That bit where... Bioshock

"A man chooses...a slave obeys."

Bioshock would most likely be in my top ten games ever, were I to compile one. It contained new and interesting gameplay, a compelling story and a dazzling world that was a real treat to explore. You play as Jack, and at the very start of the game your plane crashes into the Atlantic Ocean. As you surface, surrounded by burning wreckage, you notice a lighthouse nearby, so you swim over to it, and find a bathysphere which takes you down beneath the waves. Suddenly, a sprawling city stretches out before you, which in itself is one of the best moments of the game. However, all is not well within Rapture, as it is overrun with Splicers, inhabitants driven insane by addiction to Plasmids - genetic modification.

You are helped out by Atlas, who leads you to safety via radio, and he asks you to help him against Andrew Ryan, who has his family locked away. As the game progresses, you are lead around by Atlas over the radio, with the promise of escape from Rapture and back to civilisation. You begin to learn the history of Rapture, and the war between Ryan and Frank Fontaine, who helped develop Plasmids. Eventually, you come face to face with Ryan himself.

Bioshock - The Death of Andrew Ryan

With Atlas urging me on, I came close to the office of Andrew Ryan. In the adjoining corridor, I saw the words 'Would You Kindly...?" written in blood on the wall. Something stirred within me then, and I had the funny feeling something wasn't right. I mean, I had seen plenty of blood on the wall in this city, but this had something more personal about it. Anyway, I shook it off and continued to Ryan's office, soon this would all be over...

I arrive, and Ryan is nonchalantly playing golf, doesn't he realise I'm here to kill him? I'll let you watch what happens next.

I came out of that cutscene deflated. It turns out that Jack was the illegitimate child of Ryan, and was taken away by Fontaine when he was born, sent to the surface and genetically modified to age rapidly. He was conditioned to accept the code phrase "Would you kindly?", meaning that whenever he heard those words, he would obey whatever the command. It suddenly dawned on me that Atlas (who then reveals himself to actually be Fontaine) had simply been commanding me to do his bidding throughout the whole game. He had even commanded Jack to hijack the plane he was on and cause it to crash near the lighthouse. Fontaine had planned to use Jack against Ryan, as he would be able to use his father's DNA to bypass Ryan's security systems.

It was rare for a video game to have such an incredible setting and story, and even rarer for it to contain a twist such as that towards the end. It was that moment that caused this game to gravitate beyond just being a great game, up to becoming a timeless classic.

"Obey."

Thanks for reading.