So Bioshock’s moral choice is this. Jack requires ADAM to obtain new plasmids & tonics, and to generally purchase upgrades so he can survive throughout Rapture. He has to get to the Sister but firstly has to dispatch the Big Daddy - a rather difficult task to say the least. Should Jack manage that, the gamer now has a decision to make. Do you ‘harvest’ the Little Sister, that is removing the slug and killing her in the process but gaining a lot of ADAM or do you ‘Rescue’ her? In doing so, you get less ADAM but at least save the girl as she returns to her human self. It’s an element of the game that has caused a lot of chatter amongst gamers.
Sadly for Bioshock, you are literally armed to the teeth with firepower, plasmids and tonics as you progress through the game. You start out as Mr. Muscle, and merely half way through you turn into Rambo and for the most part become unstoppable. You can use every gun without any restrictions, and about 6 plasmids at any one time. Where is the RPG element again?
As you kill enemies, you can search their bodies for additional supplies and there is often an abundance of those anyway. If that isn’t enough, then there are vending machines dotted around Rapture that can supply you with almost everything you can already freely obtain. If you’re still in need of supplies after scouring dead bodies, and vending machines, then go and search furniture! That’s right; desks, filing cabinets etc also contain supplies! You’re almost force-fed everything in the game. It makes things a bit too simplistic.
A neat touch of the game is the U-Invent machines. Amongst the various supplies that you can find on dead enemies and objects are random items like tubes, hose pipes, empty syringes etc. These get automatically stored in a giant backpack that you, the player never see. You can use U-Invent machines to make new ammo and supplies with all the objects you find, so just to re-iterate what I am trying to say YOU CAN NEVER RUN OUT OF AMMO/SUPPLIES.
I decided to take my time going through the game and then encountered my first Big Daddy/Little Sister combo. As this was my initial run through the game I had already decided that I was going to kill every sister in sight. After all they’re not human anymore (Moral choice my rear end) they’re more possessed for the most part. Hell if it’s eyes glow, it’s not human and must die!
So I face my first Big Daddy and I’m running around a huge room Benny Hill style with the now seriously pee’d off Big Daddy in tow. I have hardly any ammo, so I’ve taken to using my Telekinesis powers to pick up big objects and hurling them at the ‘Daddy. Fate intervened and I died. "Balls", I thought to myself as I’d have to kill this sod all over again and I have hardly any ammo. I respawned in a nearby Vita Chamber and then approached the ‘Daddy again, who was on half health, meaning that if you die and respawn everything in the game remains the same! So no penalties for dying at all. You can die as many times as you wish without any risk and just carry on fighting your enemy until it eventually dies. So what is the point in even having a Vita Chamber? You might as well just respawn back at the start of the level if you ask me.
If all that firepower wasn’t enough, you also have Plasmids. These are the genetic modifications that drove the citizens of Rapture a bit barmy. The plasmids can be found throughout Rapture and are powered by injections of EVE, a chemical found in a syringe that is conviently found almost all over the place. Plasmids range from offensive ones like Fire and Electric attacks that can be upgraded later on. Other plasmids can assist you with hacking, as well as improving Jack’s strength allowing for stronger attacks with the only melee weapon he has on him, the Wrench.
As you progress through Rapture you will slowly learn what happened to the city, and at the same time you’ll encounter audio diaries of the various inhabitants of the city. These diaries are brilliantly done and help widen out the backstory really well. The atmosphere in Rapture is tremendous. Because everything has a solid, yet authentic 50’s feel to it you just can’t help but be absorbed into your surroundings. I urge anyone to stare in awe as they see a Little Sister or a Big Daddy for the first time, they’re so well animated.
At one point in the game I had actually run out of ammo (oh the irony) because I had wasted all my ammo trying to kill a single Big Daddy who hadn’t a little sister with him. I ended up being chased all the way to a random room. I ran through the doors and turned around as the ‘Daddy’ would be here any second now. I looked around and quickly used my Telekinesis powers to pick up furniture and barricade the door. "No way can he get in here I thought". The Daddy arrived and began pounding at the door before bursting in and waving his arms in anger. I looked around again and saw a deactivated security bot in the corner so I ran over; hit the Hack button, paid 60 credits and the bot sprang to life and began pummelling the Daddy with machine gun fire! Yay! Just the distraction I needed to get out of the room and scour the outside for ammo. I managed to find some machine gun rounds, which were enough to dispatch the Big Daddy.
