COMBATSIM.COM: BioShock Walk Through - Part 1

About This Bioshock Walk-Thru:

Bioshock is a first-person adventure game and is the successor to the classic System Shock series. Bioshock aims to creep you out with hideous blood-thirsty gene-modified mutants while entertaining you with fantastic graphics and surreal underwater environments.

In this massive article series, you get two treats in one: you get an exhaustive review of all the game's features, and you also get a beautifully written walk-through in first-person diary form. This approach is quite novel in both the bookish and newness senses. Even if you never intend to play Bioshock, you can read this walk-through like a standalone adventure novel.

So sit back, get a cuppa, and prepare to be informed and entertained by COMBATSIM.COM's newest contributor, Phillip "Badger" Marriott.

(Editor's Note: Because XBox doesn't have a "Save Screenshot" utility, the images in this article are a combination of images from the PC demo and images from the official Bioshock website).

Well Bioshock is finally with us and it seems to have taken an age, hasn’t it?

In fairness it probably has more to do with the way that the gaming media will start rumour mongering about a title anywhere up to a couple of years before release, leading to fraught debate, wild speculation and high (and often dashed) expectations, long before the vapourware becomes a reality.

Bioshock though, has become a reality and over the next few installments I hope to discover what sort of reality that is, whether or not it has been worth the wait and, most important: how forgiving is it to play, for a ten thumbed forest dweller like your Badger!

I’ll be calling it as I see it….. So expect to hear possibly insignificant niggles alongside heartfelt applause. Should the publishers decide to send me a fat enough cheque, I will of course remove all mention of any “niggles”! But in the meantime, while I wait for the sound of mail arriving, expect the dirt as well as the gold.

Oh… and this being a “Walkthrough” / “Diary”, you should handle with care. Don’t read on if you don’t want to know what happens! That said, it is only a single view of Rapture as seen through the eyes of one man making the journey, not an all encompassing guide to its every twist, turn and secret.

So without any further delay, let’s be off, shall we? On a journey into the depths of one man's misguided dreams for a better future, which became a nightmare reality. (Scary, eh? It’s ok though, you can come out from behind the sofa.)

Andrew Ryan was a man with a quest and a vision. Tired of the petty laws and morals of a society seemingly designed to hold back people with drive and ability, Ryan decided that the only course left to him was to found his own city, where he and his like could live by their own rules!

The fruit born of his vision took form in the building of the hidden underwater city of Rapture.

Haven’t we all had days like that? I mean, I know I have! Granted I don’t usually go out and found a city when it happens, but I think we can agree that we’ve all been there.

Now, founding a city where the greatest minds can gather to stretch their imaginations and indulge in research without those pesky joint limitations of either responsibility or a moral code, is all well and good but I doubt there’s anyone reading this who hasn’t already decided that this is all going to end in tears!

Sure enough it wasn’t long before the scientists managed to stumble upon a drug harvested from a parasite, which could rewrite human genes in such a way as to give the user various spooky mind powers and physical improvements.

Which in turn lead to the society of Rapture blossoming into a haven of peace and scientific advance?.... Nah, of course not! It actually led to Rapture's inhabitants falling on each other in drug crazed frenzy! Now who would have expected that, eh?

Now for you and I the alarm bells would probably have rung the moment that some boffin suggested milking a parasite! I mean who milks a parasite, eh? That’s never going to end in anything good, is it!? But then who was the first man to decide it might be a good idea to eat cheese? On the face of it that doesn’t sound like such a brilliant idea either! “Would you like a piece of mould, Mabel?” “No thank you, darling … I had mould for breakfast.”

So, misguided dream turned dystopian nightmare then, eh? And into this scenario we find ourselves dropped (quite literally) in the form of an un-named hero, apparently the lone survivor of a plane crash in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, floating dazed and confused amidst the burning wreckage, just off a mysterious lighthouse which little known to us at this point is actually no less than the secret entrance to the underwater city of Rapture.

(For those who like to know these things, the game is set on the “medium” difficulty setting. Because I’m far too cowardly for “hard” and far too cool for “Easy”.)

My God I’m alive! I don’t know how I survived the crash but somehow I have.

The wreckage strewn about me is burning so brightly in the water, that it almost turns this circle of night into day! I’m surrounded by the burning debris and there seems only one avenue of escape, an open area ahead where the circle of flame has not quite closed about me. My only choice is to swim in that direction and toward the lights I can see beyond.

Aircraft wreckage burns upon the calm Atlantic waters.

I can see steps at the base of what would seem to be a ghostly lighthouse, but why would a lighthouse be built here, thousands of miles from any land! No matter, I have no choice I need the solid ground and the relative safety it represents, for treading water here my strength will soon give out.

The heat from the wreckage is intense and as I’ve struck out toward the steps a great column of flame has ripped across the ocean surface, following the trail presumably of spilled aviation fuel. At the end of its manic path the light from the flames has illuminated the grizzly sight of the tail section of the fuselage. Now in its unexpected and unwelcome fragility, the tail seems as a child’s toy broken, discarded and left somewhere it doesn’t belong!

Even as I swim toward safety the ocean drags mercilessly at its unexpected prize and the tail section slips ever lower into the water as a fountain of foam and froth erupts around it.

Tail section of the plane begins to sink.

Finally I’ve won the steps and dragging myself up I turn as with a final groan the wreckage slips below the waves, the frothing subsides and now not even a ripple remains to mark the plane's passage to who knows where.

A lighthouse in Mid-Atlantic Ocean?

The screen blanks during the actual plane crash itself, leaving sound effects only and perhaps wisely leaving the resulting carnage to our collective imagination.

Floating in the middle of the wreckage, you’re immediately struck by how clever the water texture is but then straight afterward you’re slightly disappointed by the fact that you’re confined to the surface and not even allowed the tiniest view underwater and watching the tail section vanish beneath the waves only emphasizes this fact.

In a game that after all is going to take place underwater, this seems a strange omission and to be honest while in no way detracting from the gameplay, is the first of many little touches which we have been spoiled with over the last couple of years in various games, which here seem to have been overlooked.

At the top of the steps the entrance to the mysterious lighthouse stands open. A huge double door beyond which lies a tempting oasis of shelter seemingly beckoning me inside away from the cold darkness in which I currently stand.

The steps leading up out of the ocean to the lighthouse.

Tentatively I step through and inching forward I peer into the darkness trying to make sense of the strange shapes within. Suddenly the doors crash closed behind me and panicked I whirl on the spot. Now even the flickering light of the flames outside is denied me.

I’ve no matches and even if I had they’d be unusable after my swim. But even as I consider this I hear the sore stutter of long unused neon lights and within moments the resulting flickering blossoms into a pool of radiance illuminating the center of the chamber in which I now stand and somewhere a gramophone crackles into life and a tannoy system fills the air with the light music of a violin, playing a tune which dances illusively somewhere on the edge of my memory. Suddenly the title comes to me, “La Mer”, French for the sea…. How very apt.

The room curves around a circular balcony but peering over the edge into the darkness offers no clue as to what may lie below. A sign carries the words “No Gods or Kings, Only Man.” And a large statue is carved on the wall above and beyond the balcony. In front of me rests a plaque bearing the words “In What Country is there a Place for People Like Me.” A quote attributed to an “Andrew Ryan” Though whether the statue above represents him or someone else, I couldn’t say.

Inside the lighthouse.

Walking around the balcony I pass flags adorning the walls before arriving at a dual staircase leading downward. As I peer into the darkness below more lights flicker on and once again my path stands illuminated revealing art deco sculptures and tiles and floors of marble. It is as though I am expected, yet something about this place suggests I am also unwelcome.

Descending to another balcony, more lights illuminate yet another flight of stairs spiraling downward and descending I pass twin plaques dedicated to “Science” and “Art”. Finally I reach the bottom and another freshly lit chamber, but I barely have time to wonder about how far below the waves I am standing, when turning I see the strangest sight in this place so far. Floating at the base of the chamber in a pool of water presumably opening out into the sea below, is a Bathysphere!

A bathysphere!

The Sphere stands open and lit inside, once again as though for my own benefit. Once again I am faced with a choice…

A choice, eh? Not as far as I’m concerned! If it was me I’d be back up those stairs and outside in two shakes of a lamb's tail and waving my shirt in the air in hopes of a rescue! Happily it’s not me, because obviously that wouldn’t make for much of a story! (oh… and the doors banged shut, didn’t they? Ok, I didn’t think that through so well.)

First he wanders into an old spooky lighthouse and now he’s considering climbing into a strange submersible?? Come on, if this were a movie we’d all be yelling “DON’T GO INTO THE SUBMERSIBLE!!” right? Of course right!

Now you might be thinking what a HUGE coincidence it is that the plane just happened to crash within paddling distance of the secret entrance to “Rapture.” But if you’re like me you’ll be suspecting as I am that there’s more to this fact than meets the eye. I bet we’ll find out later on that this was no coincidence! But my fellow adventurers, we’ll just have to wait and see.

From the moment you step into the lighthouse the whole experience screams player immersion! (If you’ll excuse the pun.) The décor, the period music and the subtly directed lighting all positively drip atmosphere and the fact is that this degree of immersion can make an irrelevance out of silly little niggles like not being able to put your face underwater! But that’s not going to stop me telling you about them as I see them …. And I’ll continue by telling you that the material of the flags we passed on the way down was solid. No flapping in the breeze as we passed by, no physics at all, might as well have been made of stone. Note to the developer “2K”, …must do better.

Gathering my courage I step on board the Bathysphere!

The interior is Spartan and obviously not built for comfort. In the center a single lever raises from the deck plate and with the grim knowledge that whatever the outcome, it is almost certainly better than a slow death from hunger or thirst sealed in this long empty lighthouse, I pull it and abandon myself to whatever it is that fate might have in store.

Aging mechanisms grumble into life and the door behind me swings slowly closed revealing a wide expanse of (presumably) reinforced glass, which it seems is to be my view of the world for the duration of the voyage before me.

With a surge the Bathysphere begins its decent into the pool and it quickly becomes evident that the structure of the lighthouse extends far below the surface. Lights on the outside of the sphere flood the route of my journey downward and I see a sign reading “Ten Fathoms”, now another for "Fifteen Fathoms".

Blub! Blub! Blub!

Schools of fish weave lazily about the forms of statues carved by Lord knows who. For who would have erected these sculptures in such a place, or for that matter, who could have?!

Suddenly the sphere darkens and the viewing port is replaced by a projection screen, on which unravels the tale of Andrew Ryan, who it seems grew weary of the restrictions placed on him by a society seemingly bent on holding back his creative genius and instead came out here and founded “Rapture” a place where men of great vision and ability could live and work without being held back by the limited vision of the powers that be, or by the drain placed on society by the weak and needy.

As I ponder the implications of this, the projection screen is whisked away with a dramatic flourish

And I am confronted by a scene which takes my breath away! Submerged unseen and unheard of by the society we know, lies the undersea city of Rapture!

Oh! Rapture!

I blink unable to quite believe my eyes as I try to take in the sight before me. A huge metropolis rises from the sea bed where no such thing should stand. Creatures of the deep drift this way and that, incongruous against the impossible architecture surrounding them.

Huge shoals of fish, most of which I can’t identify, go about their business among the large neon signs of the buildings, and now the sphere turns to reveal a great walkway crossing between structures and there another, like airtight tunnels lined with glass through which one might take in the sights.

A giant Squid passes into view from beneath me. My natural apprehension of proximity to such a creature is dulled by his seeming indifference toward the existence of the sphere. He is barely out of site before the mammoth form of a Whale can be seen swimming between the buildings, probably feasting on the plankton drifting in the water.

A movement catches my eye in one of the tunnels, but the sphere has passed over it before I can confirm what it was I saw. Had that been a huge man, welding in a deep sea diving suit?

A small radio on the side of the sphere bursts suddenly into life and voices can be heard discussing the imminent arrival of the Bathysphere as well as nervous warnings about the approach of something called a “Splicer”. Apparently this trip is not after all without design and intent.

Abruptly the sphere enters a lighted track. An avenue of rails leading to an upward shaft, along which the vehicle begins to rise. It would seem that whatever mysterious destination my unseen guides have in store for me… I have arrived.

This impressive “cut scene” sets us up with a reveal of Rapture for the first time and a slow swoop down into the heart of the city. The inclusion of the giant whale serves nicely to push home the point of just how big this place is.

Also of course we get our first tantalising glimpse of a “Big Daddy” welding in a walkway… at least I think that’s what it was.

The sphere surfaces in a darkened chamber, there is barely flickering neon somewhere in the distance but it doesn’t cast enough light for me to be able to see much beyond my protective glass portal.

There is somebody outside, presumably here to meet me, but the combination of the water residue cascading down the outside of the window and the poor lighting, mean he is little more than a silhouette.

Wait.. Somebody else is out there with him now, someone bent or stooped. The man is turning and sees the figure. He begins to shout, no, to beg! “Don’t hurt me…please!” A brief flash of light illuminates the chamber for the briefest of moments, flashing on the twin scythes carried by … That can’t be a man, it’s some kind of creature!

With a halting but powerful leap the creature is upon the man and sets about him with the scythes. The man screams as the improvised weapons do their foul work and another flash of light gleams cruelly on the flashing blades and the resulting shower of blood as the creature disembowels its victim!

Give me a mirror..GIVE ME A MIRROR!!

I stand rigid within the sphere as the creature stands before the glass and sniffs the air. “Is there somebody new?” it mutters almost to itself and I realise that I’ve been holding my breath in terror.

Suddenly the fiend leaps into the air and disappears from view. The sphere lurches heavily to one side.. Good Lord.. It’s on the roof!! A terrible screeching fills the air and sparks cascade down the portal as the creature slashes ineffectually at the metal above me, before finally sliding back down to the floor again and shuffling away as though suddenly losing interest.

The crackling of the radio once again bursting into life jars me out of my fear induced rigor. A heavy Irish accent suggests I pick up the receiver and then introduces itself as “Atlas” before promising to guide me to safety if I’ll leave the sphere and follow his instructions.

Seemingly reading my thoughts he adds that he won’t leave me “Dangling in the wind” but that my safety depends on my reaching higher ground.

Well that really was highly atmospheric! I honestly didn’t want to leave the sphere at the end of that little scene and I’m convinced that that little bleeder is going to leap back out of the darkness before very long and attack me with those nasty looking scythes. I only hope that I get the chance to tool up with some kind of weapon before I have to deal with it!

I’m not easily moved to the edge of my seat to be honest and the last time I remember a “game” doing it, was “Alien vs. Predator” which frankly I had to give up playing because, yes I’ll admit it, it was just too scary!

Speaking of games of yore though does bring up an interesting point. Bioshock has been billed as the “spiritual successor to System Shock 2 (SS2)” but from what I’m seeing here and have read in the manual, I think that in fact it’s a lot more closely related than a “successor.”

The way the “Splicer” talked? A disembodied voice guiding you with mission objectives on the radio? These are my gaming clues so far, but the manual also tells of hacking security terminals, drones and vending machines. Of a balancing act between conventional and mind based weapons? All old friends to the seasoned SS2 player.

Taking a deep breath and listening intently for any sign that the creature might be returning, I step out onto the carpeted gangway outside the sphere and make my way past the mutilated body lying there. Subtle lighting has now switched on and I can see that I’m in a bay of sorts for the sphere, fronted by a series of large windows right in front of the docking area, through which I can see some of Rapture's buildings from more or less ground level. I can see a sign for a Bistro of all things! As well as another of those walkways I saw on my way in.

At the end of the gangway the avenue stretches left and right parallel to the windows and is strewn with discarded luggage, though whether this might have belonged to people arriving or struggling to leave is impossible to tell.

Exploring to the right I quickly discover a dead end, but nestled here is a large glowing tube with the words “Vita Chamber” appearing on a plaque at its base. Unable to discern its use, I retrace my steps to the gangway and explore in the opposite direction instead.

I’m reminded of the radio once again as the voice of Atlas crackles up at me once again. He informs me that the creature I witnessed is called a “Splicer” and that it is still here and very close! He can deal with it for me, but I need to trust him as he wants to use me as bait! I’ve seen what horrors the creature is capable of, can I trust my safety to the disembodied voice of a man I’ve never even seen?

He wants us to be BAIT?! Well, considering the dodgy decisions already on display, I’m thinking that we’ll probably be trusting the stranger's voice, what do you think?

The Vita Chamber is an automatic saving point and just standing close to it is enough for it to activate. Should you then be killed you are respawned at the last Vita Chamber you passed, although it is also possible to save manually and this can be done whenever you like.

It seems an odd system to give you both the automated “save point” model as well as the manual option, but I suppose if you forget to save for a long while, then die, it’s going to be good to only have to retrace your steps from the last Vita Chamber. (The Vita Chamber is another throwback to SS2 by the way. Yup.. I’m going to keep pointing em out.)

Picking my way through more discarded luggage, I follow the path to a larger chamber which opens out to the left. I realise that this must be a departure lounge of sorts when I see an “arrivals/departures” display on the ceiling. The word “cancelled” repeats all the way down the columns and with grim humour it occurs to me that in this at least things seem pretty similar to the airport I was in only this morning!

Suddenly the Splicer leaps out of the darkness ahead of me with a scream, but just as quickly changes direction as from the docking area comes a whirling rotor-bladed device of some kind, equipped with a machine gun and firing wildly at the fleeing creature. The Splicer uses his scythes to dig into the wall and haul himself ever upward as agile as any monkey climbing a jungle tree. The device chases him up to the rafters but the creature escapes through some unseen hole in the shadows.

Atlas tells me that the Splicers are in fact some of the former human residents of Rapture, deformed and driven insane by use of a gene altering drug! In my heart I know I should feel pity for these creatures, but how can I pity “things” capable of such horror as I saw outside the Bathysphere!

Atlas informs me that my way forward lies through a doorway ahead blocked with rubble and debris and finding a wrench lying on the floor I snatch it up and smash my way through!

Beyond the door is a set of stairs leading upward, I can hear an eerie cackling and singing from above and the top of the stairs is blocked by a burning sofa.

An insane laugh fills the air and unseen hands thrust the burning sofa down the staircase. Pushing myself quickly up against the wall, I dodge its descent and shake my head as it comes to a burning rest where I had been standing but a moment before!

John Trvolta's plastic surgery had not gone as well as planned!

Yup…. That’s about what I figured. Is that any way to treat a visitor? I don’t think so!

No damage taken from those flames as they brushed by me at all! It’s a “set piece” of course, but all the same you’d think that the flames would hurt a little.

Holding my wrench firmly before me I step through the doorway at the top of the stairs and am immediately set upon by my sofa-pushing assailant, another of these foul Splicers. It quickly becomes apparent though that this fellow is not cut from the same cloth as his murderous counterpart. His wild flailing catches me a blow in the ribs, but I’m able to despatch him quickly with three solid blows of my wrench.

Putting aside my disgust, I search the ragged clothes of the dead creature and find an odd hypodermic needle, filled with a glowing substance and marked “Eve” and a first aid kit. As my assailant had barely managed to hurt me, I pocket the first aid kit in case I need it later and I continue to search the room.

The far wall is dominated by a large metal airlock, sealed and flanked by room-width windows either side. The door has a locking mechanism to one side, but it sparks fiercely and is obviously unusable.

One of the walls carries a large billboard on which an advert proclaiming “Pick up your plasmids”. At the back of the room is a double staircase, blocked by debris on one side, leading up to a landing above from which I can hear the recorded voice of a small child, though I can't quite make out the words she is repeating over and again with only the shadows to hear her.

Searching the room I find various containers, some of which contained sealed foods. I’d forgotten how hungry I am and abandoning caution I eagerly eat what I’ve found. This makes me feel a little better and thus fortified I make my way up the staircase behind me.

At the top of the staircase I see a short corridor running from left to right and directly opposite is an alcove containing a cabinet with the words “Gatherers' Garden” written boldly across the top. Either side of the cabinet stands identical statues of a small girl and as I look on the automated recording bursts into life again as if thrilled to once again have a thinking soul to talk to. The child's voice extols the virtues of taking Plasmids. "Are you as good as my daddy mister? Not if you don't visit the Gatherers' Garden you're not!"

Turning aside from this for now I take a moment to explore the corridor in either direction to make sure that I’m alone. I find no more attackers, but I do find some more supplies in some of the bins and cabinets scattered around and I mentally scowl at the thought of how low I must have sunk to now be scavenging from rubbish bins.

Returning to the Gatherers' Garden I inspect it a little more closely.

It is clear now that this cabinet is the Source of the “Plasmids” mentioned on the poster downstairs and that injection of one of these gifts the user with a specific “power”. The hypodermic sitting innocently in the slot reads “Electro Bolt”. An enticing prospect indeed but I know only too well the fate of the citizens of Rapture, who also dabbled with things they should have left alone… and yet the prospect of being able to defend myself against more of these Splicers, is undeniably appealing.

So let’s get this straight! We’re now going to add “jabbing an unknown hypo into a vein” to our list of “things it’s probably best NOT to do in a strange underwater city?" Surely not! Surely not even our hero could be so mind numbingly stupid!

Steeling myself against the possible consequences, I jam the needle into my wrist and force the plunger down!

Oh God the agony!! My blood is on fire.. I can’t stand up straight! Atlas is trying to tell me something… “stay calm… genetic code being re-written”?? Shut up, shut up.. I feel the railing behind but I …”

I don’t know for how long I lay on the floor. I have a vague memory of tumbling backward over the balcony and then blackness.

I seem to remember harsh voices at one point and I cringe to think whose mercy I was at lying there helpless. But then they seemed to be scared away by the arrival of somebody else. Did I see weighted diving boots in front of my face? (I think again of the huge figure I saw welding on my way into Rapture) and was there a small child? I giggle uncontrollably at the thought of being visited here by “Alice in Wonderland," before mentally slapping myself to get a grip! I had a nasty fall, who knows what I thought I heard or saw.

Actually the pair of Splicers who were doubtless up to no good, were scared off by the arrival of a “Big Daddy” and his “Little Sister”. So our second encounter then and still we haven’t had a good look.

The ill advisedness of sticking a needle in ourselves aside, we do now have the power to zap people and objects with the “Electro Bolt.” The system used to switch back and forth between this and your more conventional weaponry is quite intuitive and I predict lots of stunning Splicers with the plasmid power before moving in to knock 'em on the head with the wrench!

Once again I’m reminded of SS2 with its Psi powers versus the various conventional weapons and the need to carefully pick which one to use and conserve the recourses and /or ammo of both.

Pulling myself groggily to my feet my attention is pulled to my left hand, is it really glowing? My whole arm throbs with what I can only describe as power since it is certainly not pain. I almost feel as though I could reach out and…… Wha??

As I reached out a bolt of electricity almost like lightning, leapt from my hand and hit the mechanism for the airlock, which is now sliding upward!

Atlas crackles back into life on the radio and commiserates with me for the less than comfortable transition, but then remarks that, “there’s nothing quite like a fist full of lightning is there!” As my whole arm tingles with the unleashed energy and my mind reels at the prospect of what I may be capable of… I feel inclined to agree.

Glancing around me it seems that there isn’t much reason to remain here. Whatever answers await me will not be found standing still and licking my wounds, so putting my best foot forward I make my way through the open airlock.

My first steps into the walkway are so full of wonder that I barely notice the airlock sliding closed again behind me. I already knew of course that I was many fathoms under the sea, but standing here with nothing between myself and the crushing pressure of the depths, but this seemingly flimsy glass barrier, has really brought it home!

How could man have successfully managed to defy the elements in building such a place as this and stripped of modesty in the face of such a feat, might such men even dare think of themselves as Gods?!

Suddenly I am yanked from my reverie by a strange groaning sound from somewhere outside the tube and looking up I am just in time to see the approaching tail section of the ill-fated plane just before it crashes with a sickening lurch into the walkway in which I stand!

Now the illusion is broken! The flimsy protection which seemed almost magically to hold the ocean at bay, now crumbles before her might as the icy waters rush in through the breach and cascade in a torrent throughout the tube!

The airlock behind me will no longer open and turning I begin to force my way along the stricken walkway. The tail section has come to rest across the tube and blocks my path, but I find that I can step up into it and by climbing up past the seats I can access the emergency exit and drop back out into the walkway beyond.

I turn in horror at the sound of the glass to my left cracking and I know I have only seconds to fight my way clear of this trap, before I become a permanent fixture in this strange tableau. The walkway turns right and as I follow it around the whole structure lurches again and I almost lose my footing!

I can see a little way ahead two or three carpeted stairs leading to another airlock and with new hope I push onward. A Huge Bang drags my eyes to the left and I see an unnoticed airlock buckling inward as though being smashed from the outside by the huge fists of an angry giant!

Hurrying past I reach the steps and despite my imminent danger I find myself momentarily captivated by the bizarre sight of fish jumping from the flood onto the carpet and thrashing about in a vain attempt to breathe. A flash of useless revelation grips me and I wonder if it is them struggling for life in my world, or me struggling for life in theirs!

Shaking myself free from such untimely pondering, I stumble onward. The airlock ahead slides open on my approach and closes behind me, where I collapse back against it with an exhausted gasp.

More excitement and again another example of the way that BioShock effortlessly drags you into its world. Once again I find myself inclined to forgive the little missing touches like the solid cloth of flags and curtains mentioned earlier, or the puddles of water of blood that we walk though without leaving footprints. Or the way the raging torrent we just passed through had little or no physics effects attached to it. It wasn’t affecting the environment and it certainly wasn’t affecting our movement along the walkway.

These are petty points of course and in the face of such an atmospheric experience, are they worth even mentioning? Well I’ll let you be the judge of that, but the thing is that we’ve been spoiled over the last couple of years or so by games which make a big deal out of this kind of thing and it seems to me that BioShock could lose points from gamers, particularly with the PC release, on this basis.

It’s not as though there are no nice little touches after all! The cracking windows back there? The jumping fish? The falling drops of water which leave ripples on puddles. (Which still offer no footprints.) Somebody was on the ball, but perhaps somebody else wasn’t.

The giant fists pound again, this time on the airlock at my back and I realise that I’ve no time to rest.

I’m in a corridor leading to another airlock. There are doorways to rooms on my left and right and twin doorways further up the corridor. The airlock is sealed tight and I decide to explore the room to my left for more medical supplies or a better weapon with which to defend myself, and, hopefully, another way out.

There’s another of the Vita chambers in here and I notice with distaste that behind it lies a dead cat.

I told you back off or the Bear gets it..but you never listen!

Rummaging amongst the upturned chairs and rubble, I find another Eve hypo and assorted food and drink, but little else.

Walking up the two steps back to the corridor the radio barks at me and Atlas warns me that another Splicer is moving around in the room opposite. Curling my left hand into a fist and tightening my grip on the wrench in my right, I slowly make my way forward.

I don’t have long to wait and as I step across the corridor between rooms the fiend attacks wildly! Jumping out from the shadows he swings a length of pipe mercilessly at my head, but I duck underneath its arc easily enough and in return I unleash the savage power of my electro bolt.

The Splicer jerks upward rigidly convulsing as the current courses through his body and wasting no time I step inward swinging my wrench and lay the creature low.

With a grimace I search my victim's clothing and find a first-aid kit and an Eve hypo.

Looking around it seems as though this room might once have been a small lounge where one might sit and enjoy the solitude of one's thoughts while looking out at the sea life through the large windows on the far wall. But now it tells the same story as everywhere else I’ve seen here so far. Broken tables and chairs, bottles and glasses lying on the floor. People had fought for their lives here … Fought and lost.

A lone corpse sits propped up against the window and searching through its pockets I find another Eve hypo and medical kit. I greedily stuff them into my pockets, sure that before very long I will need everything I can scavenge.

The rubble on top of the tables contains various food, drinks and packets of cigarettes. Content that I have found everything of use I make my way back out to the corridor.

As I step out the previously sealed airlock slides upward and with a scream a Splicer leaps to the attack from behind it! Also as a reflex I root him to the spot with the electro bolt, before braining him with the wrench and searching his body for anything useful. How long before I become as inhuman as these poor wretches, if already I kill without hesitation?

This “zap 'n' Smack” technique is working out quite well, isn’t it! I’m not counting any chickens though, I’ve no doubt at all that one tap of the wrench won’t suffice for very much longer, what do you reckon?

The different consumable items lying around have various effects on your vitals. Some will boost health, others boost your Eve levels. Some also have negative side effects, like booze or cigarettes, but in a pinch beggars can’t be choosers right?

A handy “What is this?” function pops up whenever you rest your cursor on an object for more than a moment or two. It also keeps a log of what you’ve looked at, so you can refresh your memory any time you need to.

Through the airlock is a set of stairs leading upward. If reaching higher ground is the objective here then I am succeeding admirably.

Either side of the staircase are advertising posters, one is torn and only the words “For Discriminating Tastes” remain, but the other is advertising “Rapture Radio.” I can hear a panicked voice above pleading with somebody to stop doing something.

The punishment for bad fashion sense in Rapture was severe!

A few steps further up and I catch a glimpse of a burning elevator ahead and above as it plummets downward. Moments later screams fill the air and as I crest the stairway a figure engulfed in flames dashes toward me flailing his arms!

I quickly dispatch the poor soul and search the body before exploring the rest of the chamber. I can hear hammering and a voice somewhere close by above me, but craning my neck I see no sign of an impending attack.

To my left a door, with an ornate clock set above it, leads to a room containing a bank of six elevators, one of which is in flames and must be the one I saw fall

A sign stands in this lobby proclaiming that the elevators are under repair and indeed of the remaining five only one remains operational. The encroaching water has now risen to this level and I stand ankle deep as I step into the working lift and look for a button to press. I needn’t have bothered though as it activates automatically, smoothly rising, leaving the water behind and affording me a birds eye view both of the chamber I’d previously been standing in and various balconies on higher levels.

On the first floor balcony I see a Splicer hammering at a door while muttering and wailing to himself. Obviously the voice I’d heard from below.

The voice of Atlas bursts into life again. It seems his family are trapped in an area called “Neptune’s Bounty” and he pleads with me to go save them if I can.

My elevator finally eases to a stop and I step out onto the landing. On the left is a Vita chamber and further along I see a makeshift shrine of sorts. Consisting of little more than a photograph of someone sadly missed and an assortment of flowers long ago withered, it none the less represents the grief of the their loved ones and I inwardly frown at my behaviour as I rifle through its contents for anything which might be useful.

Back along to the right the balcony curves into a pillared doorway. I can hear crying from within, the sounds of a grieving mother distraught at the loss of a child and I see her shadow cast on the wall as she bends over a pram.

Turning the corner though the image is shattered by the ugly length of piping clutched in the hand of the creature standing there, leaning over the pram with her back to me. If there is indeed a baby there, then it’s in dreadful danger and I quickly shock the female Splicer and finish her with the wrench before peering into the pram to see…… a revolver!

As if on cue Atlas tells me about the chaos brought about by the effects of the gene altering drugs. The “Splicers” are apparently named for their efforts to “splice” different abilities or attributes into their gene code with tragic results. Friends and neighbours murdering each other, babies strangled in cribs, in short the whole place went to hell!

Shaking my head I reach in and retrieve the revolver. I heft it appreciatively, its grim weight in my hand a comforting reality in the midst of this bizarre nightmare. Finally a weapon more substantial than an improvised club! But conservation of ammo would be paramount and I guessed that my wrench would yet have further grizzly work ahead.

“Hand to hand” is fine if you’re about evenly matched with your bad guy. But I suspect that the arrival of a ranged weapon at this point means we’re about to meet someone a little tougher. Either that or someone inaccessible with the means to threaten us from a distance.

I hear the gramophone crackle of a crooned ballad through the door ahead, accompanied by a soft piano. The sign above the door reads “Cashmere Restaurant”.

Entering I see the wreckage of what was evidently a New Year's party, now a riot of upturned tables and chairs. A smashed railing to my left guards a drop down to a partially flooded lower part of the restaurant, a large statue rises from that water with a banner draped across it telling me this party was in 1959.

Does my nose look big in this?

A Maitre d’s podium ahead of me is draped with party streamers and masks and to my right is a set of stairs leading down to the partly flooded level. I can hear pounding and a man’s voice shouting to be “let in” from that direction.

I search the area up here for anything useful and find nothing. Beyond the stairs on this level are the mens' and ladies' restrooms and outside them a bank of telephones. I find a medical kit here and decide to search the restrooms just in case.

Moving through the gentlemens' restroom my senses seem to dim for a moment, the hairs on my neck rise and suddenly I see an apparition ahead of me! A ghostly figure seemingly unaware of my presence moves about between the sinks seemingly talking to itself.

Although I’ve never believed in ghosts as such, I know on an instinctive level that this is the spirit of one of the people killed here. Doomed to wander these halls reliving its last living moments!

As I continue to watch the image fades and finally is gone.

Aha!! First audio diaries and now spooky apparitions reliving their final moments, both SS2 moments, I’m feeling right at home now.

Moving slowly down past the cubicles I note that one is locked, but putting an ear to the door I hear no movement within and I continue onward. At the end of the room I find another tape recorder, this one is from a “Steve Barker” and on it he complains about a large hole in the wall of the ladies' restroom, interfering with the running of his theatre on the floor below. I decide to investigate and turn to make my way to the restroom next door.

Leaving the taps on in Rapture is frowned upon.

As I move back up the corridor the locked cubical door bursts open and a Splicer leaps out!!

Hands up anybody who didn’t already know that the cubical door was going to burst open and a Splicer leap out? Nobody? Uh-huh… that’s what I figured.

Though initially surprised I am easily able to evade the creatures clumsy attack and quickly dispatching it I check its remains for useful items before moving on.

The ladies' restroom is a mirror image of the mens' and as I arrive at the last cubical I find the opening Steve Barker complained about. It’s large enough to walk through if I stoop and seems to lead through to a slightly lower landing beyond.

Marshalling my courage I decide to search downstairs before investigating the hole, even though it means confronting the yelling Splicer on that floor and exiting the restroom I return to the stairway in the main restaurant and start down toward the yelling man.

At first he doesn’t see me but as I get further down he turns, yells a curse and runs around to the bottom of the stairs and up to reach me!

Standing my ground I wait until he is two or three steps down and then blast at him with the electro bolt… but he manages to dodge! Now I realise that my growing complacency is going to cost me as he smashes the metal bar he is wielding into my left arm just below the shoulder!

Reeling from the blow I manage to block his second attack with my wrench, but over balancing I stumble backward and seizing his chance the creature lands a second and a third blow into my rib cage, knocking the wind out of me in an explosion of pain.

Lashing out with my boots I manage to catch his knees and clutching at the railing he staggers backward giving me the opportunity to struggle to my feet and swing my wrench solidly at his head! With a surprised cry he tumbles back and falls down to the bottom of the staircase dead.

It was to be Elmo's last trip to the dentist!

I stand for a moment catching my breath. These things are fast, some faster than others and it seems that I can’t rely on one technique to take them on. Sadly I’ve had to discover this lesson by getting hurt and wincing at the pain I use one of the med kits I discovered earlier.

In fact there are many different kinds of Splicers apparently. Up to now we’ve encountered “Thuggish Splicers” with various clubs. But this fellow was a “Leadhead Splicer” and a little tougher to take on.

Rounding the banister at the bottom of the stairway I am faced with the door that the Splicer had been pounding on. As I approach the door flies open and a crazed woman emerges screaming for “Charlie”. Presumably I’ve just met Charlie and I don’t think she’ll be best pleased about that.

Sure enough she attacks me on sight, but this time I am able to immobilize her with an electro bolt, before finishing her off with the wrench. After the first blow she shook herself loose of the paralysing effect and attacked me anew! In all it took a further three blows to finally bring peace to the poor woman.

The room she had come from seemed to be a kitchen or preparation room of sorts. Searching around I find some money! I’m not sure what good money will do me here, but just in case I stuff it into my pockets.

Moving out of the kitchen area I turn my attention to the statue I saw from above. It stands in a recessed area down a short flight of steps, around its base are tables and there is a picture window beyond. As I saw from above this part of the chamber is flooded and I instinctively duck down as I notice three Splicers wading around in the water.

Inspired by something Atlas said, I jump up and launch an electric attack. But rather than aim for a Splicer, I aim for the water instead! The resulting charge freezes all three convulsing to the spot, but as I move in for the kill they all collapse and I realise I have discovered a potent new way to use this weapon.

Our hero didn’t get the chance to wade into the electrically charge water to set about the baddies with his wrench. It would have been interesting though because I have a sneaky feeing that he would have defied the laws of physics and not been affected by the current which fried the Splicers!

I might be wrong of course and I stand to be corrected. I might experiment with it at some point to see what happens.

Once again we discover that there’s more to the Plasmid powers than direct assaults on the enemy. We already saw the Electro Bolt being used to open an airlock mechanism and now we see that used with water it becomes an area effect weapon. I bet that there’ll be puzzles to be solved as we go, which need different powers to get by.

After searching the bodies for useful items I move around the statue to search the tables beyond. I find money and some food, then in the middle of one table sitting between a handbag and a dishevelled looking Teddy bear, is a tape recorder!

Pressing the play button I hear a woman’s voice. She says her name is Dianne Mackintosh and she describes the events as the New Year's Eve party erupts into a murderous chaos. The tape then lapses into a deathly silence.

Quickly searching the room and the small stage at one side, I return up the stairs to investigate the hole in the wall I found earlier.

Quickly returning I stoop to enter the opening and step through to the other side. As I step through some debris falls behind me and now unable to return that way I continue onward.

At this stage I’ve already seen this tactic two or three times, with areas that the developer does not want you going into being walled off or closed off behind you and a return disallowed.

We saw this right from the beginning of the game where with a combination of barriers and subtle spot lighting we were in effect channelled or “encouraged” by the burning wreckage of the plane and herded in a set direction.

I don’t know to what extent the gameplay area will open up as we continue, but I think the thing to remember is that BioShock is not pretending to be a free roaming sandpit style game and the play style here, like the storyline, is about constantly moving forward, not setting up camp in any one place and having a nice cuppa.

Suddenly Atlas tells me to put down my weapons and look over the railing of the balcony I’m standing on.

In the room below I can hear the voice of a small child talking to herself with a nursery rhyme lilt. Looking over the railing I can see the girl hunched over a body, what is she doing? Is that a huge hypodermic in her hands? Yes… she’s digging the hypodermic into the body and extracting something!!

Atlas tells me that she is a “Little Sister” companion to the “Big Daddy.” She extracts “Adam” from dead bodies for him and in return he protects her!

What kind of hell has Ryan created here that small children can be forced into such foul employ!!

A break in the balcony leads to a gantry on which spotlights are hung illuminating the room below. It seems to span out toward another balcony opposite and since I have no other route to take I step out onto it.

Stepping silently to avoid alerting the child to my presence, I follow the lighting gantry around until I come to the other balcony and stepping off I see that here there are stairs heading down onto her level; quietly I begin to descend.

The last few stairs are missing and I have to drop to the floor, but so intent is she upon her grizzly task that she doesn’t notice.

Looking around I see that I am in a side room, separated from the child by a counter topped with a window inlaid with a grid of metallic wire mesh. As I stand I see a Splicer carrying a heavy pipe step into the room behind the girl and start toward her.

The child turns abruptly and sees the intruder. Screaming loudly she shuffles back toward the counter as the creature approaches with a confident swagger.

At that moment there is a crash off to the left and the Splicer lurches backward in fear at something I can’t see. Then a juggernaut of muscle and metal ploughs in from the left of the room and swats the Splicer like a fly, sending him sprawling into the right hand wall.

Sometimes you just can't quite reach that itch!

For a moment the behemoth pauses and seems to consider the mutated man glued to the wall in terror. I get a chance to see fully for the first time the creature I have encountered fleetingly twice before. The hulking form stands at least a foot taller than my own height at full stretch. His actual form, buried under the layers of the deep sea diving suit and helmet he wears, can only be guessed at and he moans a low moan as he regards the child’s terrified would-be assailant. This then is a Big Daddy.

Then in a blur of speed he lurches forward and skewers the Splicer with a huge drill attached to the right hand of his diving suit! The Splicer screams as blood sprays up the wall behind him and splatters the window through which I watch. Then the Big Daddy grabs the dead mutant in a vice like grip and twirling him through the air, smashes him through the mesh window, where he lies broken and draped across the counter inches from where I now crouch hidden!

During the whole crossing the gantry section, it’s only possible to move the hero around. You can’t draw a weapon, or jump or crouch. You can in effect only cross the gantry and go down the stairs, at which point you get your full mobility back, just in time to witness the slaughter of the Splicer by the Big Daddy!

I have to say I really felt that! Particularly taking that drill to him!! I wonder how long it’ll be before we’re dodging one of those big fellas eh?

I don’t know how long I have crouched here behind the counter, inches from the dangling hand of the dead Splicer. But the echoing footfalls of the Big Daddy and the lilting laughter of his Little Sister have long since faded and I’m only now finding my feet once again.

My route is blocked by a padlocked grille, but though the lock looked sturdy, it proves no match for a sustained assault with my trusty wrench and in moments I am free once again, if indeed the term “free” applies to any of my movements in this place.

The small corridor outside has exits to the left and right, but the grizzly scene I just witnessed took place on the left, so I decide to explore there first.

The room is small with a tiny raised stage at one end and looking up I see the lighting gantry which I balanced across just minutes ago. Here is the body which the Little Sister worked upon so intently before being interrupted by the ill-fated Splicer, whose body I now see from the opposite angle draped across the counter behind which I hid. There’s nothing much else to see here and so quickly searching the body for anything useful I return out into the corridor and walk through the archway directly ahead.

Through the archway the corridor again extends to the left and right and another Vita chamber sits in a small alcove in front of me. The route to the left is blocked by rubble and impassable, so I make my way to the right where another corpse sits propped up against the wall, his lifeless eyes seemingly watching me as I pass by and asking a question I’ll never hear, though I doubt I could answer anyway.

Now the corridor turns left and as I approach the corner a Splicer leaps out with a yell! Inwardly cursing I stagger back a little, caught by surprise I have no chance to stun the unfortunate woman and I must fight her off with my wrench. I manage finally to dispatch her, but it was a hard fight and I find myself once again reaching for some of the medical supplies I’ve found.

Moving around the corner, the corridor stretches up a small number of steps and onto a small circular landing with a stairway leading down to the left. The landing is surrounded by floor- to-ceiling windows through which I can see that the stairs to my left lead to a lower landing, which travels around the far wall until it comes to an ornate staircase opposite me, leading down to a larger chamber below.

Directly below my position I can see that the larger chamber is in fact a huge lobby and large mounted signs on either side announce entrances to a medical area on the right and on the left…..“Neptune’s Bounty”! This, then, is the direction I must take if I am to find and save Atlas’s trapped family.

Movement on the far staircase catches my eye and peering forward I can see two Splicers, a man and a woman, who have their back to me and are intent on something I can’t quite make out.

Spurred on by the thought of an achievable goal I make my way along the landing to my left and follow along the wall until I approach the ornate staircase I saw from above.

The voices of the two Splicers are loud now, though I can’t make out their insane gibberish as they cackle and mutter at each other. I can see now that they are knelt in a large puddle and seem to be feverishly stabbing at something large on the floor in front of them, but I still can’t make out what it might be.

My left hand tingles with the pent up power of the electro bolt summoned reflexively by my unconscious mind and hefting the weight of my wrench reassuringly, I start down the staircase. I’ve not gone more than two steps before the pair turn and seeing me spring to their feet to attack!

I unleash the electro bolt but my haste takes it off target and missing the Splicers completely it hits the puddle in which they stand. Once again, this works in my favour as conducted by the water, the electro charge roots the pair to the spot where they shudder uncontrollably before collapsing dead to the floor!

Moving down I can now see that the figure they were so intent upon is in fact the slumped and lifeless body of a Big Daddy! So these Goliaths are not invulnerable after all! Though looking at the dead Splicers at my feet, I very much doubt that these two managed to bring it down.

Searching all the bodies I turn to follow the staircase down into the lobby area below. The stairs end in a straight drop of about eight feet with no way back up and I realise that once I drop over the edge into the lobby, there will be no returning the way I came.

It's great using my Electro Bolt to take out more than one Splicer, as long as they are all standing in a pool of water! A bit of a tricky thing to engineer certainly, but well worth looking out for that opportunity as it’ll save on Eve usage as well as being highly satisfying.

Also we discover that the Big Daddy’s can be brought down! Though “how” is not hinted at. Does this mean that there is something higher up the food chain than them? Or was it simply a case of a whole bunch of Splicers teaming up against it.

Personally it seems to me that the Big Daddy’s might get a bit of a raw deal. I mean you slog around in a deep sea diving suit all day long, baby sitting a small child? It’s bound to make you a little touchy isn’t it! So you stomp around in a bad mood a lot of the time and are inclined to the odd bit of “ramming a huge drill into a passing stranger’s chest cavity!” … Does that really make you a bad person?

Dropping down into the lobby I see a Vita chamber directly across from me and the entrances to ladies' and gents' restrooms along the wall behind it. Wandering through them provides some much needed bandages and medical supplies but happily no nasty surprises and I soon find myself in the lobby once again.

The whole area is partially flooded and strewn with old crates and boxes, which I quickly search for useful items. On my left is the entrance to the “Medical Pavilion” but it is blocked off by a large metal grille. On my right is the entrance to “Neptune’s Bounty” and the way lies open!

Walking cautiously toward the entrance I am suddenly shocked into covering my ears as a piercing alarm fills the air! Metal grilles slide firmly into place ahead of me blocking the way to “Neptune’s Bounty” and yelling and screaming from above announces the arrival of more Splicers attracted by the din!

Three of them drop off the shattered stairway and turn toward me, but an electro bolt thrown into the flood at their feet leaves them twitching! Another three leap from above and are on me almost before I can think! A flurry of blows surrounds me, I take a blow to the head and for a moment everything goes black!

Blasting wildly pure luck works in my favour and two of the Splicers stand stunned, giving me an opportunity to take on and defeat the third before turning my attention back to them! Thank goodness these seem to be similar to the weaker foes I encountered earlier and one blow to each finishes them off!

Stunned and bleeding I stagger backward and lean against a wall, when Atlas springs cursing to life on my radio. “Damn, they’re one step ahead of us!” He yells, “There’s another way out, through the Medical Pavilion, QUICKLY what are you waiting for?!”

Still dazed I struggle forward again and crossing the lobby I make my way through the now open grilles, through the entrance marked “Medical Pavilion”.

Shaking my head to clear it, I step into an airlock where large windows line two of the walls. Through one I can see the ocean bed and the other looks onto what looks like a piping conduit. One the third wall is another door of which presumably leads to the Medical Pavilion. A sensible enough precaution I suppose, to safeguard the complex from the flooding of individual areas. But no sooner have I stepped in than the door slams shut behind me! “Christ! You’re trapped!” yells Atlas. “Hold on and I’ll try to open the exit door!”

Abruptly the airlock is plunged into darkness and the conduit window is replaced by a projection screen on which is cast by the shadowy-eyed face of who, from what I remember of the statue I saw, can only be Andrew Ryan!

Accusing me of being a potential thief or saboteur sent by a foreign government, Ryan warns me of the consequences for attempting to plunder his hidden city of Rapture and listening to the man and seeing him for the first time I am now sure of that which I have suspected up to this point. Andrew Ryan must be insane!

The projection screen slides upward and the once empty conduit space is now filled with a maddened group of Splicers, falling over themselves in an attempt to bring their pipes and clubs to bear on the window standing between myself and them!

Though the window is of the same type designed to hold the pressure of the ocean at bay, it quickly begins to crack under the terrible assault and I wonder how long I have before they are upon me!

With a rush of relief I see the exit door swing open and Atlas’s welcome voice yells at me to get through it quickly. Turning my back on the crazed hoard I rush through the doorway and forward to whatever might await me in the Medical Pavilion.

Back in the lobby it’s worth checking the bodies of the six Splicers who attacked during the alarm and also a search of the flooded area at the foot of the shattered stairway, will reveal two strong boxes containing money, Eve and medical supplies. Which, unless you’re very lucky, you’re really going to need after that little ambush!

Here lies the end of our first installment then. Goodbye for now and next time we’ll find out what’s in store for us in the Medical Pavilion.