[First Impressions] Bioshock

I am not an FPS girl. I do not wear combat boots. Okay, I do. I own several pairs. But I am definitely not violent. Excluding my frequent talk of headshots and murdering swarms of the undead. But my point is, I prefer for my boots to be paired with a broadsword and my headshots to be shot with a bow and arrow. Lacking that, I want my gun to shoot magic bullets or look like clockwork.

Sometimes certain games break through. Portal was one of them, probably because it was more puzzle than shooter. Bioshock is apparently another.

Never was anything so terrifying as the first ten minutes of Bioshock. And I've played Amnesia-- it bored the crap out of me, so I stopped after ten minutes. Bioshock is brilliant-- the soundtrack, the vocals, the setting. Within the first ten minutes of Bioshock, I felt like I was drowning, nearly had a panic attack since I couldn't move in the bathysphere while I was being attacked, and almost cried with relief the moment I was finally able to pick up a weapon. And even then, it took me another ten minutes to stop having a heart attack from fear every time I was attacked. These people are crazy, and powerful, have no morals, and are quick. The zombies in Left 4 Dead never terrified me so much, because they didn't keep up the steady cackle of insane reasonings, ramblings, and regrets.

And then there are the Little Sisters. The insane little girls with their big protectors, who every time I see them, I cower and attempt to leave the level. At the same time, I'm aware that this is a visceral reaction. It's a game. I don't really need to stop breathing so that the Big Daddy won't hear me. I don't need to have a panic attack because I don't have a weapon yet. But still, I do have to stop breathing and have that panic attack. Because this is a great game, right here, and it would be a shame not to realize that.