{"id":335568,"date":"2025-12-08T22:42:58","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T22:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/bioshock-present-perfect-gaming\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T22:42:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T22:42:58","slug":"bioshock-present-perfect-gaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=335568","title":{"rendered":"Bioshock – Present Perfect Gaming"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Contents<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Intro<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Game<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Replay<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Verdict<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Intro<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Title:<\/strong> Bioshock<\/p>\n

Release year:<\/strong> 2007<\/p>\n

Developed by:<\/strong> 2K Boston \/ 2K Australia<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> first-person shooter (FPS)<\/p>\n

Platform replayed on:<\/strong> PC<\/p>\n

Would you kindly\u2026?<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Bioshock begins.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Those three memorable words still haunt me to this day, just as much as they did back in 2007 when Bioshock<\/em> was released, now almost seventeen years ago.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Haunting imagery in Bioshock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For those that know Bioshock<\/em>, those three words will instantly conjure memories of playing not just another first-person shooter, but memories of exploring a utopian vision of a city under the sea gone horribly wrong. A city called Rapture.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Built on the bottom of the ocean\u2014a view of Rapture.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Those three words have become synonymous with Bioshock<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
A man chooses. A slave obeys.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And since taking those first few tentative steps in Rapture way back when Bioshock<\/em> first released, the game and the series (Bioshock 2<\/em> came out in 2010, and Bioshock Infinite<\/em> came out in 2013) have become one of my all-time favourites.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019m not even a big first-person shooter fan.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Board game, videos games, strategy guide, apparel\u2014I\u2019m a big Bioshock fan.<\/em>
Image via Present Perfect Gaming<\/a> on Instagram<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So how did the original Bioshock<\/em> enrapture me, and why does it keep calling me back?<\/p>\n

Would you kindly read on, and join me as I step back into Rapture to find out\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Rapture ominously looms.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Game<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Bioshock<\/em> begins aboard a passenger plane, flying over the mid-Atlantic in 1960. You join the protagonist, Jack, as he looks over a family photo in his wallet.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
A trip back home, perhaps?<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jack looks over a gift from his parents, as yet unwrapped. Seconds later, the plane is going down. Jack resurfaces amid the debris, and looks up upon a foreboding lighthouse, backlit by a full moon.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Jack survives. But what awaits him?<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jack wades through the water to reach the apparent safety of the lighthouse, and takes his first step into Rapture\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
No Gods or Kings. Only Man.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What Jack discovers deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean is an underwater city, the brainchild of industrialist Andrew Ryan. Ryan had envisioned a utopia where scientists, artists, and fellow industrialists and visionaries could be free from government interference and religion.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
\u201cWhere the great would not be constrained by the small. And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well.\u201d \u2013 Andrew Ryan<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, Jack discovers Rapture in ruins, the result of a civil war sparked due to a power struggle between Ryan and the leader of an opposing faction, Frank Fontaine.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Revolution in Rapture has taken its toll on the colony.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jack is kept alive in Rapture by a man named Atlas, who communicates with Jack via shortwave radio. You see, Rapture is not a safe place.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Atlas will lead Jack with his voice.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The gameplay in Bioshock<\/em> and the story seamlessly integrate as you explore and fight for survival in this once mighty underwater fortress. Rapture is inhabited by seemingly-crazed residents, hellbent on killing Jack on sight.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
He doesn\u2019t look friendly\u2026<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You soon learn what is behind this behaviour, as Jack finds a mysterious syringe and suddenly plunges it into his veins.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Jack feels compelled to consume.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jack has injected what is known in Bioshock<\/em> as a plasmid\u2014a serum providing superhuman powers. The first of which is the ability to hurl lightning.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Lightning strikes.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You uncover many more of these plasmids in Bioshock<\/em>, allowing you to perform feats with fire, telekinesis, and even insect swarms.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Using telekinesis to grab a key from a wall.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is a traditional first-person shooter arsenal of weapons also available, and playing Bioshock<\/em> becomes a balance of combining traditional firepower with plasmids effectively.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Blasting away with the shotgun<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But using plasmids has a cost, just like ammunition. To keep using these super powers, Jack needs to keep injecting himself with another serum called EVE.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
You spend a lot of time in Rapture scrounging around for ammo and EVE.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Acquiring more plasmids, as well as upgrading them, requires the gene-altering substance known as ADAM, one of the scientific discoveries made within the depths of Rapture.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Evolve Today! 50s-inspired plasmid marketing<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And here is where we come back to the crazed residents of Rapture. The discovery of ADAM, and its potential to create super beings, led to high demand and addiction among the populace.<\/p>\n

The subsequent civil war that broke out was fought with both sides using plasmid-enhanced humans known as \u201csplicers\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
The remnants of these splicer armies hound Jack at every turn in Rapture.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To escape Rapture, Jack must venture through various levels of Rapture, many of which are controlled by the scientists, doctors, and artists once brought here to help Rapture flourish.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Rapture\u2014home of the weird and wonderful. And crazy.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Security in Rapture is also very tight, so you often find Jack needing to avoid security bots and weapons turrets.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
A security bot attacks.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fortunately, there\u2019s a way in Bioshock<\/em> to turn the odds in Jack\u2019s favour: hacking.<\/p>\n

Hacking security bots, security cameras, weapons turrets, as well as doors and safes, is a minigame within Bioshock<\/em>. You need to quickly manipulate tiles on a grid to create a path for a liquid to flow through to complete the hack.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Hacking minigame in Bioshock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hacking the security in Rapture will allow it to aid you instead of hindering you. Security cameras will now target splicers, sending security bots to attack for you, just as hacked weapons turrets will also.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Hack weapons turrets to fight for you.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can also hack the various vending machines around Rapture, allowing discounts on health items and ammunition.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
A hacked vending machine<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Further turning the odds in Jack\u2019s favour, it\u2019s not just plasmids that ADAM is useful for, as you can also upgrade Jack with gene tonics. These tonics provide Jack with passive boosts to his offensive and defensive capabilities, his hacking and machine skills, and his physique.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
A tonic making hacking easier<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The narrative in Bioshock<\/em> is often delivered via the shortwave radio Jack picked up when he entered Rapture. Often, it\u2019s Atlas navigating Jack through the various levels of Rapture.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Atlas leads Jack to the light.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other times, some of the residents pick up on Jack\u2019s signal and communicate to him, for better or worse.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Even the great Andrew Ryan has an interest in Jack\u2019s whereabouts.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jack also finds audio diaries littered all around Rapture, which provide the back story and context of the downfall. These diaries are time capsules, giving voice to those on both sides of the struggle capturing the events leading to the failure of the Rapture social experiment.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
Jack discovers an audio diary.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bioshock<\/em> features a deep and thought-provoking narrative, so having the story told via conversations and audio messages also keeps the game moving, avoiding the need to stop and read through large amounts of text.<\/p>\n

\"Bioshock
The pause menu allows you to view the map and listen to previous audio messages.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jack has a lot to deal with as he is guided through Rapture by Atlas, with the splicers attacking him at every opportunity, the genetic mutations coursing through his veins, and the aftermath of the power struggle between Ryan and Fontaine on display all around him.<\/p>\n

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