"BioShock" is a first-person shooter video game by 2K Boston/2K Australia (previously Irrational Games ) The game is a PC and Xbox 360 title. It was released on August 21, 2007 in North America and on August 24, 2007 in Europe and Australia.
Set in 1960, the player assumes the role of a plane crash survivor named Jack, who must explore the dystopian underwater city of Rapture and survive the mutated beings and mechanical drones within it. The game incorporates elements found in role-playing and survival horror games, and is described by the developers as a "spiritual successor" to their previous title System Shock 2.
BioShock is a first-person shooter with RPG customization elements similar to System Shock 2. A 14 minute video showing gameplay and some of the game's AI was released on September 20, 2006.
The player collects weapons, health packs, and Plasmids that give him special powers such as telekinesis or electro-bolt, while fighting off the deranged population of the underwater city of Rapture. The player at times will need to use stealth to slip by security cameras and foes, and can also hack into security stations to turn automated drones to his side.
The main resources in the game are ADAM, EVE, and Money. ADAM is used to purchase new plasmids, EVE (which is similar to "mana" or "MP" in fantasy RPGs) is fuel for active plasmids, and Money allows the purchase of special items and ammunition as well as "buying out" (effectively bribing) security bots and turrets.
To adapt and advance his or her character, the player can spend ADAM to gain Plasmids to give himself new or enhanced abilities. These are grouped under the Combat, Engineering, Active, and Physical trees. The "Active" Plasmids are essentially alternate weapons, activated by the player in order to be used. The other classes of Plasmids (referred to as Tonics) are passive ability-boosters. One Tonic (Natural Camouflage) causes the character to become invisible when he is not moving.
Plasmids are versatile, and the player can use them in concert with each other and the environment to great effect. For example, Telekinesis can be used on all physically simulated objects; not only can the player catch grenades or rockets and throw them back at an enemy, he can also pick up a burning object or corpses and throw it to set an enemy on fire, or even defuse and re-set traps. The player has a limited number of slots to use on different types of Plasmids, so they have to decide which ones to arm themselves with and which to put into storage.
Some (if not all) Plasmids alter the character's appearance, keeping up with the theme of "sacrificing your humanity" referenced by Ryan in one of the game's trailers. For example, upon selecting Incinerate the character's skin begins to glow red and flames radiate from his fingers. However, selecting a weapon will revert the skin back to normal, suggesting that any physical alterations Plasmids confer are temporary. The 'improved' versions of Plasmids have a more drastic effect on the player's appearance; the initial Electro-Bolt Plasmid has little effect on the player's appearance - when upgraded to Electro-Bolt 2, however, warts and skin disfigurations can be clearly seen on the player's hand. In all, there are over 70 plasmids and tonics.
The player can customise weapons to hold bigger magazines, to augment firepower, etc. at special-purpose machines called Power To The People stations. The player can also equip each weapon with three different kinds of ammo (for example, the revolver can shoot normal, anti-personnel and armor piercing bullets). There is also a camera in the game that analyzes enemies, granting the player increased damage, Plasmids, and other bonuses when more pictures of certain enemies are taken.
The player also has access to several types of vending machine, including: U-Invent, which combines several types of scrap found in Rapture to make ammo, tools, and more; The Circus Of Values, which is essentially a regular vending machine dispensing anything from cakes to first aid kits to ammunition; El Ammo Bandito, which is another vending machine that specializes in ammo and offers more specialized types of ammo; and other more specialized machines such as health stations.
Instead of reloading a saved game state if death occurs, the player will simply respawn at the nearest Vita Chamber. This convenience is not available during the final boss fight. Wikipedia
