'BioShock' is creepy, exciting

Game title: BioShock

Platform: Xbox 360/PC

Studio:Irrational Games

Rating: M — for mature gamers

Reviewer's score: 9 out of 10

THE REVIEW:

GAMEPLAY: While many first-person shooters merely skim the surface in terms of plot and story, this game dives deep into the fathoms of fantasy and the madness of a utopian city gone wrong.

The game kicks off dramatically, as you are the only survivor of a plane crash. Relieved when you see a lighthouse, you swim to shore to find help. Soon you're plunged into a deep underwater city called Rapture, and the mysteries begin to unravel as to what happened to this utopia torn apart by the madness of its citizens.

The obvious main point of the game is to stay alive, made easy by various resurrection or "vita chambers," which bring you back to life should you meet an unfortunate death. However, the mystery of what genetic mutations led to the city's population begins to grip you and sets you on the hunt for clues.

The game is filled with an array of bizarre and eclectic characters, many of whom want to end your life in creative ways.

Controls for the game are easy to use, and you have two main abilities to help you survive: wielding weapons and subjecting yourself to genetic modifications. A variety of weapons, from a pipe wrench to a Tommy gun, let you take out bad guys before they get you. Genetic enhancements give you special abilities, from zapping things with lightning to roasting enemies with fire to knocking things around with telekineses.

But it's the atmosphere of the game that really puts the player into the story.

GRAPHICS: The city of Rapture is a 1920s art-deco vision of the future. The neon signs and stylized statuary that adorn the hallways of the city, as well as the destruction and damage, tell a story of glory and downfall. Audiotape diaries of people are not just twisted tales but clues to solving the mysteries of the city and its even more mysterious founder. Windows looking out into the ocean are also reminders that this is no ordinary city. You can almost feel the water pressure bearing down on you. Fish, and even the occasional whale, swim by, and water leaks are everywhere. Fires cast dancing shadows on walls, and ice glistens in the light.