Game:

BioShock (2007)

Category:

Review

Duration: 4:47

6,633 views

56

The original BioShock is an absolutely fantastic game, and it just came out on iOS. You could even call it ‘Bi-OS-Shock’, if you’re feeling crafty. Now, I played on an iPad though you can also play it on the iPhone, but I would definitely recommend the iPad if you are going to play it one of these devices, though whether I’d recommend doing that overall is a different story.

For those who haven’t played BioShock at all, or just for those who want to take a trip down memory lane with me here, like the original – though maybe not quite –, the iOS version is a beautiful game. It’s a first-person shooter set in 1960 in an underwater city called Rapture, which is chilling, confusing, gritty and amusing all at once, but also beautiful, just mostly atmospherically this time around. Admittedly, the Bi-OS-shock has suffered some graphical downgrades from the original. It’s still fantastic for phone or tablet game, but even simple things like a reduction in shadows does hurt the atmosphere, making the game noticeably less uninviting. It looks like an iPhone game, what can I say?

That said, the city is based on Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, where in the game, one man tried to create a utopia in Rapture that holds true to those ideals. The philosophy of Objectivism in itself is fascinating, but we’re not here to talk about that – instead, I just want to highlight the true depth of BioShock in that it’s rooted in a philosophy that explores morality above all else, and its story mimics that with chilling irony, instead of being all about the shooty gunsy bits. That depth feels out of place on an iPhone, though – BioShock is an engrossing, cinematic experience. Leaning over a little screen and fumbling with touch screen controls takes you so far out of the experience that it ends up feeling a little shallow… Heh, shallow.

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