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BioShock PC
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Metascore
96 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 44 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.1 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1387 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Summary: Going beyond "run and gun corridors," "monster-closet AIs" and static worlds, BioShock creates a living, unique and unpredictable FPS experience. After your plane crashes into icy uncharted waters, you discover a rusted bathysphere and descend into Rapture, a city hidden beneath the sea. Constructed as an idealistic society for a hand picked group of scientists, artists and industrialists, the idealism is no more. Now the city is littered with corpses, wildly powerful guardians roam the corridors as little girls loot the dead, and genetically mutated citizens ambush you at every turn. Take control of your world by hacking mechanical devices, commandeering security turrets and crafting unique items critical to your very survival. Upgrade your weapons with ionic gels, explosives and toxins to customize them to the enemy and environment. Genetically modify your body through dozens of Plasmid Stations scattered throughout the city, empowering you with fantastic and often grotesque abilities. Explore a living world powered by Ecological A.I., where the inhabitants have interesting and consequential relationships with one another that impact your gameplay experience. Experience truly next generation graphics that vividly illustrate the forlorn art deco city, highlighted by the most detailed and realistic water effects ever developed in a video game. Make meaningful choices and mature decisions, ultimately culminating in the grand question: do you exploit the innocent survivors of Rapture...or save them? [2K Games]… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 44 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 44
  3. Negative: 0 out of 44
  1. GameDaily
    100
    The first-person shooter's great looking, has an engrossing storyline, a perfect balance of action and exploration and a totally customizable combat system that can be described as nothing less than video game rapture.
  2. VideoGamer
    100
    It's not just the fact that BioShock is a real looker, or the fact that as a first-person shooter alone it stands up to all of its competitors; it's the thought and craftsmanship that went into realising Rapture, its emotionally-jarring denizens and its compelling and seamless narrative that pushes you willingly forward from chapter-to-chapter.
  3. Eurogamer
    100
    The hours spent playing this masterpiece were the perfect encapsulation of why videogaming is such a favourite waste of time for so many of us. Thrilling, terrifying, moving, confusing, amusing, compelling, and very very dark. BioShock isn't simply the sign of gaming realising its true cinematic potential, but one where a game straddles so many entertainment art forms so expertly that it's the best demonstration yet how flexible this medium can be. It's no longer just another shooter wrapped up in a pretty game engine, but a story that exists and unfolds inside the most convincing and elaborate and artistic game world ever conceived.

See all 44 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 351 out of 479
  2. Mixed: 51 out of 479
  3. Negative: 77 out of 479
  1. MarkusR.
    10
    This game stunned me totaly. Splendid graphics, the story is amazing and the horror is great. A must own game for the fps lover.
    • 5 of 5 users said yes
  2. SimonO.
    5
    The graphics are good, Story is ok but the game is seriously lacking. For starters you can't die in the game at all. Once you realise this the game becomes insanely easy. The ending boss is way too easy, which is to expected based on the fact you couldn't die previously. The twist in the game is excellent but it just proves to you that you have no real control over the storyline at all. Other then that I felt like I was playing a watered down (excuse the pun) version of System Shock 2.… Expand
    • 3 of 5 users said yes
  3. DoctorPazuzu
    2
    Bioshock is boring, clunky, overrated, overly simple, and overrated game. It has a great story and would've been great if it was a movie or a book, however it's a horrible game. The game play is dull and un-fun, it's not scary, and it feels like it's stepping on the far superior System-Shock. Once again, Good for book or movie, bad for game.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 479 User Reviews

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