Bioshock demo examined under fanatical microscope
Spoilers? You betcha. After playing the demo the first three times, my awe has finally fallen to a manageable level. What's the next logical step (beyond going to stand in front of a game retailer until the day 2K's masterpiece is finally available)? Why, to scrutinize every bit of the demo for bits and pieces of minutia, clues to the story, and of course things we were too excited to notice the first time.
Before I get into the blow by blow, let me mention that if you are able to watch the title screen for a few minutes, you will actually see a preview for the game that is well worth watching in terms of atmosphere and overall feel for the adventure about to come. As we pan down into our first glimpses of Rapture, the charismatic voice of Andrew Ryan speaks to us for the first time:
"A man has a choice. I chose the impossible. I built a city where the aristt would not fear the censor, where the great would not be constrained by the small, where a scientist would not be bound by petty gravity. I chose to build....Rapture. But my city was betrayed by the weak. So I ask you, my friend...if your life's price was to kill the innocent, would you sacrifice your humanity? We all make choices...but in the end, our choices make us."
Hit the jump if you're ready for more. Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS WITHIN.
Got chills yet? If not, you will. While this speech is happening, you move through the skyscrapers of Rapture until you swiftly move into the back of a man's head, finding your perception for the first time. Your first motion is to pull a child that is squealing in fear out of a circular hole in the wall -- I assume she is one of the Little Sisters. You see your own hands and there is a wrench in the right, which you are hitting against your left hand in a threatening motion towards the little girl. Not a wasted second passes before the bass of the Big Daddy's call shakes you both, and it hits you with terrifying force. After a brief struggle, it drills through your hand and blood flies. You scream and look at your wrists, pull out a hypo and inject yourself. Watching the flesh of your arm erupt into flying wasps and fly at the Big Daddy is a stomach turning moment to be sure, but you don't last long even with such power on your hands. You push the Big Daddy over the railing, and as you stand there looking over at it, another shoves it's drill through your belly from behind, and your last vision is your own blood dripping on the floor.
This scene ends with the chilling image of the Big Daddy's hand reaching down to the Little Sister. Her finger barely can grasp the entire edge of his thumb. There's something deeply fascinating about this concept. Any daughter can relate to the feeling of wanted to be protected by a father, but under the circumstances even this normally comforting relationship appears perverse and disturbing.
You see your character for a few fleeting moments before the horror begins. He is sitting on a plush airplane with red seats, looking at a gift with a card from his parents. He speaks aloud,"They told me,"Son, you're special. You were born to do great things. You know what? They were right." Immediately the screams of the other passengers begin, and the plane goes down. The next thing you know, you're choking on water and surrounded by burning debris. Swimming through the lone gap in the fire, you see two unforgettable sights: One of your airplane sinking quickly into the sea and the other a tremendous dark tower silhouetted against the night sky. You can float in the water and watch the plane sink, or you can swim to the island and try to enter the tower. At this point, the game has a lovely PC adventure feel that I was delighted to see. There aren't enough games that make you feel a true sense of exploration, but Bioshock has it nailed in this opening moment.
The golden doors of the tower stand partially open. As you move inside, they close behind you and the lights of the lobby switch on. Before you is an imposing bust of a man with a angry brow and a red banner that reads,"No gods or kings. Only man." The familiar tune of "Beyond the Sea" plays in the background. There is a plaque on the railing that reads," In what country is there a place for people like me?" - Andrew Ryan". Who is this man? Could he be the frightening face in the bust above?
The circular lobby leads to stairs going down two flights. On the way, there are more powerful art deco motifs of the sun. At the bottom, what appears to be a chamber housing a rounded metal submarine is bordered by medallions on the wall reading "Science", "Industry", and "Art." This seems to be your only option to go further, so you step into the sub and pull the Bathysphere lever.
During your decent, an cartoon-like advertisement screens on the wall first for something called Plasmids and then is taken over by an image of Andrew Ryan. He speaks to us more about the creation of Rapture and the rights of man (if you haven't already, this might be a good time to reread your Ayn Rand novels). When he is finished, we pan through the city. Passing a glass corridor, there is a shadow within which we can clearly see is a Big Daddy as we float over it. A great whale swims below as you begin to hear the voices of a man speaking over a radio about the plane crash. The sub is moving through a circular series of entry portals that read "All good things on this earth flow into the city." An ad for a Telekinesis product is briefly visible before the sub starts to ascend up out of the water.
You hope you've found some place of safety here, but as soon as the sub comes out of the water, you can see before you through the glass window a man in the shadows in a stance of fear, crying,"Don't hurt me! No! Please!" A creature crouches before him and slashes through his stomach in a single clean motion, disemboweling him. As you stand there, the creature says,"Is it someone new?" and proceeds to jump onto the roof of the sub and try to tear into it from the outside. It seems you are done for, but after tearing a hole in the ceiling that is showering sparks on you, the creature seems to give up and leave.
At this point the radio attached the the sub wall by the door has a voice coming from it. When you pick it up,you hear the voice of Atlas, a man who swears his aim is to keep you alive. Is this stranger to be trusted? Who is he and where is he from?
Check the front page tomorrow for chapter two of the Bioshock demo walkthrough.
