BioShock: The Collection - Xbox One

Description

BioShock: The Collection - Xbox One : desertcart.co.uk: PC & Video Games Review: Five Stars - bought as a present son very happy with it. Review: A unique dystopian first-person shooter with an immersive world - ** Contains a few mild spoilers, nothing too revealing though ** I remember when I first started playing the first Bioshock game when it was released on the Xbox 360 many years ago. When the first cutscene had ended I watched blankly for a few seconds before realising that I was now in control. My first impression was that it was graphically impressive, especially at the time, particularly with the water mechanics which so few games get right. For a game based in an underwater dystopian city ravaged by communism and genetic mutations gone haywire, it was a great start and a sign of the highly detailed world waiting for me beneath the waves. The world built for this game is a smart imagining of an alternative present day, one where an underwater utopia had gone terribly wrong. The glass hallways and distinct art deco design of the world transports you into a world which is will remind you of the roaring 1920’s and of a scientifically-advanced future at once. The gameplay, mixing first-person shooter with customisable weapons and genetic ‘mods’ which give the character unnatural abilities like shooting lightning, is easy to use and really engaging. The environment is adaptable to your playstyle, you can choose to electrocute enemies discretely by shooting electricity into water puddled around their feet. Whilst this offers some really great moments, unfortunately you have to rely on specific moments where the developers have physically set it up for you rather than being able to change every environment to your advantage like that. The enemies are creepy and very maniacal making the campaign highly enjoyable. It has a lot of subtle horror written into the game which keeps you on your toes, even factoring old favourites like horrifying twisted children with their lumbering mutant protectors. There is one moment which physically made me jump, crawling through a hole into a hidden room. Turning around to see that an NPC was stood right behind me. It’s one of the few moments which actually made me shout involuntarily and has stuck in my mind. The second game plays a lot like the first, with iterative upgrades to certain mechanics and offers another viewpoint into the history of Rapture and its downfall. Where the game takes an unexpected turn though, is with the third game (also included). Bioshock Infinity abandons Rapture and takes the player into a sky-bound city which has a distinctly steampunk feel to it. The mechanics make it very familiar but the sudden change of style has polarised a lot of players. For me, I greatly enjoyed it despite missing the gloomy underwater city a little, and the developers were brave to innovate on the series rather than risking it growing stale. This remaster of the original games brings with it some graphical upgrades and gameplay changes which slightly modernise the three games but honestly, the original games have aged well anyway. All three are now on backwards compatibility meaning you can play them on the newer generation consoles. In some cases, it’s cheaper to purchase the three separately. It kills me to not give this game five stars, it is a fantastic story with a really unique, enjoyable lore built around it. However, this collection really doesn’t give enough reason to purchase the remaster. If you want to have the latest iterative upgrades to the games (I won’t judge you!) then by all means, it’s a great price for solid games. However, you will enjoy it just as much by purchasing the original 360 versions and playing through backwards compatibility for a lower cost.