Best of the Decade: Bioshock
Wed, January 12, 2011 at 11:09 PM 
Bioshock
Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3
Release Date: August 21, 2007
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Irrational Games
Bioshock is a masterpiece of interactive storytelling. From the moment your plane mysteriously plummets into the ocean and you're forced to swim through its flaming wreckage to take refuge inside an ominous lighthouse, you know you're in for a special experience. The descent into Rapture in the bathysphere, with Andrew Ryan's captivating speech welcoming you to his dilapidated wonderland, is perhaps my favorite opening in gaming history.
Luckily, the game doesn't let up after its introduction. Through a mix of subtle environmental clues, creepy audio diaries, and infrequent dialog with the few other humans left alive, Bioshock delivers an engrossing narrative that actually uses the interactive nature of the game to its advantage in one of the best story twists ever seen in a game.
While you're exploring this fallen paradise, you'll be kept interested by the many ways you can creatively off your enemies. From traditional weapons, which can each be upgraded for added kick, to the bizarre plasmids, which give you powers that would seem nearly magical if it weren't for their dangerous origin, you'll never lack get bored between story revelations.