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If you really like playing video games on your PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii or PSP (Playstation 3) console, then get ready to have some serious fun and possibly even be surprised by some impressive new game releases in the coming year. While there is a whole new crop of games to be released in 2007, Bioshock is one that certainly deserves some extra attention.
A highly anticipated game from Irrational Games that has been in development since 2004, Bioshock is the “spiritual successor” to the cult classic System Shock 2. It will be released in spring 2007 for Xbox 360 and PC.
Bioshock is a futuristic/post-apocalyptic game about people fighting mutants from runaway science experiments in the ruins of a city that was built under the sea in the 1940s. The plot and graphics are as creative as any video game on the market. , but the most attractive part of this game is the problem solving aspect. The user is continually challenged to find out what happened to this underwater ghost town in order to progress through the game.
Like the other Irrational games that have come before it, Bioshock is a dazzling, complex and highly interactive experience that challenges players of all skill levels to solve its mysteries while interacting with opposing beings and creatures. It has a dark and cryptic appearance reminiscent of the scene in the Mines of Moria from the Lord of the Rings, where the Fellowship battled the Balrog in the abandoned dwarven empire beneath the Misty Mountains.
Bioshock takes place primarily in a dilapidated underwater complex that appears to be a World War II-era relic. Players move through the game from a first-person perspective as they battle mutated creatures that roam the halls and streets of this decaying city.
Nothing is very clear to the user at first, such as what the complex was originally used for and why it is being used again, but things become more apparent as they progress through the game. What ultimately becomes apparent is that a utopian city was built and genetic experiments conducted in the 1940s, and then the complex fell into disrepair for unknown reasons. Sixty odd years later, the complex is searched and we discover that it has been invaded by mutated genetic experimental creatures that have a taste for human flesh.
Ken Levine, CEO of Irrational Games, describes Bioshock as a convergence of technology and biological life featuring genetic experiments. It is by no means a sequel to System Shock 2, whose setting was a corporate-sponsored starship.
Bioshock has no connection to the story of System Shock 2, aside from the fact that they are both horror-themed. The similarity is in the way the game is played, as the player decides what he sees and interacts with the decisions he makes during each step of the game.
According to Ken Levine, the level of interactivity in this new game will be “unprecedented”. The player is immersed in the interactive environments and is faced with a series of player-driven choices. This creates a style of play that the game’s developers call emergent play.
Another impressive aspect of this game is the AI ecology that dynamically looks for opportunities to fulfill its purpose. The player can even manipulate the AI’s ecology to work in their favor, turning enemies and NPCs against each other.
Of all the products to be released in 2007 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii or PSP games, Bioshock is sure to be one of the best. It is a hybrid first-person shooter game that combines elements of science fiction and role-playing game genres with interactive environments and player-driven choices.
This is a challenging and engaging video game that allows you to literally be in the middle of the action and decide how the game unfolds. This game is a step above all other video games and PSP downloads. If you like your video games to be as creative as they are engaging, then Bioshock is one that you will thoroughly enjoy.