It is the hit that came out of the blue. The game takes place hundreds of miles under the Atlantic Ocean where a large, hidden city known as Rapture lies. Its citizens are haunted by biological enhancements, known as Plasmids, which are the experiments of scientists working in the city. Beyond the boundaries of written law and moral obligation, these scientists have been allowed to develop biological enhancements and perform ?creative? cosmetic surgeries in hopes of perfecting the human form. This caused the deaths of many people as the surgeons became more and more unhappy with their creations and decided to destroy them, or as the creations themselves embraced (or rejected) their new form and became monstrous with powerful abilities such as telekinesis and the harnessing of powers in ice, fire, and electricity. Survival of the fittest. That is the way of Rapture.

BioShock definitely earns its Mature rating from the ESRB. There are many mutilated corpses lying around and the graphic desecration continues as players run into creatures finishing off their prey or draining power from the dead. Swearing of all types abounds in BioShock, including multiple uses of the f-word. Some partial nudity is also on display in the form of posters for an adult club that can be entered. While the place is not in use, there are still several sexual references both inside the club and out. Alcohol can be found and consumed for an increase in health, and players can gamble at the many slot machines that grace one of the levels in Rapture. There are also a few fortuneteller machines around that predict the player?s danger.

BioShock gracefully and artistically combines a futuristic, horror-style world with action adventure gameplay. There is a great deal of controversial content within BioShock that can be found offensive; but from a purely technical standpoint, BioShock holds its ground and brilliantly differentiates itself from the rest of the pack.

» By Stephan Mack, Plain Games. Published 10/11/2007 2:00:27 AM.