Nothing celebrates all Hallows eve like first rate creep, and that’s something that Bioshock boasts plenty of!  You’ll find yourself crawling out of the ocean into a dark run-down water damaged hospital with blood stain walls, and surgical patient rejects gone nutso.  The sound effects are so ultra freaky, I would be hard pressed to play it in a dark room by myself. 

One of the first things you come in contact with is a screaming female patient on a gurney being stabbed violently in gut by some pshyco scientist whose complaining about bad body parts and worthless specimens.  Bioshock has no shortage of gore, in fact it’s so scary and uber gory that I almost hate to admit that I think it’s ingenious.  I’d much rather slap its hand and say “no”, but truth be told it’s morbidly engaging and very much like being ported into “Rob Zombie & Peter Greenaway Build Atlantis” movie, in which you intimately get to interact with. 

The story takes place during 60’s, in Rapture, an underwater dystopian city built by Andrew Ryan, (scientist gone mad) in an effort to make his idea of Eden.  There are lots of intricate details to the story that add a unique “morality” choice for the player.  To sum it up for you; there are ”Little Sisters” or young girls, pitiful little kiddos really, with hollow eyes and a ravenous hunger for dead corpse. They were created with a special sea slug embedded in their bodies and with mental conditioning to suck energy from the dead that is used as a resource in Rapture.  The little girls don’t hurt you, but they each have a ”Big Daddy” a giant scientifically enhanced guy in a crazy diving suit whose sole purpose in life is to protect the little girl.   This is where the story line gives you opportunity to take the high road and save the little girls or to take the mytopian route and harvest them to give you more ADAM (one of your energy resources) to make it through Rapture.     Both choices throughout the game give you very different outcomes and this adds a smart replayability factor for the game.  

Coming off the heels of finishing Halo 3, I had really high expectations.  All things being equal, I like Halo 3 better, but it’s just not apples to apples.  Bioshock should be in genre all on its own, and most certainly gets the “Pee your Pants” award for its scare prowess.  This is just a first impression, I’m only a hour in and I still have a long way to go to find out what’s to become of my selfish harvesting path, but so far, I am somehow impressed with this brutally macabre game.  I can’t say enough about the soundtrack, 2k has gone on all out on this one, every audio effect is perfectly executed to help scare your pants off.  If you want to get into the spirit of Halloween this month, the cost of admission is well worth it.  Go get Bioshock.  If your an easily freaked out by horror gamer chick like I am though, plant your boyfriend next to you for the duration.  Its a screamer!

Kiss Kiss,

Dawngrrl Gametart

Are video games violent? Of course they are – I don’t really think anyone can argue that point.

Are video games too violent? Yes and no. They are too violent for some, and not too violent for others.

Are they responsible violence incarnate or responsible for violent people? No.

Those are my answers to the repeatedly asked questions about violence in gaming that are constantly and vehemently debated. The first is the easiest to explain: games are representations of us and part of who we are is violent. We fight, we serve and protect, etc. Are video games violent? Of course they are – I don’t really think anyone can argue that point.

With the next gen technology both in hardware and software, we have the ability to put together games that take us in other worlds as close to its reality as we’ve ever come before. This movement towards making games as real as possible comes with it some pretty heavy concepts when you’re talking about fighting games, shooter games, RPG, and even some strategy games. The sound effects of shooting, hitting, or hacking a person, alien, or other being, the pouring or spitting of blood, the gore/dismemberment, and ultimately the death of the characters in video games is astounding. Again, all efforts are towards making the experience real to our sight and sound senses.

Why? Games in general deliver a deeper and more exciting experience when what we see and hear is realistic. The gore and violence is a side effect of that evolution. Nobody thought arcade Street Fighter was the genetic code for serial killer production. The yellow sparks and the “Pow” and “Shazam” just didn’t pack enough life like punch to seem threatening.

In the game I am currently playing, I chop off heads. Whack ‘em clean off. The man screams and moans in pain, his head flies, blood splatters, and the decapitated corpse slumps to the ground with blood and gut oozing onto the pavement. Then I am rewarded for this heinous virtual act, either monetarily or by providing me life longevity, or a gain in some recognized skill that makes me a better virtual person. I sometimes further celebrate my murderous head removal ability with a fist dap, a clap or cheer.

I personally can handle this dive into fantasy without being confused or affected by it after I shut the console down and go about my daily life. I don’t have nightmares, I don’t think I’m really becoming a Ninja and I don’t think that I’m really going be the master of the universe and get the hot chick in my bed when I beat the final boss. That game is okay for me, but there is no chance in hell that I would let my son play it, he can stick to Zelda and Mario until he can handle diving into those arenas of fantasy. There are also games that are too violent for me. Bioshock (beta) for example. Its creeps me out, makes me nauseous, and it’s far too gory leaving me generally feeling ill. Are video games too violent? Yes and no. They are too violent for some, and not too violent for others.

That leaves me with the responsibility question. There are always arguments of this game or that game being the cause of this or that incident or behavior. Just like music; Ozzy, Marilyn, etc. I am a huge advocate of personal ability and responsibility. I am also a huge advocate of choice. These things inherently challenge us as living, thinking, evolving beings, and provide a great river of opportunity for failure and success. It is born from that foundation that I truly believe the removal or the restriction of the taboo, the feared, the negative or the debated does nothing but dumb us down intellectually and emotionally. Whether its violence in video games, porn, war, death, political rebellion, revolutions, blasphemy, etc., its part of who we are, and we don’t live in Pleasantville. We live in reality. The reality is this: Common sense and good judgment, with age appropriate law abiding content, there is nothing that we are able to see in fantasy or in reality based representation that are we unable to handle as humans. If you end up on a mass genocide mission, I assure you that it is not the fault of the talented game graphic designer for Manhunt or the company that employs them. Are video games responsible violence incarnate or responsible for violent people? No.

Kiss Kiss

Dawngrrl Gametart