Hold on to your
Skyhooks and keep your arms and legs inside the plane at all times, because
Bioshock is back. The folks at 2K games
have emerged from the depths of Rapture to offer us the Bioshock Collection – a
remastered combination of the original Bioshock game, Bioshock 2 and Infinite. Featuring the same defining style and
gameplay, the collection has been graphically remastered for the next
generation.
The Original Bioshock
story is told through the eyes of the main protagonist, Jack. Trapped in
an underwater city torn apart by civil war, the once utopian Rapture has
descended into chaos. Thanks to the
emergence of a genetic material called ADAM (which grants the user superpowers
but with some nasty side effects), Jack finds himself in the middle of a green
tinged nightmare. Your goal throughout the game is to escape Rapture.
This is done by following an increasingly troubling series of events, aided by
the likes of NPC requests, audio diaries, the weird and wonderful (and creepy)
citizenry, and disturbing visual clues that are scattered throughout each beautifully
and highly detailed map.
If the story isn’t
enough to get your vigors going, there are several in game mechanics that will keep
you happily hacking and slashing for hours. Employing a mixture of melee
weapons, guns and (most importantly) your own arsenal of superpowers, gained
from plasmids lying around map, Jack battles his way through the game’s many
enemies. This includes the mild and
pleasant former citizens of Rapture known as Splicers, who have been driven mad
by their need for ADAM.
Far scarier than
this, however, is the Big Daddy. A familiar site to anyone even remotely
familiar with the franchise, they protect Little Sisters who have been tasked
with collecting ADAM from Rapture’s many corpses. Cute, creepy and filled with
goodies if you are willing to abandon your morals, killing a Little Sister can
net you loads of ADAM and allow you to purchase more items from the Gatherer’s
Garden. Choose to save the Little Sisters
and you will receive less ADAM, but at least your conscious will be clear.
The original game’s
setting and atmosphere was unlike anything that had come before it, and the
remaster only adds to the charm and wonderment offered by the first instalment.
The game springs to life with glistening water, improved lighting and shadows,
and a much smoother and faster 60 FPS.
Together this makes the game far more immersive, and the dystopian
1950’s atmosphere of Rapture is captured perfectly - run down, scary and
teeming with remnants of the old city. Making you feel both calm and
uneasy at the same time, the unique sounds, noises and whispers of Rapture help
provide a fully immersive experience for this incredible game.
Bioshock 2, whilst
initially receiving criticism due to the fact it was released by a different
studio, is still a fantastic game in its own right. Set in 1968, eight
years after the events of Bioshock, Rapture is now under the control of a woman
named Sofia Lamb. Unlike Rapture founder Andrew Ryan, who believed in the
genius of the individual, Lamb’s ideal for human progression offers a sharp
contrast – the collective power of the community.
The story actually
begins in 1958 and follows the main protagonist’s journey across the decade,
leading to a startling discovery concerning the origins of the Big Daddy within
Rapture. Without giving away too many
spoilers, you go on a journey of discovery to find out what you are, and what
happened to you in 1958.
While Bioshock and
Bioshock 2 are pretty similar in terms of gameplay, playing as the Big Daddy
protagonist does offer some sizeable differences in regards to in-game
mechanics. Equipped this time with heavy
machinery and the ability to use plasmids and weapons at the same time, you are
much more deadly and effective than Jack from the original rendition. Other
noticeable changes from the first game include simplified hacking in a more
palatable meter system. **
Although it doesn't
quite capture the charm of the first game, it’s still very much an immersive
and intriguing experience, filled with all manner of weird and wonderful
characters. And while there are less jumps around each corner, it’s still a
fulfilling title and worthy successor to the original.
Finally, and unlike
the previous games, the most recent instalment takes us away from the depths of
Rapture towards the skies of Columbia. Having been released in 2013 and
therefore being relatively new, the graphical comparison between Bioshock Infinite
and the remastered version is not quite as prevalent. As with the two previous titles, however,
there are improvements. This is
particularly noticeable on the Console, where improvements in the sharpness,
the environment, and the frame rate are nothing short of breath-taking however
is somewhat less noticeable if you’re on PC.
Bioshock Infinite takes
us to Columbia, a former colony of the United States that seceded in pursuit of
its own idealised vision of America. The game is a stark contrast to the derelict
and war torn city Rapture, but it becomes obvious very early on that seemingly
idyllic Columbia is not all it appears cracked up to be. The game is set in the year 1912 and follows
former Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt, who is sent to the floating air city of Columbia
to find a young woman named Elizabeth, who is being held captive.
Together, the two
become involved with the city's increasing hostilities and warring factions:
the native and elite Founders that rule Columbia and strive to keep its
privileges for White Americans, and the Vox Populi, a group of underground
rebels fighting against the oppression. During this conflict, Booker learns
that Elizabeth possesses the power to manipulate "Tears" in the
space-time continuum, and that she is the key to solving the mysteries
surrounding Columbia.
As with the
previous games, there is a mixture a weapons and powers (this time called
Vigors but essentially the same as Plasmids) that can be used to repel the
often weird and wacky enemies offered by the city. These include the
motorised Patriots (think robotic former presidents with a healthy thirst for
blood), and a giant Steampunk bird. Of
course, one of the best additions to Infinite is the Skyrail, which you can use
to fly across the city using a Skyhook.
There are also several instances where you can fight whilst flying
through the air, which is a very dynamic and welcome addition to the game.
Despite the
changes to Infinite, the core of the game still feels very much in keeping with
the previous instalments. If there was one
major complaint about Bioshock Infinite, it would be the move towards a more
general FPS sort of experience. Whereas killing enemies was more about survival
in the first two games, killing enemies in Infinite is more of a task of
progression which makes it less fun to do.
There are a few
glitches here and there, but it’s the old bugs from the originals that proved
the most frustrating. Random crashes; no
way to progress because of a bug; being unable to return to an area because a
door has glitched and won’t open; and achievements/trophies being bugged
so they won’t unlock were the most noteworthy examples.
No game is
completely bug free, but the unfortunate thing is that none of these are new
and were present in the original games. It’s
a bit of a let-down still having to contend with them almost a decade later.
If you are a fan
of the series, you will definitely enjoy revisiting the world of Bioshock. For those who are new to the games it is a
chance to explore a genre defining experience, which offers a masterclass in
tone, setting and atmosphere. Replaying
the entire trilogy has reminded me just how much of a masterpiece Bioshock
really is. The story conjures up great
memories and a beautiful sense of nostalgia, and for me it is one of the most
defining game series ever released.
With all three
games and all the DLC thrown into the mix, there is more than enough content to
keep anyone entertained. Now, would you
kindly take my advice, and enjoy this wonderful collection all over again?
Overall score: 9/10.
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