At first, cramming two demos--one hands-on and one hands-off--into our time at Take Two seemed unwise but it ended up being the perfect way to illustrate how the game gradually ramps up the action, taking the payer from being an ordinary Joe to a gun-toting, plasmid-wielding action hero.
The first demo took place fairly well into the game, and was being used to illustrate the many different ways you can attack your foes. In this particular section of the game, you have to hold off attackers long enough for a machine behind you to finish processing an agent that will refoliate all of the trees in the area. The lab has several doors, so you must defend yourself on several fronts.
You can, of course, take the direct approach and simply shoot your foes. You can freeze them, then shatter them with a melee weapon. You can set them on fire, then use telekinesis to throw them into other enemies, thus setting them on fire, you can set a tornado-type trap that will blow enemies skyward when they trip it, and of course you can use all of these things in combination.
The action was varied, exciting, and intense, but it was also a little overwhelming. There was so much going on that I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to play through the game on an easier setting, but the actual hands-on part of the demonstration quickly put those concerns to rest.
The hands-on started at the beginning of the game. Having managed to survive a plane crash, you swim for the only bit of civilization visible--a lighthouse. Once inside, you descend in a bathyscape into the would-be Utopia of Rapture, where you begin to learn a bit about the plot of the game.
BioShock introduces you to the world of Rapture and its denizens slowly enough to let you absorb and understand what you're being told, but not so slow that you feel bored or impatient. You learn about Rapture's history and current situation through a nice blend of showing and telling. You'll witness some unfortunate fool attack a Little Sister, only to be severely punished by a Big Daddy. You'll be told about plasmids and the damage they did to the society.
This all happens in a very fluid and easy to grasp way, so that by the time you actually get your first plasmid, you're very comfortable getting around Rapture and defending yourself. Plot points and control options are doled out at a steady, but not overhwleming, pace, so that you have time to drink in the atmosphere, and hoo boy, is there plenty of that.
Did I mention how freakin' gorgeous this game is? No? It's freakin' gorgeous, gang. Walking through Rapture is a sensory experience so complete that you can't helped but be somewhat in awe of it.
This game can't come out quickly enough.
