It's was nearly a year and a half ago that Bioshock graced the industry and landed as an exclusive on Microsoft's Xbox 360 snagging many of 2007's awards, including the game of the year. Turn the clock to October 2008 however, and 2K and Digital Extremes have brought the dark undersea shooter to the Playstation 3 with a few added bonuses to the eagerly waiting Playstation owners. Bioshock tells a nightmarish tale of an unnamed protagonist who finds himself trapped in a city eating itself from the inside out. Armed with whatever you can find, you fight to uncover what drove this once underwater city gem, to a festering coffin of ruin and decay; but if bullets no longer pose a threat, genetic modification will be the only way to survive in the ocean's fathomless abyss. With standards from the previous version set well above outstanding, this late release of Bioshock would really have to give its all in order to claim its rightful place along side its Xbox twin and live up to the unprecedented adoration the first game achieved. This brings us to the question of whether or not the Playstation version is all the original is cracked up to be.

You find yourself traveling by airplane above the black Pacific Ocean in the dead of night. After a brief moment of nostalgia and reminisce of a life long past, a petrifying explosion brings the plane from the sky into the inky-black waters. Upon resurfacing amidst the skeleton of the metal bird and raging flames, you find a tall lighthouse looms over you. Instinctively it is the best place to be, or is it? Before you have time to think twice you are thrown into a world of rotting decay; a world were morality is tossed to the fish in exchange for rapid evolution and unconventional abilities.

Luckily, an enigmatic man named Atlas offers you his helping hand in surviving what lurks in the deep end. It is not long before he becomes your full on tour guide via a short way radio and helps you to navigate through the undivided chaos that is Rapture. As the story unravels around you, you will discover that Rapture was once a utopia for the artist and working man, and is the brainchild of a Mr. Andrew Ryan, the creator and owner of the impossible underwater city. Yet his neglect for everything but the corner stone of industry comes at a high price; one that all the oceans water cannot wash away. The sins and crimes that haunt the halls of Andrew Ryan's underwater hell are here to stay.

Holding true to the original title, the game grips you from the very moment you step out of the bathysphere and into Rapture. Blood stained walls, collapsed roofing and leaking windows all underline the toll society has paid for playing God. Furniture sprawled across rooms in awkward places and positions leave only vague memories of a life of normality that once was. The game presents the era in a brilliant light and stops at nothing to make sure that you are immersed as much as possible in the soaring sixties. Whether it be the fascinating advertisements that line the city's interior or the iconic fashion trends that are sported by men and women alike, each minute detail adds up and really brings the feeling of a bustling 1960’s city to life. However, what good are fine details without the overarching display of environments? The locales through which you traverse and explore are all in themselves alive with culture. Whether you are enjoying the rolling hills of an undersea forest or walking the silenced halls of once thriving theater, each brings a new perspective as to what went wrong in the city. All the visuals collaborate with one another to form a grand master piece of depth and immersion. The game is still arguably one of the best-looking titles on the market, and coincides with the story and rich atmosphere. Texture pop-ins happen a tad too frequently, but is nothing more then minor chip on the statue of David.