Due to some extenuating circumstances, I have only just finished Bioshock last weekend. Needless to say, the game has a lot going for it. It’s gorgeous to look at most of the time, had a great story, really fun weapons and pseudo-magic, incredibly detailed fictional world, and the atmosphere was out of this world! You’d think that was enough, wouldn’t you? No, the brilliant team behind the game decided to add emotion…

I have to admit, I’m somewhat of a sensitive guy. I’ve been moved to to tears by a few movies and my eyes water almost every time my son smiles at me, but I’ve rarely ever had an emotional reaction to a video game. Coming from a long-time gamer, that says a lot. I didn’t feel anything when Aeris died in Final Fantasy 7 (except for the nagging feeling she’ll somehow come back to life before the end of the game), and none of these “saddest moments in video games” did anything to me either. I laugh out loud when I run pedestrians over in Grand Theft Auto and get a kick out of unleashing Godzilla on my Sim City. In fact, I can’t name a video-game that did evoke any sadness or true ethical dilemma in me until Bioshock.

You see, games like Dead Rising and Grand Theft Auto 4 did not have any children in them at all (well except for the opening cinematic in Dead Rising).  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that killing children in video games is a big no no. So why was Bioshock able to get away with it, and why did that aspect truly set it apart from other games of its genre?

The Little Sisters in Bioshock were a lot more complex than they first appear. At many points in the game, you have the choice to either harvest or rescue them. You’re told that harvesting them (which basically kills them) will make you more powerful and you’re not told any advantages to rescuing them, making the decision to do the right thing actually impact your gameplay. In my first play through, I saved every Little Sister. I was actually delighted to do so and was moved by the way they thanked me! I finished the game and was treated to a wonderful and heart-warming ending involving the Little Sisters.

Almost immediately afterwards, I started the game over with the intention of beating it once more but by harvesting every little sister this time. I confess I did do it the first time, but could not continue after that. The action of harvesting them made me feel ridiculously guilty. Yes, I am the same guy who put people on fire with molotov cocktails in Grand Theft Auto, put them out with the firetruck, only to try to set them on fire again to see if they would burn. This, somehow, was different. It meant so much to me to see the relieved look on the Little Sisters’ faces that I couldn’t imagine playing through Bioshock again without that motivation.

That was pretty much the point I realized how fulfilling my first playthrough really was! My choice made a difference after all! It wasn’t a ridiculously pointless choice as in most RPGs where you commit the most heinous of acts and are still expected to be the hero or savior or what have you. No, this time I really DID have a choice and I made the right one. Why did it feel wrong to kill them? Was it because they were children? That was most likely a big part. Was it because they turned into cute little girls when they were saved and hallow slug husks when they were harvested? That was most likely it, but I’m not really sure what it was truthfully.

I admit, I have no idea what would have happened had I chosen to start off by harvesting the Little Sisters since I set out with the intention of playing the game twice from the get go, but I’m strangely proud of the choices I made both to save the Little Sisters and not to continue with the game that would have me harvest them all. Did anyone else feel the same or am I too sentimental for my own good?