To say the Bioshock franchise has impacted the gaming stratosphere is a colossal understatement. With the eeriest atmosphere provided in games today, an intricate convoluted storyline that actually makes you think about the plot instead of it being spoonfed to you, and twists so heavy it would give M. Night Shyamalan a run for his money, Bioshock really got people talking about games as an art medium instead of simply child toys. This game really influenced me in my upbringing and reinvigorated my love for games, as well as left me standing in awe of the imagination of the human mind.
Perhaps what Bioshock succeeds at the most is how it brought an audacious tour de force experience at a time where shooters and simple-minded beat ’em ups were reigning supreme. For the first time, I truly embodied the character, living, breathing, and scrounging throughout the fallen Atlantis known as Rapture. I mourned the supposed murder of Atlas’s “family” by the hands of suave Andrew Ryan and found out the horrid truth about my genetics.
And then there’s the actual game. Fluid animations, dazzling water graphics, and fine tuned gameplay mechanics such as plasmids(genetic superpowers) made this an absolute joy to play through on top of you exploring the vast aquatic wasteland. Playing Bioshock had not only filled the requirements for its “first person shooter” moniker, but towered above the greats with finesse.
Bioshock is a trailblazer in every sense. It’s haunting, unforgiving, and downright horrific at times, but is an original masterpiece that had kickstarted not only my love for games, but my appreciation for storytelling in general.
