Okay...

So, from the standpoint of plot, atmosphere, and general mechanics, this is pretty much everything in Metro 2033 and a new narrative. Sneak around unfriendly bases, run away from horrible monsters, and manage your resources carefully, it's pretty much what you'd expect and you wouldn't be disappointed by that, but with regard to execution?...Bozhe moi...

Stealth has been simplified to light and dark, visible and invisible. Your stealth status is shown on your watch as the big, bluish white rectangle. On if you're about to get shot to death, off and you virtually don't exist, which makes stealth sort of like an Elder Scrolls game (hilariously broken). You have a context-sensitive, nonlethal takedown where, if you get close enough to an enemy, oblivious or even actively shooting at you, it's possible to mash E and punch him in the face for a silent neutralization. Enemy AI is on par with Metro 2033 which isn't great; it's servicable in combat, but absolutely retarded when otherwise preoccupied.

I played this game on Ranger Hardcore, which disabled all HUD functionality. However, since suit interactions are simplified, you can not check the fullness of any magazine fed weapons, see how much over all equipment and munitions you have left, whether or not you're using dirty or military 5.56, or even see what grenade type is currently chosen as knives and grenades are set to a single button. These are particularly agregious oversights especially considering this is the difficulty for which the game was tuned.

These niggling details constantly hop in the way of the fun train, which is an apt comparison because the game is, again a linear adventure like Half Life or it's predecessor.

Also: there is no VSS, and that makes me eleven levels of angry.

It's okay, though...Definitely not sixty bucks okay, but maybe thirty or something.

As filthy, casual gamer scum, I played the Bioshock games before this one.

This kind of makes them look like baby's-first action RPG. I mean, this one even has a manageable inventory, and it's like thirty years old.

It also makes me realize that Dead Space, while a fun Resident Evil 4 romp, had absolutely no original ideas and blatantly ripped System Shock off.

People harp on this game's brutality, but I think they're exaggerating. If you're the type that snubs his nose at Dead Space and Bioshock, you'll feel right at home here. Being careful with ammo and resources and the constant threat of levels you've cleared magically refilling with horrible, horrible hybrids, it's what those games wanted to do but were too busy being accessible.

...But the big daddy fights in the first Bioshock were cool. There's not much of that in this, but whatever.

Pretty neat game, but really should not have been called Bioshock. It lacks the thematic plot elements, atmosphere, game style...Actually, the only thing that it has in common with any of the previous games is the structure of progression: here's a door you can't get through so look around in this general area to open it up repeated ad nauseum.

Otherwise, it stands up strongly. The level design is usually the strongest point; the places you fight have really interesting geometry. Along with the aggressive enemy AI, it forces the player to move and think quickly, but also allows lots of fun ways to navigate said terrain (strongly punctuated by the skyhook mechanic). Fighting itself is really entertaining, despite they guns being generally boring. There's a wide variety of firearms, but half of them are Vox Populi remixes of ideas you've already seen for the first half of the game with Founder weapons. The powers are slightly better, but range from being similarly samey to indicative of laziness.

It's a great game overall. The atmosphere is top-notch and the narrative is pretty bold for an AAA game (your mileage may vary with its impact), but just don't play it expecting anything from previous [variable]shock games.