No gods or kings, only man, with these very words we are welcomed into the undersea city of Rapture. Where are we? What is Rapture? It is too soon to put such things into question. Let us first delve into the intricacies of the world, setting and plot of Bioshock, a major masterpiece, largely acclaimed as a salient feat in the crowded realm of shooters, the so-called genetically enhanced shooter.
As it is not my intention to deconstruct the playability of Bioshock, I will skip comments about whether that power-up is good, this weapon is too overpowered or how come is the AI so easily predictable. These aspects are of no concern to me, be it because I am a man of no trifles or due to my natural attraction towards plots instead of graphics. Much time has passed since Bioshock was released in 2007, a time from which many new ideas have arisen, but few of them, I dare say, could dethrone the unique flavour distinguishing this intriguing setting which is Rapture.
Even though I have often enjoyed epic, majestic introductions to dauntingly endless plots, I do also find beauty in brevity, which is carefully employed in the beginning of Bioshock. There is a plane crash and we are immediately put into the place of Jack Ryan, an anonymous person (from whom we barely know anything) who falls off the plane, ending up amidst the Atlantic Ocean. It is by a cunning chance that we have a glimpse of a distant lighthouse, whither we know we must go. One could think that such a chance is too unbelievable or even emmersive (the opposite of immersive), but there is one thing one should take into account when playing video games: an introduction does not have to imitate the standards of cinema, playing right away in the first moment compels us to think all of a sudden where are we, why, and what happens, as in this case, if we try to swim there.
Eureka! A secret stairway leading to an underground, unknown maze. No weapons, no items, just Jack figuring out where is he. ¿Has this all been devised by a single human mind?
The avid beholder will have noticed by now the perfectly decorated walls and stairs that expect us to get further, to the innermost, darkest corners of Rapture. The former paradise of utmost human freedom: now sunken, lying on the forgotten depths of oblivion. The architecture is genuinely inspired on Art Déco, an artistic architecture current which reached its summit throughout the 20s and 30s, with the Empire State Building, famously crowned by King Kong, as its most memorable milestone. Some subtle sounds start to approach our ears, the more we hesitate, the less we know about this place. An urgent need of moving on is empowering us to be fearless, eager and carefree.
It is from now on when the leitmotiv of Bioshock unveils to astound our senses: it is 1960, we are adrift and abandoned, left to the mercy of this strange and ravaged city of Rapture. We listen to Andrew Ryan, the so-called creator of this paradise once thought to foster free-thinking, atheist morality and technocratic government. His urgent and frantic words seem to be the messy speech of the fool who is going to receive an incoming death.
The more we learn about the plot, the less likely is it for us to go back. Instead, we carry on with our curious exploration of uncharted domains. I personally enjoy the beginning of Bioshock in that it encompasses a tempo that is progressively unveiling secrets and absorbing us, until the very point of no return when we get on the bathysphere , the vehicle that transports us to the presumable origin of all this chaos and decay.
For some reason, this secret place is now plundered, empty and full of trails leading to twisted schemes. To the average shooter player this might pass unnoticed, but if you happen to be interested enough you will then pay attention to the way our first enemies (weren't we supposed to be alone? Who the hell has survived here and why?) turn up. The way we are forced to feel bound to this demonic labyrinth (water overflowing, floodings disabling any escape route) in a matter of seconds, the scattered remains of the crashed plane we had took much before being swept with the violence of oceanic currents.
A new voice bangs in via radio: Atlas, a poor man whose wife and son have been dragged by these fatal waters to the innermost hideouts of Rapture. Violins in the soundtrack, the image of the ascending lift escaping the flooding and the supplicant shouts of Atlas begging for sympathy to rescue his family would surely be the perfect symbol of despair one feels when playing Bioshock for the first time.
Jack holds a rusty spanner tightly (and I find this a powerful way to describe the idea of despair and confusion: the need to find a weapon to face unknown foes who are just starting to scavenge other valuable items or to stalk us from their dark whereabouts) as though his life depended on it.
If we dare to venture further, we will soon come across with a mighty... friend? enemy? called Big Daddy, masked protectors of strange mutant girls who are also scavenging every corner for certain substances called ADAM, a kind of drug that has wreaked havoc among the former inhabitants of this disturbing undersea city: Rapture.
Almost unarmed and defenseless, we witness how one Big Daddy drills a Splicer (the mysterious human survivors of this city) to a gruesome death, which is a valuable lesson we should not forget: do not pick on these little mutant girls if you come across with any.
Furthermore, it is by mere exploration of walls and floor that we run into scattered tapes with key recordings from different people who passed away with greater or lesser violence, narrating us frightening facts and unveiling terrific secrets of this hellish maze, right before they either committed suicide or were killed by unfortunate events, as though somebody or something had been silencing them.
I have long spoken about the details and first impressions of Bioshock, but not of its gameplay, which is good enough to keep us hooked to it, but not much innovative, a flaw that shouldn't impede the glory of Rapture to enthrall us until we want to discover what the hell happened in this damned place. We do have liquid nitrogen throwers, psycho powers, drug enhancers, crackeable vending machines and other weird stuff that makes up a solid array of playable choices, but this is not a reason for which one should really play such a game.
If you do enjoy to be captivated and mesmerized by a disturbing and gripping plot, go ahead and do not hesitate at all to give it a try.
Even though I have often enjoyed epic, majestic introductions to dauntingly endless plots, I do also find beauty in brevity, which is carefully employed in the beginning of Bioshock. There is a plane crash and we are immediately put into the place of Jack Ryan, an anonymous person (from whom we barely know anything) who falls off the plane, ending up amidst the Atlantic Ocean. It is by a cunning chance that we have a glimpse of a distant lighthouse, whither we know we must go. One could think that such a chance is too unbelievable or even emmersive (the opposite of immersive), but there is one thing one should take into account when playing video games: an introduction does not have to imitate the standards of cinema, playing right away in the first moment compels us to think all of a sudden where are we, why, and what happens, as in this case, if we try to swim there.
Eureka! A secret stairway leading to an underground, unknown maze. No weapons, no items, just Jack figuring out where is he. ¿Has this all been devised by a single human mind?
The avid beholder will have noticed by now the perfectly decorated walls and stairs that expect us to get further, to the innermost, darkest corners of Rapture. The former paradise of utmost human freedom: now sunken, lying on the forgotten depths of oblivion. The architecture is genuinely inspired on Art Déco, an artistic architecture current which reached its summit throughout the 20s and 30s, with the Empire State Building, famously crowned by King Kong, as its most memorable milestone. Some subtle sounds start to approach our ears, the more we hesitate, the less we know about this place. An urgent need of moving on is empowering us to be fearless, eager and carefree.
It is from now on when the leitmotiv of Bioshock unveils to astound our senses: it is 1960, we are adrift and abandoned, left to the mercy of this strange and ravaged city of Rapture. We listen to Andrew Ryan, the so-called creator of this paradise once thought to foster free-thinking, atheist morality and technocratic government. His urgent and frantic words seem to be the messy speech of the fool who is going to receive an incoming death.
The more we learn about the plot, the less likely is it for us to go back. Instead, we carry on with our curious exploration of uncharted domains. I personally enjoy the beginning of Bioshock in that it encompasses a tempo that is progressively unveiling secrets and absorbing us, until the very point of no return when we get on the bathysphere , the vehicle that transports us to the presumable origin of all this chaos and decay.
For some reason, this secret place is now plundered, empty and full of trails leading to twisted schemes. To the average shooter player this might pass unnoticed, but if you happen to be interested enough you will then pay attention to the way our first enemies (weren't we supposed to be alone? Who the hell has survived here and why?) turn up. The way we are forced to feel bound to this demonic labyrinth (water overflowing, floodings disabling any escape route) in a matter of seconds, the scattered remains of the crashed plane we had took much before being swept with the violence of oceanic currents.
A new voice bangs in via radio: Atlas, a poor man whose wife and son have been dragged by these fatal waters to the innermost hideouts of Rapture. Violins in the soundtrack, the image of the ascending lift escaping the flooding and the supplicant shouts of Atlas begging for sympathy to rescue his family would surely be the perfect symbol of despair one feels when playing Bioshock for the first time.
Jack holds a rusty spanner tightly (and I find this a powerful way to describe the idea of despair and confusion: the need to find a weapon to face unknown foes who are just starting to scavenge other valuable items or to stalk us from their dark whereabouts) as though his life depended on it.
If we dare to venture further, we will soon come across with a mighty... friend? enemy? called Big Daddy, masked protectors of strange mutant girls who are also scavenging every corner for certain substances called ADAM, a kind of drug that has wreaked havoc among the former inhabitants of this disturbing undersea city: Rapture.
Almost unarmed and defenseless, we witness how one Big Daddy drills a Splicer (the mysterious human survivors of this city) to a gruesome death, which is a valuable lesson we should not forget: do not pick on these little mutant girls if you come across with any.
Furthermore, it is by mere exploration of walls and floor that we run into scattered tapes with key recordings from different people who passed away with greater or lesser violence, narrating us frightening facts and unveiling terrific secrets of this hellish maze, right before they either committed suicide or were killed by unfortunate events, as though somebody or something had been silencing them.
I have long spoken about the details and first impressions of Bioshock, but not of its gameplay, which is good enough to keep us hooked to it, but not much innovative, a flaw that shouldn't impede the glory of Rapture to enthrall us until we want to discover what the hell happened in this damned place. We do have liquid nitrogen throwers, psycho powers, drug enhancers, crackeable vending machines and other weird stuff that makes up a solid array of playable choices, but this is not a reason for which one should really play such a game.
If you do enjoy to be captivated and mesmerized by a disturbing and gripping plot, go ahead and do not hesitate at all to give it a try.
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