Mass Effect and Bioshock Review

A quick review of two games I played recently. Both games were awesome and are widely applauded on the Internet. To keep the content original, I will cover what I thought could have made it even better.

Mass Effect (PC)

There are certain things I am a sucker for and Mass Effect has some of them in droves. It has science-fiction and a good story. The story still pales in comparison to real story-lines in film and literature, but that's a problem with the games industry in general (fortunately, it's an improving situation with games like Heavy Rain on the horizon).

Some aspects of the game did feel unfinished though (i.e. driving the Mako rover). The features in this game go far and wide, but none have any extraordinary depth. Bioware still have my respect though in producing a good, overall result for such an ambitious project. I will definitely be keeping my eye on the sequels, and hope to see them build and expand on the foundational systems they have laid, rather than just reuse them again as-is for a quick buck.

This part of the game was really easy. Especially considering it's late in the game...

Bioshock (PC)

Another game with science-fiction and story. It's not very hard to pick out my buying habits. :)

It basically follows the same formula as System Shock 2 did, which is an older game by Irrational Games (now 2K). This is a game where you are one player against hordes of enemies. Irrational Games then add the illusion that you have at least one friend in this world in the form of a guiding voice over the radio. They then dress the story up a bit more by adding another layer of radio message pick-ups. These let you listen to audio logs and follow the lives of the various inhabitants of Rapture. Don't ask why these pick-ups are laid out such that you are picking them up in chronological order.

Some people like this. It makes story an optional thing for players (i.e. if you don't want story, don't pick up the audio logs). But I, however, do like story and I don't mind it not being optional. :p I wanted the player involved in Rapture's spiral into chaos - to actually interact with the key characters involved in its demise and influence the direction of the story. Instead, you are a mere observer of what has already happened. Of course, this would have meant Bioshock would be a completely different game. So I'm just dreaming again.

Don't get me wrong either. Bioshock is a great game. Otherwise I wouldn't have finished the game in one, long, marathon session. If I was to write about what I enjoyed about it, this review would be five times as long. Irrational might have stuck to the same, basic formula as System Shock 2, but they executed it well. It just goes to prove that you don't need great, innovative ideas to make successful games. It's all about the execution. Combat feels natural, action is constant, the AI isn't completely dumb, the enemies are varied, the art is appealing and I love the music. It has all the things gamers expect from a game and it does them well. Makes me wonder what's planned next...

Those flying turrets were really annoying. Much better to hack and control them rather than take them out!