Bioshock Gets a perfect 10/10 from OXM Magazine UK

[PlagueOfLocust]

@mrstickball - Yes, it's because I'm the ultimate authority on the subject, and once I post, little else need be said. (Just kiddin'... mostly.)

@libellule - It's hard for me to answer that. I know I can get past graphics pretty easily and just enjoy the gameplay, but some people really need graphics to hold the experience together for them... But let me try to answer.
System Shock 1 is gonna be so hard for you to get working on a modern computer, I'd just about say forget it unless you're dying to play it (I could help; took me a while to tweak it so it would play right.) I loved the game (the gameplay is like 10 years ahead of its time), but the interface is hard to get used to and the graphics are very archaic (picture a somewhat enchanced Doom 1), so it might not be for you. I was willing to deal with it, but I'm very patient...

System Shock 2 is, as far as I'm concerned, a must-play. It runs off an enhanced version of the Dark engine, which was used for the first 2 Thief games; the graphics aren't spectacular, but they wont hurt your eyes either, and the way that engine handles sound is top-notch. The enemies are a little squared in places, but their voicework and sounds will freak you out anyway. The feel of the game... and the story which unravels by listening to little audio tapes you find... its just downright creepy. This is a good precursor to Bioshock, for sure.

Deus Ex is fantastic, but different from System Shock 2 in many ways; its from a different company, though some of the people who worked on SS2 also worked on DE. It isn't a scarry game, but the story (and the way it unfolds) is probably among the best in any game ever. All about conspiracy theories, shadow-government sorts of topics, but the story goes so deep and stretches so far that it really makes the world seem alive. The graphics are an improvement over System Shock 2, and the soundtrack is absolutely phenominal - it arguably makes the game.

All 3 games are first-person shooters with additional RPG elements. In Deus Ex you can upgrade skills like hacking, lockpicking, close-range weapons, etc., modify your weapons, install upgrade capsules that improve jumping, silent movement, x-ray vision, all sorts of stuff. System Shock 2 has similar systems but they're also quite different in many ways.

I also highly recommend Thief 2 for a stealth game by the same people who did System Shock 2 (the graphics are on-par with System Shock 2.) Thief 1, 3 and Deus Ex 2 are good, but SS2, DE1 and T2 are my favs.