BioShock – Underwater world with a touch of decadence. Games with best beginnings and openin sequences

The Rapture in BioShock has had all of us enthralled right from the get-go.

The developers of BioShock are probably fans of Alfred Hitchcock and took his advice to heart. The earthquake, in this particular case, was a plane crash. The shock of suddenly finding ourselves as the sole survivor is interrupted by the surprise – a lone lighthouse in the middle of the ocean. After entering it and taking the elevator down, we can observe a one-of-a-kind underwater metropolis that looks like New York City submerged in the depths of the sea.

The best part is that we're not on another planet or in the distant future, but in the 1960s. The 20th century. The city, hidden in the depths of the ocean was an absolutely jaw-dropping sight. Right after that, standard gameplay begins; we obtain a wrench and start smashing the first mutants that begin attacking us. We're also led by a mysterious character, explaining the situation through a radio we find by chance. The first exposure to Big Daddies – huge, walking hunks of metal that look like grizzly bears in JIM suits, armed with a big-ass drill bit the size of a fridge that looks like it replaced one of his arms.

The amount of contrast and surprise in the first few minutes of BioShock, the style and unusual atmosphere make for one of the most intriguing introduction stages in gaming. The desire to find out where we are and what's going on is only natural.

1. BioShock in our encyclopedia