===============================================================================
2. BASIC GAME CONCEPTS [c02]
===============================================================================
This section will explain the basic concepts of the game which you will need to
know to survive in Rapture.
== A. GAME CONTROLS [c02s01] ==================================================
Left stick - move
Click left stick - crouch
Right stick - look
Click right stick - zoom (if weapon allows it)
X - reload/inject EVE (in plasmid mode)
Y - jump
B - use first aid
A - interact
D-pad - change ammo
Hold down right on D-pad - get a tip
Left bumper - switch to plasmid mode/cycle through plasmids
Hold down left bumper - bring up plasmid selection menu
Right bumper - switch to weapon mode/cycle through weapons
Hold down right bumper - bring up weapon selection menu
Left trigger - use plasmid (in plasmid mode)
Right trigger - fire weapon (in weapon mode)
Back button - map/goals/radio/help menu
Start button - game menu
== B. STATUS MENU [c02s02] ====================================================
BioShock includes a very full-featured status menu, which is used to access
information about the game, your location, what you're supposed to be doing,
etc. Note that if you're ever stuck and not sure what to do, you can hold down
right on the D-pad for a few seconds, and the status menu will come up with a
hint which usually explains exactly where you need to go and what you need to
do. The status menu has several screens, which are cycled through by pressing
RB and LB. These include...
MAP - the map shows a map (duh) of the current level you are in, including
points of interest like machines and quest goals. Areas you have not explored
yet are greyed out, making it easy to see where you still need to look. It's
almost always a good idea to explore as much of the city as you can, as you
will usually find weapons, ammo, items, and even gene tonics and plasmids, not
to mention audio diaries which greatly elaborate on the backstory of BioShock.
Note, however, that some areas will occasionally be closed off to you, with no
way to access them. This usually means that they will open up once you
progress a little further in the storyline, so don't sweat it if you can't
figure out how to get into an area.
GOALS - the goals tab shows what you should be doing now. Don't be afraid to
spend some time looking around and exploring the side areas, however.
MESSAGES - this screen allows you to replay any of the radio messages you've
received from the denizens of Rapture, as well as to replay any of the audio
diaries that you've found.
HELP - this screen contains help files on many of the items and game concepts
in BioShock. The game has a context-sensitive help system which is very
useful - position the reticle over the item you want help on and press the
back key, and it will automatically take you to the appropriate help page.
Note that your health and EVE are shown in the bars in the top left hand corner
of the screen. Your current money and ADAM can be seen by pressing Start. The
Start menu also shows how many little sisters there are in the current level,
and what their status is (alive/rescued/harvested).
== C. DEATH [c02s03] ==========================================================
Unlike most FPS games, BioShock does not end if you die. In fact, there is
almost no penalty for dying at all - instead you are simply reincarnated at the
nearest Vita-Chamber machine, with all of your weapons, money, and items
intact. All the damage you did to your enemies stays as well, so if you're
having trouble with a boss or encounter you can just wear them down over
several attempts. In my opinion, this makes the game almost a little TOO easy,
but at least it saves you the aggravation of repeated reloads and retries.
== D. ITEMS [c02s04] ==========================================================
There are many useful items you can find and use throughout Rapture. You can
get these off the ground, from containers, and from dead bodies, by putting the
reticle over the item and pressing the A button. Items which you can pick up or
interact with in some way will usually be highlighted - regular items in white
and quest/story items in gold. The available items include...
WEAPONS AND AMMO - self-explanatory.
MONEY - used for machines. See the money section for more details.
FIRST AID KITS - when used (by pressing the B button) these will return a large
portion of your health. You can carry up to 9 of these at a time.
EVE HYPOS - these are like first aid kits, except for EVE. They look like blue
syringes. You use them by pressing X when you are in plasmid mode. Like the
first aid kits, you can only carry 9 of them.
AUTO-HACK TOOLS - these allow you to automatically hack an object, without
having to do the pipe mini-game. You should save them for emergencies and
exceptionally difficult to hack objects.
FOOD/DRINK - there are several different types of food/drink available in
Rapture. Unlike other items, these are consumed immediately as soon as you
pick them up (you can't carry them around with you). Some of them increase
health/EVE, some of them decrease them, some of them increase one and decrease
the other. Press the back button with the reticle over the item if you're not
sure what it does and the help screen will tell you. Usually the health/EVE
bonus you gain is small compared to first aid kits/EVE hypos.
RANDOM JUNK - after a while in Rapture you will begin picking up a lot of
random items like rubber tubes, brass shell casings, batteries, etc. You can
take these items to a U-invent machine to craft useful items like auto-hack
tools and special ammunition.
STORY ITEMS - you will occasionally need to collect items as a part of the
game's storyline. The status menu shows you what you need to get and where it
is.
== E. MONEY [c02s05] ==========================================================
The currency of Rapture is the dollar, and you will find plenty of it as you
explore the city. Most of it comes from fallen enemies (press A to search their
corpses), but it can also be found in containers and lying on the ground. You
need money to use many of the machines located in Rapture (with the exception
of the genetics-related machines, which either cost ADAM or are free of charge,
and the Power to the People machine, which is free but can only be used once).
== F. ADAM/LITTLE SISTERS/BIG DADDIES [c02s06] ================================
Purchasing genetic upgrades from a Gatherer's Garden requries ADAM, a form of
genetic material which is harvested from corpses by little sisters. Each little
sister has a big daddy which follows her around and protects her. Before you
can approach the little sister, you have to kill her protecting big daddy. Once
you do, walk up to her - the game will give you the option to either rescue or
harvest her. Harvesting kills the little sister, but nets you 160 ADAM.
Rescuing her only gets you 80 ADAM, but as compensation, Tenenbaum will
occasionally send along care packages for you which include ADAM and some other
useful items. The choice is yours, and will have gameplay and storyline
consequences down the road.
The big daddies and little sisters have a rather complicated spawn system which
is worth explaining to prevent confusion. Basically each level has several
patrol routes where the little sisters may be found. There will ALWAYS be a big
daddy somewhere along the patrol route - they quickly respawn after you kill
them, even if all the little sisters in the level are dead. They may or may not
have a little sister with them when you encounter them. If they do not, they
will eventually go to one of the little sister holes in the wall and bang on it
to summon a little sister. The big daddy/little sister will then patrol for a
while, and the little sister will eventually crawl back into the wall. The big
daddy will then start wandering the area again, and eventually head back to a
little sister hole to summon another little sister.
Each level has a set number of little sisters (from 0 to 3) that you can kill.
The big daddies will be able to summon the little sisters until you have
harvested the number alotted for that level, and then no more will come out
when they bang on the holes (they'll keep trying, though).
A simple (but time-consuming) way to easily find ALL of the little sisters for
a level is to locate a big daddy patrol area, and just follow him until he
summons a little sister. Kill the big daddy, harvest the little sister, and
then wait and listen in the same area for the big daddy to respawn. Find him
and repeat the process, and you should be able to get all of the little sisters
for that level. NOTE THAT YOU MAY NOT FIND BIG DADDIES/LITTLE SISTERS IN THE
SAME LOCATIONS AS NOTED IN THE WALKTHROUGH. If you find one somewhere radically
different from the places noted in this guide please let me know.
== G. MACHINES [c02s07] =======================================================
There are several different types of machines that you will encounter in
Rapture, each with a different function. Most of them require money to use. The
different types of machines are...
GENE BANKS - these can be used to change the plasmids and gene tonics you have
equipped. They are fairly common, and you can usually find one shortly before
an important boss fight or encounter. They cannot be hacked.
GATHERER'S GARDEN - these special machines are fairly rare. They are used to
purchase plasmids and gene tonics, as well as extra slots and other upgrades
(like increasing your maximum health/EVE). They are unique because they only
accept ADAM for payment. After you encounter a little sister you can usually
find a GG machine nearby. They cannot be hacked.
VENDING MACHINES - these sell all kinds of useful items like first aid kits,
film, ammunition, EVE hypos, food, etc. You need money in order to use them.
They can be hacked to lower their prices (hacking them will sometimes also
unlock extra items for purchase).
AMMO BANDITOS - these are like vending machines, but they only sell ammunition.
VITA-CHAMBERS - when you die in Rapture, the game does not end - you are simply
resurrected at the nearest Vita-chamber. Note that this isn't a
checkpoint-type reload - everything you did before you died is still in place,
INCLUDING the damage you've done to enemies. See the "death" section for more
details. Vita-chambers are used automatically, you can't interact with them in
any way.
BOT SHUTDOWN PANELS - if you accidentally trigger an alarm, you can use these
panels to turn it off and make the flying drones go away. This costs money
(usually $20). Bot Shutdown panels cannot be hacked.
HEALTH STATIONS - these stations completely replenish your health for a small
fee. Enemies can also use them, but you can hack them to make them poison your
enemies (and heal you at a discount).
POWER TO THE PEOPLE MACHINES - these rare machines will do one upgrade to one
of your weapons free of charge. However, they will then shut down and can
never be used again, so make sure you choose your upgrades wisely. These
machines cannot be hacked.
U-INVENT MACHINES - you will eventually start collecting random junk from
around Rapture. You can bring this stuff to a U-invent machine to create
useful gadgets like auto-hack devices, special ammunition, etc. Inventing an
item does not cost any money, but consumes the items used to create it.
Hacking these machines reduces the number of items required to craft anything.
== H. AUDIO DIARIES [c02s08] ==================================================
Throughout your adventures in Rapture you will stumble across audio diaries
left by the former inhabitants of the city. They are often hidden in
out-of-the-way locations, so they give you a little extra incentive to explore
the nooks and crannies of Rapture. After you find a diary, hold down the A
button for a few seconds to listen to it. These don't do much for the gameplay,
but a LOT of the (extremely involved) storyline is filled in by these diaries,
so it's definitely worth your time to check them out. I'll try to note where
they all are in the walkthrough, but I can't guarantee that I've found them
all. If you find one I don't have listed here please shoot me an e-mail and
I'll add it.
== I. DENIZENS OF RAPTURE [c02s09] ============================================
You will encounter several different types of enemies on your exporations
through Rapture. Each type of enemy requires different strategies and is
vulnerable to different types of ammunition. Also note that the enemies you
encounter will become stronger as the game goes on, so a thug splicer you
encounter in Hephaestus will be much stronger than a thug splicer you encounter
in the Medical Pavilion, for example. The enemies you will find in Rapture
include...
THUG SPLICERS - these humanoids are armed with melee weapons. They're not tough
to deal with, just keep them at range and take them out with your guns. You
can also stun them with electrical damage and club them to death with your
wrench. Vulnerable to anti-personnel ammo.
LEADHEAD SPLICERS - humanoids armed with firearms. These tend to be pretty
spastic, so you'll have a good advantage if you can get the drop on them and
go for a quick headshot. You can stun them with electricity, freeze them in
place, or light them on fire to get them to stop shooting at you. These
splicers seem to have many more hit points than the others. Vulnerable to
anti-personnel ammo.
NITRO SPLICERS - these are armed with explosives. They carry around boxes of
grenades to throw at you, and can also use proximity mines. Use your
telekinesis plasmid to throw their own explosives back at them. Otherwise you
can just stay out of their throwing range and kill them with firearms. They
also like to toss down a smoke bomb and run away if you get too close to them
or do too much damage to them. Vulnerable to anti-personnel ammo.
SPIDER SPLICERS - these splicers are pretty nasty. They move very quickly, can
jump to incredibly heights, and can climb on walls/the ceiling. Their primary
attack is melee, and they can also throw their sickle claws at you from a
distance. Having the gene tonic which shocks enemies which touch you is
useful, since it'll root them in place for a moment to let you damage them
after they hit you. Fire attacks are also useful since they continue to damage
for some time afterwards, meaning you don't have to keep them in the reticle
while they're scrambling around. Vulnerable to anti-personnel ammo.
HOUDINI SPLICERS - these splicers use plasmids to become invisible and
teleport, making them incredibly annoying to fight. Their primary attack is a
fire-based plasmid. Try to find a covered position and wait for them to
reappear, and then shoot them with firearms. Hacked security bots and turrets
are very useful against these guys, since they seem to be able to track them
even when they're invisible. They are also heavily armored against fire
damage, which is the Houidini splicer's primary attack. Vulnerable to
anti-personnel ammo.
BOSS SPLICERS - you will occasionally come across a boss splicer, which is a
regular splicer which is tougher and deals more damage. These are usually
characters involved in the storyline.
BIG DADDIES - the Rosies or Bouncers, also known as the Big Daddies, are the
charming fellows you see on the cover of the game. They usually appear while
escorting around a litle sister, and are not hostile to you unless you attack
them or start pestering their little girl. Bouncers are the melee variety of
the big daddy, and are armed with gigantic drills. Rosies have rivet guns they
shoot you with from a distance, and can also use proximity mines which land on
the ground and explode when you come near. These are basically the toughest
enemies in the game, and require some preparation in order to fight
effectively. You'll need to base your game plan around what you have available
to you in your surroundings - security systems, water, oil slicks, explosives,
try to use everything you have against them. The good news is that, since you
initiate combat against them, you will usually have a decent amount of time to
set up your trap. Whatever you do, don't just go blindly rushing in with guns
blazing, as you will almost certainly be headed to the Vita-Chamber.
Armor-piercing and explosive ammo are the best to use against big daddies. If
all else fails, you can just let yourself die and keep rushing them from the
Vita-Chamber, since whatever damage you do to them before you die persists
after you die. Just wear them down over time. After you kill a big daddy and
deal with the little sister, another one will usually appear to start looking
for the little sister. You don't have to fight these, but you can kill them if
you need the extra money. You can also temporarily convert them to protecting
you with a plasmid power (see below). Vulnerable to armor-piercing and
electrical ammo.
ELITE BIG DADDIES - these start showing up later on in the game. They are
basically just bigger, nastier versions of the rosies and bouncers you
encounter earlier on - they don't require any special tactics other than what
you would do with the normal big daddies.
LITTLE SISTERS - little sisters cannot be approached or damaged until their
accompanying big daddy is dead. More details on them in the ADAM section.
SECURITY BOTS - these are usually summoned by a security alarm, which goes off
if you stand for too long in front of a security camera. They carry machine
guns and will fly and follow you around. Thankfully they're not hard to deal
with - armor-piercing and explosive ammo works very well against them. You can
also "stun" them with electrical ammo, and then hack them so that they PROTECT
you instead of attacking you. Bots will also follow you around until they are
destroyed or deactivated, making them a nice helper for boss fights
Vulnerable to armor piercing and electrical ammo.
== J. WEAPONS [c02s10] ========================================================
BioShock is an FPS game at its core, and you will have a wide variety of
weapons to select from throughout the game. To use your weapons you must enter
weapon mode by pressing RB. You can cycle through your weapons by pressing RB
again, or bring up a radial selection menu by holding down the right bumper.
Your weapons can also be upgraded and use different types of ammo - see the
ammo and weapon upgrading sections for more details. The weapons you can obtain
include...
WRENCH - standard melee weapon, can be used to knock locks off doors. You can
shock splicers with electrobolt to stun them, and then club them to death with
the wrench. There are also several gene tonics that upgrade your damage and
speed with the wrench.
PISTOL - low clip size, slow firing, but pretty accurate. Useful for pulling
off a headshot if you can surprise a splicer. Takes normal, armor piercing, and
anti-personnel ammo.
MACHINE GUN - this is a basic SMG, with fully automatic fire and a large clip
of 40 rounds. Useful against multiple targets and fast-moving enemies like the
spider splicers. Takes normal, armor piercing, and anti-personnel ammo.
SHOTGUN - big, loud, and deadly at close range. It is fairly slow firing
though, and only has four rounds per clip. Takes regular buckshot, explosive
buckshot, and electrical buckshot.
GRENADE LAUNCHER - shoots several different types of explosives. I'd save this
one for boss fights, since using it properly can take a little bit of planning
and preparation. Fires regular frag grenades, proximity mines, and heat-seeking
RPGs.
CHEMICAL LAUNCHER - sprays several different types of chemicals at your enemies
with varying effects. Shoots napalm (fire), liquid nitrogen (ice), and
electrical gel (electricity).
CROSSBOW - a powerful crossbow. Has a small clip size and a very slow rate of
fire, but does massive damage when it connects. Also has an extremely accurate
zoom function. Shoots regular bolts, incendiary bolts, and trap bolts. Regular
bolts can sometimes be retrieved from corpses and the environment.
CAMERA - not really a weapon, but it is selected and used like one. More
details on this later.
== K. CUSTOM AMMO [c02s11] ====================================================
Each gun has several different types of ammunition it can use, including
regular, anti-personnel, explosive, armor-piercing, electrical, etc. These
ammos can be found on the ground, purchased at vending machines, or crafted at
U-Invents. Each enemy is vulnerable to different types of damage, so you can
use an appropriate ammo against each enemy to make things go a little easier
for you. The different types of ammo are...
REGULAR - generic all-purpose ammo.
ANTI-PERSONNEL (pistol, machine gun) - designed for use against unarmored
targets (i.e., the splicers).
ARMOR PIERCING (pistol, machine gun) - good against heavily armored targets
like big daddies and turrets.
EXPLOSIVE (shotgun, grenade launcher) - good against basically anything.
ELECTRICAL (shotgun, chemical launcher) - good against electrical equipment
like turrets, cameras, drones, etc.
PROXIMITY MINE (grenade launcher) - sticks to the ground and blows up when an
enemy comes near.
HEAT-SEEKING RPG (grenade launcher) - tracks enemies with a heat signature,
like splicers.
NAPALM (chemical launcher) - shoots fire. 'Nuff said.
LIQUID NITROGEN (chemical launcher) - freezes enemies in place, letting you
smash/melt them. They will thaw if you leave them for a few seconds though.
STEEL BOLTS (crossbow) - these standard bolts shot from the crossbow are unique
because you can pick them up from walls and corpses and reuse them. They have
a chance to break on every shot, but this can be reduced with a weapon upgrade
available at Power to the People machines.
INCENDIARY BOLTS (crossbow) - light the target on fire when they hit.
TRAP BOLTS (crossbow) - lets you create the electrified trapwires you often see
in Rapture. They embed themselves in the wall (or other object) and then shoot
out the trapwire directly behind themselves until it makes contact with another
object. Make sure you get out of the way before the trapwire fires or it will
shock you. These trapwires do a large amount of electrical damage to the first
enemy to walk through them.
Using the correct type of ammunition will make your fights go MUCH smoother.
Against the easier splicers regular ammo will do the trick just fine, but
against big daddies, bosses, and tougher splicer fights you'll need to use the
rarer ammo to avoid a lot of unnecessary trips to the vita-chamber.
== L. WEAPON UPGRADING [c02s12] ===============================================
You can also upgrade your weapons to increase their power, speed, or other
characteristics. This is down at "Power to the People" machines, which are
scattered throughout Rapture. These machines are very rare, so make every
effort to hit them up when you see them on your map. Each machine will do one
upgrade to one of your weapons, free of charge, and then cease to function
forever, so make sure you choose your upgrades wisely. Note that upgrades are
permanent and will remain on your weapon for the rest of the game. The
locations of the weapons upgrade machines are listed in the reference section
of this guide.
== M. PLASMIDS [c02s13] =======================================================
Plasmids are a type of genetical modification to your body, which gives you
"magical" powers like telekinesis, shooting fire out of your fingers, etc. To
enter plasmid mode, click on LB. You can then use LB to cycle through your
plasmid powers, or hold it down to bring up a radial menu to select which
plasmid you want to use. To "fire" your plasmid power, pull the left trigger.
Plasmids, unlike gene tonics (see the next section), are active powers which
must be triggered to have any effect. Using them consumes EVE, which is
measured by the blue bar underneath your health bar in the top left corner. You
can replenish EVE using the blue hypos found throughout Rapture, or from some
of the food items in the game. There are also some gene tonics which restore
your EVE when you heal, eat, successfully hack a device, etc. The plasmid
powers available in-game are listed in the reference section of this guide, but
some of the more important ones are...
ELECTROBOLT - This is, in my opinion, the most useful plasmid in the game,
since it instantly shorts out any security system element, allowing you to get
close enough to photograph/research it and hack it. It can also open
shorted-out doors, stun splicers and big daddies, fry anyone standing in
water, and is generally just an all-around useful power.
TELEKINESIS - Extremely useful against anything that launches grenades or
rockets at you, since you can just grab them and throw them back. You can also
use this power to grab items that are just out of reach. Telekinesis can also
grab trapwires out of the wall to disarm them. CodeHxr also suggests using
telekinesis to toss objects at enemies (this can do massive damage) and also
to hold corpses in front of you as meat shields to block some incoming fire.
INCINERATE - Lights enemies on fire. It can also be used to light oil slicks
on fire, and melt ice which is blocking your path (you'll need to do this
several times in the game to get into certain areas).
HYPNOTIZE BIG DADDY - This plasmid can ONLY be obtained from the care packages
you get from Tenenbaum for rescuing little sisters. It converts big daddies
to defend you temporarily.
You only have a limited number of slots in which you can "equip" your plasmids.
Each time you gain a new plasmid you will be given the option to either place
it in one of your slots (replacing the plasmid which is already there, if any),
or store it in your gene bank for later use. You can visit a Gene Bank machine
at any time to swap out your plasmids and gene tonics, free of charge. You'll
want to do this frequently to adapt your strategies to your enemy and
situation. You can also purchase new plasmid slots from the Gatherer's Garden
machine, up to a maximum of six.
There are several ways to obtain new plasmids. You can occasionally find them
on the ground in Rapture (they will look like glowing bottles with a colored
liquid inside). You can also get them from researching enemies (see the section
below on the camera and research). However, the most common way to get new
plasmids is from the Gatherer's Garden machines, which sell plasmids and other
genetic upgrades. Purchasing from a Gatherer's Garden requires ADAM, and the
only way to get ADAM is from the little sisters. More on that later.
== N. GENE TONICS [c02s14] ====================================================
Gene tonics, like plasmids, are genetic modifications to your body. However,
unlike plasmids, they provide passive effects which are always active and do
not need to be triggered. There are three main types of gene tonics - physical,
which provide things like damage resistances and increases to speed;
engineering, which increase your hacking skills; and combat, which do things
like increase your damage or skills with particular weapons. Like plasmids, you
have a limited number of slots for each type of gene tonic. Also like plasmids,
you can purchase additional slots (and tonics) at a Gatherer's Garden, if you
have the ADAM for it. You can also switch out your gene tonics at a Gene Bank
machine at any time. A complete list of the gene tonics available in the game
can be found in the reference section of this guide. However, some of the more
important tonics are...
NATURAL CAMOUFLAGE - One of the best tonics in the game. Makes you invisible if
you stand still for more than a few seconds. Very useful for evading alarms,
ambushing enemies, and just about everything else.
DAMAGE RESEARCH - Increases the bonus damage you gain from doing research on
enemies. If you've been keeping up on your research, this greatly increases
your damage output, especially if you get the upgraded version of this tonic.
MEDICAL EXPERT - Provides a large increase to the amount of damage your first
aid kits heal. Very valuable for stretching your limited supply out.
EVE LINK - Restores EVE whenever you gain health from a first aid kit.
WRENCH TONICS - Greatly increase the damage you do with the wrench, and provide
some other bonuses as well. Slotting all of these turns you into a melee
machine, which is a very viable strategy when you're running low on ammo.
ELEMENTAL TONICS - Electric Flesh, Human Inferno, and Frozen Field increase the
elemental damage you deal and reduce the elemental damage you take. They are
not terrible useful for most of the game, but they are crucial for the last
boss fight, which is heavily elemental-based.
== O. INVENTING [c02s15] ======================================================
You will eventually begin collecting random items with no apparent purpose,
like rubber tubing, batteries, brass shell casings, etc. You can bring this
junk to a U-invent machine and use it to craft more useful stuff like auto-hack
tools and custom ammunition. This doesn't cost you any money, so you
essentially get a little extra gear for free. Not bad. There's also a storyline
mission later on where you'll have to use the U-invent to craft a special item.
More on that in the walkthrough section.
== P. RESEARCHING ENEMIES [c02s16] ============================================
Eventually you will obtain a research camera, which is used just like a weapon
- select it with RB and take a picture using RT. The camera takes film as its
"ammunition", which can be obtained from vending machines, enemies, containers,
and the ground. The camera allows you to "research" your enemies by taking
photographs of them. Every photograph is given a score based on its quality -
pictures where the subject is well-framed, in action, or where there are
multiple subjects will score higher. You can also obtain gene tonics which will
increase the score for every picture you take. However, taking multiple
pictures of the same target will reduce the score of the picture, and if the
score gets too low the game will simply not take the picture (therefore you
don't have to worry about wasting film on useless pictures).
Each picture you take will increase your progress towards the next research
level on that type of enemy. Each new research level will provide a bonus
against that type of enemy, a plasmid/gene tonic, or some other type of reward.
It's therefore worth your while to do as much research as possible, especially
against the tougher enemies like big daddies and spider/houdini splicers. When
you see an enemy up ahead, break out your camera, and once you get in range try
to snap as many pictures as possible as quickly as possible. Film isn't hard to
find in Rapture, so don't worry about wasting it. Personally I'd keep
photographing each subject until it doesn't give you any more research
increases, ESPECIALLY against the rarer enemies like big daddies and
spider/houdini splicers. You can usually take 3-5 pictures of an enemy before
the score gets so low that the picture won't be taken.
Each enemy has 5 research levels - after you get to level 5 you won't be able
to take any more pictures of that enemy, since there's nothing left to
research. Usually levels 1, 3, and 5 provide damage increases against that
enemy, while levels 2 and 4 provide more specialized bonuses.
Note that you can also research security camera elements like turrets, security
cameras, and and bots. An easy way to do this is to zap them with electrobolt
so they're "stunned", and then run in and grab a bunch of photos before they
come online again. You can also research little sisters - each level for them
gives you a bonus to your maximum health and EVE.
== Q. SECURITY SYSTEM [c02s17] ================================================
Rapture has a security system which protects some of the more sensitive areas
of the city. There are three major elements to the security system - cameras,
turrets, and bots. All three of these elements can be researched with the
camera. The security system can also be hacked so that it protects you and
attacks your enemies. If you can prepare an area's security system in advance
for an important or difficult fight, it will make things much easier for you,
since the turrets, cameras, and bots will be fighting FOR you, instead of
against you. This is a good strategy to use against big daddies.
CAMERAS - security cameras can often be found scanning important areas of the
city. You can see where the camera is looking because it emits a red circle of
light on the area the camera is pointed at. If the camera sees you, the light
will turn white, and you have a few seconds to get out of view. If you don't,
the camera will trigger an alarm, and security bots will be summoned to hunt
you down. The alarm lasts for sixty seconds, but it can be cut short if you
run away from the area where it was triggered or use a bot shutdown panel (see
the Machines section). When the alarm is triggered, a red countdown timer
appears on the right side of the screen to show you how much time is left.
Cameras can either be avoided, destroyed (use explosive or armor-piercing
ammo), or hacked. You can sometimes get close enough to hack a camera without
it seeing you, but a better bet is to shock it with the electrobolt plasmid or
electric ammo, which will temporarily put it out of commission. You can then
get close enough to hack it without worrying about an alarm being triggered.
Hacked security cameras will sound the alarm on enemies, and will summon
allied security bots to attack them. An alarm timer will again appear, but
this time it will be blue instead of red. Hacked cameras have a green light
instead of a red one.
TURRETS - turrets are automated weapons platforms that attack you on sight.
There are several different kinds, including machine gun, flamethrower, and
rocket launcher varieties. Like cameras, they can be shocked with the
electrobolt or electrical ammo and hacked, or else just outright destroyed.
Hacked turrets have green lights instead of red, and attack your enemies
instead of you.
BOTS - bots are summoned by camera alarms, and can occasionally be found lying
on the ground. See the enemies section for more details on bots.
== R. HACKING [c02s18] ========================================================
BioShock includes a hacking mini-game, which allows you to (among other things)
convert security system elements to your side, open safes and combination
locks, reactivate bots, and reduce prices and increase stock at vending
machines. You can usually hack items by walking up to them and pressing the X
button. This brings up a screen which shows you the difficulty of hacking the
item, and what you will get if you successfully hack it. Pressing A will take
you to the hacking mini-game.
The game is essentially a "tile" type of game where you have to rearrange
pipes to redirect a flow of energy from a starting point to an ending point. At
the beginning of the game, all the tiles are flipped over. Press A to flip over
a tile, and press A again to swap the flipped tile with whatever you have in
your "storage" or "buffer" (shown on the left side of the screen). Essentially
you have to connect the starting point with the ending point before the blue
energy flow gets to the end of the pipe or touches an alarm or overload tile.
If the energy flow reaches the end of the pipe before you connect it to the end
tile, the system will overload and you will take a small amount of damage.
This sounds complicated, but it's easy with a little practice. You just have to
be efficient at rearranging the tiles. Try to flip over as many as you can at
the beginning (before the energy starts to flow) so you can see what you have
to work with, and then go from there. There are also a few special tiles...
OVERLOAD TILES - look like little orange explosions. If the energy gets routed
to these tiles the device will automatically overload and you will take a
large amount of damage.
ALARM TILES - look like little fire alarms with a red dot on them. If the
energy gets routed to these tiles an alarm will go off and bots will be
summoned.
RESISTOR TILES - look like zig-zag electrical resistors. These greatly slow the
speed of the energy flow, and buy you a little extra time to complete the
circuit if you're having trouble.
FAST FLOW TILES - these are very thin pipes that show up late in the game. They
are basically the opposite of resistor tiles, they speed up the energy flow
instead of slowing it down. Try not to use them if you're short on time.
If you're having too much trouble with a particular hacking puzzle, you have
two options available to you - you can either use an auto-hack tool (obtainable
from vending machines, containers, and U-invent machines) to automatically
hack the item, or you can "buy out" the hack and spend money to complete the
puzzle. The more difficult the puzzle is, the more expensive it will be to buy
out the hack.
There are also several achievements you can earn from hacking...
Hacked a Safe (10 GP) - Successfully hacked a safe.
Hacked a Security Bot (10 GP) - Successfully hacked a security bot.
Hacked a Turret (10 GP) - Successfully hacked a turret.
Hacked a Vending Machine (10 GP) - Successfully hacked a vending machine.
Skilled Hacker (40 GP) - Complete 50 successful hacks.
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