There are many questions and controversies surrounding Bioshock... have we gotten to the point where games can become art? What is up with the anti-theft software on the game? Regardless of the answer to any of these questions one thing is clear to me, BioShock will be talked about for many years to come...

Gameplay: This is perhaps one the main tough point with me and will probably get some arguements later, but the gameplay isn't one hundred percent ingrossing. It comes very close, but it isn't perfect. Granted, there are hundreds of options to approach the game but like Grand Theft Auto, BioShock still has a ways to go if you want it to cover EVERYTHING.
That being said, I did enjoy the way BioShock left you spoiled for choice on how you want to exploit every little health pickup, ammo pack, and environmental effect.

Graphics: In a word, they're beautiful on the machine I played it on. The propaganda posters, the scars Rapture beared of the civil war, even the ocean that threatened to leak through was unreal.

Raplayablity: I played through as a engineering-heavy gunslinger, my brother went through the second time limiting himself to the wrench and a few choice plasmids. As I said up in Gameplay, the amount of stuff you can do isn't infinite but there are still more options then you could possibly play through.

Fun Factor: The instant I used my electro-bolt plasmid on a pair of Splicers sparring in a pool of water... killing both of them, I knew I had stepped into the sandbox-like playground I've been looking for since I beat Red Faction. And while I wasn't always thinking fast enough to take advantage of the environment, I definitely enjoyed exploiting all those traps someone so nicely left for me.

Complaints: Without giving away too many spoilers, I have to say that the "good" ending was a bit of a disappointment. Given how brilliantly characters like Cohen and Ryan were presented, the almost completely unexpected plot twist, and that even the last third of the game managed to keep the momentum it gained up until you finally met Ryan face to deranged face, the "good" ending was a feel good little nothing that completely killed your hopes for a sequel.
While getting it definitely isn't for the weak hearted, the "evil" ending felt more in tune with the rest of the game and left us open for a sequel.

In Conclusion: In my not so professional opinion, the game only has two noteworthy flaws. The first I've already pointed out, the ending doesn't fully live up to the storytelling in the rest of the game. The second is that it's not "enough." The game takes about 20 hours from start to finish, 40 if you play from start to finish twice (which is how you get both endings) and for all it's wonder you're left wanting more. More genetic powers, more locations, more citizens of Rapture you can either pity or revile.

Learning Curve: Instant!

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I bought this game for the 360 after hearing all the hype and playing the demo within the first week, while I was pre-ordering Halo3 . I must say, its even better once you own it. I'm about 1/9th of the way through the game, and I'm already putting it above all other 360 games as the best 360 game ever, two months after I first got it. The game suprises you in ways you would not imagine, and is very intelligent, thoughtful, and frightning. I think you'd be nuts not to give it a 10 out of 10 in the catagorys of art, sound, story and gameplay and fun! My only concern is that I think I put the game on the "hard" difficulty, and its not terribly difficult. So do not get this game if you are looking for something super challenging. For that you will have to challenge yourself, or go for achievements, etc. You may have to use a guide from time to time, but probobly not when it comes to killing baddies. For some this will be a fun game to play through over a few hardcore weekends. Others will cherish and savor it. I'm savoring it. If you have played "The Darkness" and liked it, then you'll love Bioshock. Even though they are somewhat different in Genre, Bioshock is that awesome. The artistic achievements seem to ace "The Darkness" in a few ways. Though I played through "The Darkness" a few times, and I'd put it in my top 5 games for 360, It does not quite compare on every level as "Bioshock" does. So get it, and allow yourself to be submerged. Period. But remember to come up for air.

Learning Curve...

If you have some skill with first person shooters, you'll get through it easily enough.. If you have played "the darkness", or another game which allows complicated weapon swaps for combos, etc, it will be easier, though its not a requirement.

I heard a few reviewers speak of moral degrediation, its simply not present, the game maintains human moral values, though its a bit twisted.

I give this game a 5/5, its basically like a game from the future, blows every other game out of the water. You don't want to die without playing this game.

Learning Curve: Takes a second

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Damn straight bioshock is a very impressive game. when i read the first description of it i was already desiring to play. well heres how it goes in the beginning your on a plane but in a couple of seconds the plane crashes. you end up in the water looking around at the destruction of the airplane and you are the only surviver thats harsh. the graphics for everything are magnifficent, and so is the story line. when you begin you see an "innocent" person lose his life to a spider splicer when I saw this I couldnt wait to see what other carnage this creatures create. weapons are a must and like in any survival game ammo is essential DONT waste it. the enemys are pretty easy to defeat but are creepy as hell, the shadows will scare you, the enemies are the splicer(scary)spider splicer(damn scary)security bots(little kittens of death)of course BIGDADDY(WTF).the game has an incredible story line and doesnt cease to amaze me.

Learning Curve: Takes a second

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This game is definitely worth getting. I love this game. YOu have so many choices in kiling your enemies. You can either hack them, or use them as your slave, or even kill them with wasp or electricity from your arm. but the best part of this game is the unqiue story line that goes with it. Makes you feel like you accomplished something upon completion of this game. Definite keeper! Killer graphics too.

Learning Curve: Takes a second

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Just setting the record straight, I've played SShock 1 & 2 multiple times. Never got into thief or any of the other sneakers.

I liked this title. The learning curve is pretty good but there is some mastery to be had over time in the mix of plasmids and weapons.

The graphics look great, although not as good as Gears of War. The environments look fantastic, althought the character models do get a little repetitive. Movement is silky and even with a large numbers of enemies it doesn't slow down.

Difficulty wise - easy is too easy and I guess you would play it for story value alone.

The story is good. Not great - but good. Perhaps the best way to say this is; 'Better than I expected in this day and age'. Funnily enough there are so many parallels to the SShock (mostly 2) series. The ghosts, the audio diaries the large quantities of maimed bodies... Its almost like watching an artists perfect his/her craft with slight variations each generation.

That doesn't make it bad. In fact the retelling of this classic story (with some twists to keep it fresh) is one of the things I liked about this title.

I played both the PC and X360 versions. Some slight differences but nothing to write home about.

Summary
I liked it, played it through twice, liked it better the second time (I was less rushed). Artistic values are high, story telling is better than most titles. I would not hesitate to recommend this title - especially if it means that more original content is available.

Learning Curve: Takes a second

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Bioshock is one of the greatest games ever made, the only reason the learning curve isn't instant is because most of the time the player is too busy starring at the beautiful environments or trying to figure out a way to add on to a gun in order to kill an enemy. =]

To all the people who are all upset about the Little Sisters, well aside of rescuing and harvesting, you also have the option to leave then alone so why don't you guys play the game first before you take a crap on it next time ok? This game is worth every penny, even if you bought it off Ebay a week before its release for up to $300 xD

Learning Curve: Takes a second

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Continuing the feel of the "Shocked" series Bioshock is a masterpiece of stealth, run and gun and just plain run! Allowing the player to destroy, hack or stealth past security devices, manipulate your enemies by using upgrades to your body and mind, as well as distractions and traps makes this so much more than your run of the mill shooter. I've played through about 1/2 the game so far and didn't even open the manual until I realized I didn't know how to use mines. The learning curve is moderate, as with any RPG/FPS crossover game. Using the environment is key to defeating some enemies. They all have a weakness. Two things that have greatly improved in the series are the hacking interface and the research method. OMG I love the research method!

Bioshock may get some unfavorable press for it's "suggested" violence against the little sisters, but violence against children is nothing we haven't seen before. Take anime for example, thousands of little kids with huge eyes and boots to match are virtually slaughtered everyday. We need to keep this in perspective. These are games for mature players, not children or the impressionable. Need I mention cartoons? Didn't think so. My last comment on the subject is ... your actions will effect the outcome of the game.

The only thing that prevents this game from being a perfect 5 is the lack of ...
1) a sprint button would have made this much more fun in terms of fighting the faster enemies as well as speeding up travel.
2) multi-player, playing this online would have been the most fun I've had since TFC. Co-Op would have absolutely rocked my face!

I can only hope for another "Shocked" sequel. Realistic Environment, Interesting Story ... Awesome Job!. This very well end up being my single player game of the year @ SteelValor.com

Learning Curve: Takes a second

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I, like many other players, detest the default control style. In fact, I simply can't play it, no matter how many times I've tried. So, any game that makes the significant omission of alternate controls automatically gets 1 star in my book. The game was built on the unreal 3 engine, which (to my knowledge) includes a fairly easy application of alternate controls. The feature was ignored by the developers, and requests by many people on the BioShock forum have been ignored. UbiSoft added a patch to fix their lack of southpaw, and no such patch has been promised for Bioshock. Therefore, 1 star.

Learning Curve: Takes too long

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