REVIEW: BioShock: The Collection

You’d be forgiven for glazing over when a game developer starts talking about remastering old ‘classics’. This generation has been filled to the brim with them, from games like Halo to The Last of Us. While those were quite good, we did receive several of them that were not that great. When it comes to BioShock—and to some degree Mass Effect—fans have been dying for a remastered version of the series for some time now. The first game was released in 2007, which makes it the perfect candidate for such a collection because it’s been almost a decade. 2K delivered on this wish, and today we have BioShock: The Collection.

I myself hadn’t played any of these games on console up to this point since they fell below my radar when they launched. So the collection was the perfect opportunity to properly get into the game series. The collection includes BioShock, BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinite, all remastered in 1080p 60 FPS brilliance, using the highest graphics settings available on Xbox One. From the get go, I was quite surprised how well the titles held up against games you might see today. You have to admit, 2K and their studio did a pretty good job back in the day. I remember BioShock Infinite was a free Games with Gold title on Xbox 360 many months ago and it looked great but the Xbox One takes the visuals to the next level. I just couldn’t get into it because the low frame rate severely impacted gameplay. While my experience with the games on PC has been good, the remastered versions on Xbox One appeal to me more. Maybe because my console can actually run the games at a proper frame rate.

However, there are some caveats. BioShock Infinite suffers from some frame rate issues, but should be fixed soon with a patch hopefully.

LSD-Infused Religious Bigotry

BioShock starts off quite jarringly with you traveling to see your family. The plane crashes and you’re stranded on a desolate lighthouse. Funny enough, you’re the only one that survives the ordeal. You go inside the lighthouse and find a pod, and the pod takes you to Rapture. Rapture, the brainchild of a certain Mr. Andrew Ryan, was concocted to give scientists and engineers the freedom to pursue any of their projects without the usual red tape that goes with it.

However, something went very wrong and the city was overrun with mad men and women who keep on singing Christian hymns, with scripture everywhere to be seen. It would seem like the Westborough Baptist Church set up shop, and used some mind control to turn everyone into a murdering bigot.

Gameplay in the first game was quite enjoyable, with an exception of a few controls that needed to be familiarized. I did, however, have an issue moving to the second game, where they unilaterally changed the controller layout, which was quite annoying but I got used to it.

Everyone Needs Daddy

The second BioShock game takes the perfect mix of gameplay and story that the first game mastered, and adds a new twist to the tale. Continuing on from the first game, you find yourself at odds with a scientist, who kidnapped your ‘little sister’ and it’s up to you to save her, or face death. The game tones down the religious overtones and increases the puzzles you need to solve using your special abilities. I found this gameplay style quite enjoyable, unlike some ‘puzzle games’ that focus too much on gunplay or too much on puzzle solving.

BioShock 2 had the perfect mix of all the games in the series. Personally, it’s my favorite in the series, and would highly recommend you play this one after you finished the first one that is.

Heaven’s Racist

That said, playing the first two games won’t prepare you for what happens in the last entry into the series. BioShock Infinite takes whatever nuanced bigotry you might have found in the first games, and blows it up to eleven. You start off by having to throw balls at an interracial couple as a prize, and it won’t stop there. Everywhere you go you find blatant discriminatory imagery in your face. It was something to get used to.

Unlike the first two games, BioShock Infinite takes the excellent gameplay of the first two and dumbs it down to Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed-style mechanics. Forget about using your special abilities, since you can practically play the entire game using only your gun. The additional thrill of hunting ‘little sisters’ is gone and replaced with waves upon waves of gun-toting henchmen.

The story side of BioShock Infinite is also very vague, much like the first game in the series, but unlike the first game it gets you up to speed quickly, whereas Infinite really just pushes you forward through the game without any real reason as to why you’re doing all of this. Sure you’ve been ‘invited’ to Heaven by some unknown person, but pretty soon you’ll find yourself on the barrel end of a machine gun.

Summary

The BioShock collection is definitely one of the better remasters and includes a lot of additional extras that you can explore. However, for me, the collection shines mainly because of the first two games. BioShock Infinite adds little value to the overall package and feels like a half-baked add-on to the overall story arch.

If you haven’t played these games like I have, then this is a no-brainer. Personally, I would wait until the price drops slightly down, because $60 for three remastered games is a bit rich for my blood, especially with a wide range of excellent titles releasing this holiday. With that said, the experience is incredible and the original BioShock remains one of the greatest games ever made in my opinion.