Hardcore and very old school. If you need someone to hold your hand... look elsewhere. This is what games used to be like back in the days before they all got hit by the stupid-stick and the easy-mode-club.
Hard, fun and huge. If you scew up just the slightest, you die. If you drop quest-items before you've used them (like the sim cards) you have to run around looking for them. Nothing is for free.
Ammo is sparse, healing is sparse, most enemies are hard and there is plenty of them. You really have to plan ahead, listen to the sounds of what's running around, watch out for the towers and the cameras, aim carefully.
You will die alot... alot. Your inventory will be constantly full with things you might or might not use. You will run around in circles not knowing where to go and you will rage-quit more than once. But you will come back again and again because you want to beat this game. It will take you an hour or so to get used to the interface and to get the grips on the gameplay... but don't give up!! This game is a jewel.
Game-play: 9/10
It's old and it feels abit old. But try to ignore that because the game is epic! Maps are pretty large and the interior of the ship is, or at least can be confusing at times. You advance by increasing stats, weapons skills (like energy weapons), tech-skills (repair and hacking for example) and a variety of psi-skills (I never used them, but they seem very useful).
Graphics: 3/10 (6/10 with mod)
Not the best looking games around. Find a graphic mod and install it immediately!
Atmosphere: 10/10
Great sound/s, creepiness, voice acting, story elements.
Difficulty: 10/10
You will not get anything for free in this game. You will have to earn it!!
Overall: 9/10
If this game had arrived today with todays graphics/technology it would be an easy 10/10. Story and atmosphere is superb.
This is how the Bioshock (most new games to be honest) games should have been like... and not like the dull console-like snooze-fests they ended up to be.
Easily one of the best (action) single player experiences I've had in my ~30 years of gaming. Up there with Deus Ex, Half-life 1/2, Severance - Blade of Darkness and Return to Castle Wolfenstein.
I highly recommend that you install a graphic-mod to fix the rather dull original textures and "monster" models.