Hello Everyone! I am new to the Weekly Gaming Recap family, my name is Michael Quaider, I am a journalist trying to break into the gaming industry. Nick was kind enough to let me get on board and try my hand and writing for the site. I will mainly be doing game reviews, talking about news, upcoming games, tons of gaming facts and trivia or relatively old topics. I hope to interview people veteran players to ask them questions about the game, then at the end of the review I am putting 2-4 Youtube videos that deal with the subject of the review. Either for humor for veteran players, music or to get you more acquainted with channels that are good but not as big, I am an avid fan of quality Youtube content and want to share it with you all. I’m one of those people I revel in the old and let myself get caught up in its magical charm. I’ll be posting a review every Saturday.
If I get enough interest I’ll do a Q & A about myself in the future. Now, enough about me, I am doing a review of the first Bioshock because it’s a game I hold near and dear to my heart as one of the only first person games I enjoy, and it has a good story, (I love narrative in games!) and because I haven’t had the luxury to play Bioshock 2 or Infinite due to tech limitations and I don’t like reviewing games I haven’t played through. One last thing before we get started, my steam tag is Artemus_Gordon so if you’re a fan, and you see me online, feel free to drop me a line.
Bioshock, a survival horror/first person shooter that came out in 2008 by 2k (later Irrational Games). When it came out Bioshock was a very interesting concept to many, mainly because of its RPG like elements in a first person shooter. Although that may seem like the norm today, in 2008 it was a fairly new concept. Bioshock is supposed to be based off of one of what is said to be the last great work by the Russian philosopher Ayn Rand, which was the book “Atlas Shrugged” something she wrote to give her views on the subject of Objectivism. This helped the development team create a terrifying but engaging world. The game opens up, 1960, a nameless protagonist on a plane, then it crashes over the Atlantic, you are the only survivor, and you make your way to a light house in the middle of the ocean. You find a bathysphere that takes you down and tells you the glorious tale of Mr. Andrew Ryan and his quest for freedom, and his choice to build Rapture. Rapture is the underwater failed “utopian” society, the first thing you witness in this city under the sea is a bloody murder. Then a mysterious man by the name of Atlas (hence the book Atlas Shrugged) and guides you through the fallen city of Rapture, fending off the residents of Rapture called Splicers, Little Sisters, and Big Daddies. I won’t spoil the ending, but, there is three alternate endings and they are based on how you treat the little sisters.
For this next part, and one I hope to make regular part of my reviews, I interview a veteran player and ask him a few questions. Note it’s a TV style interview format, and he has allowed me to use his real name.
Michael: Thank you so much for being here to talk today Evan, are you excited?
Evan Sands: I am, thank you, it’s a pleasure to be here. Let’s get down to business
Michael: When was the first time you played through Bioshock?
Evan Sands: I think I played through it my first time the year it came out.
Michael: What was your initial opinion of Bioshock before and after playing it?
Evan Sands: That it was the best game ever.
Michael: Are you a gun lover?
Evan Sands: Seeing that my family owns about 30, I would say yes.
Michael: What was your favorite part of the game?
Evan Sands: My favorite part was being able to alter your genetic code and receive god like powers.
Michael: Did you have a favorite weapon in the game?
Evan Sands: I often preferred the Tommy Gun, however, the Chemical Thrower was always the most reliable.
Michael: What was your opinion on the story?
Evan Sands: The part where you bash Andrew Ryan’s skull in.
Michael: Are you a violent person?
Evan Sands: Yes I am! Given my family owns about 37 guns.
Michael: Well, let’s move on. What ending did you get giving there are three?
Evan Sands: I saved all the little sisters so it was the happy ending.
Michael: Lastly, Have you or would you ever recommend this game to anyone?
Evan Sands: I have on numerous occasions and would still today.
Michael: Fantastic, thanks for your time.
Evan Sands: Thanks for having me, see you again soon.
Overall, Bioshock is a game to be played at night, in the dark, with the sound up. It’s a good time, about 6-9 hours of gameplay on easy mode. I give it a seven for story, six for overall gameplay, and a ten for replay ability, my overall rating of the game is 9 out of 10. Now for Youtube! My first link is to support a channel that I am a big fan of and are very interesting, they’ve been compared to the MythBusters of video games called the Game Theorists and they put into question the probability of Rapture actually happening. Then a musical song by a man named Brentalfloss, he puts lyrics to popular video game tunes, but I am a fan of his original work and he does a song on Bioshock. Then I have special by College Humor where they do a parody of Disney’s “Under the Sea” I hope you all enjoyed my assessments of Bioshock, see you all next week, till then, play more games.
