BioShock vs. Halo 3 (Features)

GamePro staff, GamePro (online)

12/10/2007 09:27:21

Sound

BioShock: Drip-drip-drip-drip: the steady, almost maddening drip of seawater is a constant companion. Be it the room-shaking footsteps of a Big Daddy or the shrilling screams of a rampaging Splicer, much of BioShock's black ambience is woven through its splendidly complex audio track.

Composer Garry Schyman orchestrates a suspenseful yet minimalistic soundtrack that helps to emphasize the game's time period and setting; period pop music floats through the waterlogged hallways, and gaudy carnival music spews out of Circus of Values vending machines. It's a feast for the ears, but it's never excessive or out-of-place.

Halo 3: Halo already hosts one of the most popular video-game title tracks of all time ("buh-buh-buh-buuuuh..."). But for the third game in the series, Halo 3 composer Marty O'Donnell waited to score some of the most significant moments in the game until very late in the development process. The result: a more grounded, tightly knit feeling to the music. Like its predecessors, Halo 3 uses its soundtrack to highlight the emotions of the cinematic scenes. In this way, Halo 3 is truly the Star Wars of video games, as much of the emotional heavy lifting is done through the orchestral soundtrack and less through the acting and script.

The nuts and bolts are also impressive. With crisp 5.1 spatial effects and distinctive positional audio on weapons fire, Halo 3's sound effects tilt towards the pragmatic. They're not fancy or elaborate, but they're instantly recognizable. In essence, they work.

WINNER: BioShock, but it was ever-so-close to a tie. Think of it as comparing a beer to a wine: Halo 3's theme song and sound effects are timeless, but BioShock's multi-layered sounds are marvelously complex and linger far after the game is over. We give BioShock the edge.

Arsenal

BioShock: Here, it's all about the Plasmids. As your genetic skills improve, you're able to equip powerful gene-boosting abilities called "Plasmids." Early Plasmids allow you to sling electricity, fire, and ice, but later models allow you to control killer bees, hypnotize enemies, and redirect security cameras.

The physical weapons are a bit more standard fare: pistols, shotguns, machine guns, and grenade launchers. What makes them special is the way you use them in conjunction with your Plasmid abilities to create useful combinations. A simple example: stun an enemy with Electro Volt, then swap to your handgun and give your foe a point-blank headshot. There are many, many more combinations, but you get the gist of it. BioShock's conventional arsenal gets another unconventional twist through the use of rare specialty ammunition, such as armor-piercing and electricity-infused rounds. Then there are the weapon upgrade stations, which allow you to increase damage, clip size, and other attributes.

Halo 3: Being the third game in a wildly popular series, it would've been easy for developer Bungie Studios to focus on adding a few bells and whistles, such as online co-op and matchmaking updates. Instead, Bungie blew the whole thing out of the water, not only tweaking old favorites, but adding plenty of new guns, vehicles, explosives, and new items in the form of deployable equipment.

Halo 3 is easily the most creative and ambitious game in the series from a weapons perspective, so much so, in fact, that it seemed initially overwhelming: Early on, we worried that the new weapons and equipment would drown out the classic Halo feel and turn it into a chaotic mess. On the contrary, the new additions have actually strengthened the game's core gameplay be emphasizing rock-paper-scissors strategies. Under fire? Drop a Bubble Shield. Blocked by a Bubble Shield? Find a shotgun and breach the field to slay the now-helpless occupant. Halo 3 could be the most diverse multiplayer game ever released, and its huge, balanced arsenal is the star of the show.

WINNER: Halo 3, but not by much. There's no denying BioShock's creativity and flexibility, but Halo 3's massive arsenal works like a well-oiled machine.

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