Classics are classics for a reason.
I've played the original Bioshock back in 2012. It was one of the games that reignited my love for video games after a couple of disheartening years. When I was a kid, I basically only played Nintendo, which was an amazing way of growing up but when I reached my teens I kind of lost my interest in videogames. I thought I had seen it all.
Then we managed to upgrade our family PC to a gaming rig for the first time ever and it was as if a whole new world was unfolding before my eyes. I played, among other things, Limbo, Braid, Bastion, Batman Arkham City, the Mass Effect trilogy and, of course, Bioshock.
Let me get this out of the way: I didn't get it.
I fumbled with the keyboard controls. I was never paying attention during the cinematics. I couldn't understand the oldschool lingo, especially when it played in audiologs at the same time as I was fighting for my life against a horde of splicers. It was so different from everything I had played until then. It presented such a novel way to tell a story. God, I didn't get it all. And I loved every little bit of my ignorance.
Twelve years later and with a lot more experience under my belt, Bioshock doesn't surprise me anymore. The gaming industry changed. I've changed. Nonetheless, despite featuring some visible expression lines and greying hair, it's clear that Bioshock aged pretty well, both as a solid immersive sim/shooter and as an interesting storyteller.
I feel lucky for getting to play it back then. It was an eye opener; one of the pieces that made me look at interactive medium with new eyes, and to which I own a whole lot of my appreciation for games today.
I've played the original Bioshock back in 2012. It was one of the games that reignited my love for video games after a couple of disheartening years. When I was a kid, I basically only played Nintendo, which was an amazing way of growing up but when I reached my teens I kind of lost my interest in videogames. I thought I had seen it all.
Then we managed to upgrade our family PC to a gaming rig for the first time ever and it was as if a whole new world was unfolding before my eyes. I played, among other things, Limbo, Braid, Bastion, Batman Arkham City, the Mass Effect trilogy and, of course, Bioshock.
Let me get this out of the way: I didn't get it.
I fumbled with the keyboard controls. I was never paying attention during the cinematics. I couldn't understand the oldschool lingo, especially when it played in audiologs at the same time as I was fighting for my life against a horde of splicers. It was so different from everything I had played until then. It presented such a novel way to tell a story. God, I didn't get it all. And I loved every little bit of my ignorance.
Twelve years later and with a lot more experience under my belt, Bioshock doesn't surprise me anymore. The gaming industry changed. I've changed. Nonetheless, despite featuring some visible expression lines and greying hair, it's clear that Bioshock aged pretty well, both as a solid immersive sim/shooter and as an interesting storyteller.
I feel lucky for getting to play it back then. It was an eye opener; one of the pieces that made me look at interactive medium with new eyes, and to which I own a whole lot of my appreciation for games today.