(To clarify, I only played the Xbox 360 version of the game, therefore technical issues discussed below, may not be present in the PC version)

Let’s get this out of the way: Bioshock is NOT the greatest game ever.  Neither was Gears of War, but Bioshock does a lot of things right that make it a great game.

Graphics – 100%
This game, without a doubt, has the best looking graphics of any game on the Xbox 360 to date.  The water effects blew me away.  Reportedly, Irrational Games hired “water gurus”, Stephan Alexander - FX Artist, and Jesse Johnson - Graphics Programmer, to handle all the aquatic effects in this game.  The investment paid off in a big way, as the water is simply amazing.

In addition, the character models are incredibly detailed and superbly animated.  ‘Slicers’ are limber and their acrobatic moves appear natural.  ‘Little Sisters’ move and walk as young children do, and ‘Big Daddies’ lumber around with their giant diving bells as one would expect.

But where this game really excels is art direction.  The art deco 1960s feel was an inspired choice for Bioshock.  It created a Bioshock style, something very few games establish.  The creators were well aware of the amazing world they were creating and even created a downloadable art book entitled Bioshock: Breaking the Mold which you can download here .

Sound – 85%
The soundtrack for Bioshock is amazing.  A ton of licensed songs have been included, and while I’m not generally a fan of 40s and 50s music, the soundtrack was fitting as it complimented the art deco styling of Bioshock.  And although I wasn’t alive at the time, I can certainly recognize and appreciate the importance of names like Bobby Darin, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Cole Porter, and Frank Sinatra.

In addition, the score of Bioshock adds to the creepy feel present throughout the game.  It can heighten the mood, or lure the gamer into a false sense of calm, all without being obtrusive.  Again, Irrational Games realized what an incredible asset they had and decided to release it to the public.  You can download an MP3 collection containing twelve tracks of the musical score here.

The audio does have one problem, in their quest for authenticity, the dialogue is sometimes difficult to hear or understand.  This was particularly notable when speaking with Atlas via a two-way radio.  In turn, I was forced to turn on subtitles, so as not to miss any important information, and this is when the real trouble began.

The subtitle system is TERRIBLE.  It was most often so far out of sync with the spoken audio, that the audio itself became a distraction when trying to read.  Subtitles should exist to compliment not hinder, allowing the gamer to follow along, but that wasn’t the case.  On occasion, the subtitles would only be on the screen for a few seconds, far ahead of the dialogue, while other times they would stay on the screen for a few minutes after the speaker had finished.  I had high hopes that the September Bioshock update would remedy this, but no such luck.

Gameplay – 85%
***Warning! Spoilers contained in this section***

To understand Bioshock, you must first understand the setting.  Wikipedia.com has an excellent article on Bioshock and explains the back story far better than I believe I could.

The game takes place during 1960 in Rapture, an underwater city secretly built in 1946 on the mid-Atlantic seabed, entirely self-sufficient and powered by submarine volcanoes. Constructed by business magnate Andrew Ryan, Rapture was envisioned as the only place on Earth that could support individualism, and populated by those Ryan believed exemplified the best in humanity. During the early 1950s, its population peaked at several thousand, though ranks of elite emerged from the rest, discomforting many.
(Read more about the setting here.)

It is in this decimated, failed attempt at a utopia that you, as Jack, enter the story.  As incredible as the storyline may seem, it is presented in a very believable way, yet at times, the gameplay may seem repetitive or familiar but, interspersed quests and secondary objectives keep the game moving.

The game has but one fault: it is too damn short.

Let me start my explanation with an admission: I am not a very good gamer.  There!  I’ve said it. 

I can 'hold my own' in most games, and although I’ve always enjoyed it, I have never really excelled at the pastime.  With that being said, I managed to finish this game, in less than 16 hours.  While this may not seem that long, realize, that I tend to search nearly every nook in a game, so as not to miss anything.  Consequently, my play is slow and labored, yet I still managed to finish this game in just a few evenings.

Because the game is a linear story, it has little to no replay value.  Yes, one could play through the game a second time, choosing to only harvest or save the ‘Little Sisters’ in the hope of seeing a different cut scene ending, but this could quickly get boring, as the game is still the same.  Irrational could have remedied this by adding a multiplayer mode, allowing gamers to play either as Jack or one of a few varieties of Splicer in a deathmatch arena.  It would be a unique twist on multiplayer FPS games, and provide for hours and hours of fun.

Cut Scenes/Video – 95%
The cut scenes were very interesting and perfectly implemented, all within the game engine.  My only gripe with the cut scenes is the ending.  Irrational apparently had to hurry up and finish their homework, and the ending scenes suffered for it.

First, there are three possible endings.  The only difference between two of the endings, is the tone of the narrator’s voice.  This seems like a serious cop-out.  Second, the ending scenes are very short.  I was disappointed, and would have loved to see the endings a little more fleshed out.

Controls/Interface – 100%
The controls are flawless.  The use of a menu for switching weapons is inspired.  After all, who wants to cycle through seven weapons to arrive at the one I need.

The interface of is easy to use, and the implementation of a ‘Save-Anywhere with auto-save’ system is simple addition that is far too often overlooked in console games.  Although I only died one time, the ability to save and not feel the need to “finish a level” was invaluable.

Summary – 93%
I've read some reviews since playing this game, stating Bioshock is the "greatest game ever".  (Funny, isn't that what they said about Gears of War?)  Bioshock is a great game, and honestly, has the best storyline of any game I have played since Half-Life, but it is just too short.  At $60 USD ($50 for the PC version), it’s a bit pricey, but still worth the cost.  If Irrational, would have added multiplayer, fixed the sound/subtitle issues, and lengthened the game, then this would be “The Greatest Game Ever”!

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