BioShock: The Collection brings all three games in the BioShock series (that is, BioShock, BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinite) together in a remastered collection with enhanced graphics, downloadable content, season pass bonuses and well received exclusive campaigns, Minerva’s Den and Burial at Sea.
In today’s world of Blu-ray discs and 4K gaming, it is difficult for older video games to keep up with demand and compete with fresh, new games. Remastering popular video games keeps each title alive and allows gamers to continue to play the games they love on newer consoles. BioShock: The Collection is one of those games.
Considered a classic of the past decade, BioShock, still proves captivating with its exciting gameplay and a story that is riveting. Set in 1960, BioShock introduces players to Rapture, an underwater city built with the intention of being an isolated utopia. However, the discovery of the genetic material known as ADAM, which granted superhuman abilities, led to the city’s decline. Players play as Jack, a crash-landing survivor who winds up in Rapture and must find a way to escape by defeating hordes of ADAM addicts and Big Daddies (who appear as large unstoppable underwater suit wearing, creatures). Essentially this game provides players with a sense of playing a first person shooter, survival horror, RPG, which is rather unique and appealing.
With the game being remastered, fans are able to relive the excitement of playing what has been considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time. It is hard to believe that BioShock is about a decade old from the way the game appears to still come across as fresh and fun.
BioShock 2 brings players back to the now desolate city of Rapture, this time playing as a Big Daddy with dual wielding abilities as opposed to the hefty and inflexible one-two mechanics of BioShock. Under the helm of a different developer to the original brainchild of BioShock, BioShock 2 seemingly improves on the original game’s mechanics and offers a different perspective and take on the BioShock world, though the visual improvements of this remastered version are more subtle compared to the original game.
BioShock Infinite sees the series back in the hands of the original developers, Irrational Games. While following similar themes to BioShock, BioShock Infinite is set in Columbia, a city in the sky that is under tyrannical rule.
A much more modern game set in a brighter and more vibrant city, the increased resolutions in the remastered version of BioShock Infinite makes Columbia look simply stunning. As a whole, BioShock Infinite involves a much bigger storyline, with an appealing art style and a more refined gameplay experience that sets itself apart from its predecessors. Though it is important to consider that without the story (in any of the games), gameplay can feel rather repetitive and boring.
BioShock: The Collection is great as a single collection of all three games, especially as it includes two incredible DLCs. The collection looks great and is perfect for anyone new to the series or who simply wants to re-play the BioShock games on their new consoles. However, for a remastered collection, there isn’t much that’s ‘new’ and exciting, which can be a let down to some.