There are those who play games for deeper reasons than distraction or killing time. Many who consider gaming as their hobby, and not just something to pass the time, view the games they play as a higher form of art. Like comic books, novels, or film, the medium of video games and how it is perceived is changing from toys or novelties into a new way to convey experiences and express emotions. BioShock is the greatest example of this, at once action-packed and deep, and a game that will define the concept of video games as high art for years to come.

BioShock takes place in 1960, in the undersea city of Rapture. Founded and created by Andrew Ryan, Rapture is supposed to be the start of a new civilization, a self-sustaining utopia where the best and brightest that mankind can offer will flourish, free from the hypocrisy and destruction rampant in the surface world. The scientists of Rapture discovered a rare sea slug that produces amazing self-healing stem cells, called ADAM, and used these cells to genetically modify the city's inhabitants, giving them amazing abilities but also slowly driving them mad. Power struggles arose in the city between the haves and have-nots, riots broke out, killing most of the city's population, and Rapture fell into ruin. The player finds his way into the decaying city after surviving a plane crash in the Atlantic, leading to one of the greatest introductions of any game this year as you descend into the city's depths and view both the majesty and tragedy of the undersea kingdom.

The citizens of Rapture are addicted to ADAM, roaming the districts in search of any source like a junkie would search for his next fix. Among these inhabitants are the Little Sisters, children who have been implanted with sea slugs and turned into living ADAM processing plants, warping their minds in the process. They are guarded by Big Daddies, men who have been genetically modified and placed into deep-sea diving suits, driven only to protect their charges. These monstrosities are walking tanks, singular in their focus and immune to pain -- set one on fire and watch as its charred, smoking shell continues to pummel you into a chunky paste without missing a beat -- that will stop the player dead in their tracks even late into the game. You will have to face them, however, as the only way to make it out of Rapture in once piece is to modify your own genes with Plasmids, taking on the same powers as the remains of the city's population, and to get the Plasmids, you'll need ADAM.

Wandering the decaying environments in BioShock is a surprisingly effecting experience. Where once there were homes filled with families and memories, now there are tombs. Bodies are everywhere, many of them mangled and ravaged, as the splicers (the term used for crazed former inhabitants) searched every inch of them for more ADAM. The 1950s decor has fallen into ruin, though you still encounter a helpful film reel, vending machine or automatic radio message preaching the glory of Rapture and all it stands for. This same decaying technology proves dangerous as you encounter security systems and turrets programmed to consider you an intruder. Players can hack these and most any machine in the game by solving tile puzzles of varying difficulty, setting turrets to attack enemies, cameras to alert you to enemies, or unlocking cheaper, different items at the vending machines.

If it seems like there are a lot of different options in BioShock, it's because there are so many ways to solve the game’s riddles. The denizens of Rapture are cunning, able to catch you off your guard, and surprisingly smart. They'll wait to suss you out of hiding. They'll listen for security cameras to set off alarms. They'll flee from your attacks and use healing stations to repair damage. There's no one correct way to survive, and BioShock rewards adaptable players who think outside of the box.

Can't get a bead on the splicer shooting you from that pool of water? Use your Electro Bolt plasmid to send 10,000 volts through the puddle, zapping the splicer and anyone unfortunate enough to be near him. Set a corpse on fire and use Telekinesis to toss the body into a wave of enemies. Hack a healing station, and when your foe goes to recover, he'll get poisoned instead. The splicers will use whatever they can to part you from your ADAM. Why shouldn't you do the same?

There's so much to do in Rapture that you'll often find yourself wandering the ruins instead of completing your goals. The world of BioShock feels organic, once alive and filled with the future of humanity. Exploring every nook and cranny rewards the player with not only more items or ammo, but often diary entries from the former inhabitants. Putting these fragments of narrative together reveals the true tragedy of Rapture, and the failings of the people responsible for it. It's heady stuff for a video game, but BioShock explores these themes with the same poise and confidence as the books you had to read in English class.