Now it’s well known that I am not a fan of first person shooters, thanks to one sorta-working eye. BioShock, however, is the one game that I made an exception for. I first played it when it was released on the 360 and fell in love with the plot and the moral choices you have to make (yes, I saved the Little Sisters, every single one). Recently though, prompted mainly by the release of BioShock 2 on Tuesday, I wanted to revisit Rapture. So I picked up the newly released Mac version (ported by Feral Interactive) and have been remembering exactly why I love the game so much.

At its heart, BioShock is a sci fi shooter set in a steampunk, retro city under the sea but it’s more than that. Many shooters are all about the action that they neglect the world and the storyline, well BioShock does all it can to correct this imbalance. You get awesome weapons, a huge collection of Plasmids (gene-based enhancements which let you use telekinesis or freeze enemies) and one of the most compelling stories ever seen in a video game.

You see Rapture began as an aquatic paradise, a city where scientists, artists and thinkers could pursue their projects without being impeded by society’s predispositions. This ultimately led to genetic manipulation after the discovery of a substance called ADAM, found in a sea slug native to the ocean floor, and the creation of Little Sisters and their protective guardians, the Big Daddies. But Rapture itself, the dream of Andrew Ryan, eventually fell and is now  shadow of its former glory, controlled by different factions. Splicers – the mad shadows of the ADAM addicted populace – roam the city, as do Big Daddies and their tiny charges.

The game itself puts you in the shoes of Jack, the lone survivor of a plane crash that just happened to leave him within swimming distance of an isolated lighthouse. Inside is a bathysphere which allows him access to Rapture and, taken under the wing of the kindly Atlas, he begins to explore the vast city as well as learning more about its history and downfall.

There are no great differences graphically and, because this is a port, no extra content either. But BioShock is one of the few games which doesn’t need it.  Indeed I was quite surprised how well it runs on both my iMac and MacBook Pro, the graphics are easily on a par with the 360 version of the game and definitely surpass the later, PS3 incarnation.  The controls too are quite different and I actually find it easier to play using a keyboard and mouse over a control pad.

Changing weapons and plasmids is simply a matter of scrolling and clicking the right or left mouse button. You move using the keyboard and open doors or replenish health with a couple of other keys, all quite memorable. However I especially like how, when you are faced with the moral dilemma of a Little Sister, that the two keys you can press, one for harvest and the other for rescue, are very far away from one another. You cannot claim you accidentally pressed the wrong button, the moral choice is blunt and you cannot get out of owning up to your actions because of layout.

So there!

One of the things I loved about BioShock the first time around, was that the story is not spoon-fed, you need to look for it – and sometimes off the beaten track. At the same time it’s all around you, on the walls, on the loading screen and in the form of audio diaries left lying around the city. The walls themselves are covered with adverts for places to visit in Rapture or plasmids you will unlock later in the game, there are even some for the Little Sister’s Orphanage which reveals the origins of the Big Daddies little charges. But plasmid use has also led to visions of ghosts and this is the final method of learning about the world of Rapture, every so often the screen will go static-y and ghosts will appear. Sometimes you get a glimpse of past events, or else a hint of where to go.

My favourite part of the game is in the final section where Jack must undergo a painful, drawn-out transformation into a Big Daddy, it remains emotive but also puts into stark contrast the pain and suffering endured in the name of protecting the Little Sisters. However it also explains more about the Little Sisters themselves and their relationship with their protectors – essentially each pair are father and daughter, a special bond which cannot be severed. This metamorphosis also sets the scene for the final showdown. If you’re looking to return to Rapture next week, replaying BioShock is a must, if only to appreciate the complexities of such an amazing game.