The whole game takes place in Rapture - an underwater city. Don't expect to be in the water though. It's hard to follow the story mostly because of the sound quality, almost everything you hear is coming through a radio. There aren't many people you can interact with and by that I mean actual characters that matter. There are literally unlimited number of enemies though. They seem to spawn every now and then so you never feel like you're running around in an empty map.

Speaking of maps, every mission takes place in a huge location which thankfully is not that confusing because of the map which feels like DOOM RPG's map. There are a lot of audio diaries scattered throughout the game and if you're looking to follow the story, you should try to find and listen to every single one of them. If you're not interested in the story the game-play alone is worth the purchase.

Game-play is unique for a game of its time. You can carry various types of weapons in one hand and plasmids in the other. Plasmids are biologically shocking to say the least. There are so many things you can do with different plasmids. You can upgrade both your weapons and your plasmids. Upgrading weapons and plasmids not only changes their power but also changes their look and animation. There are also some passive abilities available which you can gather by collecting tonics. Tonics introduces a bit of RPG elements in the game. You can switch to your preferred play-style by choosing to use different kinds of tonics.

You can upgrade weapons at limited numbers of 'one-use' Power to the People machines which are well hidden or needs some puzzles to be solved in order to get access to. You can upgrade health, EVE and plasmids from Gatherer's Garden machines which are somewhat rare to find. You can purchase ammo at El Ammo Bandito machines which can be found in so many places. You can buy health / EVE / food / drinks at Circus of Values machine which can also be found at plenty of places. You can find ammo, health, EVE, money and foods / drinks throughout the map as well and by searching bodies of dead enemies.

EVE is needed to use plasmids. Foods & drinks can increase your health and decrease your EVE or vice versa or increase both. You can swap your tonics (passive abilities) at a Gene Bank machine which are not available everywhere like the ammo or vending machine. But there's always one or two where you need them. This whole thing may seem confusing but it's actually quite addicting and not confusing at all once you get the hang of it.

Let's come to the story, there are two different endings, a good one and a bad one. The bad ending leaves things at a cliffhanger while the good ending makes most sense. It's also worth mentioning that the game BioShock Infinite assumes that you had picked the good ending - not the bad one. I found both endings to be a bit unsatisfying. The story, as I said before is hard to understand because of the audio quality and the horrible subtitle fonts don't help much. But if you do understand the dialogues and listen to audio diaries, then you'll find out what makes BioShock so great. The story is great. If you are not planning on playing BioShock 2 and Infinite, then the story is just good enough. There are some surprises that will blow your mind. I highly recommend focusing on the story.

Combat is awesome. You can create your unique character builds at Gene Bank machines - combine that with various weapons and plasmid combinations and you're in for a truly great experience. The Big Daddy encounters are way too easy on the easiest difficulty, so I'd suggest cranking up the difficulty a bit to have an even greater experience. You don't have to engage those brutes most of the time but they do provide great rewards and are a big part of the game. Using a Gatherer's Garden machine requires ADAM as currencies and you'll need to engage those big daddies in order to get to the girl he was protecting - the girl has ADAM, how you choose to take it from her though, is up to you and this will affect which ending you're gonna get. Even though there are several enemy types, it does get boring in the long run and they all look kinda same. There are machines which you can hack to get more benefits or make it your own (drones, turrets & security cameras).

Not much left to say except, it's a good game and does an amazing job at visual storytelling. If you're not interested in the story or finding it confusing to follow, get it for the game-play mechanic. If you're not interested in the game-play or finding it confusing, get it for the story. Would you kindly look past some minor flaws and save often?

[h1]Detailed review without any major spoilers.[/h1] The whole game takes place in Rapture - an underwater city. Don't expect to be in the water though. It's hard to follow the story mostly because of the sound quality, almost everything you hear is coming through a radio. There aren't many people you can interact with and by that I mean actual characters that matter. There are literally unlimited number of enemies though. They seem to spawn every now and then so you never feel like you're running around in an empty map. Speaking of maps, every mission takes place in a huge location which thankfully is not that confusing because of the map which feels like DOOM RPG's map. There are a lot of audio diaries scattered throughout the game and if you're looking to follow the story, you should try to find and listen to every single one of them. If you're not interested in the story the game-play alone is worth the purchase. Game-play is unique for a game of its time. You can carry various types of weapons in one hand and plasmids in the other. Plasmids are biologically shocking to say the least. There are so many things you can do with different plasmids. You can upgrade both your weapons and your plasmids. Upgrading weapons and plasmids not only changes their power but also changes their look and animation. There are also some passive abilities available which you can gather by collecting tonics. Tonics introduces a bit of RPG elements in the game. You can switch to your preferred play-style by choosing to use different kinds of tonics. You can upgrade weapons at limited numbers of 'one-use' Power to the People machines which are well hidden or needs some puzzles to be solved in order to get access to. You can upgrade health, EVE and plasmids from Gatherer's Garden machines which are somewhat rare to find. You can purchase ammo at El Ammo Bandito machines which can be found in so many places. You can buy health / EVE / food / drinks at Circus of Values machine which can also be found at plenty of places. You can find ammo, health, EVE, money and foods / drinks throughout the map as well and by searching bodies of dead enemies. EVE is needed to use plasmids. Foods & drinks can increase your health and decrease your EVE or vice versa or increase both. You can swap your tonics (passive abilities) at a Gene Bank machine which are not available everywhere like the ammo or vending machine. But there's always one or two where you need them. This whole thing may seem confusing but it's actually quite addicting and not confusing at all once you get the hang of it. Let's come to the story, there are two different endings, a good one and a bad one. The bad ending leaves things at a cliffhanger while the good ending makes most sense. It's also worth mentioning that the game BioShock Infinite assumes that you had picked the good ending - not the bad one. I found both endings to be a bit unsatisfying. The story, as I said before is hard to understand because of the audio quality and the horrible subtitle fonts don't help much. But if you do understand the dialogues and listen to audio diaries, then you'll find out what makes BioShock so great. The story is great. If you are not planning on playing BioShock 2 and Infinite, then the story is just good enough. There are some surprises that will blow your mind. I highly recommend focusing on the story. Combat is awesome. You can create your unique character builds at Gene Bank machines - combine that with various weapons and plasmid combinations and you're in for a truly great experience. The Big Daddy encounters are way too easy on the easiest difficulty, so I'd suggest cranking up the difficulty a bit to have an even greater experience. You don't have to engage those brutes most of the time but they do provide great rewards and are a big part of the game. Using a Gatherer's Garden machine requires ADAM as currencies and you'll need to engage those big daddies in order to get to the girl he was protecting - the girl has ADAM, how you choose to take it from her though, is up to you and this will affect which ending you're gonna get. Even though there are several enemy types, it does get boring in the long run and they all look kinda same. There are machines which you can hack to get more benefits or make it your own (drones, turrets & security cameras). Not much left to say except, it's a good game and does an amazing job at visual storytelling. If you're not interested in the story or finding it confusing to follow, get it for the game-play mechanic. If you're not interested in the game-play or finding it confusing, get it for the story. Would you kindly look past some minor flaws and save often?