BioShock -- Four Points To Creating Dynamic Gameplay.

I have completed the first playthrough of BioShock having saved every Little Sister and received what has to be considered the good ending. So how did BioShock fair in kicking off the season? Quite smashingly I'd have to say. It has an exceptionally dynamic feeling. This dynamic feeling is at the very core of BioShock's gameplay. That's due to the developer's use of four aspects in their design. Those four aspects are weapons, plasmids, enemy AI, and level design. The weapons in the game are very much representative of all the standards. You have the wrench for melee, a pistol, machine-gun, grenade launcher, crossbow, and flame-thrower. What's different and dynamic here is the varied types of ammo each weapon can hold. Each weapon beyond the wrench can hold three ammo types. Plasmids allow for special powers beyond your weaponry very much in the vein of magic in a role playing game. The Plasmids are Incinerate, Electro Bolt, Winter Blast, Enrage, Target Dummy, Insect Swarm, Hypnotize Big Daddy, Security Bullseye, Cyclone Trap, and Telekinesis. They go beyond their role playing game magic counterparts because of how the enemy AI reacts to their uses. Incinerate would just be a fireball with damage over time aspects in another genre but within BioShock the chaos that ensues when it's used on or near multiple enemies somehow makes for a far more dynamic feel. And it's because of the enemy AI. How they react to even what type of weapon you're using against them and how they react to being hit by each ammo or plasmid type. Running around on fire looking for water to put themselves out. Not finding any and running over an oil spill igniting it which sets another enemy on fire. Realizing they're not going to live and making a last ditch effort to take you with them by charging and trying to latch on to you. While the other enemy on fire stumbles off into the range of a security camera causing it to relase the security drones. This is fostered by the level design. There are pools of water and oil spills and security cameras and other environmental factors all over the place that go into always making sure there are numerous ways to deal with any given situation. You have to take into account the surroundings, the enemy type, the weapons and ammo, and plasmids. And you have to be able to adjust on the fly to all the chaos that results. Not to mention other enemies  and Big Daddies entering the fray at any given time.  It all adds up to provide one of the most dynamic gameplay experiences I've ever had. The gameplay is pure fun and greatness. Which is saying a lot coming from a genre renowned for flipping switches and strafe and shoot through to the end. But the gameplay isn't the only charm to be found in BioShock, the story really shines despite a misstep here or there, but that's for next time...