Some of you may be wondering why I've put a game series that a lot of you can say, isn't horror. Well having played all 3 games in the series thus far and some of the DLC, I feel that it's quite disturbing and often quite scary and that just gives me a reason to review the games at this time of the year. But what is it that make them what they are? Let's find out:
Bioshock
The events of this game, take place in a fictional version of 1960. The player's non speaking character called Jack who is the only survivor of a plane that crashed in the Atlantic Ocean, comes across a lighthouse and enters what's known as a bathysphere which takes him down to the underwater city of Rapture (where the majority of the game's events take place in). Gudied by a man called Atlas, Jack ventures into Rapture to stop the splicers, harvest or save the Little Sisters for something called ADAM and bring an end to a man who is in control of the splicers and became solely responsible for how Rapture turned out. As this is a first person shooter, you get a wide range of firearms to choose from and as you collect ADAM, you can unlock powers that can help you combat enemies, solve puzzles and whatever else and like with RPGs, all these things can be upgraded and swaped around over time with the use of money and vending machines. If Jack dies, he gets resurrected with only some of his health left and all the equipment he had before dying, at what's known as a Vita Machine. This is by far, one of the weirdest and disturbing games that I have every played, but those things alone, make it a great game. A lot of the time, I feel very sorry for the Big Daddies because they were once normal humans and after killing them, it just feels bad especially when they are sort of babysitting the Little Sisters and you just take them away. But apart from that, its a great game, hands down. 9/10
Bioshock 2
After the critical and commercial success that the last game had, a lot of pressure was put onto 2K Games to make the sequel better (and let's just say that they did an OK job with it). Anyway, so this time around, you get to control a Big Daddy called Subject Delta who is awaken in Rapture in 1968, eight years after the events of the previous game. As all Big Daddies are meant to be paired with a Little Sister, Delta seems to not have one and for the majority of the game, he goes all over Rapture to find her, but the problem that Delta has, is that he is suffering from amnesia, meaning that he has no recollection of the past decade which will make things very hard for him. The gameplay isn't that much different than before, but as a Big Daddy, you are given the weapons that the Big Daddies from the last game were using. Weapons that Big Daddies use, include a massive drill and a few other things as well. Additionally, these weapons can be used in close combat as well as the use of powers and firearms as well. The first game had you finding ADAM and its no different here, but there maybe a chance that it can be acquired more easily than before. Like with the last game, you can battle other Big Daddies to get their Little Sisters who can either be harvested or adopted, the latter allowing them to follow and direct you in the game. This is also the first game in the series to have a online multiplayer mode which is story driven and serves as a prequel to the first Bioshock game and believe me when I say this, its worth checking out. In a way, it does look like the first Bioshock game again, just with you playing as a Big Daddy this time around (and apparently, this is the only game in the series thus far that let's you play as a Big Daddy). But that being said, it is a very good game that builds upon what made the first game so good and I do like it. I wouldn't say its better than the first, but its got stuff in it that makes it a worthwhile game for those of us wanting a first person shooter with an element of nostalgia going on. 8/10
Infinite
Now just before I go into this game, the series as a whole shares the name BioShock, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are connected. The creators have made it aware that the games only share the same concept in regards to the gameplay and the setting, which is one of many reasons as to why this game is very different to the other games in the series. The gameplay is the same, but instead of exploring Rapture, you get to explore a new area which is the flying city of Columbia. At long last, the playable protagonist called Booker, speaks (and is voiced by Troy Baker who you may know for being the voice of Two-Face in the Batman Arkham games). Anyway, so the game takes place in 1912 where Booker is sent to Columbia by an odd couple (who seem to appear in the most unusual of ways) to find a girl called Elizabeth (voiced by Courtnee Draper) whom they say will help Booker "wipe away the debt". As it turns out, this girl is central to this conflict that Columbia has with some kind of war going on where everybody is against both Elizabeth and Booker. Elizabeth has the power to open rifts to other universes where certain things in the past have changed, and these changes dramatically alter Columbia, even going as far as nearly destroying the city. The gameplay is again, the same as before, but unlike Rapture, there is plenty more space when in combat and if you're low on equipment, Elizabeth can help by giving you anything that she picks up that can be of use in combat. All the powers you get, can be found in what are known as vigors and you will need what's known as Salts to use them. But I think the biggest thing that we all wanted to see, was the use of some kind of weapon that can allow you to travel on rollercoaster like tracks all over the city. This in my opinion is the best game in the series so far. It gives us a new area to explore with plenty of places to travel to and all the new things work very well. This has made this game, one of my all time favourite first person shooter, despite the very strange story and the ending that it has. 9/10
In my honest opinion, this is one of those franchises that is very strange and weird, but also quite disturbing. Having said that, I see this as one of the greatest gaming franchises out there and I look forward to seeing where this goes for the 8th generation of gaming. 9/10
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