It's the way that these plasmids interact with the sunken world of Rapture that really give BioShock its depth, because their uses are not limited to offense. Many puzzles within the game require you to use plasmids on the environment creatively and progress through the game goes hand in hand with exploring the various effects that each plasmid has on the world around you. With a snap of your fingers, you can light one of the doomed denizens of Rapture (called Splicers due to their affection for genetic manipulation) on fire and they'll run around screaming until they burn to a husk or find a deep puddle to squelch their flaming forms. Meanwhile, this same ability can be used to melt blocks of ice that bar your path.
Rapture Means Joyful Ecstasy
BioShock's setting contributes greatly to its ability to plunge you into depths where suspension of disbelief is impossible to escape. The drowned metropolis of Rapture is intricately painted with a brush heavy with art deco design themes. Every piece of architecture looks like it was exhumed from a time capsule with aesthetics featuring angular geometric patterns and rich, warm colors. The overall look of Rapture itself includes many windows into the frigid depths of the ocean floor, which makes for quite a contrast juxtaposed next to the richly appointed interior.
Of course, much of Rapture has fallen to disrepair since its founder Andrew Ryan abandoned its control to his physically and mentally warped subjects and evidence of this is scattered everywhere. Piles of waterlogged newspapers litter the corners of rooms while unidentifiable detritus of the sea (like flip-flopping fish) clogs hallways. Permeating nearly every portion of the underwater city are steady streams of water, brilliantly rendered to reflect and refract light, demonstrating what happens when a profound feat of engineering is neglected.
Punctuating the graphics are the sounds of Rapture, which place the bass-heavy groans of girders succumbing to the incredible pressures of the ocean-bottom alongside the tinny chirps of ancient 40s-era pop music. The nonsensical and unnerving cries of Splicers will frequently announce their presence before you can see them, making it both chilling and necessary to keep your ears open and alert. Previously recorded tapes of a variety of characters' memoires serve to fill in the backstory behind Rapture's demise and demonstrate excellent voice acting.
BioShock's art direction is simply stunning in every facet of its execution.
10,000 Leagues...
It's perhaps most telling that although we have already played BioShock a bunch of times on other platforms, it's still every bit as intoxicating on the PS3. In fact, the temptation to complete additional playthroughs proved too much to bear as we immediately began a new game after finishing it the first time around. And it's not even like we just blazed through it in order to get the review done, because this game just begs to be savored. The story pacing and scattered collectibles require a severe degree of attention that forces you to take it a bit slower than your average first-person shooter, but leaves you with the feeling that it was time well spent.
Suffice it to say that BioShock is a consummate gaming experience.
