David

This game was like an albatross around my neck. I started it in February 2011 after David and Katie got me Bioshock 2 for Christmas 2010. I didn’t fancy diving straight into the sequel, so I picked up the original Bioshock cheap from Gamestation. I didn’t play it for very long, I admit. It just didn’t grab me, and the PC-esque UI put me off.

Thirteen months later, I picked up from where I left off, and within seconds I was hooked. Why? I had my first proper Big Daddy/Little Sister encounter. From there, I completed the first game within a week, and Bioshock 2 (Campaign modes and single player DLC, at least) was finished off a week later. I was actually obsessed with the thing, and Bioshock Infinite seems so far away. I feel sorry for anyone who played these games years ago and have had to wait even longer for Bioshock Infinite.

Caution – there will be spoilers for both games in this non-review. I’ll be focusing on the stories a fair bit as they are the strongest elements. The gameplay itself was great, but the grand stories, deep characters and super-imaginative world is what will make Bioshock stick in my head for a very long time.

Bioshock then. Do I really need to explain the basics? I’m sure that by now, anyone who is even remotely tempted to read my blog would know about Rapture. No? Ok then. Rapture is a city, the dream of one man, the embodiment of conviction himself, Andrew Ryan. Oh yeah, and it’s an underwater city. In Rapture, genetic engineering is prolific. “Splicing” is not confined to simply changing your height, build or skin colour – you could go as far as shooting flames, electricity or ice from your hands, or turning invisible when you stood still. We join the story just after a civil war – one that you can actually play in Bioshock 2’s multiplayer – but we’ll get to that later. Splicing has got out of hand (excuse the pun), and things are generally quite fucked up.