Bio Shock - Game of the year!

My vote for game of the year is Bioshock.

That right, “Game of the Year!” - Berto

Oh yea, Xmas came a bit early thanks to Toys R Us. On August 15, BioShock was on Toys R Us store shelves, it was scheduled to be sold on August 21. First and foremost, thank you Toys R Us for that mess up. Due to that, copies of the game had to be sent out by Friday, almost four days earlier than planned. For those who had the opportunity to get a copy, they should have been happy and relived to get such a great game. I know I was when my copy arrived on Friday August 17. To say I was shocked to see it would be understatement: I have been anticipating this game for a year now and a few months back I got to sit down and play it.

I met up with Ken Levine, President and Creative Director of 2K, in Boston for a behind the scenes look at BioShock. Levin shared some insight on BioShock, including a little note that it is a shooter game first and an adventure game second. Having put seven hours of game time into it; I have to disagree. I say the game is equally a shooting and adventure focused.

BioShock is driven by the setting and the atmosphere it creates.
When playing, what ran through my head was, “I hope the spicier can start a fight with the big daddy so I can take little sister and grab her atom.” The game delivers all aspects of a great game, which is rarely seen in today’s market. I can say that it’s action packed and delivers. Your adrenaline will definitely be pumping with this one. I can’t remember the last time that has ever happened to me in a FPS.

The bad thing is 2K Boston took the approach to make the masses happy. There was no win / win for them. Yes, they’ve got one of the best games of the year, but the other hand, gamers are upset because of what they did. My personal thoughts are thus: It is there first game under 2K Boston name and not Irrational Games; It took 4 years, so give them a break.

They did what most people want to do when a creating a game, that is having a solid game play that makes you come back for more. So, in the end, you don't see everything the game has to offer. For example, it is really important to see the tattoo on your players arm. Come on People!
I understand why people would get mad about it, but they shouldn't be. Here my two reasons to get over it.
1) If it does not affect game play, it's not that big of a deal!
2) Do you have a widescreen TV? Damn just be happy about that!


The Goods:
The environment behavior works. Fire burns as it should; It reacts with the environment. The same can be said for electricity in water.

The way 2K handled the load time is good. Yes that’s what I said, they handled the load time well. The load time is broken up in a very intelligent way. It’s placed where they need to be. Load time is not huge, nor do you get some unexpected pauses. The fact of the matter is, it does not interrupt any of the game play which is key.

The sounds of the game are as eerie as all hell, this keeps you on your toes and also, keeps your adrenaline pumping. You never know what is around the corner. My hat is off to the sound team for that.

The Bads:
Where is the multi-player or co-op mode? Let’s hope they can add it, if there is a next installment of the game.

The Bottom Line: When it comes down to it, 2K has spent 4 years on the game. And it shows what 4 years of good hard work equals a solid game and game play. The replay value is there. Plus the fact that first time around, you will never get to really analyze every room and all the details that when in to them.

Like I said, this should be the game of the year. When you look around and see what is around to compete with it, the only thing is Halo 3. But can Master Chef really take on the big daddy and a little sister? I guess time will tell.