Bioshock is Extremely overrated.

Thanks for instigating this debate, and welcome to DDO! Just to clear it up, I assume that I am debating that BioShock is not extremely overrated. Also, I know this is a fun debate, but forgive me if I ever sound like I'm being really formal-- it's just how I debate. Oh and I wanna put out an obvious SPOILER WARNING, for any readers.What's the Most Important Element?Now, when looking at a video game, there are quite a lot of different opinions as to what the most important component of a game is. Pro says that the most important component of games is the gameplay. I disagree completely. For me personally, I generally focus on story and theme, as well as simply what the game really was trying to excel in. With BioShock I found them pushing the atmosphere and story (I'll talk about that a bit later), not necessarily the gameplay, which I found to be average at worst.Response to ProThe Weapons and PlasmidsIt is true, I will agree, that the weapons in BioShock feel very weak, at least in the beginning. However, I found that, with Power to the People upgrades (to those who don't know, an upgrade you get at a PttP station--like, damage increase for the Machine Gun, etc.), the weapons quickly increased in deadliness. Speaking of which, I have to disagree about the plasmids rendering the weapons useless. Although the plasmids were a great help, I found myself sticking to my guns (pun intended in every way) while in combat. As well, the plasmids were not exactly generic in my opinion--while there were the obvious fire and freeze plasmids, you also have a cyclone trap, sonic boom, and several more interesting plasmids.Enemies and AIThe enemies, as Pro pointed out, do have two classes--mêlée, (Thuggish Splicers) and guns (Leadhead). What he forgets is that there are at least three other classes that I can name. Spider Splicers are enemies the crawl on the ceiling and acrobatically attack you, all while throwing metal hooks at you. While that may seem ridiculous, those enemies could be difficult. Houdini Splicers are enemies that can disappear and reappear somewhere else around you, all the while shooting fire at you from their hands. It's also important to note why these enemies are attacking you--sheer insanity. However, I'll talk about that later. And lastly ,who could forget the Big Daddies? These behemoths with a giant drill for one hand, and a giant rivet gun in the other roam Rapture with Little Sisters (more on that later.)Vita-ChambersI sadly will concede this point to Pro--that the Vita-Chambers were a kink in the design.Jack (The Protagonist)Pro says that he dislikes how the main character, Jack, is presented in the game. He indicates that Jack has no reaction to injecting EVE into his arm. This is simply not true. In the beginning of the game, when Jack first injects the Electro-Bolt plasmid into his arm, he reacts appropriately. He moans and wails in agony, as his genetic code is literally being rewritten and rearranged. He even (at least this is how I took it) attempts suicide by leaping from a balcony, only to be knocked out temporarily. He doesn't react to later injections because he is used to the sensation. Pro also says that Jack has no reaction to anything else. While this is true, I actually don't see this as a bad thing--in fact, it greatly helps the game within the context of the story (more on that later--again). As well, I don't believe characters such as Atlas, and Tennanbaum are reacting to nothing. They are reacting to actions and events caused by jack--not words.Would You Kindly? (The Twist)Pro states that he thinks the Would You Kindly twist was cheap. To elaborate for any readers, Jack discovers that he was, in essence, a test tube baby, matured over two years to adulthood, with many code phrases embedded in his brain. One of which was "would you kindly," which would force Jack to do whatever was asked of him using that phrase. I wholeheartedly disagree with Pro, and that the Twist as I'll call it, actually is a very compelling device used in the story. I will explain this in my additional arguments.Additional ArgumentsIt is my belief that this game is, although flawed, truly a work of art, and that the game's artistic and creative value more than makes up for its average gameplay system--thus, the game is not overrated.Rapture (Our Setting)"I am Andrew Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question. Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? 'No!' says the man in Washington, 'It belongs to the poor.' 'No!' says the man in the Vatican, 'It belongs to God.' 'No!' says the man in Moscow, 'It belongs to everyone.' I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture, a city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, Where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well." - Andrew Ryan [1]Rapture is an underwater city created by Andrew Ryan (note the similarity to Ayn Rand) that is the pinnacle of objectivism. In Rapture, a person can do whatever they like. And this was Rapture's downfall. Scientists, being free, made unimagined leaps and bounds, allowing people to splice and change their genes, to the point where their minds and bodies deteriorated due to being completely reliant on ADAM and splicing in general. Thus, Rapture fell to shambles.Rapture, as an artistic setting, is highly compelling. The atmosphere, both visual in its art deco style, and auditory with it's oldies music and whispers of desperation from its inhabitants, is chilling and unnerving, as well as providing a splendid backdrop to a fantastic story within, what I consider, a story about philosophy and choice.Story"I remember when me and the Kraut put you on that sub. You were no more than two. You were my ace in the hole. But you were also the closest thing I've ever had to a son. That's why this hurts, kid. Life isn't strictly business." - Frank Fontaine [1]"Would you kindly head to Ryan's office and kill the son of a bitch?" - Atlas (Frank Fontaine) [1]The story of BioShock starts out simple enough. You play as Jack, a man on an airplane, which suddenly crashes into the Atlantic Ocean. You swim to a lighthouse and, fortunately (or unfortunately?) discover a bathysphere that takes you to the seemingly paradise-like Rapture, but soon learn from a man named Atlas that not all is as it seems.And thus the story begins. The game is packed with deep, charming, and downright disturbing (I will never forget building Sander Cohen's masterpiece,) moments. And along the way, you learn the truth about this place, and why you are there. On top of this, I find that you experience amazing moments of philosophy and theme, gaining insight into the real world--something only a true piece of art could do.Philosophy and Theme "A man chooses, a slave obeys." - Andrew Ryan [1]"We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us." - Andrew Ryan [1]Philosophy plays a huge role in BioShock. The whole concept of Rapture derives from Ayn Rand's philosophy of objectivism. As well, the game explores the theme of choice heavily. You are given the choice of whether to kill Little Sisters, girls with ADAM in their body, or save them from their macabre task of drinking the dead's blood for less ADAM. Also, this is where I agree with Jack's silence as a good thing. When I learned the Twist, I was blown away. It gave me a new perspective about gaming and life in general. In games, we do what we're told, and many times in life we do the same, without giving thought to the consequences. And Jack's lack of reaction only exemplifies the idea of being a simple puppet.Thank you, and I wait to hear from Pro.References[1] http://www.imdb.com...And the game BioShock itself.