BioShock vs. Halo 3 (Features)

GamePro staff, GamePro (online)

12/10/2007 09:27:21

Innovation

BioShock: A strong vein of innovation runs throughout BioShock, from the mix-and-match Plasmid abilities, to the environmental interactions (such as melting ice and setting fires), to the reliance on moral choices. Even the Art Deco art direction is an extremely inspired and distinctive design choice.

Yet, for all its contributions to the first-person shooter canon, BioShock is steeped in tradition. Its fundamental gameplay is based strongly on System Shock and System Shock 2, with some influences from the Deus Ex and Thief series. BioShock refines these ideas, in some cases, so much so that they're almost unrecognizable.

Halo 3: Recently, reporters from news magazines have called GamePro editors looking for insight into the Halo 3 success story. They usually ask "What's so special about Halo 3? It just looks like another shooter." To the untrained eye, this is true. But if you know where to look, you'll see that Halo 3 is one of the more ground-breaking games released, and its innovations are tied almost exclusively to its cutting-edge online community.

The result is spectacular. Beyond Halo 3's massive online battles lies something far more interesting: a toolset. Bungie has loaded Halo 3 with impressive tools, such as the ability to save a match and replay it from any angle, or build a new in-game power-up and upload it to all your buddies. Even more impressive is the new Forge mode, in which up to 16 players can simultaneously collaborate on editing a level; swapping out vehicles, changing weapon placements, removing or adding scenery, and other more radical changes. Forge isn't quite as full-featured as a dedicated level editor like Unreal 3.0, but for most gamers, it's more than enough. The ability to share and promote these creations, via Bungie's Favorites, is quite simply a masterstroke.

WINNER: Halo 3. This one was agonizingly close - BioShock expands so many storyline and gameplay conventions that it's tempting to give it the lead. But Halo 3 offers a still-groundbreaking online service, map and game editing via Forge, file sharing, four-player online co-op, community features....the list goes on and on. Both games are true innovators, but Halo 3 is a vision of the future of video games. And the future is online.

Replayability

BioShock: Though it lacks any kind of multiplayer mode, BioShock is in fact a highly replayable game. Depending on what weapons you upgrade, what Plasmids you find and focus on, and what secrets you uncover, you could end up with vastly different play styles. Sure, the story and general sequence of events isn't going to change, but the way you approach each objective can be hugely different.

Many players, for instance, focus on creating a battle-hardened character with powerful weapons, damage-inflicting Plasmids, and protective abilities. But another, equally viable build would focus on bypassing security, turning turrets on enemies, and sneaking through the game with as little combat as possible. That's mark of a truly replayable game. Three difficulty settings help make your second (or third) playthrough a bit more memorable.

Halo 3: Halo 3 will thrive online for years. Halo 2's servers are still massively populated now, some three years after its release. The Halo series has the longest lifespan of any console shooter, and Halo 3 is set to continue this trend. With four-player online cooperative play, an online multiplayer community that falls short only to World of Warcraft, and its custom map and game editor, Halo 3 could be the most replayable game ever released. 'Nuff said.

WINNER: Halo 3, by leaps and bounds. We'll be playing it for years.

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