Bioshock Infinite

Blog Post: Bioshock Infinite - Creating a Rift in Itself

DesertOcelot — Thu, 23 May 2013 03:01:00 GMT

The beauty of video games is that they are a type of media that encompasses all other forms of entertainment; literature, cinema, music. As long as it's interactive it's still considered a video game. People complain that visual novels like Katawa Shoujo or cinematic dramas such as Heavy Rain are not video games because they focus on literature or cinema rather than gameplay. I believe it's wrong to assume that a video game is good or bad based on how many cutscenes it has but rather how well it's able to engage the player in whatever it's trying to accomplish.

Bioshock Infinite is a game that plays with this idea that a video game can be something more than just gameplay by trying to bring the player a riveting narrative and engaging FPS action. Unfortunately, its achievement in presentation overshadows its effort in gameplay which leaves the game unbalanced.

From first entering Columbia to the mind-numbing finale, the game embeds your brain with beautiful imagery, symbolism, and narrative through its gorgeous graphics, stellar musical numbers, and believable voice-acting. Every line of dialogue and event appear to be carefully scripted and well thought out. Every character and their intertwining fates, the backstory and subplots, and every situation comes about in such a cinematically, methodical and beautiful manner that it's obvious that the developer's first priority was to tell a story as exploration is compromised for almost on-rail story-telling.

The main and most damning problem that Bioshock Infinite has stems from its methodical story-telling. As stated earlier, the story appears to be Irrational's first priority making the gameplay an obvious second. This becomes a problem for two reasons; with a story that's the main focus the gameplay becomes a glaring distraction, and the gameplay loses a ton of potential.

While the story may have some problems, it's evident that the developers put forth the time and effort to bring the player a thrilling cinematic experience and they succeeded. The player has a reason to continue, not because they want to shoot mindlessly at random enemies but because they want to continue the tale of Booker and Elizabeth. The problem here is that the gameplay is not thrilling enough to compete with the game's cinematic elements and therefore becomes a distraction. The same problem arose with Spec Ops: The Line where the bland third-person shooting felt like a hindrance in the wake of the narrative. While the gameplay of Bioshock Infinite definitely has a lot more depth than Spec Ops', it, nonetheless, becomes a hindrance as well. While vigor combinations and dimension-tearing are amusing for a bit it all starts to lose its shimmer when with every room comes a wave of the same enemies that can be killed with the same vigor/weapon combination. While experimenting with vigors, I found that Shock Jock and Possession are really the only ones needed. As far as the weapon choice goes, I found very little difference with each weapon or not preferring one over the other. The only reason I would switch a weapon was when I exhausted my ammo, then I would continue the assault the same as before.

All of this brings a lack of strategy among other things that really would have other-wised balanced out Infinite and made all of its parts shine. Picking up a certain weapon should bring about a sense in the player that they should switch up their style of gameplay to suit the gun or choose a gun based on the situation. All Infinite offered was a sniper rifle, the only different gun in the game. Every other gun from the pistol to the rocket launcher felt exactly the same albeit the blast radius and that was a problem. There were also other elements in Infinite that felt like they could have been expanded upon. Using sky-rails could been implemented better as they were only used as a way to progress the story or for a quick escape when a wave of enemies became too tough. I imagined entire fights above the skies on the rails, switching from one to the other, using melee andgrapples, or electrocuting them through the metal with your vigors . . . but no, none of that.

The world of Columbia is such a strikingly beautiful place but as you play through the game it becomes apparent that all Columbia was meant to be was a setting. The game itself is very linear not just in a narrative sense but in a gameplay sense as well. There is no emphasis to explore the beautiful city and lacks the ability to backtrack and explore Columbia in spare time. I find it unforgivable, given this gorgeous world rich with lore, that an emphasis on exploration was not accentuated.

Infinite suffers from being a mindless shooter as the game is composed of wave after wave of enemies. There were a few tiny portions, and I mean tiny, that if expanded upon, could have really improved the gameplay. One was a stealth sequence in which an enemy would be on look out and if spotted, he would call a wave of creepy prisoners to attack you. It was a breath of fresh air to be able to use the environment as cover and sneak your way passed, or if you'd rather, just rush in and take them all head on. There were only two instances of this and they occurred near the end of the game. The other example of lost potential being the controlling of allies on the battlefield (I'm not talking about Possession and I can't say who you control exactly with the fear of giving away spoilers). Controlling an ally, only happens once, while was not the most thrilling, it was a change in gameplay that was another breath of fresh air. Infinite's problem comes down to a lack of variety.

With such a strong narrative, it's a shame that the gameplay, while not the most thrilling but by no means awful, disrupts the flow of the entire game and leaves the latest installment of the Bioshock series an unbalanced loss of potential. The narrative and presentation are so engaging that the gameplay, as fulfilling as it may be, becomes a distraction. Bioshock Infinite's brilliant story and mediocre gameplay leaves the game far from perfection but has enough substance to keep the majority of players entertained.

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Gameplay:
Simple FPS gameplay expanded slightly with the use of vigors. The gameplay is focused on simply defeating waves and waves enemies by using a balance of weapons and vigors to dispatch them. Unfortunately, I found strategy to be unnecessary when simply blasting away enemies with any weapon you have and spamming Shock Jock will get the job done about 90 percent of the time. Elizabeth also simplifies fights to the point where I had to stop using her assistance. As soon as you run out of ammo, health, or salts she will instantly replenish them. After accepting a few of these items from her, it will take her a few seconds before giving you anymore. There is literally a price to be paid every time you die. Upon death, you will lose a reasonable amount of money before the battle once again restarts (from where you ended off and with the enemies' health slightly restored). The only boss fight in the game is very dull and the final standoff left more to be desired. There is a small change-up during the final moments of the game where some stealth elements were implemented but only lasted for a few sequences leaving the player to return back to the monotonous gunfights.

Playability:
The game plays quite well with the only complaint being that turning is a bit slow especially when you need to get out of a top spot and running only works when moving forward.

Camera:
The camera really shines when trying to move the player through the narrative. It worked in a very cinematic way to focus on the narrative.

Fun:
The enjoyment stems from the desire to continue the story and exploring the world and is held back by the sometimes monotonous gameplay. Not to say the gameplay is bad, it's just not as in depth as the narrative.

Lasting Appeal:
Infinite is a good-sized game, taking your time it'll probably give you over 15 hours but after that the only thing to do is play a higher difficulty or try 1999 mode.

Graphics:
Stunning visuals that bring the bright and grim world of Columbia to life.

Sound:
Top-notch voice acting, musical score, and 1900's renditions of modern songs add to the brilliance of the presentation.

Difficulty:
Pretty constant but things like Elizabeth's aide and tears give the game unnecessary dips.

Flow:
The gameplay slows down the gameplay especially when the main focus of the game is the story.

Blog Post: Beautiful adventure through Columbia

Cowcommander — Thu, 23 May 2013 01:36:00 GMT

Bioshock 2 wasn't all that great but was good enough, But then this year Bioshock infinite came in and brought us a story we will never forget.

First off we received a well mannered gameplay that indeed keeps the controls of the other bioshocks so its really easy to use and smooth. As before you explore and still search items and fight off enemies like previous games. The sound is very great as you hear lots of gun sounds, screams, and explosions that blow the speakers. Also the soundtrack fits very nicely in background and battle scenes of gameplay. The graphics are amazing, the colors and lighting fits great into the game as does the framerate of the game. Overall the game shouldnt be missed out, especially the story that is very dramatic and suspenseful.

Blog Post: An Amazing Game, but Don't look TO Closely

codforlife — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:26:00 GMT

I've been waiting for Bioshock Infinite for about 2 years now, and it's everything I have wanted, or at gameplay wise.

The story is amazing. I won't talk about it, since it is the main part of the game, and the one that everybody cares about, but it is great, and will definitely give you the twist ending that you expect this time around. The controls feel on par with most FPS, and sometimes even better with the edition of plasmids and skyline combat. The guns themselves aren't as creative. The first batch are definitely cool and fun to use, but they are just covered in red cloth and painted red, given a different function(sort of) and called a new name, and we shouldn't be none the wiser. They aren't boring to use and some of the copied guns are more fun than the originals, but it doesn't change the fact. The game looks great from a distance, but up close they look a little worse. Up close, some of these textures are worse off than COD. The enemies are varied and fun to fight, and they give a good challenge, even on the easiest difficulty. Since you come back with only a little money and health gone, it doesn't feel to punishing to die, but the game really shines when played on 1999 difficulty. The atmosphere is just perfect. I haven't been an atmosphere this great since Metro 2033, and that's saying something. When you're not shooting at stuff, you are playing carnival games, getting in racist raffles, watching cortets on a floating ship, and seeing mechanized horses go up the street. These moments are few, and I wish that there were WAY more of them, because they made me feel more emotion than all the shooting.

This is the definitive Bioshock experience, and it should not be missed. This game is definitely for Bioshock fans, fans of good shooters, fans of good stories, or fans of just great games.

Wiki: Bioshock Infinite Guides

Anonymous — Sat, 18 May 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Guides for Bioshock Infinite

Blog Post: BioShock: Infinite - Setting the Bar Sky-High

dimension_11 — Sat, 11 May 2013 23:53:00 GMT

It seems almost impossible to achieve the greatness of the original BioShock - a game that boasts one of the most artistic, well-developed settings and narratives in video games, and also reminded us that that games have the ability to be just as thought provoking, invigorating, and chilling as movies and novels with the now-immortal three word phrase - "Would you kindly?"

Games that match the quality of the original BioShock are extremely rare. They are much more developed and innovative than a game that simply snags some exceptionally good reviews and excited praise - no, they are games of unquestionable quality that go on to define a generation. BioShock: Infinite is one of those games.

And much like the original BioShock, it all begins in the same way - with a lighthouse.

Infinite starts out with a simple premise, "Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt." It's the year 1912, and you are Booker DeWitt, a war veteran turned Pinkerton agent who has landed himself in a nasty debt to the wrong sort of folks. In order to erase this debt, Booker has to travel to the sky-high city of Columbia, retrieve a teenage girl named Elizabeth, and bring her back to New York. The job seems simple enough, but as we soon find out, the city of Columbia has other plans for Booker. This leads into the everlasting struggle between Booker and the game's main antagonist - a self-proclaimed prophet named Comstock.

Early on in BioShock: Infinite, Booker is sent above the clouds to Columbia - a beautiful, neo-colonial style city that is both richly developed and immersive. Unlike the original BioShock's Rapture, we get to witness Columbia while it is still (mostly) thriving.

The first portion of Infinite is dedicated solely to building this unique city floating amongst the clouds - there's very little combat in the first hour or so. As you walk around Columbia, you are treated to a mesmerizing experience simply by walking the cobbled streets, browsing the gift stores, and eavesdropping on local gossip. Columbia is stunning - a perfect rendition of American society in 1912. However, Columbia's impossible sunlight and beautiful oddity is something much darker. The city and its inhabitants are deeply influenced by the extremist ideals of its leader, Comstock.

The Prophet Comstock claims to be given the gift of foresight, and he has fashioned American exceptionalism into a cult that governs everything in the city. His ferocious propaganda campaign has infused ideals of ultra-nationalism, imperialism, racism, and exceptionalism into the minds of the locals. This idealistic view spurs a number of discontent citizens to break from Comstock's rule and attempt to uproot Columbia to form something new - through violence if necessary.

BioShock: Infinite's story is brilliant, but that alone is not what really makes this game stand out - its how the story and setting are presented to the player that makes this game truly exceptional. Each moment is filled with incredible details, and to not stop and linger at these along with the game's hidden audio logs is to miss one of the greatest pleasures in gaming. The art direction is sublime and inventive - more so than any other game I can think of - and that's what helps to propel this glorious meditation on regret, revolution, faith, friendship, redemption, national identity, guilt, suffering, and most importantly, choices, to ecstatic heights. Infinite isn't a game with choices looming around every corner, but is the best game on the choices we make as a person and as a people, and their impact on society.

Where all this takes you is something that you really should experience for yourself, so I won't say much more here. However, what I will say is that is the most intricately crafted and mind-blowing stories I have ever seen in a game. BioShock: Infinite will give you a something to think about and discuss for a very long time.

However, you still haven't seen what really sets Infinite apart from BioShock (and most other games). That's because you haven't met the girl Booker is sent to find - Elizabeth.

Booker enters Columbia alone - but he soon rescues Elizabeth from her ominous tower in which she has been held all her life, and the two set off to escape Columbia together. It's the relationship that slowly evolves between Elizabeth and Booker which is the driving force of the story. As the duo explores the mysterious city, the two become ever more reliant on each other. Through a brilliant use of animations, outstanding voice acting, and brilliant writing, Elizabeth turns into one of the most striking characters ever to be seen in a game. She is much more than a companion along for the ride - she is a friend to help you through the tough times in Columbia.

In fact, Elizabeth feels like a real person, more so than any other video game character I can think of. Her body language speaks volumes about how she is currently feeling - she'll give you a cheery smile when Booker makes her promises, and cross her arms and give you a stern look when Booker breaks them. In fact, you'll come to realize that any brief period of time where Elizabeth is away from you, something huge is missing - an emotional core. If she's happy, you're going to be happy. If she's sad, you're going to be sad. And when she's hurt, you're going to want to personally dismember whoever harmed her.

Elizabeth's integration into combat is one of the most ingenious parts of BioShock: Infinite. There's no need to constantly watch over her like other NPCs - Elizabeth is fully capable of looking after herself. In fact, it's more like Elizabeth is protecting you instead of vice versa. Elizabeth's first ability is her "tear" powers, which allow her to bring items into this world from other dimensions. This can include weapons, cover, or even a handy turret. However, she also has other, less mysterious abilities. During combat, she will toss you valuable items such as health and ammo just in the nick of time to help you defeat Comstock's goons.

Think about it: say you are gunning down waves of oncoming enemies, and "click!" - You're out of ammo. You frantically scan the nearby area for another gun (there's nothing there...) as enemies close in. Just as you're about to be turned to a smoldering pile of ash, Elizabeth yells, "Booker! Here!" You turn and snatch the shotgun out of the air, and a few quick shots later there's nothing but a pile of corpses and your smoking gun.

It's moments like these that show off the brilliance of BioShock: Infinite. The unique position of the player and the inevitable help you will get from Elizabeth is part of its commentary and character development. The reliance between Booker and Elizabeth helps to define the relationship better than any scripted event could.

All of this culminates into BioShock: Infinite's most impressive feat: - Elizabeth captures your emotions in a way no other game can, and she gives a new sense of urgency to the violent events that occur throughout the game. Through the duration of the game, you will come to genuinely care for her and want to help her - and it's not because that's what the plot wants you to do. It's because Elizabeth is one of the first video game characters to truly feel like a real person, and she becomes a character that's actually worth caring for.

Even without Elizabeth at his side, Booker is still an effective fighting force. In addition to traditional gunplay, Booker can also use a set of awesome, gene-altering powers called vigors. These vigors can be used in rapid succession from one another while still firing with your gun. This allows you to experiment with a number of different combos - perhaps you could draw enemies closer with the Undertow vigor and then set them on fire with Devil's Kiss? Or, you could use the Bucking Bronco vigor to suspend you enemies helplessly in the air, and then use the Charge vigor to hurl yourself towards them for a deadly melee strike? In addition to all of this, the vigors can also be used to create traps, and in some cases react with the environment for devastating effects. BioShock: Infinite's combat system encourages experimentation, which makes the combat sequences memorable and exciting throughout the game.

The last feature Infinite manages to pull out of its masterful bag of tricks is the SkyHook. You acquire this tool early on in the game. At first it serves the purpose of a helpful melee tool. However, later you can use the SkyHook to connect to SkyLines, which are kind of like roller-coasters in the sky that help you quickly traverse the battlefield. You can shoot enemies from these SkyLines or lunge at then for an aerial attack. This feature is extremely cool, and adds a unique layer of movement in combat (It's also fun to be reminded that these shootouts are occurring at a couple thousand feet above sea-level). Though they are not incorporated into combat for a majority of the game, it's an exhilarating adrenaline rush when they are.

BioShock: Infinite reaffirmed my love for gaming. Never has one game opened up the possibilities of gaming so much without destroying its fundamental pleasures. Infinite is a glimpse into the future of storytelling and character building in video games. Infinite tells so much about societies, their flaws, and how our choices affect the world around us. Infinite delivers one of the strongest narratives ever seen in gaming, along with complex themes, an incredible cast of characters, and a flawlessly crafted plot. It is a game that has redefined the genre and will be revered in the gaming industry for a long time to come.

Regardless of your attitudes towards the first-person shooter genre, Infinite definitely deserves your attention - It's the kind of experience that only happens a few times each generation. Even after the credits roll, the tale of Booker, Elizabeth, and Columbia is going to stick with you for a very long time.

BioShock: Infinite - 10/10

Blog Post: Bioshock: Infinite - Flirting with Perfection

Rich — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:31:00 GMT

It's difficult for me to not just gush over the keyboard and start writing wonderful words about the critically acclaimed darling that is Bioshock: Infinite. So I will try to put this into a summation of sorts that keeps it somewhat tame. And I will start by saying, it was absolutely awesome.

It's been a while since I've played a game that has had me in as much awe as Infinite. From the moment you start, to the very end, my jaw was on the floor. I'll start with the games strong suits, of which there are a ton. The story is something different, which is a welcomed approach to the gaming industry that seems to be more focused on explosions and gun fights, which coincidentally the game has many of. It's typical in the sense of the guy, Booker Dewitt, getting girl, Elizabeth, from corrupt bad guy, Zachary Comstock, but that's where it stops, and where the overwhelmingly present aspect of the early 1900's floating city of Columbia. If anything were to steal the show away from the story, and it's wonderful cast its this city. The fine detail Irrational put into the making of this place puts it at a surreal level. Walk around one corner and you'll find a soda shop, walk around another and you find a street fair going on, all with the undertones of severe racism, religious and political undertones, and an uneasiness of tension in every conversation you partake in. They're all things we don't see much of in gaming in a serious sense, and it was refreshing watching it unravel in a well laid out story. But when you think you know what's going on in the story, be prepared to rethink it when the next cut scene starts up.

Booker is a great protagonist with a lot of great qualities in his character. The strong lead detective tasked with getting the girl back, with an affinity for big guns, and vigors. Vigors are your powers for the game, including a lighting, and fire attack, as well as some crowd control, they all come in handy and provide nice combos along with a shotgun blast. Elizabeth, the aforementioned damsel in distress, is a ton of fun to have following you around. Irrational did one hell of a job writing the AI for her as she's never in your way, and is always helping you out, tossing ammo, health, and salts, which reloads your vigors, whenever your stock is depleted. Her biggest addition is her ability to open tears whenever possible. It could range from med packs, armory deposits, sky hooks, or automated turrets. Not once did I ever say, having her around is a pain.

Every little inkling of the game screams with precise detail. Stumbling upon tears where you hear famous tunes in an old timey fashion, looking at posters of current events, the detail of the weapons, and supplies you pick up, they all have the feeling like they should be there. Like you really are in this world with these people. The voice actors for the characters did an amazing job, and I looked forward to their in game banter, as well as every scene they had together. Watching behind the scenes footage of the pair working together was a treat, and their chemistry paid off big time in their interactions in the game. They definitely helped bring the essence of the game to the next level.

The only qualms with the game I had were small hindrances at game play. I ran into a few bugs that had me wanting to quit a few times, and a couple of the checkpoints became increasingly frustrating. One bug had me attempt to continue through a section I'd never been to. When I got there, I noticed two what I thought were NPC's just standing there talking. As I passed them nothing happened, and I continued on, but I couldn't continue on as the game wouldn't let me. I backtracked to see them again thinking maybe I had to interact with them somehow. They had disappeared. They were actually enemies I needed to dispatch to continue on to the next area. So I had to reset my system, start over from one of the checkpoints, and go through the process again, only this time they reacted properly and I took care of them properly. Another bug, which made me ridiculously annoyed, was that the red glow of the gun when it was overheating, would get stuck on my screen and not dissipate until I had reloaded my gun, fired at least one shot, and reloaded again. This lasted for a few days actually until I almost at the end of the game. And the last bit I had an issue with was the checkpoints. Maybe because I played on the hard difficulty from the get go, but getting stuck in an endless loop of dying 3 seconds after I came back from the limbo type world was not my idea of fun. There are furious fire fights in the game with turrets and grenade launchers and having the first place I get brought back to being a spot where an incoming grenade is coming is frustrating to say the least.

However, overall this game is superb. There isn't much wrong with it at all, and anyone with a gaming pulse should at least give this game a go for its great story line, fun game play, and incredible voice acting. From beginning to end I found myself smiling at the details. If you haven't played this one yet, do so, I promise you will not be disappointed.

I give this game a - 9.5/10

Read the original http://rfrancisreview.blogspot.com/2013/05/bioshock-infinite-flirting-with.

Blog Post: Heresy to Critics Far and Wide, Infinite Has Nothing on even BioShock 2

Sabtos — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 16:38:00 GMT

Don’t be misled by all of my references to the original BioShock. This isn’t solely a comparison to a masterpiece, it’s a review of Infinite. I know it may seem like heresy to critics, especially those at Game Informer, but I was never one of those people that was negative about the sequel to the original BioShock. I thought BioShock 2 was a great expansion to the lore of Rapture, with some awesome new plasmids and weapons, and a story that felt gripping and relevant, if less impactful. And in all of these aspects, Infinite fails to impress, making Infinite, in my opinion, less than the game which many critics have made the pariah of the BioShock series. Ultimately, Infinite is the most inferior game of the dystopia collection that Irrational has developed, and the fact that this is largely ignored by the critics is laughable.

I could not believe this, but the more I played Infinite, the more I realized how turned off by it I was. The previous BioShocks gave you a sense of atmosphere and dread, great close-ups and almost intimacy with the enemies, of all types, and an affinity towards your weapons due to the upgrades and the changes in physical appearance, not to mention how awesome the plasmids were. All of this was missing from Infinite, with nothing else offered to make up for it.

A large part of atmosphere is backstory, and the personality of the enemies you come across. You don’t hear them talk or scream or mumble quite as often as the original Bioshock, and in fact, for the most part, you can sympathize with either side. So here you are, killing scores of soldiers and revolutionaries who are simply trying to defend their city or free it, and just like Dishonored, you don’t really have a great emotional incentive to do so. This is not like the original Bioshock, where the citizens have gone insane, yet are uniquely cute and intriguing at points, where they have very interesting conversations and hilarious things to say to you and about you when trying to kill you. Instead, you are going against soldiers whose job it is to kill you, and revolutionaries whose job it is to not be stopped in bringing Columbia down. This could have been remedied by keeping the Vox revolutionaries as mostly allies throughout the entirety of the game, and being able to permanently turn the allegiance of some Founders soldiers. Of course, this would require more people to be in battle in order to really enjoy the experience, and as they’ve cut back in many other areas of the game, I’m sure this would have been too much for the game engine to handle. As it stands, there is one true enemy in Infinite, and you do not even shoot at him, not once. This leaves your true drive entirely up for interpretation up until just moments before the credits roll. It robs the player of a real sense of purpose, and thus, atmosphere is lost and you’re left playing just another chaotic first-person shooter.

I had originally stated that I almost felt like the graphics in the older games were better than this one. But I now can unabashedly confirm that they are, in fact, much better, to the point that I am absolutely awestruck. This game looks nothing like the awesome screenshots all of us have grown accustomed to. This is as confounding as ever when you realize how many times Infinite has to load, not just with loading screens, but when you enter a different part of town, or turn back, it will go through a 5 second loading pause. What is it loading? The backgrounds almost seem painted like in the old days. Maybe the backgrounds should have been painted if they aren’t already, because you’ve really lost a lot of smaller details that were present in the original. Everything seems washed out, all the time, almost in full bloom effect, like the cheat available in almost all Ratchet and Clank games. Before you suggest I adjust the brightness, I've done it multiple times, and gone to both extremes, both on my TV and in the game. Irrational has the stubbornness to make permanent this ugly, overly bright washed out look in Infinite. In regards to the rest of the graphical detail of characters and atmosphere, it just seems like there's not a lot of horsepower being used, especially since you have what seems like many more loading points than previous BioShocks. The enemy character models don't seem very unique and aren't very sharp or detailed, I just don't understand what happened. BioShock released years ago, and it doesn’t really seem like more leeway was required with the engine enough to call for a graphical downgrade. For a series that has such a focus on atmosphere, this is a huge disappointment. Visuals are a large part of atmosphere.

Another part of atmosphere is audio. There were numerous issues with sound I've had with this game, it started fuzzing out a number of times. It wasn’t anything with hardware because I experimented with other outputs while the game was running and changed games as well. It was Infinite. Regardless of glitches or poor programming, the music in this game seemed very uninspired, and if it was inspired, it was downright boring. This means all of the pre-recorded tracks, the cover tracks, and the original score. The best song in the game was the first song in the end credits sequence. And how can that even begin to improve this experience? It’s just a reminder of what a missed opportunity this game was, for me. The music is so lame it's depressing. One of the biggest influences on my opinion and memory of the original BioShock was the soundtrack, both the score and the period-specific tracks. I hate the loading screen in Infinite, and I mean every single time it pops up, which is a lot. The historic tracks are mostly snooze-worthy, the score is only neat when being helpful, as when you kill someone, especially the last enemy in the room, and the tracks where they are playing covers of songs from the future is a neat effect, but ultimately that's as good as it gets in game, and unless you are paying close attention and standing almost directly next to a phonograph, you can miss them easily.

The analysis of atmosphere is immensely pertinent because that was such a memorable and perfectly done part of the original BioShock. But this analysis hasn’t even touched what's gone wrong with the combat, which the original BioShock polished to a point of sealing the deal in regards to perfection. Most of the previous games contained pretty close quarters combat, and were only drawn out due to strategy and health level. Infinite seems more like Call of Duty than anything else. This game can be very fast-paced. You shoot fast and move quickly most of the time, and everyone is relatively far away from you, so you can't really get a good visualization of them. In combination with the speed of combat and the utter graphical failure resulting in overly bright environmental bloom, it's almost all a blur. It's all about shooting shooting shooting, no matter how many vigors you collect and how many times the game reminds you to use them. The biggest disappointment is the fast-paced lack of intimacy with your enemies, but the vigors being less inspired than plasmids is a very close second. Possession would have been a very enjoyable first vigor if it didn’t take half of your salts bar, and didn’t last all but a few seconds on the enemies or robots you try to possess. It was like Irrational was afraid to make you overpowered this time around, when feeling like you had complete control of a combat situation in the original was the pinnacle of payoff after being stressed out and nerve-wracked roaming the halls of Rapture. The only other vigor I truly enjoyed was Bucking Bronco, which lifts your enemies in the air and gives you the opportunity to pump them full of lead in a vulnerable state or stack other vigors onto them. Everything else has been seen in just about any game with magic, and done better in most. Another shocking revelation, to say the least.

I am so sick of games where you spend the entire playthrough searching for money or gaining experience and collecting items and weapons and magic to only almost max out your player towards the very end of the experience. You finally get to enjoy the fruits of your labor, and the game comes to an end. Now a harder mode is offered, and welcomed, but you are not allowed to use all of that experience in that harder mode. What’s worse with Infinite is, where in the second to last chapter, you have access to hardly any ammunition and fewer salts to use your vigors, and you’re sitting there through the entire level at Comstock House wondering, “Why the heck have I been worrying so hard about searching all these corpses if I can’t use anything I have upgraded?!” So, at the end of the game and a start of a harder one, what’s the big deal if I can carry over my experience progress, so that I can actually thoroughly enjoy the weapon and magic elements you have so painstakingly developed?! No matter how they try to spin it, acquiring those abilities are not really story related, and even if they were, so what? It’s such an absolute waste of time to have acquired all of that stuff and not be able to play the game from start to finish and actually enjoy using it with some variety. I figured a developer like Irrational, or Ken Levine, might someday be the one to actually allow you to enjoy the fruits of your labor, but wrong again. The plot would be the only reason I would play this a second time, and because it ultimately turned me off after maybe too much analysis, a second playthrough is not going to happen anytime soon.

The plot hooks are interesting and keep me going, but just barely more than Dishonored did—another game critically lauded which I disliked, much more so than Infinite. I know there are supposed to be negative and gripping connotations to the religious, racist, and extreme right elements in the introduction of the game, but I became kind of bored with it, sort of in the way that, “Hey, yeah, I already agree with you here, Irrational Games, so let’s get past the elementary lesson in cult-like mental behavior and get into the meat of this.” Further on in, the plot in Infinite has been done many times before, but has the unfortunate timing to come right on the heels of the completion of JJ Abrams’s masterpiece Fringe. This TV show explored so many possibilities to alternate universes that it makes Infinite look like an elementary introduction to the idea, and I mean that in the most demeaning of ways. Infinite really doesn't even scratch the surface of the possibilities, which leads me to yet again wonder if they even thought it through. The voxophone entries by the Lutece twins come across as attempts to obfuscate as opposed to scientifically elaborate and intrigue. Spoiler: And if anyone thinks the main characters being related, and being older and younger versions of other characters was an original idea, it’s been done for years, if not decades or centuries. The plot hook was more of a time travel conundrum than an alternate universe one, and anyone familiar with time travel stories has seen their fair share of an older version of self killing a younger version, or vice versa, and also a main character meeting their child or parent without even realizing it. End Spoiler. In other words, the final twists of Infinite just seemed recycled from other material, and we all know videogames are capable of much more. BioShock had such great inspiration and direction, I just cannot comprehend how Infinite came out of the same minds and talents. Needless to say, regardless of the intentions with the plot, the religious and racist themes running through this plot are far more irritating than poignant. I really just don't want to hear about these things in the way that they present them—it's so off-putting and simultaneously elementary and boring that it just seems out of touch and out of place, in time. They went so strong with the nostalgic and old-timey vibe that it's like they lost touch with modern knowledge. And to put a rotten cherry on top of all this mess, this game just reeks of an arcade FPS.

This is not the atmospheric, intriguing, plot-centric game I kept reading about. This is not the Bioshock experience I was looking forward to, and the shameless plug to the original BioShock during the final sequences is just a lousy attempt at bringing my undying nostalgia and love for the first into my thoughts for this poor follow-up. To be clear, the ending of Infinite did keep my attention, and I felt that the plot finally came through in some sense. But not only was it was too little too late, I found myself arguing with the conclusion’s theories, and not in a constructive way. And to endure that much disappointment for a slightly intriguing, if not flawed ending, is not really worth it to me. I am one of those people where the ending does not have to be the big payoff, the journey is where the satisfaction should be, and Infinite fails me there greatly.

I am really starting to question whether something is wrong with me. I was so hyped for this game. This is turning into a long streak of highly anticipated, critically praised games where I am less than impressed and I just don't understand, especially in light of the high critical praise of Infinite. This feels so uninspired overall compared to the original. I feel like Debbie Downer, being negative about all these sequels to massive games which are getting great reviews. I just don't get these reviews. There is great respect for Ken Levine in the gaming community, and I share that respect, but that doesn’t mean this game is a perfect game in any regard. Far from it, and even if I’m the only dissenting voice, or at least the only one not ashamed to be that “vox,” it has to be said. This game, in its entirety, not just here and there, or picking it apart at small blemishes, but as a whole, is a huge disappointment.

That concludes my review of BioShock Infinite, but for some closing remarks, I have a bone to pick with the advertising strategy for this game.

From the original teasers showing Elizabeth catching a falling Booker through some roses floating over the city, to Elizabeth being the damsel in distress about to be hanged, this is not the game you came for, not that the false storylines set up by these ads would have made it better. For anyone that came to this game because of these ads, I’m so sorry for the false advertising. Just imagine if they advertised a film coming to theaters in a matter of days with footage and plot hooks entirely unrelated to the actual plot and footage of the film. In other industries, this is grounds for a very large class action lawsuit where your best chance as a company is a very costly settlement.

Blog Post: Holy...

xBEATDOWNSx — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 05:42:00 GMT

Just drop whatever you're doing and go play this. If you're a serious fan of the series, you need to pick this up. At first, I had my doubts but all doubts were smashed once the story picked up. You will not be disappointed and you will thank yourself as the credit roll.

STOP READING AND PLAY IT

Blog Post: Irrational Games Aims for the Sky and Beyond

companion_cube123 — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 04:16:00 GMT

Irrational Games is a unique developer in many respects. Over their long history, they have demonstrated a unique sense of style, creativity, and innovation that they are rarely, if ever, strayed from. With 2008's BioShock, Irrational crafted an experience that many consider to be one of the best that the medium has to offer. Unsurprisingly, all eyes were on Irrational as they set out to do the impossible and try to top one of the most critically adored games in recent memory. The result is this year's BioShock Infinite, and it appears that Irrational has not only crafted an experience that seems to surpass the original title in every way, but they have once again crafted an experience that will stand out as one of the best of this generation.

Irrational has always been known for their sense of place in games, and infinite is no different. To start, Columbia's intro is familiar, but at the same time, gives a very unique feeling sense to the world, and fittingly presents Columbia as not simple "Rapture in the sky". One thing made clear within the first few minutes is that, unlike Rapture, Columbia is different in that it is an actual living, breathing city. Citizens commune and chat, and while they may not always have interesting things to say, throughout the game, they bring the city to life in a way Rapture's Splicers couldn't. The city itself is beautifully crafted with detail put into every street and every store. The city comes to life with bright, almost painting-esque colors. The soundtrack is wonderfully scored and gives the world it's life, especially when in combat. Like the original, audio files are scattered, giving an insight to the world and it's inhabitants. These files not only give an insight to the world, however, as they also tie in to the larger story arc, which is finely crafted and with a cohesive set of characters that are prevalent throughout the entire tale instead of being confined to a singular level like the original game. This brings us to the two main characters in the story, Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth. The dynamic between these two acts as the central binding theme in the game. As Booker, it's your job to get Elizabeth out of her tower and to New York to pay off a debt. This dynamic ends up being one of the strongest bonds that you develop in a game in recent memory, making the endgame that much more satisfying. In terms of the endgame, I won't spoil anything, but the last 10 minutes end up being some of the most satisfying in recent memory.

Of course, all this would be for naught without a fun game at the core to make it worth playing. In terms of the gameplay, some things change while others stay the same, but all in all, the gameplay makes for some of the best in an FPS. The dynamic between powers and guns is largely the same, with Vigors replacing Plasmids this time around. The difference, however, is that, unlike the original, Infinite limits the player to two weapons at a time. While some may cry foul at the decision, this design choice adds a new layer of strategy to the combat, making you have to take stock of what you have on hand, what's in the environment, and changing your strategies accordingly. This is also where Elizabeth comes into play. Elizabeth has the ability to open these tears in the environment, giving the player something to aid him, from ammo crates to a turret to another route entirely. Elizabeth can only have one tear open at a time, so this forces the player to chose one advantage over another. Elizabeth also occasionally finds ammo, health, and energy for your vigors and throws them to you whenever you are in need of it. This is done often enough that it feels like she is contributing, but not so often enough that it feels like she's winning the battle for you. The fight is still largely left to the player to win. This also bring us the the other major change in the game, that being the health system. BioShock Infinite uses a combination of a health bar and a standard shield system. The player's shield will take damage until the shield has broken, and once the shield breaks, the player will begin to take damage to his health. The shield will recharge if the player hides behind cover, but health will only return if the player consumes food or a health kit, eliminating a stockpile of health kits. Salts, which power vigors, also are consumed immediately. This combination of new and old systems changes the game enough for it to feel fresh, but not so much that it feels like it's not BioShock anymore. The battles are fast paced, exciting, and the varied enemy types keep the battles from feeling repetitive. All in all, the gameplay fits like a glove, allowing the player to fully immerse himself in the story, as well as the fight to protect Elizabeth and discover what is truly going on in Columbia.

In nearly every way, BioShock Infinite is truly a rare game. It's rare when a game so successfully implements every feature it touts and then some. With this game, Irrational has done it again, and delivered a game that will likely be remembered for a long time. With Columbia, Irrational shot for the sky, and not only reached it, but surpassed it. Infinite's story, characters, gameplay, and fantastic world that easily trumps Rapture make this a must own for anyone looking for a unique and truly creative shooter with an interesting story and great characters.

Feel free to leave any feedback or questions in the comments section. This is my first review on GIO, so I'd be glad to get any feedback, be it positive or negative.

Blog Post: The Best Bioshock Yet

Julehisanvhi — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:52:00 GMT

I loved this game. It had amazing gameplay, and an excellent story. It took me awhile to get into Bioshock, but I beat Bioshock Infinite right away. I couldn't put down the controller. I can't even begin to compare it to Bioshock or Bioshock 2. This game is that good. Plus it has great, likable characters, and one of the best endings I have ever seen.

Blog Post: DO NOT LET THE FALSE PROPHETS (Joe Juba) LEAD YOU ASTRAY!!

player33 — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 06:20:00 GMT

BOOOO TO JOE JUBA!! Who apparently jumped the gun too quick to give this game a 10/10. Its far from perfect like he claims, but then again, it doesn't take much for Joe to wet his panties over a game with a few nice graphics. Don't get me wrong, the graphics, music, sounds, & combat are all fantastic, but nothing new in Bioshock Infinite comes to the table other than the setting this time around. The issues that turned me off about this game, had to have been the predictable, and sometimes confusing, storyline (switching between different dimensions?) that had no draw factor whatsoever, along with some glitches in the A.I. Also the game tries too hard to make Elizabeth a likable character, that the story starts to make less sense as it progresses and somehow she ends up being the most annoying character instead. Also, there is a major glitch where Elizabeth somehow disappears out of the game world towards the end, and prevents me from finishing the game, thus making me having to go back and replay it all over again, which was a bummer for me because I was so close to finishing it! THIS GAME IF DEFINITELY A MUST RENT, NOT A MUST BUY!! DO NOT LET THE FALSE PROPHETS, (Joe Juba), LEAD YOU ASTRAY!!

Blog Post: Infinitely Better Than You Can Imagine

Doctor Apozem — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 22:28:00 GMT

For six years, Ken Levine and Irrational Games have worked under high expectations. In 2007, they released BioShock, a massive critical and commercial success. Succeeding what is widely considered the best game this generation is tough- one need only look at the mediocre BioShock 2 as proof.

Concept A flawless combination of FPS and inspired storytelling	Graphics Stylized and gorgeous. Columbia looks amazing.	Sound Perfect voice acting. Music fans should also listen carefully to the records playing in Columbia.
Controls Even the ziplines are easy to use	Technical An excellent PC port with a solid framerate	Replayability Low. DLC is on the way, but this is very much a one-time experience.

That's why BioShock Infinite impresses. While perhaps nothing can surpass descending into Rapture, Infinite is a marvel in its own right and stands as one of the best games of this console generation. It checks every box on the list. The story, gameplay, characters and setting are superb.

I noticed the city first. Columbia is a marvel of engineering and the human imagination. Buildings linked by bridges and cable cars float atop strange engines. Because the city flies above the clouds, its streets are always drenched with sunshine beneath clear skies. The scenery is jaw-dropping.

Infinite nails what BioShock 2 did not-that sense of wonder and astonishment at a world one can scarcely comprehend. The city is amazing and fascinating and terrifying all at once.

Columbia is darker than its sunny environs let on. Zealots who venerate the Founding Fathers as demigods rule the city. The citizens are racist, fanatically religious, xenophobic and brutally capitalistic. Cut off from the rest of civilization on the ground, the city has grown into a monster.

Despite its inhumanity, Columbia is steeped in fascinating lore. Little touches like a one-star flag (for Columbia) and posters for imaginary products show the amount of care that went into crafting the player's surroundings. I often searched each environment, trying to soak up as much of the city as possible. Every poster, line of dialogue, person and audio diary helps tell a compelling story.

That story is the kind of complex tale one would expect from the people who popularized the phrase, "Would you kindly?". Booker's quest to rescue Elizabeth is convoluted and goes to unexpected places.

Irrational deserves a real tip of the hat for Elizabeth. She is best AI companion in years. Levine's writing breaks from the usual damsel-in-distress tropes and makes her into someone interesting, dynamic, lively, likeable, powerful, and above all, believably human. Elizabeth is a breath of fresh air in a genre stuffy with blow-up doll love interests. By the finale, I felt a real attachment to her.

The protagonist, Booker DeWitt, must keep Columbia's wayward princess from Comstock, the Vox Populi and the monster Songbird. The resulting tug-of-war propels the plot forward to its strange conclusion. Players who obsessively collect voxaphones (audio diaries) and explore every nook and cranny will understand the ending, but everyone else won't. Deciphering the final moments takes time.

The story follows many of the same themes as the first game. Levine always said BioShock was about extremism rather than Ayn Rand, and Infinite is proof. Columbia is a case study in what happens when the lunatics run... well, a floating city armed with futuristic quasi-steampunk weaponry.

The player uses those weapons to repel insurgents, soldiers, and intimidating mechanical monsters. By the end of the game, Booker has left a trail of bodies across the city. It's a sign of Infinite's quality that this is presented without illusions. Booker DeWitt is a vile man, and the game doesn't shy away from that.

The killing takes place within first-person shooter gameplay. Combat is similar to previous games with mixed improvements and setbacks. Booker's new recharging magnetic shield improves on the old health needles. Weapons and powers are also dual-wieldable.

Unfortunately, BioShock Infinite drops the weapon wheel in favor of a Halo two-weapon loadout. This decision baffles me. The old system worked fine. The game tries to get around this by scattering weapons throughout the environment for pickup, but this is an awkward solution to an unnecessary problem.

The difficulty is similarly mixed. On one hand, Irrational removed balance-breaking Vita-Chambers. On the other, the game is noticeably easier. Experienced FPS gamers should play on Hard.

Overall gameplay quality is still high. Gunning down bad guys in Columbia is fun, especially with a wide selection of upgradeable weapons and powers. You'll need them to beat the aggressive enemy AI. Taking down an arena full of bad guys and a Handyman is no mean feat.

Combat is easier with Elizabeth's help. She can open "tears" in reality and create allies and weapons. She also scavenges money, health, salts and ammo during battles. Her timely intervention saved me more than once.

Players in trouble can also escape on any of the handy ziplines around Columbia. The player can even shoot at enemies while riding the rails, which is every bit as awesome as it sounds. Zipline gunfights are one of the coolest things I've experienced in a game.

BioShock Infinite is imperfect. However, it's imperfect on a level few games reach. This is the best game I've played since the original BioShock. The story, gameplay, setting, and characters combine flawlessly into something far greater than the sum of its parts. Infinite is a rich, complex tale wrapped around a great first-person shooter. It's the best kind of game, one that doesn't compromise gameplay or story.

In the end, the most powerful part of BioShock Infinite wasn't a plot twist or gun fight. It happened when I wandered off the main path into the basement of a bar. A lonely guitar stood propped against a box.

"A guitar?" Elizabeth wonders.

Booker sits down, picks up the guitar and strums a few chords.

Elizabeth looks away and begins to gently sing.

Will the circle be unbroken

By and by, by and by

Is a better home awaitin'

In the sky, in the sky?

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx8GowKaRpM]

That small and very human moment spoke to me more than all of the explosions and revolutions and death. It represents everything that makes BioShock Infinite so powerful. All the hopes, dreams, schemes, conflict, and emotion in the game are neatly summarized by a simple four-line song. That's amazing.

Is there a better home awaiting in the sky? Maybe... it's just not Columbia.

Blog Post: Bioshock Infinite: The Sky's the Limit

jackson stone — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 20:21:00 GMT

Bioshock Infinite is a rare type of game. It is a social statement without taking sides to issue, such as America's dominance in the world. It is heady science fiction without being overwhelming. It is a first-person shooter without balls to the wall action at all times. But above all of this, it is one of the crowning achievements of modern video games.

The story is the greatest aspect of the Bioshock Infinite experience. It takes you to Columbia, a floating city in the sky, where everyone is happy and patriotic. You (Booker Dewitt) are sent to save a mysterious girl named Elizabeth to wipe away a gambling debt. Any details outside of that will reduce your enjoyment of the narrative, which would be a great disappointment to the player.

If you are familiar with the original Bioshock, then you will feel right at home when it comes to gameplay. You are given an assortment of guns and vigors, but the gameplay is made unique by the implementation of Elizabeth's ability to open tears in the fabric of space and time. These tears can supply you with guns, cover, or various other products that will help with your combat encounters. It is a game that is truly a joy to play.

Columbia is as memorable a location as Rapture, maybe even more. When Booker arrives, he is greeted by a immaculate city filled with happy people and little, if any, trouble. However, the longer Booker stays at Columbia, the darker and more sinister the city becomes. Without spoiling anything, the city is a vast departure of what it appears to be when you first arrive. Irrational has made it so that you believe this city has a history and many, many secrets, all of which are waiting to be discovered.

There is literally nothing that should stop you from playing this game. Bioshock Infinite has pushed the industry closer to the artistry that it is. Play the game and love it. That's my only advice.

Blog Post: Bioshock infinite the great addition

MTRichardson01 — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 04:09:00 GMT

First off to all the people that think the game is going to be more of one giant escort quest, you have never been so wrong. I have finished the game really early the day it came out and fully beaten it on 1999 mode and earned the platinum trophie. there are several points i would like to point out about the game in this review. first the graphics, sounds ( music and voice overs) game play, plot / story, characters, weapons, vigors, gear, enemies, and of course the city above the clouds, Columbus.

The Graphics: I purchased and beaten the PS3 version of the game. The other section of my review can be for any platform while this is exclusive to the ps3. The graphics on the PS3 are Phenomenal. (as always). Even with the more realistic graphics it still has the appeal and mood that every bioshock fan has come to love. All thanks to their amazing artists and art directors that put all the time and effort into their work.

The Sounds: The sounds of the game give it the feel that games now a days have been missing. The sounds set the mood perfectly for the game. The tone of the voices that Elizabeth uses makes you feel like she is truly angry at you and makes you have a strong feeling towards her. The background music and sounds flow seamlessly with what is going on in the world and they strike you with fear and suspense when it is needed for t he story and the ambient sounds bring the world to life.

The Game play: The game play is smooth. This is the one thing I was not fully in to with the game. They strayed from the original play style that the other bioshock had. I missed not being able to carry around med packs and eve hypos like the others. Having to search the environment for health and salts can sometime be very tedious and time consuming. The shield made the game feel a little less like a bioshock game and more like a hybrid of call of duty or halo. Only being able to have two guns on you at one time is a different but more realistic change to the game. No more magic pockets. I sometimes miss the weapon reel, however I prefer my games to be more realistic. The game play is smooth and fulfilling and fits the game perfectly, its just does not fit into the series perfectly.

The Plot / Story: The plot of the game is seriously what makes this game fit in with the series perfectly. It makes great connections with the other games and brings the series to an amazing place. Thanks to the writers of the game it has the same overall feel that the original Bioshock had. Lets face it the second game did not have the same emotional story that the first one had that drawn us in and made us love every twist and turn within the story. This game has that same story structure that makes you grow emotional and engulfed in the world around the characters.

The Characters: The characters make the game extremely engulfing.

Booker Dwitt: a character that is a great protagonist. He is not a silent protagonist like Jack and Project Delta. Dwitt shows his feelings through his tone of voice and how he talks to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth: a compelling companion through the world of Bioshock Infinite. She is extremely helpful with her ability to aide you in fights by throughout you health, salts, ammo, and even silver eagles (in game currency). Having her with you does not make the game feel like and escort quest at all. She has a mind and personality all her own that makes he stop to grab some cotton candy to eat and even to play with objects within the environment. Warning: you will grow emotionally attached to her while playing through the game.

Zachery Comstock: an amazing antagonist for booker dwitt. He is at par with Andrew Ryan. The are both creaters of their own world. His presence within the game feels just like how we all felt about Andrew Ryan. They have the same personality and same goals.

The Weapons: This is not including the pre-order bonuses.

Shotgun: The shotgun has one major flaw, the reload time, which can be sortened later on in the game through and upgrade.. The damge of the gun is amazing. And truly worthy or using the whole game. (second most used gun)

Sniper rifle: just like any other sniper rifle it is best used only at far range and it kills relatively everything by just shooting them in the chest no need to aim for a head shot.

Pistol: The pistol can fire as fast as you can pull the trigger. Does not do much damage, however on a critical hit it does enough damage to take out most normal solders on the first or second shot.

Machine Gun: The machine gun does not have that much damage and does not do much critical damage so it is irrelevant to aim for the head. The best choice is to aim for the body to take down enemies. Uses a lot of ammo within a short time. (my most used gun)

Peppermille Crank Gun: The crank gun is very rare and should never be used for long purposes. Only found off motorized patriots and from tears.

Skyhook: The skyhook is an amazing melee weapon. It stays with you the whole game and is your first weapon of the game and is used for more than just combat. This is the only weapon with execution options.

Combine: The combine is extremely similar to the pistol except that it has a further ranger.

Burst Gun: 3 shot burst whos total damage from all 3 shots is still less than 1 from the combine. However there is a lot of ammo fro it.

Volly Gun: the volly gun is for close range and the splash damage is not the greatest so the primary thing to do is to aim for a direct hit.

Hail Fire: the hail fire is fun because the bullet varries based on how long you hold down the trigger. If you tap it then it will bounce off walls, if you hold it down it will bounce off walls then will explode when you release the trigger.

Hand Cannon: The hand cannon has a very high damage and a very low fire rate. The reload speed is extremely low so make sure that if used make every shot count.

RPG: The RPG has a slow fire rate and it can be used to do the game stuff as the devils kiss vigor and is extremely powerful. Warning: Booker is not immune to damage use at own risk.

Repeater: The repeater looks like the machine gun but functions like the combine with a higher rate of fire. The bad thing is that it does lower critical damage.

Heater: the heater is only good at close range and is very risky to use, however it has an extremely high damage.

Vigors: The vigors in the game function like the plasmids from the other games and 90% of them can also be used as traps. The function off salts and you still have the reel to select them from.

Possession: You can use this vigor to make the enemies of the world join you for a limited time and after the time runs out the possessed enemies will commit suicide (except machines).

Devils Kiss: This vigor acts like a grenade and catches enemies on fire.

Murder of Crows: This vigor is used as a distraction mostly so you can easily fill them full of lead.

Bucking Bronco: lifts the enemies off the ground and makes them easy flouting targets

Shock Jockey: functions exactly like the shock plasmid from original bioshock.

Charge: Uses the Skyhook to lunge at the enemies.

Undertow: Sends the enemies flying or bringing them in close for an easy kill.

Return to Sender: Creates a shield that collects bullets fired by enemies and can turn their shots against them.

Gear: The gear in the game makes the game different for every player. You can interchange the gear at any time within the game and it changes different things within the game and grants you different abilities to fit your style of play.

Enemies: The enemies within the game are extremely smart. The AI of the game is some of the best I have seen. The think light on their feet and ambush you if you give them the chance. You must watch out for the special enemies than dope down on booker through the game and take them easy and carefully.

Columbia: The city is very engulfing just as Rapture was. You will love to explore this city over and over again and you will never grow tired of it. A city in the sky is completely opposite of a city under water, however they have the same feel and reality factor. The city has more secrets than Rapture had and you will find yourself hunting down ever last secret behind the city. From when you enter the city and all the way till the final cut scene you will never want to set food on the ground again.

Overall rating: My overall rating and conclusion of the game is that everyone should give this game a try. People that loved the original games will love this one. This is an amazing addition to an already amazing series. The game has very few flaws and an amazingly high replay value. I have already replayed and beaten the game at least 5 times on every difficulty. I rate this game a perfect 10/10. a must own for any gamer.

Blog Post: Bioshock Infinite: Bloody and Brilliant

Cameron Koch — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:42:00 GMT

Bioshock Infinite had some big shoes to fill. The original Bioshock, released in 2007 to both critical acclaim and financial success, is one of the defining games of this console generation. It proved that games could be both artistic and thought provoking while still appealing to a mainstream audience. Iconic characters such as the Big Daddy and Little Sisters, as well as that now immortal phrase "Would you kindly?" have become firmly rooted within the collective gaming mindset.

With all of that in mind, Bioshock Infinite blows Rapture straight out of the water. Featuring deeper combat, more expressive and relatable characters as well as a setting that is (somehow) even richer in its visualization and social commentary than Rapture before it, Bioshock Infinite is a masterpiece over 6 years in the making.

The decision for the player character Booker Dewitt to actually have a personality and history as opposed to the original title's "blank slate" protagonist does much to elevate Infinite above its predecessor.

An ex-pinkerton agent and war veteran, Dewitt's life hasn't been easy. He's killed, beaten, and maimed people both in war and in peace. Now in 1912 he has to live with his horrible deeds, and he finds himself deep in debt to some very important people. They offer him one chance for redemption - bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt. The only problem is that the girl in question is in Columbia, a floating city in the sky.

Players are greeted with a familiar sight upon starting the game, a lone lighthouse amongst the ocean waves. Except this time, rather than descending to the ocean depths below, players are lifted high into the sky.

What you will find there is a visual feast. Columbia is a far cry from the murky and grim failure that is the underwater libertarian utopia of Rapture. Columbia's vision of an American utopia is still alive and well upon the player's arrival. Brick buildings float atop massive balloons against the backdrop of a brilliant baby blue sky. Citizens talk, dine and barter as children laugh and play in the streets, all while the angel statues that decorate every building and corner watch silently from above, one particularly massive statue in particular.

It truly looks to be a heaven on earth, or as close as mankind could come to it. As players in the first hour of the game explore this literal "city on a hill," an uneasy feeling begins to creep in. Conversations overheard between citizens make you do a double take, as you ask yourself "did they just say that?" Images throughout the city idealize America's founding fathers, George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, as well as the city's own charismatic and mysterious founding father. Posters and propaganda point towards a deeply religious god fearing populace, who believe themselves to be more "American" than the America down below, so much in fact they seceded from the union and floated away. Immigrants and non-whites, whether they are Irish, Chinese or African-American, are treated as second class citizens. The cracks of this "utopia" quickly begin to appear.

Columbia's ugly underbelly becomes painfully apparent early on in the game following one of the most nonintrusive and clever tutorials I've ever played in a game. Columbia is celebrating its independence from the United States, and Dewitt gets to take part (at least for a few moments) in the festivities. Parade precessions float by, fireworks light up the sky, and music fills the air as Booker makes his way through the city. He shortly arrives at a small fair, and it functions as the perfect tutorial/world building environment. Salesman perform live demonstrations of their products, such as the audio recording voxiphones and the effects of drinks called vigors which when consumed seemingly grant magic powers. Carnival games serve as combat tutorials, as players pick up air rifles to shoot cardboard versions of a local rebel group known as the "Vox Populi," and upon achieving a high enough score are rewarded with prizes.

After leaving the fair, Booker finds himself at a raffle. After drawing a baseball with a number on it and awaiting the results, Booker is found to be the winner. The prize? The opportunity to essentially throw the first stone at a public lynching of an interracial couple.

You are presented with three choices; throw the baseball at the couple, throw it at the announcer, or do nothing at all. Never before have I felt so uncomfortable while playing a video game. To throw the ball at the couple would be to commit a terrible act of hate and racism. To throw the ball at the announcer would be to sell yourself out as an intruder and could potentially hurt your chances of finding the girl and escaping. If it wasn't evident before, it becomes painfully so now - Bioshock Infinite isn't pulling any punches. It wants to be taken seriously. It wants players to stare into the ugly face of racism and nationalism taken to the extreme, and it grabs you by the throat to do so.

Even without the super nationalistic populace and white supremacy philosophy, Columbia is a disturbing and strange place. Two peculiar characters, who appear to be twins, persistently appear and babble about what to the player seems to be nonsense. Items and pieces of the environment sometimes change or disappear altogether. Songs familiar to players in modern times can be heard in a much different fashion, despite the game taking place in 1912. There is something much deeper and more complex going on in Columbia, and while the first half of the game deals heavily with Columbia and its ideals, the second half of the game takes a jarring metaphysical turn.

Enter Elizabeth: the girl Dewitt is tasked with retrieving and believed by the Columbian population to be the "lamb" and their saving grace. Imprisoned within the colossal stone angel by her father Zachary Comstock, who is both the "prophet" and founder of Columbia, Elizabeth is the real soul of Bioshock Infinite. Elizabeth has special powers and is considered dangerous - hence her imprisonment. She can rip open what are known as "tears" or portals to alternate realities, something Comstock and his followers are very interested in. Keeping watch over Elizabeth and the tower is the Songbird, Infinite's answer to the now iconic Big Daddy of the original Bioshock.

After escaping authorities and being revealed as "the false Shepard" destined to lead the "lamb" astray, Booker breaks Elizabeth out of her towering prison, evades the Songbird, and the adventure truly begins.

Elizabeth was locked up in cage for the majority of her life. As a result she is naïve to the harsh realities of the world. She is repulsed by Booker's violence and confused as to why Columbia treats many of her citizens as less than human. But just because she is naïve doesn't mean she isn't intelligent. She spent much of her time all those years reading and learning, and acquired numerous skills such as lock picking in the process. She'll open locked doors for you and provide insight into game areas and events. Elizabeth also plays an important role in combat as well by tossing you ammo or other resources in the middle of a fight or opening tears to bring in allies or resources from parallel worlds to aid you in your battles.

Combat is another area where Infinite soars. A variety of expected guns are at your disposal: pistols, machine guns, shotguns, RPG's, all upgradeable. It's the magic-like vigors that add the real diversity to the games core gameplay. Similar to plasmids in Bioshock, there are 8 vigors total, each with unique upgrades and which can be cast at enemies with a press of the left trigger or held down and released to create a trap on the floor. Mixing vigors together to form unique and devastating combinations is a blast, and smart players will use these combinations while selecting vigors according to their environment and enemy type to succeed. Being a floating city in the sky, there are plenty of opportunities to knock enemies off ledges with the Undertow vigor. The possession vigor allows Booker to take over and control enemy machines. My favorite combination involved the fire bomb vigor Devil's Kiss combined with Murder of Crows. Stunning large groups of enemies with a swarm of crows, I would then proceed to use my upgraded Devil's Kiss to carpet bomb large areas with explosive and deadly results.

Aside from combat, exploration is what you will be doing during your roughly 10-15 hour stay in Columbia. Taking in the rich world of Columbia is a pleasure, and at times essential to understanding the game's story fully. Voxiphones, or audio logs, of important characters can be found throughout the game and provide backstory and context to game events. Exploring can also help improve your combat performance. Hunting down and finding pieces of gear that modify your abilities, such as increasing critical hit damage or adding fire damage to melee attacks, helps add more variety and personal preference to combat encounters.

No matter what the gameplay or world setting, Bioshock wouldn't be Bioshock without a mind bending twist. Infinite has several, but unlike the original Bioshock which flipped the gamer's perception of the world upside down half-way to three-fourths way through the game, Infinite delivers its heart stopping and headache inducing reveal in the games very final moments. You won't see it coming. Players will be talking about this one for years to come. This is a game that demands a second play through - the finale puts the entire game in a new perspective and playing again is the key to truly understanding what exactly happened just before, and right after, the credits rolled.

Bioshock Infinite is a masterpiece, but it isn't perfect. Playing on the Xbox 360 with the game installed to the hard drive, I noticed a wide variety of low resolution textures throughout the game. Large fights, especially towards the end of the game, caused my frame rate to drop significantly, resulting in annoying lag and slowdown in intense firefights.

Despite these minor criticisms, Bioshock Infinite is still the epitome of what games can, and should be. It is, through and through, a video game. It's a blast to play, and the gameplay approaches perfection. But just because it has guns, blood, and magic spells doesn't mean it can't deliver a relevant and thought provoking tale. Truth be told, the story of Bioshock Infinite is one that can only be told in a game. It requires players to step into Booker's shoes and be just as confused as he is, requires players to build a real relationship with Elizabeth, to discover and reject the ideas and philosophy of the city of Columbia first-hand, otherwise all of its impact would be lost. It wouldn't work as a movie, as a play, or as a comic. It can only work as a game. And that's what makes it brilliant.

Blog Post: Kflames (Spoiler-Free) Bioshock Infinite Review

Kflame210 — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 01:56:00 GMT

(THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER-FREE)

Im not sure what I was expecting out of Bioshock Infinite. The first Bioshock still stands as one of the greatest of this generation and while the sequel was less than stellar, it was still a solid game even with the lack of Ken Levine involved. However, for whatever reason I was a bit skeptical of Infinite. Whether it was the lack of consistency in the trailers, all of delays or maybe just the departure of the beloved Rapture, but for some reason Infinite just didn't excite me like its predecessors. As such, I wrote the game off for a while. But as the game started winning its "Best of E3" and "Most Anticipated Game" awards I realized that I must be missing something. So I looked past my doubts and decided that I should give Infinite a chance and see the appeal that I had apparently been missing.

Apparently I was missing out on a lot...

As expected with a Bioshock game, the main draw of the game is the story. Now Im not saying that the gameplay isn't great (cause it is) but what really stuck with me in Bioshock Infinite was the story. Now it's hard to get too deep into the story without spoiling some crucial bits but here is the gist of it. You play the game as Booker DeWitt, a former Pinkerton agent who has gone through some tough times. Booker is deep in gambling debts, however, he has been offered a deal; "Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt". Booker agrees and gets launched into an adventure far beyond his belief. The girl Booker must find is named Elizabeth, a young girl with mysterious powers locked away by the prophet Comstock on the floating city of Columbia. Sadly, that's about as far as I can go with the stories without leaking some spoilers but as you may have guessed, the story becomes far bigger than what I have given. However, without spoiling anything, I will say that if you're expecting big twist you will not be disappointed.

While I love the story, this is definitely a game that requires you to explore to really get the full experience. You could easily just run from point A to point B, shooting any enemy that comes within your vision and beat the game in about 8 hours. But that is not the right way to play this game. Exploring the environment will not only allow you to find not only collectibles like upgrades and other useful items but it will also allow you to find many integral parts to the story. Hearing what the NPC's say to each other and finding Voxophones (basically audio logs) really helps flesh out the story and if you want to get the full experience then I strongly suggest exploring this beautiful world. This is not a game you are going to want to rush through.

Now despite taking a backseat to the story, the gameplay in Infinite is still pretty great. As you may remember the gameplay in the original Bioshock was relatively slowed paced and required far more strategy then the run of the mill shooter. So, as expected, the guys over at Irrational Games have learned a lot since the original Bioshock. Infinite is a much faster shooter than its predecessor. The game imitates Call of Duty a lot more than it imitates a game like System Shock. Other relatively big changes like the lack of a weapon wheel (in exchange for the standard two weapon system so many other first person shooters use) and using only one form of ammo makes Infinite feel far different than the originals. There is also a change to how health works. You now, like most games nowadays, have a shield. Much like how it works in games like Halo you will not last long without your shield and you will need to lay low once it's gone. While you still have a health bar that will require you to use med-kits (which you can't store) and food around the environment to restore the shield is a good substitute for having to lug around med-kits. One of the final additions to combat is how melee works. Instead of having a dedicated melee weapons (like the wrench) just pressing the melee weapon will have you swing your sky hook and very dependable weapon that can cause some pretty violent executions. However that's not all the skyhook can do. The skyhook can also be used as an awesome mode of transportation around Columbia. It's a hard thing to describe but riding on the skylines are some of the best moments from the game and the second you hop on one you will know exactly what I mean. While some who likes the slow and tactical shooting from the first game may be a bit disappointed, the faster paced combat works well in the world of Bioshock Infinite.

One thing that still remains from the original is the plasmids, which are now named vigors. Unlike the changes to the weapons, the vigors act very similarly to the plasmids. Once you find one of the vigors you will keep it for the rest of the game. While you keep two on hand at a time, you can switch between your vigors at any time using a weapon (or vigor) wheel. There are 8 vigors to use in the game and while some of them are near copies to some of our favorites from the original Bioshock. Newcomers like Bucking Bronco (which makes the enemies levitate for a few moments) and Undertow (which can push enemies away as well as pull them in) add a lot of creativity to the battles. Vigors also all have two forms of attacks; just pressing the vigor button uses the vigors regular ability while holding down the vigor button creates a trap which can really come in handy in the latter half of the game. Much like the health your plasmid ammo (called salts) is a little different from the original. Each vigor takes up a certain amount of salts and while you can't store salts like you did with Eve Hypos, however they are fairly common and I rarely found myself depleted. Now while vigors may not have as big of an impact in the combat as plasmids, they still add a lot of dimension in the battles and are incredibly fun to use.

Now despite Infinite imitating games like Call of Duty and Halo, many aspects of the gameplay return from the original. Even though you can't do things like pick up first aid kits or Eve Hypos you can still do familiar actions like ransacking bodies, purchasing items and upgrading weapons. Much like in the original Bioshock you can find cash and other useful items on the ground, in trash cans, on bodies and whatever else may hold some useful items. Money can once again be used to buy health, ammo, salts, upgrade weapons and upgrade your vigors. While the game around it may feel different, there are many aspects that make Infinite feel a lot like the original Bioshock.

One of the final additions to combat is how melee works. Instead of having a dedicated melee weapons (like the wrench) just pressing the melee weapon will have you swing your sky hook and very dependable weapon that can cause some pretty violent executions. However that's not all the skyhook can do. The skyhook can also be used as an awesome mode of transportation around Columbia. It's a hard thing to describe but riding on the skylines are some of the best moments from the game and the second you hop on one you will know exactly what I mean.

While the changes in Bioshock are all relatively minor, there is one huge addition to Bioshock Infinite. That huge addition is Elizabeth. Elizabeth is much more than just a story addition, Elizabeth accompanies you through a large part of the game and that includes the battles. Now I was very wary of this at first, the idea that most of this game basically being an escort mission did not settle very well with me. Luckily, I couldn't have been farther from the truth. Elizabeth handles herself during every battle; in fact, she helps you more than you have to help her. Throughout the battles she will throw you medicine, salts and ammo whenever you're low. That's not all either; outside of battle she will toss you some money, unlock some locked doors and point out important places in the environment. Elizabeth adds a lot to the game in a non-story way and luckily you don't have to watch over her 24/7.

Bioshock Infinite is one of the best looking games this generation, hands down. Columbia is a bright and colorful place filled to the brim with details. However, the details are the bad parts of the graphics. Everything looks amazing from afar but the closer you get the uglier the textures get. Now I understand that playing on a good computer is a different story but if you are playing it on the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 (like I did), expect a few blurry textures. Other than that, Bioshock Infinite looks great. As you just stare at the city, Columbia looks as peaceful as can be... Well that is until the combat starts. As peaceful and beautiful as Columbia is, some of the violence in this game can be a bit much. Executions usually involve pools of blood, vigors usually turn enemies into shells of their former selves and very rarely does an enemy die without his model looking like he just got mauled by a bear. Now Im fine with all this violence but I could definitely understand some people not liking it.

While the graphics are a high point in Infinite, the sound is also phenomenal. The voice acting is great from pretty much every character ranging from Booker, Elizabeth and Comstock to the random NPC's you'll find in Columbia. The music is also fantastic. From the music that plays during the epic battles or the great renditions of songs that are about 60 years off from existing, the soundtrack is fantastic and one that I wouldn't buy buying separately. Overall, the presentation of Bioshock Infinite is fantastic.

Bioshock Infinite is easily one of my favorites of the generation. Not only is it a solid first person shooter but it has given us one of the best stories since... Well, since the original Bioshock. Some people may not like the more action oriented gameplay and while the scenery is breathtaking, the violence can be a bit overwhelming. Still, this is not a game you're going want to miss. It may sound cliché or stupid but if you consider yourself a gamer, you need to play this game; it is easily one of the finest games this generation.

Blog Post: A Casual Stroll through the Heavens

FrankxthexBunny — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:37:00 GMT

When the original “Bioshock” came out it was heralded as a new stepping stone in gaming. When “Bioshock Infinite” was announced 2 years ago, audiences debated whether lightning could ever strike twice. After multiple delays and months of anticipation, I am happy to say that the game delivers in places I didn't expect it to.

The floating city of Columbia is the setting of our newest game, and Irrational didn't disappoint anyone with their ability to flesh out an environment. Every street was filled with character, as well as every individual you meet. Walking through the 1912 floating utopia felt like experiencing Main Street in Disney World. Fireworks filled the sky, cotton candy vendors lined the sidewalks, and barbershop quartets hummed songs by The Beach Boys as couples danced together to the tune. Despite the apparent benevolence to the beautiful and colorful city, just like any theme park one who pays attention can see much of the artificiality to their surroundings. Whispers of revolution can be heard by the trained ear, and the trained eye can see racism, segregation, and devout patriotism to the point of being synonymous with religion. The world is immersive and encourages exploration in many creative ways.

The most important character isn't the protagonist, the hired gun Booker Dewitt, but rather the girl that he is after: Elizabeth. As you rescue Elizabeth from her literal guarded tower, your connection with her and her experiences with this world inform the entire plot for the story. She is incredibly well written and designed, and it is incredibly difficult not to get attached to her intelligent, yet not worldly, personality. She is reminiscent of Belle from “Beauty and the Beast,” except if the beast had successfully held her prisoner on less romantic terms. While the game literally is one giant escort mission, it never becomes a problem since enemies do not fire at her. Other characters stood out equally well creating a compelling narrative with indirect dialogue rather than fed exposition, like the villainous prophet Comstock, and my personal favorite characters: Robert and Rosalind Lutece, two enigmatic scientists who follow you throughout the game supplying you with advice and philosophy.

The gameplay is hardly different than the original “Bioshock” gameplay-wise, and instead is simply tweaked and improved with a few added mechanics. Elizabeth can add an element into the battlefield, like cover or items, and will even find you money when you are around shops. Using the rail system to flit from cover to cover and even ambush enemies is incredibly exciting. The vigors, magic powers similar to plasmids in “Bioshock,” are little more than cute gimmicks on their own but can be used in combination to create strategic advantages in ways that prove extremely thoughtful design. All of these options paired with diverse enemy design creates many varied battle experiences, keeping the game interesting over multiple playthroughs. Taking this into account, it is unfortunate to note that thematically the violence doesn't do much from a narrative point of view, and even often detracts from the moment. The game is incredibly easy on the normal difficulty, and even on the hardest difficulty had only one or two points that presented a serious challenge. This, compounded with the fact that you only get two guns at once and that usually when you are low on health Elizabeth offers to bring you back to full, tends to lean the game more towards the casual side than otherwise. This wasn't a huge problem for me on “1999” mode, a special mode made for those who like the challenge inherent in many 90's shooters.

It is impossible to fully describe the strengths and weaknesses of this game in anything short of thirty pages. There are so many facets to it, from the beautiful and affective in-game music, to the droves of little details that combine to total immersion, to the finale that was incredibly thought-provoking despite being far more bottom-heavy and expository than I would have liked. This game is far from perfect, philosophically and thematically it is not as important as the original “Bioshock,” was. The enemy design wasn't as good. The story wasn't as tight. The villain wasn't as captivating. The city was beautiful, but didn't consistantly put you in awe the same way Rapture did. Despite all this, this is a fun game, as fun if not more so than it's predecessor ever was. I whole heartedly suggest Atmospheric FPS fans to play the game as soon as they can, because while it probably won't be heralded as a new age of gaming the same way “Bioshock” was, it certainly will be talked about and enjoyed for years to come.

Blog Post: Amazing game with one of the best stories I've ever seen

UntouchedBlaze — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:25:00 GMT

Bioshock has many large strengths and very few, small shortcomings. When you first start the game and arrive in the city of Colombia you see an almost perfect life, happy families, friendly people, and a welcoming air. After some exploring you get a cryptic telegram but decide to proceed on anyway. After getting your first look at the magical vigors (strange drinks infused with magical powers) you see what the city is really like. You enter a raffle not knowing your prize, you win the raffle and you claim your prize, you get to be the first person to throw a baseball at a black and white couple. You're given an ultimatum, either hit the couple or the announcer. This is one of the games stark contrasts when you go from ideal calm and happiness to the violent and dark reality of the city of Colombia.

Visuals

Bioshock Infinite's visuals are amazing as long as you don't look too close at the environments. Each area has it's own distinctive look and style for you to cause absolute chaos in. From wide open outdoors areas connected by skylines (a series of railroad like tracks connecting different areas of Colombia) to closed in buildings filled with Automatons of America's founding fathers (who are revered and worshiped like gods), who then turn around and try to destroy you with the devastating "Crank Gun."

The "Crank Gun" brings me to a new topic, the look of the weapons you'll be using to decimate your foes. Each weapon has a very distinct look (Excluding the "Repeater" which which looks almost identical to the "Machine Gun" with a different magazine) that makes you really look at the weapons which are fantastic looking aesthetically and have a satisfying and definitive recoil. The "Skyhook" you melee weapon and tool used for traveling the "Skylines" is brilliantly designed and has a deadly look to it. The fact your "Skyhook" is always moving makes it terrifying, especially during the games brutal execution animations that make you fear Booker and his brutality.

Now that you've heard all the good about Bioshock's visuals time to hear about the games visual shortcomings. When you take a close look at things like flowers and fruits in a basket you'll try to forget what you've seen and move on. Fruits that you can't eat are 2-Dimensional and look like pieces of paper. Flowers and other plants are flat and you can occasionally see through them. Face models for NPCs that aren't important often look identical to each other and your bullets won't break glass, lights, and the world isn't very interact able.

Sound

The game's music and sound effects are astounding to say the least. The music is amazing from intense orchestral pieces when in the midst of battle to calm carnival music while walking through the streets of Colombia. In the music you'll hear modern songs like a quartet singing a 1912 version of "God Only Knows" or a 1912 version of "Girls Just Want to have Fun" (without lyrics). The sound affect are amazing, the sound of your "Skyhook" flying across the "Skylines" is fantastic and just doesn't get old. Every weapon has a unique sound from the definitive BOOM of the "Hand Cannon," to the sharp crack of the pistol every gunfire sound is distinct and has it's own sense of danger around it.

Gameplay

The combat in Bioshock Infinte is fantastic and rarely gets old even after 15 hours. Each weapon is unique and deadly in it's own way. The "Hand Cannon" is a large revolver that can kill an enemy with a single headshot even on hard difficulty where up to 3 headshots with the carbine is the minimum to kill a foe. The "Repeater" is a heavy, powerful, and slow firing machine gun that can take enemies out really fast. The games melee is violent and satisfying. You swing your heavy "Skyhook" to bash enemies in the head or if enough damage has been done to them do a brutal execution which includes neck snapping, decapitation, and many more.

Booker is not only equipped with deadly weapons he also has an array of deadly powers known as "vigors." These magical beverages grant Booker unimaginable power over his foes. Powers range from flame grenades, the power to possess others, a blast of water, a levitating earthquake, and many more. These powers are controlled by salt, magical salt which grant Booker his power are found all around, in food, as items, from dispensers and many other places.

Bioshock's combat isn't flawless though, even with it's many fun features it has it's issues. Certain fights are needlessly difficult, one example was that I was stuck on a single enemy for over an hour (granted he was a special enemy type known as a "Handyman"). One of the games very few boss fights was boring, far too long, and overall annoying to do. One more gameplay issue is the scarcity of health items and how little they heal the player. The food you find lying around barely heals you at all and is hard to find.

Verdict

Bioshock Infinte is a fantastic game that anyone could enjoy. I wish I could say more about the story but I can't, just know this if you (and you should) play Bioshock Infinite you'll be in for a wild and exciting adventure that you won't be able to pull yourself away from.

Blog Post: Excellent Game but Graphically Lacking

Corkwon — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:18:00 GMT

By now im sure everyone has played this game. With that said we all know the great points but one this has really stuck out for me. Graphically this game is lacking, I dont mean art assets and designs, I mean how the game looks. Long dev cycles like this create gaps of performance issues that are pretty evident. The game is beautiful but graphically it looks at least 4 years old which makes sense when you think about it.

Blog Post: Familiar Bioshock feel, better BioShock game.

Robert Quirarte — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 07:10:00 GMT

Story: You are Booker DeWitt, a man with a checkered past sent on a mission to rescue Elizabeth, a young and mysterious woman. From the beginning your objective is straight forward, "bring us the girl and wipe away the debt", you are then sent to Columbia to start your search and as soon as you take your first step you are quickly engulfed in Columbia's world of wonderment, but as you venture deeper into Columbia you reveal the turmoil it suffers by the hands of racism, bigotry, and xenophobia. As the story unfolds you can learn more of the past goings-on by way of voxophones, BioShock infinite's audio logs that tell the thoughts of the city's inhabitants that allow you to get a better understanding of what the city and its people are going through. Before too long you will meet the main antagonist, Zachary Hale Comstock, who will stop at nothing to stop you from getting to Elizabeth. At first it seems that Elizabeth is the typical damsel in distress, waiting to be rescued and escorted out, but are proven completely wrong. She instantly takes center stage as she drives the narrative ever deeper by the way she reacts to your actions and to the events happening around you. The plot thickens once Elizabeth's unique ability comes into play. "Tears" are doorways to alternate realities in which Elizabeth has control of opening and bringing items from that world into your world. With that said you need to get comfortable with the concept as it plays a big part in the story. In your venture though Columbia you will be in for the sky-line ride of your life with twists and turns that will leave you guessing until the very end.

Playability: The game simply controls and feels great. You will have your normal arsenal of pistols, shotguns, and machine guns while incorporating the use of vigors that are much like BioShock's plasmids, each one having a basic attack and a charged version used mostly for setting up traps. There are 2 huge elements that set Infinite apart from its predecessors, one being the Sky Hook that gives you the ability to dole out brutal melee attacks and finish off your enemies with gruesome and satisfying executions. In some areas there's a form of transport called sky-lines that makes use of your Sky Hook, granting you quick escapes from tight spots, tactical mobility to get you to vantage points or enemies quicker, and allows you to Sky-Line Strike on unsuspected and unfortunate enemies below. The addition of sky-lines adds a whole new exhilarating and extremely fun layer to the normal shootouts. With these three arsenals at your disposal and some pretty hectic battles you'll need to think quick and act quicker to use these elements to your advantage. And the second thing and your ace in the hole is the game's biggest asset, Elizabeth. Unlike the usual escort mission that you'd expect this is not at all the case when it comes to her. The game even tells you to go ahead and do your thing while Elizabeth assists from cover. She is your secret weapon that gives you an edge as she tosses salts, and ammunition. But her ability to pull objects through "tears" proves to be the most useful as she can bring anything through from Turret Automatons, cover, and crates of weapons and heath packs, though only one tear can be opened at one time. And even outside of combat she can locate and point out items of interest like lock picks, and voxophones and if you are just short of affording that new weapon upgrade she'll find some spare cash for you. You're typical enemies are no problem, but then come the "Heavy Hitters". The Motorized Patriot is a mechanized George Washington or Abraham Lincoln that carries a deadly Peppermill Crank Gun coming at you with no sense of self-preservation. Or the Handyman, half human, half machine with superhuman strength that can leap great distances and heights. When you encounter foes like these you need to use everything you've got including pieces of clothing called "Gears" that grants passive abilities and Infusion that increases either your health, salt, or shields. Unlike the dim and barely claustrophobic halls of Rapture where the use of carefully laid taps and preparation is almost essential for success, the open spaces of Columbia allow for more room to maneuver thus in turn just makes each encounter more of a straight firefight.

Final Thoughts: Starting up BioShock Infinite for the first time I already had high hopes, but once the credits rolled, those expectations were completely blown away far beyond anything I had anticipated. Columbia has such a colorful and beautiful exterior that it has you taking your time exploring the first moments of the game walking around the town looking and taking in everything you can. And once the trouble starts you get to experience the dark side of Columbia where half the fun is getting to uncover all of its deep-seeded secrets. You'd think it strange to have a BioShock game without Rapture, but Columbia is filled with that Rapture familiarity that we've tome to know while having its own unique identity, using it to a much greater degree. Elizabeth is by far one of the most memorable and likable characters in all of gaming. You watch her grow character-wise before your eyes, from naïve and child-like to an experienced and reliable partner and the quiet moments you spend with her lead to more character development between her and booker. She is beautifully animated to show us her emotions in such a believable way that will turn to her often to see how she will react and you will find yourself caring what she goes through. Gary Schyman returns to compose the score and captures each captivating and dramatic moment perfectly as the magnificent story pulls you forward at a masterfully constructed pace. You'll never be forced along to the next part of the game you have full control to experience Columbia at your own pace. And the ending is so deep and though provoking that it'll will stay with you long after the credits end. I have to recommend this game to everyone whether you're an avid or casual gamer, a first person aficionado or not. BioShock Infinite is simply too good to pass up and in doing so would be the biggest disservice you could do to yourself . Though the PC version has the obvious graphical advantage it really doesn't matter, get your hands on this game on any platform you have. And whatever small and few insignificant issues there were doesn't take anything away from this game and every single moment it has to offer is pure gaming bliss from beginning to end easily earning my vote for game of the year.