Shocked to the Heart! And You're to Blame!

Recently I’ve been having a shot at Bioshock. Last week, I finally completed it so what do I come away from it?
Well to begin with, much like Portal, much has been written about this game – And in Bioshock’s case, the deconstruction of free will in the video games and the usage of the objectivist philosophies of Ayn Rand. But that’s where the similarities end for whereas Portal inspired the meme’s that ultimately ruined the game and drove it into the ground, Bioshock has managed to avoid such a fate – okay so yes I may have heard the phrase ‘Would You Kindly…’ before but somehow, it didn’t diminish the impact of how those words were put into use.
And somehow the game is even better for it: Word of mouth is a powerful tool that can make or break any new IP – whilst exposure is nice it also runs the risk of destroying much of what the game is trying to get across and ruining a lot of the mystique of the original. And seeing as the makers of Bioshock have something to say and are getting it across in their game, so much hinges on a game being discovered on the player’s own terms – not those of some douche who thinks quoting a video game makes him look cool (personally I’m still waiting for the voice quotes from Impossible Mission to make a comeback via meme but what are the chances of that happening?).

As for the game itself well I’m quite impressed by the creativity and inventiveness that’s gone into it. I’ve often been fascinated by steampunk – in that how many elaborate devices can be produced via steam power and this is a shining example of that principle. Seeing as shooters thrive on current firearms and some bizarre novelty weapons, it is welcome change to see some obsolete firearms being put to use – also pleasing is the designs of the weaponry once they’ve been put through the upgrades.
And keeping with the steampunk theme, I liked how the splicers talked with British accents, the use of the gun turrets (even though it is puzzling how they could identify friendlies from foes) and how everything is available through vending machines. I even enjoyed the hacking mechanic which involved the pipes! Yes even when no one else seemed to!!!
Indeed, it should be noted that I'm not a big fan of shooters - personally I think they're a dime a dozen and the shooters I've enjoyed are the old ones where you could go desperado against an army of dudes (ie Doom and Duke 3D). So to see someone else do something different with the genre is indeed a treat.
I also enjoyed the idea of exploring the city of Rapture. The setting looked fantastic with the place being lived in and once glorious in its day - but now succumbing to ruin and abandonment. I liked the idea of venturing into the place as the residents have descended into madness. I also found Andrew Ryan to be a compelling villain who is still hanging on even when his idea of a utopia has all but crumbled away.

So yes, I liked Bioshock for it’s great writing, it’s inventiveness, the creativity involved and it’s willingness to go beyond the conventions both shooters and games in general. However to does leave one question:
Why the hell does the sequel exist? Must be a bit hard seeing as Rapture crumbled and the villains of the piece are kind of.....dead....and wet.....