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BioShock is a first-person shooter video game by 2K Boston/2K Australia—previously known as Irrational GamesTake-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Acquires Irrational Games. Take-Two Interactive (2006-01-08). Retrieved on 2007-09-08.—designed by Ken Levine. The game is available for the Windows operating system and the Xbox 360 video game console. It was released on August 21, 2007, in North America, and three days later in Europe and Australia.BioShock street date is August 21. The Cult of Rapture (2007-03-01). Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
The game received overwhelmingly positive reviews, and ranks as the thirteenth best video game on Game Rankings based on reviews from critics. It was particularly well-reviewed in the mainstream press where its "morality-based" storyline, immersive environment and Ayn Rand-inspired dystopian setting were all singled out for praise. BioShock has been praised for providing "an entirely new tool through which to explore philosophy, psychology, and morality."Matt Miller, "Rated Mature: The Rising Tide of Games with Something to Say," Game Informer 178 (February 2008): 46.
A sequel has been officially announced for release in late 2009, following high sales and positive reviews for BioShock.
Set in an alternative history 1960, the game places the player in the role of a plane crash survivor named Jack, who must explore the underwater Objectivist-dystopian city of Rapture, and survive attacks by the mutated beings and mechanical drones that populate it. The game incorporates elements found in role-playing and survival horror games, and is described by the developers and Levine as a "spiritual successor" to their previous titles in the System Shock series.Kuo, Li C. (2006-05-10). GameSpy: BioShock Preview. Gamespy. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.IGN BioShock Interview. IGN (2004-10-04). Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
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BioShock is a first-person shooter with role-playing game customization elements, and is similar to System Shock 2. Early indication of the style of gameplay and some of the artificial intelligence (AI) was revealed by a 14-minute video released on September 20, 2006.Developer Commentary video. IGN (2007-06-08). Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
The player takes the role of Jack, who aims to fight his way through Rapture, using weapons and plasmids that give him special powers such as telekinesis or the ability to electrocute foes. Security cameras and foes can be evaded by stealth; alternatively, security cameras and turrets can be destroyed using weapons, or hacked to use them to the player\'s advantage.Collins, James (2007-08-22). BioShock (Xbox 360/PC) at ic-games.com. IC Games. Retrieved on 2007-11-04. Hacking, which is based on the Pipe Dream game concept, can also be used on health dispensers and vending machines to gain extra benefits, and on locks and safes to gain access to the secured contents.Qualls, Eric. BioShock Review (X360) at Xbox.about.com. About.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
The main resources in the game are ADAM, EVE, and money. ADAM is a mutagen, which allows genetic changes. Quantities of ADAM can be used to purchase plasmids, EVE, and other genetic mutations at special "Gatherers Gardens" vending machines throughout the game. ADAM can be obtained in several ways, most prominently the harvesting of "Little Sisters" after defeating their bodyguards, the "Big Daddies," who are large, heavily armored, genetically enhanced humans wearing diving suits. EVE acts as fuel for "active plasmids" in a manner similar to magic points in other games, while money allows the purchase of items and ammunition, as well as paying to override security elements, such as bots or turrets.Gameguru reviews BioShock. Game Guru Mania (2007-09-17). Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
It is here that morality is implemented as an aspect of the gameplay; the player can chose to either rescue the Little Sisters, or harvest their ADAM. While both choices have their advantages, this element of conflicting morals has an impact on the storyline, and, among other things, on the difficulty of the game itself.Murdoch (2007-06-05). BioShock morality. Gamers With Jobs. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
To adapt and advance the character, the player can purchase plasmids, using ADAM. These are grouped under the Combat, Engineering, Active, and Physical technology trees. The "Active" plasmids are abilities that function as alternate weapons; they are powered by EVE, and require activation by the player. The other classes of plasmids, referred to as "Tonics," are passive abilities that work as long as they are selected as equipment ("equipped").Klappenbach, Michael. BioShock Review (PC) by About.com. About.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
Plasmids are versatile, and can be used by the player both in concert with each other and with the environment to create numerous effects. For example, "telekinesis" can be used on all loose objects: the player can catch and redirect grenades or rockets, hold large objects to form impromptu shields, or use those same objects as projectiles. Other types of plasmids have different practical uses; for instance, using an "electro-bolt" on a body of water electrifies not only the water, but also any beings and machines within it. An element of choice is present: since not all plasmids can be equipped at once, the player must decide which plasmids to use, and which to place in storage.Martin, Joe (2007-08-21). BioShock Gameplay Review (page 2). Bit-tech. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
Most plasmids alter the character\'s appearance, in keeping with the theme of "sacrificing one\'s humanity," referenced by Ryan in one of the game\'s trailers.X06 Trailer. GameTrailers. Retrieved on 2007-11-04. For instance, the incinerate plasmid causes the character\'s hand to glow red, take on a charred appearance, and radiate flames from the fingers. However, selecting a weapon will cause these changes to revert back to normal, suggesting that any physical changes conferred are temporary. Higher levels of the same plasmid will cause more extreme changes; for example, the highest level of incinerate causes a heavier glow, more severe charring, and more prominent flames. In all, there are over 70 unique plasmids and tonics varieties.
Via single-use weapon-upgrade kiosks called "Power to the People" machines, the player can customize weapons to hold larger magazines, consume ammunition at a slower rate, or cause more damage. Each weapon has a selection of three different types of ammunition: normal, anti-personnel, and armor-piercing bullets are available for the weapons found early in the game; later weapons such as the crossbow have more diverse types of ammunition.Martin, Joe (2007-08-21). BioShock Gameplay Review "The little things". Bit-tech. Retrieved on 2007-11-04. There is also a "research camera" in the game that analyzes enemies. After taking enough pictures of any given enemy, the player is granted increased damage, plasmids, and other bonuses when facing that type of enemy in future battles. The quality of the photograph can speed the rate at which these advantages are rewarded.Research Camera. GameBanshee. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
The player can also access several types of vending machines: the "U-Invent," which combines retrievable spare parts into ammunition, tools, etc.; "The Circus of Values" vending machine sells everything from cakes to first aid kits to EVE hypos; the "El Ammo Bandito!", a machine that vends both normal and specialty ammunition; and other more specialized machines, such as health stations. Most vending machine varieties can be hacked, allowing the player to buy "hack-only" items, and reducing the cost of the previously available merchandise.CenturionElite (2007-08-29). BioShock (Xbox 360) review by Gametz. Retrieved on 2007-11-16. Glass-walled "Vita-Chambers" can also be found throughout the game, which the player does not use directly. Instead, should the player die, their body is reconstituted at the nearest one, retaining all of their possessions, but only a portion of their full health.Onyett, Charles (2007-06-08). BioShock Hands-on. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
| I am Andrew Ryan and I am here to ask you a question: Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his own brow? No, says the man in Washington. It belongs to the poor. No, says the man in the Vatican. It belongs to God. No, says the man in Moscow. It belongs to everyone. I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... —Andrew Ryan: ruler of the city of Rapture in the game |
BioShock is set during 1960, in Rapture, a fictional underwater dystopian city. The history of Rapture is learned by the player through audio recordings as they explore the city. Secretly built in 1946 on the mid-Atlantic seabed, Rapture was entirely self-sufficient and powered by submarine volcanoes. Constructed by business magnate Andrew Ryan (voice by Armin Shimerman), Rapture was envisioned as the solution to what he saw as increasingly oppressive political and religious authority. The city was populated by those whom Ryan believed exemplified the best in humanity. It was revealed in an audio log that Ryan wanted Rapture to become an "Eden," a concept furthered by the resources ADAM and EVE, which are named after the biblical inhabitants of Eden. During the early 1950s, Rapture\'s population peaked at several thousand, though an elite emerged, discomforting many of the inhabitants.What is Rapture?. Cult of Rapture. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
The development of ADAM—stem cells created from a species of sea slug—by Dr. Bridgette Tennenbaum further upset the social balance. ADAM\'s prevalence greatly accelerated genetic engineering research, creating a plasmid industry that sold everything from a cure for male pattern baldness to skills like telekinesis, with non-passive types like the latter requiring a serum, EVE. In order to improve ADAM yields, Rapture scientists created the "Little Sisters," young girls, each with a slug embedded in their body. Although initially just ADAM "factories," during the war which later broke out, they were repurposed via mental conditioning to extract ADAM from the dead, and recycle it within themselves.IGN first look at the Little Sisters. IGN (2007-05-23). Retrieved on 2007-11-04. At the same time, the scientists created "Big Daddies," (voiced by Stephen Stanton) armed and highly enhanced humans in diving suits—to defend the Little Sisters as they worked.
For several years, Rapture was what Ryan originally intended it to be: a paradise of freedom and wealth. But ultimately, the very reason it was created—Ryan\'s hatred of authority—caused the city\'s downfall, and the ideals Ryan had envisaged to be corrupted and lost. To keep his utopia a secret, Ryan passed a single law: contact with the surface was prohibited. This turned out to be one too many. The edict made smuggling profitable, resulting in the formation of a small black market. This market came to be dominated by a man with just as much determination as Ryan: former mobster Frank Fontaine (voiced by Greg Baldwin). Unlike Ryan, however, Fontaine wanted control. His wealth, combined with his monopoly on Tennenbaum\'s research, soon gained Fontaine enough power and followers to challenge Ryan for control of the city.
In late 1958, Ryan lost patience with the conflict, and apparently had Fontaine killed—an action that proved useless, as another figure, Atlas, took Fontaine\'s place as the leader of the opposition. On New Year\'s Eve that year, Atlas and his ADAM-augmented followers fomented a riot involving the lower and upper classes. This sparked a civil war between Ryan and Atlas that eventually spread to all of Rapture, crippling the city. As the war progressed, Ryan began to betray his ideals. The former advocate of reason and self-determination began using torture and mind control in his battle with Atlas. Eventually, he became so unreasonable that a number of his supporters attempted to assassinate him. By the time the player enters Rapture, only the "Splicers"—citizens with severe mental and physical problems caused by excessive ADAM use—are left, scavenging throughout the city. The remaining non-mutated humans have managed to barricade themselves in the few remaining undamaged areas.Onyett, Charles (2007-08-16). BioShock Review. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
At the start of the game, Jack (the character controlled by the player) is a passenger on a plane that crashes over the Atlantic Ocean in 1960,BioShock Review: Welcome to Rapture; at IGN. Retrieved on 7 October, 2007. after ordered society in Rapture has collapsed.BioShock FAQs - What is the game about?. Through the Looking Glass (2006-12-30). Retrieved on 2007-10-08. After surfacing, Jack swims to a nearby lighthouse, where he finds a bathysphere in which he descends into the ocean and enters the failed "paradise" of Rapture.BioShock. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-10-07. Atlas assists Jack via radio in making his way to safety, while Ryan, believing Jack to be a government agent, uses Rapture\'s automated systems and his pheromone-controlled Splicers against him. Atlas tells Jack that the only way he can survive is to use the abilities granted by plasmids, and that he must kill the Little Sisters to extract their ADAM. Overhearing Atlas\' words, Dr. Tennenbaum intercepts Jack, and urges him to save the Little Sisters instead. She gives him the means to kill only the embedded slugs while leaving the girls alive and promises to repay him if he does as she asks. As Jack works his way through the city, he learns about Rapture\'s fate and history through audio logs, genetically-induced ghostly playbacks of past events, and radio messages. Atlas says his wife and child have been hiding on a submarine, and just as Jack and Atlas reach the bay where it is located, Ryan has it detonated; an enraged Atlas tells Jack that Ryan must die.
Jack makes his way to Ryan, who offers no resistance to Jack\'s efforts, but instead reveals why Jack has come to Rapture: Jack was actually born in Rapture two years ago, genetically modified to mature rapidly; he is Ryan\'s illegitimate son as a result of an affair with Jasmine Jolene, an exotic dancer. Ryan further informs Jack that he was designed to obey orders when given the specific phrase "Would you kindly" then followed by the order, then sent to the surface when the war started to put him beyond Ryan\'s reach. When the conflict between Atlas and Ryan reached a stalemate, Jack was sent instructions with the result that he boarded the flight with a package. At a pre-appointed time he opened the package to discover a gun and instructions to hijack and crash the plane next to the lighthouse, enabling him to return to Rapture - as the cat\'s-paw of Atlas. Ryan calmly demonstrates Jack\'s lack of free will by using the trigger phrase, "Would you kindly...", which Jack then realizes Atlas has been using since his arrival. Ryan then orders Jack to kill him, so as to die on his own terms. Atlas, in complete control of the city as a result of Ryan\'s death, reveals himself to be Fontaine. With Ryan dead, Fontaine no longer needs Jack, and leaves him at the mercy of the reactivated security systems. Nevertheless, Dr. Tennenbaum and her Little Sisters help Jack escape through the vent system, where he falls and loses consciousness.
When Jack awakes, Dr. Tennenbaum has already deactivated some of his conditioned responses and assists him in breaking the remaining ones, among them one that would have eventually stopped his heart. During their subsequent pursuit of Fontaine, the doctor predicts that the only way to get through the last few obstacles would be to assemble a Big Daddy diving suit, and follow the rescued Little Sisters through the passageways that only they can open. By the time Jack reaches him, Fontaine has injected himself with vast amounts of ADAM, becoming an inhuman monster. Jack and the Little Sisters are eventually able to subdue Fontaine, when the Little Sisters swarm over Fontaine and stab him to death with their ADAM needles. Here the game ends.
Two endings are possible depending on how the player interacted with the Little Sisters, both narrated by Dr. Tennenbaum. If the player only rescued the Little Sisters (therefore saving their lives), the ending shows the rescued Little Sisters returning to the surface and living full lives under Jack\'s care, including them graduating college and getting married; it ends on a heart-warming tone, with an elderly Jack surrounded on his deathbed by all of the adult Little Sisters. If the player harvested (and therefore killed) any of the Little Sisters, the game ends with Jack turning on the Sisters after defeating Fontaine, presumably killing them all and taking their ADAM. Tennenbaum\'s voice narrates what occurred, condemning Jack and his actions. Later in the second ending, a ballistic missile submarine comes across the wreckage of the plane and is surrounded by bathyspheres containing Splicers. The Splicers kill all hands aboard the submarine and take control of it. BioShock - Fontaine\'s Lair Walkthrough. GameBanshee. Retrieved on 2007-10-07. If the player harvested all of the Little Sisters, the player is shown the same movie as the second ending, though the tone of Tennenbaum\'s voice is angrier. BioShock - Little Sisters and Big Daddies (SPOILERS!) - Game Guide. GamePressure. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | ||
| Operating System | Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista | |
| CPU | Pentium 4 2.4 GHz (single core) | Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon 64 X2 |
| Memory | 1 GB | 2 GB |
| Hard Drive Space | 8 GB of free space | |
| Graphics Hardware | DirectX 9.0c compliant card with 128 MB RAM (NVIDIA 6600/ATI X1300 or better, excluding ATI X1550); must support Pixel Shader 3.0 | DirectX 9.0c compliant card with 512 MB RAM (NVIDIA 7900GT or better) or DirectX 10 compliant card (NVIDIA 8600 or better) |
| Sound Hardware | 100% DirectX 9.0c compliant card | Sound Blaster X-Fi (optimized for EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0/5.0 compatible cards) |
| Network | Internet connection required for activation | |
Originally, BioShock had a storyline which was significantly different to that of the released version: the main character was a "cult deprogrammer"—a person charged with rescuing someone from a cult, and mentally and psychologically readjusting that person to a normal life.Remo, Chris (2007-08-30). Levine: BioShock Originally About Cult Deprogrammer (Updated). Shacknews. Retrieved on 2007-08-31. For example, Ken Levine cites an example of what a cult deprogrammer does where "[There are] people who hired people to [for example] deprogram their daughter who had been in a lesbian relationship. They kidnap her and reprogram her, and it was a really dark person, and that was the [kind of] character that you were."Remo, Chris (2007-08-20). Ken Levine on BioShock: The Spoiler Interview. Shacknews. Retrieved on 2007-08-31. This story would have been more political in nature, with the character hired by a Senator. While the gameplay with this story was similar to what resulted in the released version of the game, the story underwent changes, consistent with what Levine says was then-Irrational Games\'s guiding principle of putting game design first.
Levine also noted that "it was never my intention to do two endings for the game. It sort of came very late and it was something that was requested by somebody up the food chain from me."Sinclair, Brendan (2007-09-20). Q&A: Diving deeper into BioShocks story. Gamespot. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
In response to an interview question from the gaming website IGN about what influenced the game\'s story and setting, Levine said, "I have my useless liberal arts degree, so I\'ve read stuff from Ayn Rand and George Orwell, and all the sort of utopian and dystopian writings of the 20th century, which I\'ve found really fascinating."Perry, Douglass C. (2006-05-26). The Influence of Literature and Myth in Videogames. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-10-07. Levine has also mentioned an interest in "stem cell research and the moral issues that go around [it]."
In regards to artistic influences, Levine told Electronic Gaming Monthly, "As a kid, I was obsessed with 1984 and Logan\'s Run. I love exploring what happens when good ideas fall apart."[citation needed]
According to the developers, BioShock is a spiritual successor to the System Shock games, and was produced by former developers of that series. Levine claims his team had been thinking about making another game in the same vein since they produced System Shock 2.Gillen, Kieron (2007-08-20). Ken Levine on the making of BioShock. Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved on 2007-11-04. In his narration of a video initially screened for the press at E3 2006, Levine pointed out many similarities between the games.Brad Shoemaker and Andrew Park (2006-05-10). E3 06: BioShock Gameplay Demo Impressions. Gamespot. Retrieved on 2007-11-04. There are several comparable gameplay elements: plasmids in BioShock serve the same function as "Psionic Abilities" in System Shock 2; the player needs to deal with security cameras, turrets, and drones, and has the ability to hack them; ammunition conservation is stressed as "a key gameplay feature"; and audio recordings fulfill the same storytelling role that e-mail logs did in the System Shock games. The "ghosts" (phantom images that replay tragic incidents in the places they occurred) from System Shock 2 also exist in BioShock,Martin, Joe (2007-08-21). BioShock Gameplay Review - Overlooked details. Bit-Tech. Retrieved on 2007-11-04. as do modifiable weapons with multiple ammunition types. Additionally, Atlas guides the player along by radio, in much the same way Janice Polito does in System Shock 2, with each having a similar twist mid-game. Both games also give the player more than one method of completing tasks, allowing for emergent gameplay.Birnbaum, Jon (2007-06-13). BioShock Interview. Gamebanshee. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
BioShock was initially developed using an enhanced Tribes: Vengeance game engine, the highly modified version of the Unreal Engine 2.5 technology used by other previous Irrational titles including SWAT 4, and SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate. In an interview at E3 in May 2006, Levine announced a switch to a modified Unreal Engine 3.0. Levine emphasized the enhanced water effects, which he claimed would be very impressive: "We\'ve hired a water programmer and water artist, just for this game, and they\'re kicking ass and you\'ve never seen water like this."Topf, Eric (2006-05-18). E3 06: BioShock Interview Transcript. Advanced Media Network. Retrieved on 2007-05-18. This graphical enhancement has been lauded by critics, with GameSpot saying, "Whether it\'s standing water on the floor or sea water rushing in after an explosion, it will blow you away every time you see it."Gerstmann, Jeff (2007-08-21). Bioshock. Gamespot. Retrieved on 2007-08-21. The Windows version of BioShock can utilize Direct3D 10 (DirectX 10) features and content, if the system meets the hardware and software requirements, but it will also run on DirectX 9, if these requirements are not met, or if the video options are changed.Tobey, Elizabeth (2007-04-25). DX10 Update. Cult of Rapture. Retrieved on 2007-05-06. There are a few differences in image quality between the two APIs, such as water and particle effects,Shah, Sarju (2007-08-26). BioShock Hardware Performance Guide. Gamespot AU. Retrieved on 2008-03-03.Smalley, Tim (2007-08-30). BioShock: Graphics & Performance. Bit-Tech. Retrieved on 2008-03-03. but are otherwise subtle from the player\'s perspective.BioShock Image Quality: DX9 Vs. DX10. ExtremeTech (2007-08-23).
While rumors based on the discovery of text referencing the PlayStation 3 (PS3) in the PC demo\'s configuration files suggested that there might be a PlayStation 3 version of BioShock, Ken Levine has denied that there is any PS3 version in development. The demo is reportedly from an older build of the game developed before an exclusive deal signed with Microsoft limited the title to Windows and the Xbox 360.Sliwinski, Alexander (2007-08-24). Levine confirms no PS3 BioShock and does mea culpa on PC issues -- success hurts. Joystiq. Retrieved on 2007-08-24.
Chris Kline, lead programmer of BioShock from Irrational Games, deemed BioShock as "heavily multithreaded" as it has the following elements running separately:Kline, Chris (2007-11-18). Anyone else upgrading their pcs in anticipation of Bioshock?. TTLG Forums. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
BioShock also uses Havok Physics,BioShock FAQs - What engine is BioShock using?. Through the Looking Glasee (2006-12-30). Retrieved on 2007-10-07. an engine that allows for an enhancement of in-game physics, and the integration of ragdoll physics, and allows for more lifelike movement by elements of the environment.
A demo was released on Xbox Live Marketplace on August 12, 2007,Hyrb, Larry (2007-08-12). Demo: BioShock. Major Nelson\'s Blog. Retrieved on 2007-11-04. and the PC demo was officially released on August 20, 2007, and announced during Larry Hryb\'s (Major Nelson) interview with Ken Levine on his podcast.Hyrb, Larry (2007-08-12). Show #239 (WMA) The one about the BioShock demo with Ken Levine. Major Nelson\'s Blog. Retrieved on 2007-11-04. The demo contains the first 45 minutes of the game and includes a cinematic opening sequence that established the setting and initial plot lines, and the tutorial phase of the game. The demo also contained some differences from the release version such as an extra plasmid and weapons, alongside an earlier security system presence. These were introduced to give players access to several features of the full game. In nine days, the BioShock demo outperformed every other demo release on Xbox Live and became the fastest demo to reach one million downloads. BIOSHOCK SETS NEW XBOX LIVE MARKETPLACE RECORD. Xbox World Australia (2007-07-09). Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
On September 6, 2007, the Xbox 360 version of BioShock received an update that "Improves general game stability, especially when loading autosaves. It also tweaks the way enemies use health stations and fixes a slight audio glitch during menu loading."Faylor, Chris (2007-09-07). BioShock X360 Update Solves, Introduces Issues (Updated). Shacknews. Retrieved on 2007-11-14. Users were prompted to download the automatic update when they next started the game. The update, has however, been criticized for introducing several problems to the game, including occasional freezes, bad framerates, and even audio-related issues. The problem seems to be with the game\'s caching, and can be corrected by the user.BioShock (X360/PC) Gets Xbox Live Patch. Worth Playing (2007-09-07). Retrieved on 2007-11-04.Hryb, Larry (2007-09-06). BioShock Title update. Major Nelson\'s Blog. Retrieved on 2007-09-09.
On December 4, 2007, a patch for the Windows version, and a title update and free downloadable content for the Xbox 360 version were released. In addition to correcting bugs in the software, the patch/new content introduces a horizontal field-of-view option, new Plasmids, an option to disable Vita Chambers, and an additional achievement in the Xbox 360 version for completing the game without using any Vita Chambers on Hard mode ("Brass Balls," 100 points). Vita Chambers need not be disabled to earn the achievement, and quick saves can still be used.Tobey, Elizabeth (2007-12-03). BioShock PC Patch, Xbox 360 Title update and Downloadable Content. Cult of Rapture. Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
On February 12, 2008, IG Fun announced that they had secured the rights to develop and publish a mobile phone version of BioShock. IG Fun CEO Sean Malatesta promised "to offer a whole new gaming experience and unmatched excitement amongst mobile gamers the world over".Bioshock to see a mobile phone release. Xbox 360 Fanboy (2008-02-13). Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
At E3 2006, BioShock was given several "Game of the Show" awards from various online gaming sites, including GameSpot,Gamespot Staff (2006-05-20). E3 2006 Editors\' Choice Awards. Gamespot. Retrieved on 2007-11-04. IGN,IGN Staff (2006-05-19). IGN\'s Overall Best of E3 2006 Awards. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-11-04. GameSpyGameSpy Staff (2006-05-18). E3 2006 Best of Show. GameSpy. Retrieved on 2007-11-04. and GameTrailers\'s Trailer of the Year.GameTrailers Game of the Year 2006: Best Trailer. GameTrailers. Retrieved on 2008-01-27. BioShock received an award for Best Xbox 360 Game at the 2007 Leipzig Games Convention.Hefflinger, Mark (2007-08-27). Leipzig Games Convention "Best of" Awards Announced. Digital Media Wire. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
After the game\'s release, the 2007 Spike TV Awards selected BioShock as Best Game, Best Xbox 360 Game, and Best Original Score, and nominated it for four awards: Best Shooter, Best Graphics, Best PC Game, Best Soundtrack.Magrino, Tom (2007-11-11). Halo 3, BioShock top Spike TV noms. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.Dobson, James (2007-12-08). BioShock drowns competition at 2007 VGAs. Joystiq. Retrieved on 2007-12-08. and the game also won the 2007 BAFTA "Best Game" award.Sliwinski, Alexander (2007-10-24). BAFTA: BioShock game of the year, Wii Sports wins most awards. Joystiq. Retrieved on 2007-10-24. The GameStooge Awards gave it 12 nominations, including Best PC Game, Best Xbox 360 Game, Best Shooter, Best Graphics - Artistic, Best Graphics - Technical, Best Music Score - Adapted, Best Sound, Best Voice Acting - Cast, Best Voice Acting - Performer (Armin Shimmerman), Best Writing, Best Plot Twist, and Best Breakout Character (Big Daddy), with the winners to be announced on January 1, 2008.Falcon, Jonah (2007-11-11). 2007 GameStooge Award Nominations. 2old2play. Retrieved on 2007-11-11. X-Play also selected it as Game of the Year,Best Original Soundtrack,Best Writing/Story, and Best Art Direction.X-Play Best of 2007: Game of the Year. G4 (2007-12-18). Retrieved on 2007-12-18.X-Play Best of 2007: Best Original Soundtrack. G4 (2007-12-18). Retrieved on 2007-12-18.X-Play Best of 2007: Best Writing/Story. G4 (2007-12-18). Retrieved on 2007-12-18.X-Play Best of 2007: Best Art Direction. G4 (2007-12-18). Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
At IGN\'s "Best of 2007" BioShock was nominated for Game of The Year 2007,IGN Best of 2007: Overall Game of the Year. IGN (2008-01-11). Retrieved on 2008-01-27. and won the award for PC Game of the Year,IGN Best of 2007: PC Game of the Year. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-01-27. Best Artistic Design,IGN Best of 2007: Best Artistic Design. IGN (2008-01-11). Retrieved on 2008-01-27. and Best Use of Sound.IGN Best of 2007: Best Use of Sound. IGN (2008-01-11). Retrieved on 2008-01-27. GameSpy chose it as the third best game of the year,GameSpy\'s Overall Top Ten of 2007: #3 BioShock. GameSpy. Retrieved on 2008-01-27. and gave BioShock the awards for Best Sound, Story and Art Direction.GameSpy\'s Game of the Year 2007: Special Awards. GameSpy. Retrieved on 2008-01-27. GameSpot awarded the game for Best Story,GameSpot\'s Best and Worst of 2007 - Special Achievements: Best Story. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-01-27. while GamePro gave BioShock the Best Story, Xbox 360 and Best Single-Player Shooter awards.GamePro\'s Editor\'s Choice 2007. GamePro (2007-12-27). Retrieved on 2008-01-27.
BioShock won the "Best Visual Art", "Best Writing", and "Best Audio" awards at the 2008 Game Developers Choice Awards.Portal BioShocks GDC Awards. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.
2K Games stated that, as of September 10, 2007, over 1.5 million copies of BioShock have shipped since its release.Bergfeld, Carlos (2007-09-10). Take-Two Revenues Down, 1 Million BioShocked, 2K Starts to Play. Shacknews. Retrieved on 2007-09-10. The Xbox 360 version was the third best-selling game of August 2007, with 490,900 copies.Thorsen, Tor (2007-09-14). US August game-industry haul nearly $1B. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-01-27. The Wall Street Journal reported that shares in Take-Two "soared nearly 20%" in the week following overwhelmingly favorable early reviews of the game.Wingfield, Nick (2007-09-20). High Scores Matter To Game Makers, Too. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
BioShock has received wide critical acclaim: mainstream press reviews have praised the immersive qualities of the game and its political dimension. The Boston Globe described it as "a beautiful, brutal, and disquieting computer game...one of the best in years,"Bray, Hiawatha (2007-08-27). BioShock lets users take on fanaticism through fantasy. Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2007-11-09. and compared the game to Whittaker Chambers\'s 1957 riposte to Atlas Shrugged, Big Sister Is Watching You. Wired also mentioned the Ayn Rand connection in a report on the game which featured a brief interview with Levine.Gillen, Kieron (2007-08-21). BioShock owes more to Ayn Rand than Doom. Wired Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-11-04. The Chicago Sun-Times review said "I never once thought anyone would be able to create an engaging and entertaining video game around the fiction and philosophy of Ayn Rand, but that is essentially what 2K Games has done...the rare, mature video game that succeeds in making you think while you play."
The Los Angeles Times review concluded, "Sure, it\'s fun to play, looks spectacular and is easy to control. But it also does something no other game has done to date: It really makes you feel."[citation needed] The New York Times reviewer described it as: "intelligent, gorgeous, occasionally frightening" and added, "Anchored by its provocative, morality-based story line, sumptuous art direction and superb voice acting, BioShock can also hold its head high among the best games ever made."Schiesel, Seth (2007-09-08). Genetics gone haywire and predatory children in an undersea metropolis. New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-09-27.
At Game Rankings, BioShock holds an average review score of 95.5% for the Xbox 360, making it the second highest rated Xbox 360 game released to date, after The Orange Box.BioShock at Game Rankings. Game Rankings. Retrieved on 2007-11-04. In the PC ratings it achieved 95.3% , making it the third highest rated PC game released to date, behind Half-Life 2 and The Orange Box and the eleventh highest ranked PC game of all time.Game Rankings BioShock page. Game Rankings. Retrieved on 2007-11-09. GameSpy praised BioShock\'s "inescapable atmosphere,"Granziani, Gabe (2007-08-16). BioShock (X360). Gamespy. Retrieved on 2007-08-17. and Official Xbox Magazine lauded its "inconceivably great plot" and "stunning soundtrack and audio effects."Official Xbox Magazine BioShock review. Official Xbox Magazine. The gameplay and combat system have been praised for being smooth and open-ended, and elements of the graphics, such as the water, were praised for their quality. It has been noted that the combination of the game\'s elements "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."
Reviewers did highlight a few negative issues in BioShock, however. The recovery system involving "Vita-Chambers," which revive a defeated player at half-life, but do not alter the enemies\' health, makes it possible to wear down enemies through sheer perseverance, and was criticised as one of the biggest flaws in the gameplay.Dale, Alex (2007-08-16). BioShock Review. Computer And Video Games. Xbox World 360 Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-07-24. IGN noted that both the controls and graphics of the Xbox 360 version are inferior to those of the PC version, in that switching between weapons or plasmids is easier using the PC\'s mouse than the 360\'s radial menu, as well as the graphics being slightly better with higher resolutions. The game has been touted as a hybrid first person shooter role-playing game, but one or two reviewers found advances from comparable games lacking, both in the protagonist and in the challenges he faces.S.T. Hedgehog (2007-09-07). Bioshock review. Yale Daily News. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.Croshaw, Yahtzee (2007-09-05). BioShock review. The Escapist. Retrieved on 2007-11-04. Press Start Online stated that BioShock "really could have been so much more, and it’s almost nostalgic to look back on those opening hours and think of what could have been."Moss, Jevan (2007-09-22). BioShock. Press Start Online. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
In response to the game\'s high sales, Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick revealed in a conference call to analysts that the company now considered the game as part of a franchise.Thorsen, Tor (2007-09-10). BioShock ships 1.5M, sequels being discussed. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-11-04. He also speculated on any follow-ups mimicking the development cycle of Grand Theft Auto, with a new release expected every two to three years.Smalley, Tim (2007-09-11). BioShock sequel coming, 1.5 m copies shipped. Bit-Tech. Retrieved on 2007-10-07. No sequels have yet been announced, and none of the developers of BioShock have commented on the possibility of sequels.Keiser, Joe (2007-08-24). Levine Talks BioShock’s Checkered Launch. Next Generation. Retrieved on 2007-11-04. However, industry rumors suggest that a prequel set during the fall of Rapture is in development for a 2009 release.Ivan, Tom (2008-01-08). BioShock Prequel in the Works?. Next Generation. Retrieved on 2008-01-08. On March 11 2008, Take Two Interactive officially announced that the sequel to BioShock is being developed by 2K Marin, and is expected to be released before the 2009 holiday season.McWhertor, Michael (2008-03-11). BioShock 2 Is Very Official, Dated For Q4 2009. Kotaku. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
Additionally, similar industry rumors suggest a film adaptation of the game will also be made, utilizing similar green screen filming techniques as in the movie 300 to recreate the environments of Rapture.Keitzmann, Ludwig (2008-01-08). Rumor: BioShock movie murmurs in Hollywood. Joystiq. Retrieved on 2008-01-10.
