Irrational Games (now known as 2K Boston) has had an interesting past when it comes to their previous games. Both the original System Shock and its sequel suffered from instances of bad timing, as both titles were overshadowed by their more heavily promoted competition. This left most people completely unaware of the series' existence, which was unfortunate, because they were both really solid games. BioShock, deemed the spiritual successor to the System Shock series, will hopefully break that streak of bad luck. Not only is it the best title ever produced by Irrational, but it's easily one of the best games of the year, and should not be missed by anyone.

Without a doubt, one of the most compelling aspects of BioShock is its story. From minute one, the narrative grabs you and doesn't let go. The game takes place sometime in 1960, with your plane crashing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. As the only apparent survivor, you notice a small island in the short distance, which just so happens to contain a structure with a submarine inside. Having to choose between what seems like death or the sub, you decide to press onward, which eventually leads you to an underwater city known as Rapture. Immediately upon entering the city, you are attacked by a strange genetically altered creature known as a splicer. It quickly becomes apparent that something has gone terribly wrong here, and with no way of going back, you're forced to find out what exactly happened and hopefully escape the broken-down utopia.

The fantastic visuals are some of the best you'll see on the Xbox 360.

Early on, you learn that the reason for the genetic abnormalities and the ultimate demise of Rapture was the result of the discovery of ADAM, a substance harvested from an ocean parasite. ADAM has the capability of altering human DNA to grant extraordinary abilities to an individual. At the same time, it can also cause severe mental illness, which is what seems to have led to the downfall of the city. Its inhabitants wound up unleashing their powers upon each other until most of the population was eradicated. In order for you to combat the remaining splicers, you have no choice but to harvest the substance for yourself, and fight fire with fire.

However, ADAM is merely the catalyst for this power. Alone, it serves only as a unit of currency and the building blocks for what the game calls plasmids, which are the actual upgrades that grant you special abilities. These can be purchased at vending machines scattered across parts of the city. There are numerous types and each provide different powers such as the ability shoot electricity, fire, ice, bee swarms, and more. Plasmids also have multiple levels of performance, so as the game progresses, you will find upgraded versions that offer more devastating results. There are strategic considerations to be made here as well, as many enemies are more vulnerable to specific types of attacks. Each time you use one of these abilities, you consume EVE, which is the game's equivalent of mana or energy found in many role-playing games. Once you run out, you'll need to find refills before you can continue to utilize your plasmids. In addition, you can acquire tonics, which provide passive power-ups such as increased agility, additional damage resistance, the ability to turn invisible while standing still, and others. These also have varying degrees of effectiveness, and better versions of upgrades do become available as you proceed through the game. There's a ton of customization options here, and it's unlikely that you'll be able to experience all of them in just one playthrough.

You can also use more conventional weapons to dispatch enemies. The options here are a bit more standard fare, consisting of a melee wrench attack, pistols, machine guns, shotguns, and grenade launchers, to name a few. Each projectile weapon has three separate ammo types, which vary from gun to gun. These variants have different levels of efficiency depending on your opponent. If you're facing off against an armored turret, you should use explosive rounds to inflict more damage. Likewise, the best way to kill a splicer would be to utilize anti-personnel ammunition. Your standard ammo acts as the middle ground between those two types. You can upgrade your weapons using various upgrade stations scattered around the environment. A single station allows only one use, so you'll need to pick and choose your upgrades based on your preferred weaponry. Unfortunately, due to the scarcity of the ammunition and the inexplicably reduced effectiveness of all weapons as the game progresses, the gun combat isn't as satisfying as it could have been. Sure, the weapons look intimidating and make a loud bang when they fire, but they simply don't do enough damage to warrant continued usage in the later parts of the game. It's unfortunate, because the up-close shotgun kills are great fun while they last.

To obtain more ADAM, you'll need to deal with one of the game's most challenging enemies: the big daddy. This hulking, heavily-armed creature comes in multiple varieties and protects little sisters, who are genetically engineered little girls that were created for the sole purpose of harvesting this precious substance from corpses. Since little sisters are your sole means of acquiring additional ADAM, you'll need to deal with a big daddy first before you can reap the benefits. After you've done so, you're given a choice: harvest the little sister, which kills it and grants you more ADAM; or save it, and receive half that amount. This decision will affect the way the story progresses, and each option has both its positives and negatives.

In an effort to break up the action, the developers chose to implement a hacking minigame directly into the world. Whenever you approach a device that can be bypassed, you are given the option to hack it. The minigame itself is similar to Pipe Dream, and consists of you moving various shaped pieces to create a perfect flow of liquid from one end of a grid to another. If you succeed, you'll unlock whatever bonuses the particular machine provides. After a successful hack, you can unlock doors and safes, take control of cameras and turrets, gain discounts on vending machines, and more. The problem is, aside from an increase in difficulty, this game never changes, and quickly can become tedious. Although hacking is mostly optional, you'll still want to be seeking out discounts and unlocking safes. Since money is fairly limited until the final sections of the game, saving as much as you can to purchase ammo will need to be a top priority if you continually use conventional weapons.

The narrative pulls you in and refuses to let go.

When you're not going around shooting or hacking things, you'll undoubtedly be busy staring at BioShock's gorgeous visuals. Combining the power of Unreal Engine 3 with a unique artistic design, this game is nothing short of breathtaking to look at. Whether you're glancing out a window into the city or admiring the pseudo-futuristic architecture inside, it all looks absolutely phenomenal. The lighting, shadowing, and particle effects all follow suit, and the character and weapon models are of the highest quality. Naturally, in an underwater environment, the water itself is an important graphical element, and it expertly pours, drips, and freezes just like the real thing. This is without a doubt one of the best-looking 360 titles to date, and sets a precedent for high-level visual fidelity on the console.

Rounding out the presentation is the game's equally excellent sound design. The most notable aspect of the audio lies in the voice acting, with the actors putting in very believable performances that effectively immerse you into the story. Everything from the dialogue of the main characters to the crazy ramblings of the splicers is incredibly well done. The music for virtually every aspect of the game is a perfect fit, and the inclusion of classic sixties-style tunes is a nice touch. The sound effects and ambient noise are equally appropriate, with powerful-sounding weapons, screaming alarms, dripping water, and haunting howls of a big daddy. It's clear that a lot of time and effort went into the overall presentation of this game and it definitely shows.

BioShock is one of those rare titles where considerable attention was placed on every facet of development, resulting in an extremely polished, fun, and engaging adventure. The issues with the weapons and hacking are minor hindrances in what is otherwise a spectacular gaming experience. With an enjoyable narrative and so many combat options, you'll want to go back and play through it multiple times just to see everything. If you have a remote interest in first-person shooters, gaming, or even science fiction, this is one title that you should definitely check out.