The game's generally linear, but you're allowed to go off the beaten path to scour for items and audio logs that reveal more of the people and history of Rapture. You'll always be rewarded for exploring, and you'll often see things that you wouldn't have seen if you followed the quest arrow religiously. You'll get different endings depending on how you treat the Little Sisters. There are a lot of reasons to go back in for another dip, but the main reason will be your urge to play through it again, because the experience is incredible.

The game does have its fair share of issues. The way BioShock ramps up the difficulty toward the latter half of the game is simply cheap and lazy – splicers you've seen before are issued stronger weapons and can take more damage for whatever reason. However, issues like these can be overlooked. BioShock's more than the sum of its parts. The atmosphere, the gameplay, and the story work together. If any of these elements were lacking, the game would be a far weaker product. Amazingly, it doesn't fail in any aspect. BioShock is the game we've been waiting for years for and, for System Shock fans, about a decade. BioShock shows how far this industry has gotten and reconfirms videogames as the best form of entertainment out there.