How Metascores Are Calculated
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3 on 3 NHL Arcade
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games. |
[Metacritic's 2007 Xbox 360 Game of the Year] Going beyond "run and gun corridors," "monster-closet AIs" and static worlds, BioShock creates a living, unique and unpredictable FPS experience. After your plane crashes into icy uncharted waters, you discover a rusted bathysphere and descend into Rapture, a city hidden beneath the sea. Constructed as an idealistic society for a hand picked group of scientists, artists and industrialists, the idealism is no more. Now the city is littered with corpses, wildly powerful guardians roam the corridors as little girls loot the dead, and genetically mutated citizens ambush you at every turn. Take control of your world by hacking mechanical devices, commandeering security turrets and crafting unique items critical to your very survival. Upgrade your weapons with ionic gels, explosives and toxins to customize them to the enemy and environment. Genetically modify your body through dozens of Plasmid Stations scattered throughout the city, empowering you with fantastic and often grotesque abilities. Explore a living world powered by Ecological A.I., where the inhabitants have interesting and consequential relationships with one another that impact your gameplay experience. Experience truly next generation graphics that vividly illustrate the forlorn art deco city, highlighted by the most detailed and realistic water effects ever developed in a video game. Make meaningful choices and mature decisions, ultimately culminating in the grand question: do you exploit the innocent survivors of Rapture...or save them? [2K Games]
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more... 100
Official Xbox Magazine UK
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
100
100
100
360 Gamer Magazine UK
The most creative and compelling experience of its generation, BioShock is a stunning piece of work. It blends great ideas with brilliant gameplay, a superbly immersive storyline and quite simply gets just about everything right. [Issue #31]
100
Game Chronicles
HOLY SH..! With stunning visuals, immersive sound, and an epic story, BioShock hearkens back to a time of fantasy and wonder, blending elements of Jules Verne and John Carpenter into a cinematic masterpiece of sci-fi horror that you won’t want to miss. I can’t think of any game more deserving of a perfect ten than BioShock.
100
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.
100
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100
Game Revolution
Bioshock is that rare game where the plot, environment, and combat are all steps above the normal video game experience. Games at their very best, like this one, can create amazing alternative worlds for us to inhabit, doing those things we can't do in real life. This is one product the free market should be very happy to have.
100
AceGamez
You'll notice really small but crucial touches throughout your descent in Rapture that make it easily one of the most engaging, fun and unique shooters of any console. Whether you're looking for an action game, an adventure game, a good story, a unique concept, or hell, even an RPG, BioShock's brilliant campaign will make you realize that the first person shooter genre can and needs to be so much more than it is.
100
X360 Magazine UK
BioSchock is amazing. Not only are its visuals, music, sound, gameplay and plot superb, but it's highly polished and runs beautifully on the 360 without any noticeable drop in frame rate. [Issue 23, p.70]
100
100
G4 TV
100
Gaming Age
Everyone will play it differently, and have a different experience. Some like myself will find it drenched in tension and atmosphere, having run into many a situation where the poop was scared out of me. Others, like a friend of mine, will claim that its intuitiveness, combative freedom, and creativity puts it above the spiritual predecessor "System Shock 2," and wonder at how convincing the whole affair can be.
100
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100
VideoGamer
It's not just the fact that BioShock is a real looker, or the fact that as a first-person shooter alone it stands up to all of its competitors; it's the thought and craftsmanship that went into realising Rapture, its emotionally-jarring denizens and its compelling and seamless narrative that pushes you willingly forward from chapter-to-chapter.
100
Xboxic
There are very few games that can provide a universe so intriguing that they force players to ask themselves questions about their own morality and decision making in the medium of video games. It’s easy to see that many gamers will walk away from their Xbox 360s having played BioShock feeling some emotional attachment to the events that unfolded right before their eyes and for that 2K Boston have succeeded in their goal.
100
Electronic Gaming Monthly
This is a beautiful-looking game. This is a beautiful-sounding game. And this is a beautifully designed game with a story and atmosphere that sticks with you long after you've emerged. [Oct 2007, p.96]
100
GameShark
It's a tale of moral imperative, the nature of man, tragedy, betrayal, right, wrong, and the gray that lives in-between. And if you're not interested in the depth its story line explores, it's also an immaculate action game, with enough ways to bludgeon, maim, and blow stuff up to hold you over until "Halo 3" arrives.
100
games(TM)
In the vast majority of games, and particularly first-person shooters, quality is entirely dependent on minutiae such as weapon choice and enemy variety. In Bioshock these are merely details, adornments to a far deeper and more complete experience than any game since "Half-Life 2." [Oct 2007, p.104]
100
100
Maxi Consolas (Portugal)
An excellent mix between FPS, RPG and adventure, Bioshock challenges conventions to bring us a game where the choices available to the player are the focus of its innovative and creative gameplay. It’s not a perfect game, but it’s without a doubt an unforgettable experience. The main candidate to the GOTY award rests its case. [Sept 2007, p.59]
100
Destructoid
Rapture is so thoroughly realized that it genuinely feels like a place that very well could exist -- not so much something created by the art and design team, but rather lifted from some preexisting pocket of hell deep under the ocean. It's an absolutely stunning game with some of the best graphics you're likely to see on the 360, bringing to life the gorgeous art deco environs of the city.
100
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100
GameTap
BioShock is one of the few games that I’ve reviewed in my entire career that I feverishly want to go back through and play again to not only enjoy the dynamics of the gameplay, but also appreciate all of the effort put into a great story and an amazing underwater city named Rapture, which sucks you into its world the second you step through its doors.
100
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99
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98
98
Play.tm
By far and away the very pinnacle of first-person shooters, with 2K achieving those heady heights by braving to not just push against established genre barriers and expectations but to rip them out and place BioShock atop the pile as a landmark pseudo-RPG first-person shooter that will be a benchmark of quality for many years to come. Staggering.
98
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97
Game Almighty
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.
97
97
Xbox360Achievements
A modern day gaming masterpiece. Simply put, it's one of the greatest games of the current era and serves as a high watermark that may not be surpassed for years to come. From the compelling plot and completely convincing atmosphere to the fantastic graphics and attention to detail, Bioshock is the total package.
96
96
Talk Xbox
With strong voice acting, a solid array of weapons and abilities at your disposal, a great score, wonderfully creepy atmosphere, beautifully detailed environments, nearly unparalleled art-design, solid game-play and an engine that runs smooth as silk, BioShock stands testament to just what the term "next-generation" should mean.
96
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95
GamerNode
If you're looking for another run 'n gun game to play while you chug down a few Cokes, you'll probably be better off not picking BioShock up. If you want a good game you can play in the dark, immerse yourself in, and love well-crafted plots and great writing, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't go get BioShock tomorrow morning.
95
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95
Play Magazine
The first-person shooter is, simply, one of the best games ever made. [Oct 2007, p.86]
95
95
NZGamer
The graphics are amazing; the audio is possibly even more stunning; the sheer cohesiveness of the world of Rapture is absurdly impressive; the gameplay is very tight, polished, frantic, and fun; and all of these elements combine to create an experience that is even greater than the sum of its (already remarkable) parts. This is simply a game that everyone needs to play.
95
95
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93
Just RPG
Without a doubt, BioShock is a shoe-in for hordes of Game of the Year nominations. It’s certainly among my favorite titles of the year, and I highly recommend it to all gamers, whether you’ve got an Xbox 360 or a gaming PC. If you haven’t played it yet, then I suggest you at least go out and give the demo a try.
92
The New York Times
While BioShock has an intriguing back story, the game’s episodic, mission-based structure lacks the propulsive momentum of games like "Half-Life" or "Max Payne." The story is better than that of many action games, but BioShock’s gameplay and visuals are so utterly brilliant that it is a shame it fails to reach the same level of greatness in its storytelling.
92
Pelit (Finland)
BioShock gets everything right with the storyline and the setting. Rapture is a seriously creepy place to be in. While the combat differs from a standard first person shooter, Bioshock's extra tricks do not require much creative thinking. The same routine of hacking everything in sight to bits and setting oil slicks on fire just keeps on repeating over and over again. A pity, really. [Sept 2007]
92
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Games Master UK
BioShock feels too long, even though it's actually not. This is the result of your being given too many item-collection goals, which will often mean backtracking for those who've been diligent explorers. [Oct 2007, p.64]
92
Worth Playing
92
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NTSC-uk
Flawed though it may be, it's one of the most atmospheric first-person games ever made and perhaps the standout title of the generation so far. Dazzling, thought provoking, compelling and engaging, it's an experience which refuses to lessen its hold until you've seen it through to the end, and in doing so, lodges itself in the memory in a way that few other titles can.
90
90
90
GameSpot
Its weak link is its unsatisfying no-skill-required combat, which might aim this one just over the head of the average Halo fan. But if you want to get a little fancy, there's a lot of fun to be had with some of the game's more indirect fighting methods. It builds an amazing atmosphere by using terrific graphics and sound to set a creepy mood. But BioShock's real strengths are as a compelling work of interactive fiction, and as a unique ride through a warped world with some great payoff built into its mysterious plot. If that description has you even the least bit interested, you won't be disappointed one bit.
90
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Total Video Games
Trying to usurp "System Shock II" in the scary stakes is no easy feat, and whilst Bioshock doesn't quite manage to replicate the fear I remember in 1999, it does have its moments. Plenty of times I found myself eager to progress, but at the same time, terrified to take a step further in fear of what lay ahead.
90
85
Hardcore Gamer Magazine
BioShock has a surprisingly deep and vivid storyline. It doesn't just throw you a few curveballs; it refines how stories are told in gaming. [Nov 2007, p.50]
80
Edge Magazine
If only the mechanics matched the atmosphere. If only Rapture was a less linear world to move through. If only BioShock was the wholly brilliant experience you know, from your moments within it, it could have been.[Oct 2007, p.88]
The average user rating for this game is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 911 User Votes Kent Lassen gave it a5: dominik j gave it a7: Chris R. gave it a10: Dom S gave it a10: Nicholas H. gave it a5: Paul W. gave it a10: Ben I. gave it an8: |
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