BioShock PS3 review 9.5

Pros:

+Enticing storyline full of philosophy and intrigue
+Fantastic voice acting brings the already fantastic story to life
+Lots of variety in the gameplay
+Great sound effects
+Great music score
+All around beautiful game
+The atmosphere of the game never settles

Cons:

-There's not much in terms of difficulty when you can always respawn
-There may not be enough new content to justify paying sixty dollars if you've already got the 360 version

In 2007 as I'm sure many know, Bioshock was released on the XBOX360. The game went on to become a huge classic and sell over a million copies. Earlier this year, it was announced the game would go to the Playstation 3. At first glance, it may not seem worthwhile to buy the game on the Playstation 3 if you played the 360 version, but some of the additions and enhancements just might change the minds of some gamers.

In the beginning of the game you are an unnamed man who happens to be on a plane that crashes seemingly out in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, however, there is a lighthouse in sight. Once you step inside it is quite clear that this is no ordinary lighthouse and soon you descend in the undersea world of Rapture. Rapture is a totally free society in which no one is ruled by anyone, and it was built by a man named Andrew Ryan. Unfortunately, Rapture is anything but perfect. The once perfect world has now become imperfect and is overrun with splicers who thrive on Adam.

Bioshock has an incredible story that digs much deeper than simply being about a central antagonist and protagonist. In the end it'll make you think. It's a very absorbing game. Even is how it looks. It looked incredible on the XBOX360, but the visual experience is enhanced on the Playstation 3 and it looks even better than it did before. Much of it looks very real. Even better is the artistic design and attention to detail. The atmosphere itself is absorbing as well and really makes the world come alive.

Throughout the city you'll also find recorded radio diaries that give you a good idea of what happened to Rapture. The voice acting in these diaries, and throughout the games various cutscenes is incredible. It really helps anyone become absorbed into the world.

Playing Bioshock is an even better experience. At it's heart it is a first person shooter. You'll find weapons that you can use to take down the splicers. Throughout Rapture you'll also find plasmids which you can use to help you take down certain enemies. Some Plasmids can be used to electrocute splicers, or manipulate others. There's a lot to BioShock's gameplay that makes it interesting. In addition to the weapons and plasmids you can also hack the shopping arcades to lower prices, as well as hack security cameras and gun turrets to help you out against your enemies.

There's nothing incredibly difficult about it's gameplay. It's simple enough. Perhaps a little too simple. Bioshock is not a game where you ever really permanently die. If you happen to die you'll respawn from a Vita-Chamber where you'll be able to go right back up to the enemy that killed you. The enemy's health never changes. So essentially, if you're stuck you can keep respawning until you kill whatever it is giving your trouble. This essentially means BioShock is never too difficult. You may get tired of dying, but you can never die permanently.

What exactly is new in Bioshock on the PS3? Well, the graphics are smoother and you get a new difficulty setting. While the new difficulty is enticing, it doesn't really add too much. The enemies are stronger and you pick up less ammo etc., but it's not really enough to entice anyone who owns the 360 version to really pick this one up. So if you've played one of the previous versions of Bioshock, there isn't really too much here that makes it worth getting again. At least not for the price tag of the game itself.

Bioshock is still an amazing game even a year later. It may not be worth it to buy the PS3 version if you've played the XBOX360 version already, but if you have a PS3 and you haven't played Bioshock yet, it's worth checking out.