| BioShock | |
|---|---|
| Completionist Info | |
 | |
| Episode Number | 133 |
| Date Released | June 26th, 2015 |
| Completionist Rating | Finish It! |
| Link | Bioshock |
BioShock is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston (later Irrational Games), and published by 2K Games. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 platforms in August 2007; a PlayStation 3 port by Irrational, 2K Marin, 2K Australia and Digital Extremes was released in October 2008, and an OS X port by Feral Interactive in October 2009. A mobile version was developed by IG Fun.[14] The game's concept was developed by Irrational's creative lead,Ken Levine, and was based on the ideas ofObjectivism as promulgated by Ayn Rand, while incorporating influences from other authors such as George Orwell. The game is considered a spiritual successor to the System Shock series, which many of Irrational's team including Levine had worked on previously.
BioShock is set in 1960, in which the player guides the protagonist, Jack, after his airplane crashes in the ocean near thebathysphere terminus that leads to the underwater city of Rapture. Built by the business magnate Andrew Ryan, the city was intended to be an isolated utopia, but the discovery of ADAM, aplasmid which grants superhuman powers, initiated the city's turbulent decline. Jack tries to find a way to escape, fighting through hordes of ADAM-obsessed enemies, and the iconic, deadly Big Daddies, while engaging with the few sane humans that remain and eventually learning of Rapture's past. The player, as Jack, is able to defeat foes in a number of ways by using weapons, utilizing plasmids that give unique powers and by turning Rapture's own defenses against them. BioShock includes elements of role-playing games, giving the player different approaches in engaging enemies such as by stealth, as well as moral choices of saving or killing characters; additionally, the game and biopunk theme borrow concepts from the survival horror genre.
BioShock received critical acclaim and was particularly praised by critics for its morality-based storyline, immersive environments, its unique setting and is considered one of the greatest video games of all time. It received several Game of the Year awards from different media outlets, including from BAFTA, Game Informer, Spike TV, and X-Play. Since its release a direct sequel has been released, BioShock 2 by 2K Marin, as well as a third game titled BioShock Infinite by Irrational Games.
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The Completionist[]
Jirard reviewed BioShock for the 133rd episode of The Completionist. The episode's intro and ending are dressed up to look like the in-game videos, akin to TV in the 1950s.
Jirard finds the atmosphere and world incredibly fascinating, even if the game's utopian theme to be a bit generic. The subtlety of the game's themes is what helps support the narrative, and the aesthetics impress Jirard even 7 years later. The musical dissonance adds more to the atmosphere, and loves the fact that the game relies on the player to piece together the game's lore.
The game's gameplay is varied for Jirard, and he loves the weaponry and Plasmid system. Customization is also appreciated. The pipe puzzles are also very fun for Jirard, despite there being a lot of them. When it comes to harvesting or sparing the little sister, he finds himself more inclined to spare them, despite making it harder to get stronger, due to the morality of the situation. In fact, Jirard loves the game's constant theme of choice. "In BioShock, there are no wrong answers."
Though there's not much of a completion bonus, Jirard did have fun playing the DLC challenges. He also finds the game to be a Completionist's nightmare, due to the sheer number of trophies/achievements that require multiple playthroughs.
Trivia[]
- The episode uses the "Bioshock Song Ragtime" by Brentalfloss.
- Jirard makes various references to the Pirates of the Caribbean films in this episode.