The reviews are rolling in, and Bioshock for the Xbox 360 (and PC) is doing incredibly well for itself thus far. Take a look at what some of the critics are saying about what will almost certainly be one of the Xbox 360’s defining titles.

The review roundup so far:

OXM UK - 10
Alternative Press - 10
Game Informer - 10
EuroGamer - 10
1up - 10
EGM - 10/10
Games Radar - 10
GameTap - 10
X-360 - 10
UGO - A
GamePro - 5/5
GameArena - 5/5
GameSpy - 5/5
Gamer.TV - 5/5
N4G - 5/5
Playboy - 4/4
Console Game World - 99
Gamer - 9.8
IGN - 9.7
PC Zone UK - 96
PC Gamer UK - 9.5
Team Xbox - 9.5
Xbox World - 9.4

100 Official Xbox Magazine UK
Amazingly written and beautifully constructed, it’s a complete emotional rollercoaster which we can’t drawn any parallels with…You’ll be playing this game for months to come, exchanging story elements to build up the bigger picture, and arguing about what it all means. [Sept 2007, p.88]

100 EuroGamer
BioShock is the ultimate rarity: not only does it live up to its lofty promise, but exceeds it through simple, old fashioned talent and imagination - not to mention verve, style,class, wit, and sheer bloody-minded ambition. It takes the tired, worn-out FPS genre by the scruff of the neck, reinvents and bend it out of shape in such a breathtaking fashion that it’s going to take something very special to top this in the months and years ahead.

100 Game Informer
It’s ingenious, enthralling, and a masterpiece of the most epic proportions. So without further delay, would you kindly enter Rapture so that you too can experience the best that video games have to offer?

100 1UP
Taken as a whole, as an experience that’s richly and utterly complete, and one that engages the player in a constant dialogue, BioShock is virtually unassailable. And that makes you feel good.

100 GameSpy
An unparalleled achievement. No other game comes even remotely close to it in terms of raw emotional connection.

100 Games Radar
Really, though, the only glaring weakness we can find in BioShock is that it may be too unusual, too original, too artistic and too genius to be embraced by the general public. Please don’t let this game become that forgotten, one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

100 GamePro
What if a game’s narrative was as intricate and as immersive as its graphics? What if as much attention went into dialogue and atmosphere as went into pixel shaders and high-resolution textures? What then? Ladies and gentlemen, the answer is BioShock, one of the most playable, thought-provoking, and just downright impressive games to emerge on a home console since, well, ever.

99 Console Gameworld
It’s near-flawless gameplay and design leaves me shaking for more.

97 IGN
There is art here, despite what many would say isn’t possible with games, from Roger Ebert to game designers like Hideo Kojima…BioShock stands as a monolithic example of the convergence of entertaining gameplay and an irresistibly sinister, engrossing storyline that encompasses a host of multifaceted characters. This is an essential gaming experience.

95 Team Xbox
It’s inventive and entertaining, with a number of twists and unexpected situations that’ll have you on the edge of your seat…It’s rare to find a game that has both quality in its engineering and quality in its gameplay.

94 Xbox World 360 Magazine UK
Bioshock leaves you to figure things out for yourself. It’s a gruelling game of resource management, and as the ammunition dries up, you end up having to improvise. And more often than not, Bioshock will reward you heavily for thinking outside the box.

100 EuroGamer
The hours spent playing this masterpiece were the perfect encapsulation of why videogaming is such a favourite waste of time for so many of us. Thrilling, terrifying, moving, confusing, amusing, compelling, and very very dark. BioShock isn’t simply the sign of gaming realising its true cinematic potential, but one where a game straddles so many entertainment art forms so expertly that it’s the best demonstration yet how flexible this medium can be. It’s no longer just another shooter wrapped up in a pretty game engine, but a story that exists and unfolds inside the most convincing and elaborate and artistic game world ever conceived.

95 PC Gamer UK
A dark and astonishing masterpiece…I spend my career, and my gaming life, waiting for a moment when a game just astonishes me, when I can’t believe what I’m seeing, what I’m doing. BioShock has five. [Sept 2007, p.66]

If you liked that, try...

1. Bioshock demo available on Xbox LIVE (US)
2. Bioshock hits 1.5 million
3. Too Old To Game? Find Out With 11 Easy Questions
4. The BioShock Review
5. Console sales Vs the economy

1 Comment »

1. 
   University Update - Purdue University - Will Bioshock be 2007’s top-rated console game?
   August 17, 2007 at 8:00 am

   [...] of Wisconsin Link to Article video games Will Bioshock be 2007’s top-rated console game? » This excerpt is from [...]

Leave a comment