Bioshock first received a lot of attention when it was shown at this years E3, winning numerous awards and began to become very anticipated by gamers across the globe. The game is being developed by Irrational Games, who were acquired by 2K games and who will be publishing Bioshock. The developers are trying to make this a different First Person Shooter game, in fact the developers claim they are trying to 'redefine what it means to be a first person shooter' so don't expect the linear level design, non-interactive environments or the point and shoot AI which is seen all to often in video games. It was originally going to use the Unreal 2.5 engine, however it is yet another game which has turned to the Unreal 3 engine, which is proving quite popular amongst a lot of highly anticipated games on the Xbox 360. Making a successful First Person Shooter is difficult enough to do already, so redefining one of the most popular game genres is a very tall order indeed, however lets not rule out that possibility quite yet. Bioshock will be Irrational Games first title for the Xbox 360, but most will have heard of some of their previous projects such as Freedom Force, SWAT 4 and System Shock 2. Out of all of their games, the one worth mentioning here would definitely be System Shock 2 as Bioshock could be seen as a game loosely based on the System Shock 2 universe, sharing the same themes and perhaps concepts. System Shock 2 is a first person shooter, but it was very different when compared to the other first person shooters available when the game was released in 1999. It had more depth and interactive elements to the gameplay and wasn't all about running and gunning. Bioshock is also being designed with interactivity and player choice in mind. The storyline and location where the game is based sounds like it will give it a good chance of standing out amongst the other first person shooters.
The game is based in an underwater city called Rapture and takes place during the 1960's. The city looks breathtaking when it is first shown, with its high rise 'Art Deco' architecture right on the sea bed, surrounded by water, almost a modern Atlantis. The word 'utopia' seems to sum up Rapture perfectly as it was created by a group of people who wanted to get away from the surface world, which at the time Rapture was founded, was just recovering from the effects of World War 2. By creating their own city, free from government regulations and religion, they would be able to conduct wild and crazy experiments which perhaps some people might see as a waste of time or unethical. This is the reason the city is full of intelligent people such as scientists and engineers, which all sounds good on paper and may have started well, but as time went on, things began to deteriorate. When the player first discovers Rapture, they enter the city it is still deteriorating and the players are made very aware of this. It’s hard to go into too much detail about this whilst avoiding spoilers, but it all has something to do with, when a scientist discovers an almost magical material which can enhance the human body and repair or modify existing cells. The substance was called 'Adam' and throughout the game the player and the citizens of Rapture, Adam is key to survival. The material has brought Rapture down after it caused a civil war and the people were greedy so there is a grave shortage, in fact the slug which Adam was originally extracted from has been extinct, so there is a very interesting and surprising way to gather it. Characters called 'Little Sisters' or nicknamed 'Gatherers' are genetically modified children who will retrieve Adam from dead bodies and somehow recycle it in their bodies so it can be used again. The player will of course use Adam to modify their own bodies and improve their abilities, but here we have an example of the choice factors which the developers have put in place in the game, or 'emergent gameplay' as it has been referred to by the developers. This is relevant here because the player can either follow the Little Sisters to more sources of Adam, or can take the Adam by force, by attacking the Little Sisters. As you might expect, these two choices have benefits and disadvantages, for example choosing the latter will mean you will have to answer to the genetically modified Big Daddies who are there to protect the Little Sisters as they collect the precious Adam. It's not just physical gameplay choices though, the player will also face constant moral choices throughout the game.
The 'Big Daddies' look very mean indeed and they act mean as well if you get on their bad side. They are protected by heavy armor, which resembles very old diving suits, with round bubble helmets, only they have been exaggerated in parts to look slightly more menacing, you can’t see their faces and the way they stomp around is very intimidating, you know one is near because you will hear the clank of their footsteps from down the corridor. The Big Daddies are also well armed with powerful weapons so don't expect an easy fight, this is the message sent across by the developers as well, who claim that the player will find out why messing around with Big Daddies is a bad idea. The levels contain security cameras and if the player gets spotted, they will have to answer to a fleet of security bots which will be hot on your tail, some initiative and quick thinking will be required though, since there is an unlimited supply of Security Bots however the game is about choices so there will be ways to escape, some more costly or complicated than others. The Bots are armed with machine guns and fly around like miniature helicopters. The player will also have to combat Splicers. The Splicers are much different compared to the Big Daddies, they are hostile towards the player. The Splicer was once an ordinary person however with the corruption that occurred from the discovery of Adam the Splicers constantly strive for more Adam to survive and to modify themselves. As with the Security Bots, its all about choices, you can take them on face to face or perhaps use a little cunning to get around them, its up to the player, but what sort of choices are available?
As the player collects Adam, throughout the game they can spend it in a lot of different ways. Adam can be spent at machines called 'Plasmi-Quik's', here players can buy upgrades for their Plasmids. Plasmids are special powers which give the player brief spells of super-human abilities or can be used to upgrade weaponry. We know of a few Plasmid upgrades which seem to give the player some useful skills that can be used to get themselves out of a sticky situation. As mentioned previously the game is about choice, so as soon as you come across an enemy blocking your path, the obvious thing to do is simply open fire, but there are other options available. An example given in a walk through video, is where one of the developers playing through the game enters a shop and accidentally activates a gun turret which proceeds to shoot him, as well as giving us a nice show of the physics and the interactivity of individual items in the world, it’s also a chance to show us one of the many options available in avoiding being killed. He quickly finds cover but can't stay there forever so decided its time to leave, but as soon as he stands up that turret is just going to start spraying bullets at him again, sounds like a good time to use a Plasmid. A speed boost Plasmid is used, and the character gains a noticeable increase in running speed, allowing him to zip past the turret without sustaining any damage. Another slightly more extraordinary example, is where the demo player comes across a room with a Big Daddy protecting a Little Sister and a Splicer who is searching for Adam. Instead of fighting them, he uses a Plasmid to avoid confrontation. The 'Aggressor Scent' is used on the Big Daddy, this tricks the Splicer into thinking that the Big Daddy is you and so the splicer attacks the Big Daddy. As the fight continues, it enables the player to make use of the distraction to slip into a nearby store undetected. Other plasmids include ones which allow the player to take control over a Big Daddy and others which tricks security cameras into attacking Splicers. All of these can be used to avoid combat, but there are choices available which might suit the more aggressive players, such as a Plasmid allowing some form of fire attack. So as well as using Plasmids to attack enemies, weapons will also be available.
Not that much to say about the weapons in the game at this point. By the sounds of it there will be 6 different main weapons, however as with the rest of the game upgrades and customization plays a major role in the game, which essentially means there are dozens of combinations available, if not more! The developers believe that players can tackle the game in a number of different ways, the more open ended, in depth style of play, taking advantage of Plasmids and other upgrades or failing that, the game could be tackled much like the other first person shooter games, running around shooting everything in sight, but again it’s all up to the player. Since the game is still a long way off we don't know what the final game will look like, but so far the demo shown and the screen shots released are very promising and definitely up to Xbox 360 standards. Irrational games will be using the Unreal 3 engine so expect some stunning visuals, but its probably worth noting the water effects present throughout the game, which help create a waterlogged, drowning atmosphere as well as the symbolism that comes with it.
As you explore Rapture, it becomes obvious that it is a world falling apart. What first might sound like a perfect society, we realize that the citizens of Rapture have been caught up in a decaying society. There is a separate artist just for water effects, so it’s something they want to get just right, the feeling that you the player are trapped in this world. As well as corruption in the ecology of Rapture, the buildings themselves are falling apart; the artists are trying hard to make the atmosphere and the player feel like they are being drowned. Period music from the 1940's and the 1950's also contribute to the gloomy, eerie atmosphere present in Bioshock. In the demo we see the player walk down a corridor and an old love song played from a gramophone echoes down the corridor. This will hopefully come together and create an intense atmosphere which will help make the game deeper for players. The developers are trying to make the player feel as if they themselves have been trapped in the not so perfect city of Rapture, you have to survive as you would do yourself, by making a lot of choices and decisions. I guess a simple way to put it would be to say, you are you, you are not a fictional character by the name of whoever. The developers are hoping that players understand this and that since there are so many ways to tackle problems, gamers will be able to advance through the game the way that most suits them.
If you are under the impression that this game is little about combat and all about exploration and deciding how to avoid combat situations, then you would be partially right. Although Irrational Games seem to be making this the main selling point of the game so to speak, the thing that makes it stand out, is that the game can still be played pretty much like other first person shooters out there. The combat system seems very extensive allowing the player a variety of ways to dispose of enemies as well as a variety of ways to avoid them, so no matter how you decide to play the game, it should still offer a unique and deep single player experience. If the developers can pull off the advanced AI and make it so they act like they live and survive in the world, as well as the intense atmosphere and the moral choice system present then there is no reason why this game wont be one of the best in 2007, which is a special thing indeed when you consider what is planned for next year. The game is still quite a bit off from release, so it’s hard to say if it will redefine first person shooters, but it seems the guys at Irrational Games have the right ideas, hopefully they can implement them successfully, if they can then expect this game to impress. Bioshock is definitely one to look forward to when it is released next Spring, but make sure you keep an eye out for updates and more information on the game, because it still holds a lot of secrets. Also in case you noticed and are wondering about the spelling, it was originally 'BioShock' with a capital 'S' however it was later changed and is now just 'Bioshock'.
Preview By: Fraser Keith
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