carnivore

I grabbed this game out of a bargain bin for 3 euros thinking it was probably going to be a laugh but know much more. Little did I know this game would changed the way a look at creepy old mansions for ever!

You are an author of a 1# best selling horror novel. And to perfect your next up coming book you diced to recluse your self in an old creepy Victorian mansion. Upon your arrival you slowly begin to learn about the previous owners and that something very wrong is going on in that house, you quickly became more concerned about finding out about the history of the house then writing your book. You ask your self: who lived here? what happened? Why did it happen? And ow yeah, where are those scratching noises coming from in the middle of the night!?

Now the game play is very traditional for a adventure/puzzle game, you can move around a fixed position 360 degrees and you click your way through the house picking up various items as you go along. If you liked it before there is no reason why it would bother you now. And on the other hand if it does bother you then you are playing the wrong game any way so go away. The puzzles are logic based and I only had a couple of times where I was doing things but I had no Idea why I was doing them till the very end. It was the methodical, just try every possible combinations with your items style that helped me out. But usually that doesn't need to happen and I am sure there where probably hints around that told me what to do but I was just to dumb to get… on a side note I turned the hint system (yes there is a Hint system) on if I got stuck for to long in some places. But the hints I got from it showed me in the wrong direction so I would be careful with that.

The game looks oke, it's a shame it has static pictures (I don't have the DC version so I don't know about the graphics update) but it serves its purpose later on in the game. Although a little animation would have made the house a little more alive. The pictures them self's look good and you really get the feeling you are in the house and not just looking at a flat one dimensional drawing. There are animations but only of doors and certain objects. The thing that will make you keep playing, or perhaps make you stop depending on how squeamish you are is the atmosphere. Seldom have I felt fear whilst playing a game and I was genuinely afraid to continue playing at some points and that doesn't happen often. I must add though that being in a house all alone in the middle of the night with headphones on and all the lights off would probably get the better of most people. But I do recommend playing that way if you really want a scare.

When I first saw this game back in the E3 of 2005 I would have sold my Grandmother to be able to play it. Now I have played and completed it, Time really does fly.

You play as Altair, Master Assassin well at least you was. Sins vanity is a sins or perhaps because you broke some important rules you are stripped of your rank and weapons. You must reclaim them by doing mundane tasks in the form of killing 9 important people normally you would only have to kill them and the grunts would gather intelligents for you but now you must do all that your self (including the killing). I am of course simplifying matters a little but the story is something you should explore yourself.

The Targets are held up in one of 3 cities, Damascus, Jerusalem and Acre. You gather Information about your targets by climbing viewpoints and you being the skilled assassin you are notice people on the ground which may be of interest. There are always 6 pieces of information to be gathered but you need only 3. there are different types of information, pick pocketing maps or documents, eavesdropping, beating information out of people and doing tasks for other assassins for information from them. Once all information is gathered you can go for the kill. You can prepare your escape route after the assassination by helping people that are being harassed by guards. They will in turn harass the guards if they are chasing after you. Apart from the graphics in this game (which are better then anything I have ever seen on the 360) The other selling point where the controls. You just press the right trigger and the A button together and point in the direction you want to go and Altair will automatically jump over obstacles and scale walls. This does leave room for error sins Altair will not always Jump to where you want to but in most cases it works great The combat is also really well done and user friendly, you can make combos, dogs attacks, make counters and grabs by timing them correctly. The combat is a little on the easy side, sins you can usually take on a big group of people with no problem. But because it looks really good it is forgivable.

When I first started playing this game I was gob smacked this was the first real next-gen game I have played. And I enjoyed it to the fullest. But unfortunately near the end I started to question my overzealous reaction there are some very questionable things wrong with this game. For instants its very repetitive every assassination works in exactly the same way, you climb towers, collect information, help the helpless and then kill the target. It wont bother you in the beginning but near the end it will feel more like work then play. There is also always really only one way to kill your targets, sins you need to be near them to make the kill you mostly just end up starting a big fight, kicking everybody's @ss and killing your target. This means there is very little reason to play this game again upon completion. (other then collecting all the flags and be honest that's never a lot of fun) The cities although huge and alive have little interactivity other then being able to climb. You can't talk to people, you can't give beggars money you can't buy things in the market. All the effort seems to have gone into making the cities big and believable leaving little in the way of game play extensions. With games like GTA where you can amuse yourself for days with out actually playing the story AC just seems kind of empty.

the story is also not very good with little actually happening during the game you will probably have guessed the plot twist long before you should. It is also impossible to skip movies which slows down the game a lot.

I seem overly negative but let me make it clear this is a great fun game and I really enjoyed playing it. It's just that it could have been much better. So not game of the year for me.

With the rage of casual gaming that has been going on 2k must have had a sh*t fit when they realizes one of there most expensive games was probably only appealing to the so called "Hardcore" demographic. And so in a sudden burst of madness they did every thing they could to make this game more accessible to the casual gamers. In effect ruining the core of what was supposed to make Bioshock so great.

Let me explain. The first Time I played this game was on Normal. The first couple of levels where great. With little money, little ammo and little health and scrounging for all those things, I was challenge and felt some of that atmosphere all the reviewer where talking about. Unfortunately the illusion that I was ever in any kind if danger was quickly taken away from me when a foe finally got the better of me. I had saved often and was just about to retrace my last steps when I suddenly materialized in a chamber. That's right you cant die… now you had a chamber like this in System shock too but it cost something and once you where out of that you did die. But not in Bioshock, you can die as much as you like making every boss and battle a piece of cake. Unfortunately if invincibility still doesn't do it for you, later in the game you can buy ammo and health every where and money is never very hard to come buy… the first time I completed Bioshock I felt a bit of a disappointment in the fact it had every thing a great game needed, great story, great depth in game play, great graphics and great controls. it was just all made way to easy for the player. And thus I as a gamer that wants to be challenged felt let down a bit.

I decided the second time I was going to play it would be on Hard. And I would not use any of the vending machines that sell ammo or health and I was going to reload my last save if I died there by countering all the things I don't like about Bioshock. I am pleased to say that now it is one of the greatest games I have ever played.

It is unfortunate that I had to take matters in my own hands to make it so, but on the other hand I should be pleased that any wimp can complete the game and enjoy the greatness that is Bioshock.

I just hope that in Bioshock 2 they think about the "Hardcore" gamers and take out all the things that make the game to easy on the hard level.

The game starts with you a new recruit in a landing craft with the best squad of the whole army ready to land and fight the strogg. the scene reminded me most of the intro of the half-life add-on: opposing force, and just like in that, the landing doesn't go very smoothly. A big explosions knocks you out and you awake laying on the ground with a soldier trying to get you on your feet. Don't get me wrong I am in no way trying to downgrade the intro to this game but a little more originality might have made it a little less nostalgic.

You progress trough the game following orders from your CO's and in most cases are accompanied by your buddies, which despite sometimes making strange decisions are actually quite smart and will take cover behind everything that is knee high, hardly ever get in your way and Medics and technicians will come and heal you at there own accord when they see you need it. Your enemies on the other hand are pretty stupid, standing in the middle of hallway's totally open trying to rain down bullets, or what ever the hell else they have at you. There are some points in witch the enemy will hide behind objects but in most situations there just cannon fodder, there aim leaves for some wishing too as they have trouble hitting a moving target. There are some tough situations that you think may require some caution to later find at that the only way to get passed them is to just run at them and keep shooting and moving, It may not work for them but it certainly works for you. The weapons aren't very special either. You start off with only your trusted hand gun and quickly find yourself a assault rifle which you will keep dear to your heart as it is the only weapon (other then the hand gun) that has a flashlight. You will obtain more and more powerful weapons throughout the game. There's the trusted shotgun, grenade gun, nail gun and more of those clichéd weapons that we have seen in almost every other FPS so I don't think you will get very excited by any of them. At least not by the ones you can carry. Because at some point in the game you will have full control over a tank! And man can that thing wreak havoc! It's also a nice change of scenery as most of the game is in side dark claustrophobic hallways.

Throughout the game you will get to recognize the faces and voices of your comrades and morn some of there deaths. Thanks to outstanding voice acting and impressive facial modeling (despite them some times looking at you like they are stoned) the atmosphere does a good job keeping you on the edge of your seat too, with strange noises coming from All over the place and a world animated by all sorts of moving machinery and nice lighting FX.

This game is a leap from the great graphics but boring game play of doom 3. You now have great graphics and a lot better game play however other then the story this game doesn't add much to the world of first person shooters. The weapons are clichéd and some of the situations you get in to have been done millions of times before and much better. The story is really the best part of this game and you will have no trouble getting sucked in to it. The game does have its short comings but the graphics sound and specially the story makes this game a must have for fps junkies.

There is how ever one thing that id like to add. and its not just to this game either. The main character, You! Doesn't say a word… what is it with first person shooters where the lead roll is a mute? Why doesn't he talk, and more over why doesn't any of you're comrades mind? A person that can't or doesn't speak seems like a pretty big liability on the battle field to me. It's a shame and something that I hope will be changed in the future. But until then grab your gear men! Where gone kill us some strogg!!!