Bioshock'd the Hell Outta Me

I know I'm 4 years late on this one.  I picked this up pre-owned several months ago from Gamestop while they were having one of their buy 2 get 1 free sales.  I picked it up based solely on recommendations and reviews.  Going into the game, I knew very little.  Only that the game takes place underwater and that it's a single player based FPS.

Well was I in for quite a surprise when I discovered this game is a horror game!  Now I've read online the debate regarding this fact and let me assure you this game is in fact horror.  It probably is not "survival horror" but it is horror nonetheless.  The game takes advantage of the oppressive underwater environment, eerie soundtrack, and a cast of demented characters.  It then finds new and frightful ways of catching you off guard with the deranged inhabitants jumping out at you and popping up from nowhere when you turn around.  Turning the difficulty down will take a lot of the fear factor out of the game but even then it still has a few moments that will make you jump.

The gameplay combines different weapon types in one hand with spells called plasmids in the other.  The spells and their effects are very cool, each with a different purpose.  There is no does x damage spell.  The spells are either a DoT, or a stun, or a pick up the enemy and throw it across the room.  No generic damage spells make for some very fun kills.  Like freezing the enemy and beating it with a wrench until it breaks into a million pieces.

The game was definitely enjoyable and presented a unique art style.  If nothing else I'd recommend playing this game once just to experience it as it is an enjoyable experience.  Will I be running out to play the second one now?  No.  I might pick it up cheap if I'm bored at some point, but it certainly won't be near the top of the list of games I want to play.  I give this first entry in the Bioshock series an 8.0/10.