Basics

The Basics

Controls

R Trigger - Fire Weapon.

L Trigger - Use Plasmid.

R Bumper - Switch Weapon (hold to activate selection radial).

L Bumper - Switch Plasmid (hold to activate selection radial).

L Thumbstick - Move character around. Click and hold to crouch.

R Thumbstick - Look around. Click to toggle zoom.

A Button - Interact, when prompt appears.

B Button - Use First Aid (if available).

X Button - Reload current weapon or recharge EVE.

Y Button - Jump. D-pad Up - Change Ammo (Top).

D-pad Down - Change Ammo (Bottom).

D-pad Left - Change Ammo (Left).

Start - Pause the game and bring up the Pause Menu.

Back - Pause the game and bring up the Status Menu.

Machines

Circus of Values

The Circus of Values vending station allows you to use your money to purchase healing supplies (First Aid Kits, EVE Hypos) ammunition, and more. If a Circus of Values machine is hacked, prices are lowered and in some cases, items may be added to the machine's inventory.

Circus Of Values

Ammo Bandito

The Ammo Bandito vending station is much like the Circus of Values, the difference being that its entire inventory is geared solely towards ammunition. If an Ammo Bandito station is hacked, the inventory prices are lowered and in some cases, additional items appear in the machine's inventory.

Ammo Bandito

Gatherer's Garden

Gatherer's Garden machines allow you to spend ADAM that is collected by harvesting or rescuing (for more information, see the "Gatherers and Protectors" section) on a variety of upgrades. You'll find new plasmids, Physical, Engineering and Combat tonics, as well as permanent Health and EVE upgrades. Also, additional plasmid and tonic slots can be purchased, allowing you to have more plasmids and active tonics at once.

Gatherer’s Garden

Vita-Chamber

The Vita-Chamber acts as a sort of waypoint in BioShock. However, if your health reaches zero, you do not lose any progress, you are simply sent back to the last Vita-Chamber that you passed. Nothing needs to be done to activate the chamber as a waypoint, simply walk past it.

Vita Chamber

Bot Shutdown Panels

If you are spotted by a Security Camera and the alarm is activated, seek one of these machines to shutdown all of the Security Bots sent your way, prematurely ending the alarm timer. For the most part, one of these panels can be found near a Security Camera.

Health Stations

Restores your health for a small fee. If this machine is hacked, the fee for healing is lowered a bit, and any Splicer that uses the hacked station will take damage instead of being healed. Health Stations can be destroyed, a destroyed station leaves behind a couple of First Aid Kits.

Health Station

Power To The People

Weapon Upgrade station. Each weapon in BioShock has two different upgrades that can be applied to it. There is no price to use a Power To The People machine, but each machine can only be used once. Once a machine has been used, it is closed. There are 12 Power To The People Weapon Upgrade stations in all.

Power to the People

U-Invent

Can be used to create items from invention material. Useful for creating ammunition. A couple of tonics can be created with the U-Invent machine as well. When hacked, the amount of invention materials required to create an item is lowered. Invention materials can be found everywhere; on corpses, in storage containers, etc.

U-Invent

Hacking

Many machines can be hacked, including stationary Turrets, Security Cameras, Vending machines, etc. To hack security equipment, throw an Electro Bolt at them, then approach the Turret/Camera/Bot and press the X button to start hacking. Benefits are gained for a successful hack, such as lower prices in vending stations.

Press the X button to open the hack menu. It's simple enough: Your goal is to create a connection between the starting point and the end point by using the pipes that are available on the grid. You must accomplish this before the liquid reaches the end of the line.

Hacking

If a hack turns out to be a failure, the machine might short circuit and cause some damage to you. There are other consequences as well, such as alarms being activated; sending Security Bots to your position. There are other obstacles that come into play while hacking, such as alarms and shorts. These make it a bit more difficult to hack without the use of tonics.

Hacking a Circus of Values or Ammo Bandito vending station lowers the price of the items and may also unlock additional items.

Hacking a U-Invent machine reduces the number of invention materials required to create the items listed.

Hacking a Gun/RPG/Flame Turret makes it friendly, causing it to attack your enemies instead of you.

Hacking a Security Bot makes it friendly. It will follow you and attack any enemies that are hostile towards you.

Hacking a Security Camera makes it friendly. If one of your enemies gets spotted by a hacked camera, the alarm goes off, sending Security Bots to their position.

Research

With the Camera, you can take pictures of your enemies. Researching your enemies is quite beneficial, each time you manage to fill the bar that is displayed at the bottom of the screen once you have taken a picture of a certain species, you reach a new Research Level. When you gain a research level, a permanent research bonus is earned. This is an advantage that you gain over the particular species that you gained a level on. So, for example, for gaining a Spider Splicer research level, the damage you deal to them is increased. Not only that, but at a certain level for some species, you may even receive a Tonic.

research

research level

Bonuses are earned for taking an "Action" shot, which means that the enemy is attacking you when you snap the picture. The amount of points that you receive for taking the picture of an enemy will decrease as you take more pictures of that particular enemy. Also, taking a picture of a dead enemy yields less points. Eventually, no more photos of that enemy can be taken. When that point is reached, you'll have to find a fresh subject if you wish to continue researching that species.

Once you have acquired the camera (it is found at some point during the main storyline, you can't miss it), it is HIGHLY recommended that you take pictures of each species that you encounter until you have attained the highest research level for that species. You gain great bonuses by doing this, making dealing with certain enemies much easier. Be sure to take pictures of all types of Splicer, Big Daddies (Rosie and Bouncer), Little Sisters, Security Bots, Gun Turrets and Security Cameras. A number of Xbox 360 achievements require researching your enemies to unlock.

Gatherers and Protectors

The Gatherers are called "Little Sisters." The Protectors are "Big Daddies." Little Sisters are the primary source of a very important commodity in Rapture, ADAM.

If a Little Sister is not with a Big Daddy, simply follow him. He eventually reaches a vent along the wall (you'll notice these everywhere). The Big Daddy then proceeds to pound below the opening, this causes a Little Sister to appear from the vent.

Press the Start button to pause the game and call up the Pause menu. Notice the icons and the "Little Sisters In This Level" text at the bottom of the screen. The initial icon shows a picture of a Little Sister with a Big Daddy, that means that the Little Sister has not been Rescued or Harvested yet.

When you encounter a Big Daddy, you can be sure that a Little Sister is close by, though one is not always in the immediate vicinity. If there are still Little Sisters in the level that you have not dealt with, follow any Big Daddy that you encounter if he does not have a Little Sister with him. If you kill a Big Daddy, a fresh one will eventually take its place.

Big Daddy and Little Sister

Once you have killed a Big Daddy and the Little Sister is left defenseless, you are given a choice:

You can "Harvest" the Little Sister by pressing the X button, doing this gives you a large amount of ADAM, but the girl will not survive. Your other option is to "Rescue," doing so will give you half the amount of ADAM that you would receive for harvesting, but the girl will survive. Additionally, Tenenbaum has promised to make it "worth your while."

Little Sister

In the end, it is definitely more beneficial to rescue the Little Sisters. For one thing, if you are a fan of the Xbox 360's achievement system, there is one achievement that is unlocked upon completion of the game if you did not harvest a single Little Sister. The achievement is "Little Sister Savior," it's worth 100 gamerpoints! Not only that, but once you have rescued a specific number of Little Sisters, Tenenbaum will send one to drop off a gift for you near a Gatherer's Garden station. These gifts contain a large amount of ADAM (though not as much as you would get from pure harvesting), ammunition, occasionally tonics and plasmid. So, you'll need to rescue them if you wish to earn the "Tonic Collector" achievement as well. If you chose to harvest them all, you would have a surplus of ADAM anyway. It's your call.