Bioshock: The Collection, review: Worthy revisit to gaming's most cinematic series

The collection features each of the trilogy's entries - Bioshock, Bioshock 2, and Bioshock Infinite

2K Games - PC, Xbox One, PS4

In Hollywood's sudden dash to adapt every video game in existence - Warcraft, Assassin's Creed, Lara Croft - there's been a notable silence from one corner, occupied by 2K Games' towering Bioshock series.

Yet, film just seems so unnecessary a medium when it comes to the Bioshock franchise, a strong candidate for the most cinematic piece of gaming ever released; rich in its objectivism-skewering narrative, in its decaying grandeur, in its tense, insidious atmosphere.

But, if there's a craving unsatisfied, at least indulge yourself in the recently unleashed Bioshock: The Collection; which renders this cinematic peak in gaming into something even more akin to the epic glamour of the silver screen, bringing together the entire trilogy of games and their respective DLCs.

Bioshock - the first installment - is nothing short of jaw-dropping in its carefully remastered new form. Returning now is to experience it entirely anew, to feel the sudden intake of breath as you first break the water's surface after the opening's devastating plane crash and take glimpse of the awaiting vista; the towering flames erupting from the wreckage only to be engulfed by the rich silk of the night, and looming out of the darkness - a lighthouse. Always a lighthouse.

Bioshock's remastering, however, has done well in the avoidance of a mere slick sheen. If anything, it's the shadows which benefit most here; their inky dark tantalising now even to the most seasoned player, promising even greater secrets and surprises. In reality, the only concrete addition to the game is a series of hidden director's commentaries from Ken Levine, but the exploration still seems worthwhile.

It also serves as a sharp reminder of how close to the horror genre this first installment wavers; the first splicer attack, on the bathysphere descending into Rapture, is still a genuinely frightening experience. Sparks fly and the sound of scratching steel echoes to deafening volumes - hooks grating into metal - as the player looks wildly around in an effort to determine its source.

Unfortunately, The Collection comes with one major drawback. An unmistakeable reminder as to the jarring difference between the towering work that is Bioshock, and the relative disappointment that followed in Bioshock 2, the one game not to be worked on by Ken Levine and the Irrational Games team. An attitude reflected even in the actual remaster; where Bioshock's incredible underwater views seem painstakingly updated with new textures, while its sequel is given a sprucing up largely only in the lighting department.

Indeed, though Bioshock 2 always benefited from existing in the same richly-populated Rapture universe, its deliberately grungy re-imagining of the decaying city seemed to brush away the sinister glamour which made it so intoxicating in the first place. A quick switch from Bioshock to its sequel, and it's jarring how suddenly every window is too mould-encrusted to enjoy the former's breathtaking cityscape views.

When it comes to Bioshock: Infinite, released in 2013, we're essentially dealing with the same game; albeit with a higher resolution and a smoother 60 fps update from its console iterations, a way merely to boost up the game to match PC standards. Inevitable considering technology's not exactly leapt that dramatically forward in the past three years to usher in any dramatic changes - the game still looks stunning by today's standards.

Bioshock: The Collection does certainly offer different levels of satisfaction depending on which direction the player is coming from. If completely new to the worlds of Rapture and Columbia, it's a must-buy; for someone who's played the game before but didn't fall head-over-heels in love (why not, though?) - there's nothing immediately grabbing to be found.

But simply for the grace of fans who have transitioned to new platforms, it's more than a worthy purchase; not only for how spectacular a nine-year-old game like Bioshock can look with a revamp, but for the simple reason it's a series endlessly worth revisiting. Really, did you even need to wait for this excuse to play Bioshock again?