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REVIEW: Bioshock – The Collection (NSW) – A Ported Classic

 
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Overview
 

Published by: 2K Games
 
Developed by: Irrational Games, Virtuos
 
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch
 
Genre(s): First Person Shooter/ Role Playing Game
 
Mode(s): Single Player Game
 
Game Type: ,
 
FG RATING
85%
85/ 100


User Rating
1 total rating

 

Raves


An immersive experience, a visual beauty even in handheld mode, a faithful port of the original franchise

Rants


Joycons are uncomfortable to use as controllers for first person shooters


Bottom Line

Before First Person Shooters became the competitive gaming that it is known today, it started out as an alternative way of story telling in video games. Instead of the traditional over the shoulder, 3rd person action adventure games, we see the game through the perspective of the lead character in the game. Bioshock was among […]

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Posted July 12, 2020 by

 
FULL REVIEW
 
 

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Before First Person Shooters became the competitive gaming that it is known today, it started out as an alternative way of story telling in video games. Instead of the traditional over the shoulder, 3rd person action adventure games, we see the game through the perspective of the lead character in the game. Bioshock was among the games that found success in this medium and is continuing the tradition of single player story based games.

Originally released in 2007, I remember my friends upgrading their PCs just to play Bioshock. It used to be a benchmark for pc games back in the day, though I never had any idea since my PC wasn’t able to play it. This 2020, 2K games, released BIOSHOCK: The Collection which includes all the games in the series namely BIOSHOCK Remastered, BIOSHOCK 2 Remastered and BIOSHOCK Infinite: The Complete Edition. 

AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE 

All the three games in Bioshock: The Collection have one thing in common, an immersive experience. As soon as you start the game, you’re thrown right into the middle of the action without any idea what is going on. In Bioshock Remastered, you start in a plane crash in the middle of the ocean, swam to a lighthouse only to find yourself in the dystoptian undersea city of Rapture. In Bioshock 2, you start in the eyes of Big Daddy, one of the antagonists in the first game. While in Bioshock Infinite, you find yourself in another lighthouse that ushers you in the flying city of Columbia. 

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For the purpose of this review, I spent a couple of hours in each game and all of them were like suspense thriller/ mystery movies which lets you unravel more the game as you play along. Bioshock 1 and 2 felt more like a survival horror and gives a claustrophobic feeling as you traverse to through the dark, tight hallways of Rapture with baddies surprising you in every turn. While in Bioshock Infinite feels more open, colorful, and a bit festive with fireworks!

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I was playing it in Switch’s handheld mode with earphones on and I have to admit that I didn’t have the guts to progress through the game. The first 2 Bioshock games were  so immersive and it was too scary and I can’t stand those lunatic voices talking/screaming in the background. I even had a talk with my fellow editor telling him what did I get myself into? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that it’s a bad game but it’s just not my kind of game. lol.

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Bioshock Infinite was more of my type, an action adventure game that let’s you play the role of a private investigator Booker Dewitt and fight your way through the flying city of Columbia and rescue a girl.

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If you’re not familiar with the gameplay, Bioshock is a mixed of role playing games and shooter games. You don’t only use guns but it also augments your body that allows you to shoot thunder bolts, fireballs and other unworldly powers.

SMALL DOESN’T NECESSARILY MEAN LESS

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You might wonder how does a PC game fare as a Nintendo Switch port? Like other games, Bishock: The Complete Edition is optimized for the Nintendo Switch. For a different experience, I played all three games in handheld mode to see how the game would fare in a small screen. Surprisingly, it worked really well! Even at 30 FPS compared to its PC and console counterparts, Bioshock: The Complete Edition is a visual beauty. With it being an old game, it doesn’t feel dated with its updated graphics and environmental effects such as the water effects in Rapture and the lighting effects in Columbia.

 

 

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Next question is, how does it fare as a shooter? Short answer is it does the job, however, uncomfortably. We have to admit that a mouse and keyboard is still the best way to go in terms of first person shooter games. With this being a single player game, it does not have a big impact on the gameplay experience but there are instances when it’s hard to aim especially when you are swarmed with enemies. On the other hand, the gameplay feels much better playing on a Nintendo Switch Pro or another bluetooth controller.

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VERDICT

Bioshock: The Complete Edition is a nice edition to your library of Nintendo Switch games. With Bioshock being a single player game, it could be your springboard for shooters for the Switch.  It is also faithful and successful port of the Bioshock franchise that would allow fans and new gamers to experience what is considered a classic in gaming.

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[This review is based on a retail copy of  the game provided by the publisher]


Ryan Villanueva

 
Your resident all around Flipgeek, from comics,movies,games,toys,music and even sports. A big Spider-man fan raised in the ways of the Jedi,who listens to punk rock and a sucker for chick flicks.


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