Some games do well in certain aspects to the exclusion of others, and in BioShock, those aspects happen to be the story and gameplay, respectively.
The plot takes players to Rapture, an underwater city founded as a paradise for free thought and free enterprise that has decayed into a war-torn city. Your goal is to kill Andrew Ryan, the man in charge of Rapture, but things are not nearly as simple as they appear.
The story is the strongest part of the game. Through audio logs throughout the city, you can learn Rapture's extensive backstory, and see more about the surprisingly deep and varied cast of characters in the backstory. You may wonder where you fit in all this, as an apparent outsider, but hints are dropped over time, building up to a revelation of the shocking truth that's the high point of the entire game.
The gameplay, however, is not nearly as strong. It serves as a hybrid of an FPS and an RPG, but there's relatively little customization for the latter; only what abilities you have unlocked and which ones you have available. The ability to make new items is an interesting one, albeit somewhat underutilized, so it, along with the other RPG elements, is highly simplistic.
As an FPS, the guns you get are surprisingly weak in various ways; while most shotguns are fairly strong (sometimes enough to kill weak enemies in one shot), but weak at long range, the BioShock shotgun has mediocre damage and an abysmally long reload time, even after being upgraded. You'll generally have to empty half a clip into most enemies to kill them, and considering that the enemies are surprisingly fast, that's not an easy task. As such, combat is often frustrating and resource management is a difficult task indeed.
All in all, BioShock has its moments, but since those moments are mainly in the story, perhaps the best way to enjoy it is to set it to Easy, thereby allowing you to see the story while minimizing the frustration factor.
Excellent story, mediocre gameplay
Some games do well in certain aspects to the exclusion of others, and in BioShock, those aspects happen to be the story and gameplay, respectively.
The plot takes players to Rapture, an underwater city founded as a paradise for free thought and free enterprise that has decayed into a war-torn city. Your goal is to kill Andrew Ryan, the man in charge of Rapture, but things are not nearly as simple as they appear.
The story is the strongest part of the game. Through audio logs throughout the city, you can learn Rapture's extensive backstory, and see more about the surprisingly deep and varied cast of characters in the backstory. You may wonder where you fit in all this, as an apparent outsider, but hints are dropped over time, building up to a revelation of the shocking truth that's the high point of the entire game.
The gameplay, however, is not nearly as strong. It serves as a hybrid of an FPS and an RPG, but there's relatively little customization for the latter; only what abilities you have unlocked and which ones you have available. The ability to make new items is an interesting one, albeit somewhat underutilized, so it, along with the other RPG elements, is highly simplistic.
As an FPS, the guns you get are surprisingly weak in various ways; while most shotguns are fairly strong (sometimes enough to kill weak enemies in one shot), but weak at long range, the BioShock shotgun has mediocre damage and an abysmally long reload time, even after being upgraded. You'll generally have to empty half a clip into most enemies to kill them, and considering that the enemies are surprisingly fast, that's not an easy task. As such, combat is often frustrating and resource management is a difficult task indeed.
The game also peters out toward the end. After the major twist near the end, you end up with two fetch quests followed by an Escort Mission (albeit one that isn't that punishing for failure) and a disappointing Final Boss.
All in all, BioShock has its moments, but since those moments are mainly in the story, perhaps the best way to enjoy it is to set it to Easy, thereby allowing you to see the story while minimizing the frustration factor.