In addition to Plasmids, you’ve got access to Gene Tonics. These Tonics allow you to equip certain passive abilities – do more melee damage, be immune to fire, hide from security cameras more easily, etc. These present a great challenge to the player in that you’ll need to think deliberately and carefully as you choose which to equip or purchase.

The combat in Bioshock, which amounts to the majority of the gameplay, is fantastic. On easy mode, it’s a breeze and hardly challenging at all, but medium ramps it up and hard takes it even further. The AI isn’t exactly perfect, but they’re smart enough to make just about every fight challenging and interesting. I’ve finished the game once and am working on a second playthrough, and so far not a single fight has played out the same way as it did the first time. The Splicers present a good challenge, but taking down Big Daddies is where the visceral and intense battles will shine brightest.

Unfortunately though, even a game as great as this isn’t without flaws. The checkpoint system, if you can call it that, is a little strange. You never really die, you’re just moved around the map. You can be in battle with a Big Daddy and eliminate half his health, die, find him again, and he’ll still have half of his health missing. Of course, you’ll also be missing any ammo or items you may have used during the fight. This is a good thing and a bad thing. It eliminates backtracking and helps the pace of the game always stay up, but it leads to serious ammunition shortages sometimes. All you’ve got to do is be a little too free with your guns or health packs and you could very well be in for a challenge as you try to scrounge everything you’ve lost.

There were some weird gameplay quirks as well. Occasionally, my machine gun will fire off an entire clip without so much as a single press of the trigger button. Sometimes the weapon-switching mechanic simply doesn’t work at all (the dialog comes up but moving the analog stick does nothing). There was one pivotal character who carried a key I needed, and he disappeared when he died leaving me to re-load my last save point. You’ll fairly frequently hear repeats of audio diaries or other voiceover elements, and some won’t play correctly. You won’t be able to see if your inventory is already full when you’re inventing something, often causing you to waste ingredients. You can’t carry more than $500, even though your “wallet” shows four digits. Is this game “perfect?” No. Is it extremely close? You bet.

What sets the PC version apart from the 360 version? Very little actually. Obviously you’ve got the superior control scheme of keyboard and mouse, but you can also use a 360 controller if you want. Technically the game is extremely polished, and should scale well across a wide range of PCs. You’ll want a dual-core processor and a newer video card to truly enjoy Bioshock, but you won’t be out of luck if you’re a couple of years behind the curve. The PC version of Bioshock definitely doesn’t suffer from being a port, and it’s obvious the team at 2K Boston/Australia/Irrational knew that their fans are PC gamers. The interface is well thought out, and the potential for gameplay mods in the future has many gamers making a tough decision between which version to buy. You really can’t go wrong with either one. Bioshock has flaws, but they’re all easily overlooked. The bottom line is that the game is incredibly immersive and entertaining. The story oozes with atmosphere and emotion, and that’s something that’s too often lacking in gaming today. The Little Sister element will most definitely tug on your heartstrings, no matter how hardcore you think you are.

Bioshock has got everything that a great triple-A title needs, and it’s got it in spades. Intense combat, amazing and deep story, beautiful graphics, awesome sound – yes please. Add to that the level of customization and the multiple endings, and you’ve got something worth talking about. Is it a 10? Not quite, but it’s more than deserving of its spot as one of the highest scoring games at Game Almighty.