BioShock [X360]

This is not a "reload when you die" game. You only really have to save when you're quitting for the day, which will most likely be far later than you intended. You can, however, save anywhere and you can adjust the difficulty level as you play. This is an eminently accessible game, built so as not to frustrate even the most casual player. Maps are always available, locations are believably labeled in the game, and a helpful arrow will often point the way. If that's not enough, there are hints available that spell out exactly where you have to go and what you have to do.

Not that BioShock is ever confusing. It's not even interested in puzzles. There's not a single "puzzle" in the entire game. There are a few four-digit keycodes to look out for (including the single best instance we've ever seen of this gimmick!), but BioShock is built to move, move, move as much as you want it to. You set the pace, not the game designer.

Unfortunately, the final hour of BioShock is its weakest. In terms of the story, the ending is great. But in terms of gameplay, it's entirely conventional and doesn't do justice to one of BioShock's coolest twists. There are also some curious interface oversights. It's impossible to get certain information about your character unless you're standing at the right dispenser, for instance. This is probably an attempt to streamline the gameplay, but it ends up muddying it instead.

The most salient fact about BioShock is that it's different. If it doesn't sell well, perhaps it's time to abandon hope and resign ourselves to the eternal recurrence of space dungeons and World War II. Games like BioShock are what we need. They are what we deserve. This is one of the best examples of where we should go. It's silly to argue whether games are art, which doesn't matter one whit, when you can simply point to BioShock and say: "Games are this."