddenly, the plane malfunctions and crashes into the ocean.
As your perspective emerges into a watery abyss, Jack races up to the obscured moonlight and surfaces upon the wreckage around him. Here, the game begins with Jack surviving a plane crash, only to discover the hidden entrance to Rapture.
Created by Andrew Ryan, Rapture was a utopia for artists, scientists, and others to escape the societal chains of regulations. However, this prosperity did not last, and the city deteriorated into selfishness and chaos.

You navigate Jack through Rapture’s sodden and leaking corridors, uncovering the city’s dark history through audio logs and environmental storytelling.
The city fell partly because of ADAM, a substance that gives you the power over elements like ice, fire, and telekinesis. You can even control the hulking scuba men known as the Big Daddy using Plasmids.

As you progress, the story evolves into a tale of ideological conflicts, moral dilemmas, and consequences of unchecked ambition. You and Jack encounter various characters, including Dr. Tenenbaum and Frank Fontaine.
The choices you make regarding the Little Sisters—genetically altered children—will have consequences, adding ethics to the story.
The Gameplay
With a first-person shooter and RPG mechanic, you “level up” Jack by trading ADAM for Plasmids – well, Plasmid slots.
Each upgrade helps you craft builds by combining powers and abilities for specific situations. For example, an electric setup is beneficial when near water or overwhelmed by enemies. This concept makes exploring and grinding a rewarding experience.

Strategizing in this game helps a lot with scarce money for ammo and health. You need to plan on the best methods to get out of a situation – encouraging you to explore other powers.
The stealth element adds variety to the game but a bit tricky, though this may be from how I play. Noises made on wooden floors or in water will give away your position.
Sometimes, enemies you didn’t even notice spot you – again, probably due to how I play. However, you can create a build to capitalize stealth attacks using your melee weapon.
The only drawback I had with Bioshock was the hacking system. At first, I liked the mechanic and learned it quickly. Yet, as you go further in the game, the difficulty jumps, and cubes appear without warning—though I may have missed an explanation.

For the escort mission, you need to either have a fantastic hacker build or grind for the maximum automatic hackers to bypass devices. You should hack the machines on the escort mission to handle enemies coming from everywhere.
Now, hacking does have benefits, as safes often contain a lot of loot. Also, if you hack certain places, you gain access to extra lore, content, and upgrades. So, my most aggravating experiences took place while hacking, but the benefits of hacking a safe or secret room made it worthwhile.
Closing Thoughts

In the end, Bioshock made an impact on the gaming world. Though the game did not introduce anything new, it did reenergize interest in the storytelling portrayed in it.
Bioshock used environmental storytelling to make the universe immersive and tangible. At the time, the utilizing atmosphere to build intrigue, outside of full horror games and some Japanese titles, brought something new to games.
The themes, stories, and ideals presented in the game helped the audience see games as a kind of art rather than just entertainment. I remember being invested in the game’s lore because of the atmosphere and narrative.
Bioshock invites players to contemplate the cost of a utopia if isolated from moral censorship. Its legacy is in its ability to weave philosophical ideals into its narrative fabric, leaving players pondering after the screen goes dark and the final curtain falls.
So, what do you think of Bioshock? Are you looking forward to the newest installment> If you found the game fun or difficult, feel free to comment below and share!

Nero lives in the United States, delving into indie horror to mainstream games. Armed with a psych degree and a passion for storytelling, he wrote stories and essays published online and in museum catalogs. Besides writing, he also likes sketching and tuning into rock music. Catch his latest posts or follow him across social media.