Bioshock

Before the month closes out, I thought I'd just pen down a few thoughts about Bioshock (Xbox360, PC). I haven't been playing this game as much as I want to, which we can all agree is a travesty. I haven't touched the game since last weekend, and as such, I'm filled with shame; The kind of shame that could cripple a man.

The game is very atmospheric, and it really sucks a player into suspending disbelief. You'd think, for a moment, that you really were walking about the dystopian underwater city of Rapture, set in the 1960s. The music, the sense of style. and the antiquated machines all contribute toward that total immersion.

And here, I draw special attention to the ambient sounds that form so much of the aural landscape. Eavesdropping on wayward conversations, hearing seawater flooding into the city, having the heavy bootstomps of the Big Daddy reveberate through your bones - These are just some of the subtle elements that highten the experience of the game to an undefinable degree.

"What was that?", I exclaim, swinging around violently, straining to hear the fading echoes of a woman's scream.

And as I journey through the city of Rapture (the setting of the game), so many elements help to bring the city to life. The visual style conveys almost a forlorn sense of abandonment, striving to re-capture a piece of its past glory. And gameplay elements such as picking up tape recordings of past inhabitants of the city paints a picture that is surreal, unfathomable, and at the same time, frightening. You begin to realise that the imagined utopia has been usurped by the deficiencies of humans.

What little I have seen of Bioshock has greatly impressed me. And I can't wait to continue on my journey into Rapture.