Buy BioShock

THE DRM

I won't comment much on the DRM because, as a Software Engineer, I understand the plight of publishers all too well... It's fine if you have an issue with their license enforcement, don't buy the game... But I don't personally care too much. I bought the game for my own use and none of their copy protection methods inconvenienced me in the slightest.

THE STABILITY

Installed and ran through the first time without any issues at all. Ran on a fairly pedestrian laptop (Intel C2D 2.66, 4 GB RAM, nVidia 9650GT mobile) on max settings without any hesitation, crashes, ghosting... Nada. Full stars in this category.

AUDIO / VIDEO

I thought the graphics were decent; Nothing to write home about, but solid enough not to complain. The sound was quite good, right down to an excellent antique soundtrack that contrasted with the mood of the game quite well. A half-star shy in this category.

GAMEPLAY

I had some initial trouble with the weapon / plasmid switching and keeping up with the foes, so I ran through it the first time on Easy. Now working on Medium. (Easy lives up to its name - I didn't die once.) I made liberal use of [Shift] in order to change weapons and plasmids. This ended up being my MO throughout - especially in the middle of combat. Had to get used to the different ammo types too - awkward but fine once I became accustomed. Overall, a star shy in this category just for the learning curve being so goofy.

STORY

In no way or category could the creators have been more draconian, unoriginal, or unimaginative than in the storyboarding process... When they came away with such a trite and heavy handed result, they should have fired their writers and restarted the process from scratch. A good story is the EASIEST part of creating a game and there's just no excuse for screwing it up.

I saw the "twists" coming from a mile away... Given the strict linear style of the game (not a problem if done right), I was forced to march directly down their idiotic (to the point of being insulting) predefined path. My reward? The NPCs mock me for being so dense... Right... *eye roll*

In any case, I suspect folks who enjoy the uber-simple and melodramatic plotlines of comic books will like this story just fine. If you're like me, however, and really detest having stupid crap crammed down your throat, you'll choke on this one for sure. Drama doesn't suffice for intelligence.

For my purposes, the story was an epic fail with the ONLY saving grace being that the intricate knotwork of interesting NPCs with intersecting storylines made it semi-tolerable. That bumps this category from ZERO stars to one.

OVERALL

Not a bad pick from the bargain bin if you're willing to endure a plot apparently written by the janitor. If I had paid full price for this when it first came out, I'd be LIVID.Get more detail about BioShock.