The most eagerly anticipated game of the year, against arguably the most pleasantly surprising one. If you own them both, you’d be forgiven for not leaving your Xbox 360’s side until Christmas. But which developer’s magnum opus is better; Bungie’s or 2K’s? Well, I endeavoured to find out.
Gameplay
Obviously, they are both FPSs, but you’d struggle to find two more different examples than Halo 3 and BioShock. Both are tactical; in Halo, your tactical decisions are about how to taclke a battle, and in BioShock, it’s about how many ways you can think of to bring down a Big Daddy. Also, both are taut and engaging and have been brilliantly thought out. However, BioShock’s Plasmids easily win this category, as they breathe new life into a genre we never even knew needed such a boost.
Winner: 2K’s originality snares it’s game an early lead. BioShock (0-1)
Graphics
Halo 3’s graphics have been criticized heavily (a little too heavily in my opinion), but it is still a great looking game. BioShock, however, is just unbelievable. You can really believe you’re in a city miles under the ocean. Just remember to breathe.
Winner: One of the best looking games this year takes a 2-0 lead. BioShock (0-2)
Lifespan
You’d play through BioShock more times than you would Halo. However, the multiplayer (see below) will keep Halo in your 360s for a long time to come.
Winner: It’s all about the multiplayer. Halo 3 (1-2)
Multiplayer
Dead easy. Halo 3 is one of the best multiplayer experiences ever. BioShock doesn’t even have multiplayer.
Winner: No contest. Halo 3 (2-2)
Weapons
The Halo series has always had a great variety of weapons, and still does, but when you take into account the Plasmids of BioShock, it’s another easy victory for 2K’s shooter.
Winner: The ingenuity overcomes Halo’s variety. BioShock (2-3)
World
This is a tough category. Halo has huge areas which are stage to epic battles. BioShock on the other hand has gone for the other extreme, and has you fighting through tight corridors. And these claustrophobic conditions give BioShock the atmosphere which earns it another win.
Winner: A close one here, but atmosphere beats scale. BioShock (2-4)
Final Level
At the risk of ruining the endings of two amazing games, I’ll just say that the last level of BioShock had my heart racing, and Halo 3’s had me very disappointed.
Winner: An easy win for Bioshock. Halo’s is dull by comparison. BioShock (2-5)
Overall
It’s not too outlandish to suggest that if it wasn’t for the multiplayer, Halo 3 wouldn’t have won a single category. A very easy win for 2K’s new boy on the block. Bungie would have wanted the final part of the Halo trilogy to be the best game ever. But as T.S. Eliot once said, it ends not with a bang, but a whimper.
Halo 3 2 – 5 BioShock
Winner: BioShock
