BioShock [Game Review]

Last night I finished BioShock. It’s the first FPS I’ve played in a while,  and it really pulled me in. I’ve been recommending it to friends who have yet to play it, and I’m happy to add it to my list of favorite games.

I’ll have to admit, I was a little disappointed in the ending. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say a little about how the final moment of BioShock let me down.

I am new to the franchise, and I got the first two games as part of a bundle after Christmas. With all the advertising for BioShock Infinite slapping me in the face everywhere I look, I decided it was time to give my own copy of the first game a spin. I loved the game, I still do, it’s really great. The problem lies in the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ endings, and how the game decides you get which one. I spent the vast majority of the game making the ‘good’ decision (I won’t go into detail here, even though it isn’t spoilery, just in case.) However, because I didn’t understand what I was doing, and a wrong button press, I did make the ‘bad’ choice twice, I think. Apparently that was all it took.

Even if I had gotten the desired ‘good’ ending (the bad one made me feel like a schmuck, even though I really didn’t do anything), something about the ending was lacking. After fighting my way through the game and winning the boss battle, I think the ending was a little rushed, and perhaps without as much emotion as it could have had. I don’t feel like things were really resolved.

There is a sequel, of course, which I have downloading to my computer as I type this. I don’t know anything about it, really. So maybe more will be revealed then. Perhaps what I feel is lacking in resolution in the first game will be addressed in BioShock 2.

Despite the not so fabulous ending, BioShock is a really fun game, a great FPS, and it has some deep emotional moments. When your eyes get tired from all that reading, take a break and play it. It’s so worth it.

The Resurrectionist, by E. B. Hudspeth

The wonderful people at Quirk sent me a copy of the gorgeous book to read and review, so let’s not waste any time!

Just like the information on the book says, it’s really two books in one. The first half of the book is a biography of fictional scientist Spencer Black. (He has a brother named Bernard Black, and all I can think of is the BBC comedy Black Books.) The biographical information is presented so well that sometimes I had to remind myself that I was reading about a fictional person.

In full disclosure, I have to say that I was a little disappointed by some of the story’s progression. Without spoiling anything, I can say that things lean persistently to the scientific angle, and less of a fantasy angle. This is not bad, just not what I was expecting.

The second half of the book, Spencer Black’s Codex Extinct Animalia, is really the selling point of the book. The illustrations are amazingly beautiful, and look just like anatomical illustrations. They look as though they could be plastered around a doctor’s office, right at home with a drug label on them.

But what is possibly the best part about the illustrations is that their realism can be seen as a resource. Artists and authors could find them very useful in giving their art and stories a little more practicality. It is from this that Hudspeth’s books gets its real beauty. After finishing the book, I feel as though my knowledge has been expanded, and what I read really matters.

The only real problem I had with the book was some lack of detail in the biography. I feel as though some aspects weren’t explored as well as they could have been. Hudspeth has a neat trick for leaving out some of the details – he chalks it up to lack of historical evidence. It works well for the story, but it still leaves me feel as though there’s more to know. it could even be on purpose. I would definitely buy a sequel, were one to be written.

The bottom line is this: The Resurrectionist is a beautiful book with an engaging storyline and in depth, realistic illustrations. All lovers of books, fantasy, and mythological creatures, need this on their shelves. I’m very proud to give it a home in my collection.