“Bring us the girl and wipe away the
debt”. With those word players take on the role of Booker Dewitt
who travels to the sky city of Columbia in search of mystery girl
Elizabeth. Along the way he must discover the mystery behind this
supposed utopia and topple the self styled prophet who runs the city.
As the sequel to the very successful Bioshock, expectations were very high and this game seems to know that and it gleefully plays with those expectations. Like Rapture before it, the world of Columbia is just as much a character as Booker or Elizabeth. From its shining statues and idyllic beach, to its murky underbelly and racial tension, the world of Bioshock Infinite feels like one of the greatest achievements in a game that is full of great achievements.
The mechanics of the game will feel very familiar to anyone who has played the first game. You will spend the game looting the surrounding environment to find food money and other items. You will also spend much of your time shooting waves of enemies.
However, for all of the similarities with its predecessor, players of the original Bioshock maybe expecting some scares. The fist Bioshock was in places genuinely creepy and this isn't the case in this game. Instead the game feels much more like an adventure experience than a horror one. Players arrived to the world of Rapture too late to see the true downfall of this supposed utopia but in Infinite you are the cause of the disruption and get to experience the downfall first hand.
Every corner of this world is packed full of characters. From a Barbershop Quartet who sing Beach Boys songs, to the almost deity like worship of the founding fathers, this feels like a fully realised world that players will love to explore. Columbia is a city on the brink of a Civil War and it doesn't take long for Booker to be embroiled in battle. Here too Bioshock Infinite excels, Booker has access to an arsenal of weapons although he can only access two of these weapons at a time and they are all fun to use. They are complimented by the vigour system which replaces the plasmids from the previous game.
These Vigors include direct replacements for old favourites such as the ability to shoot fire or lightning from your fingertips, to more unusual abilities. These include Bucking Bronco which shoots your foes into the air allowing you to shoot them not unlike the 2011 game Bulletstorm. These can all be upgraded to become more effective resulting in a more souped up versions of the powers. Lighting for example extends its reach arcing from foe to foe instead of focusing on just one making Booker far more versatile. This combines with the almost RPG like nature of the collectable clothing which confer various abilities such as hits causing your enemies to catch fire or your shields recharge faster.
These potions found around Columbia allow Booker to add variety to the combat from throwing electricity at opponents that arcs between groups of foes to having a murder of crows attack them. This gives the player far more options than the average shooter and combined with Elizabeth, it creates a unique experience.
Then we come to Elizabeth, the whole aim of Booker's mission, and she is a major part of the game. It's safe to say that if her character did not work the game would have fallen apart as players were trailed by something they considered an annoyance. This doesn't happen as Elizabeth feels like an essential part of the game and adds an interesting element to the combat. She has the power to open tears into parallel universes, she can bring things from those universes into Columbia. These items range from weapon drops, to cover, to medipacs. All of these are bought forth with a simple button press changing every encounter.
From the majestic sky city to the fantastic characters Infinite is an astounding game to look at with crisp images, vibrant colour, and impressive lighting effects. This adds a level of depth to the world that is missing from many games.
But the true star of the show however is the story which lifts Bioshock Infinite far above other first person shooters. This game encourages exploration by drip feeding the plot to the play by finding recordings; these reveal important details that expand the story in interesting ways.
Of course like all games Infinite does have its problems. While the enemy characters mostly do a good job of providing an adequate challenge they can sometimes do stupid things such as not retreat to cover whilst generally relying on sheer numbers to overcome Booker. Vigors give the player many options to tackle the enemies but very few uses these miraculous powers themselves.
But these small imperfections are only made all the more noticeable due to the excellence of the overall experience. This can be counted as one of the best experiences of the console generation.
As the sequel to the very successful Bioshock, expectations were very high and this game seems to know that and it gleefully plays with those expectations. Like Rapture before it, the world of Columbia is just as much a character as Booker or Elizabeth. From its shining statues and idyllic beach, to its murky underbelly and racial tension, the world of Bioshock Infinite feels like one of the greatest achievements in a game that is full of great achievements.
The mechanics of the game will feel very familiar to anyone who has played the first game. You will spend the game looting the surrounding environment to find food money and other items. You will also spend much of your time shooting waves of enemies.
However, for all of the similarities with its predecessor, players of the original Bioshock maybe expecting some scares. The fist Bioshock was in places genuinely creepy and this isn't the case in this game. Instead the game feels much more like an adventure experience than a horror one. Players arrived to the world of Rapture too late to see the true downfall of this supposed utopia but in Infinite you are the cause of the disruption and get to experience the downfall first hand.
Every corner of this world is packed full of characters. From a Barbershop Quartet who sing Beach Boys songs, to the almost deity like worship of the founding fathers, this feels like a fully realised world that players will love to explore. Columbia is a city on the brink of a Civil War and it doesn't take long for Booker to be embroiled in battle. Here too Bioshock Infinite excels, Booker has access to an arsenal of weapons although he can only access two of these weapons at a time and they are all fun to use. They are complimented by the vigour system which replaces the plasmids from the previous game.
These Vigors include direct replacements for old favourites such as the ability to shoot fire or lightning from your fingertips, to more unusual abilities. These include Bucking Bronco which shoots your foes into the air allowing you to shoot them not unlike the 2011 game Bulletstorm. These can all be upgraded to become more effective resulting in a more souped up versions of the powers. Lighting for example extends its reach arcing from foe to foe instead of focusing on just one making Booker far more versatile. This combines with the almost RPG like nature of the collectable clothing which confer various abilities such as hits causing your enemies to catch fire or your shields recharge faster.
These potions found around Columbia allow Booker to add variety to the combat from throwing electricity at opponents that arcs between groups of foes to having a murder of crows attack them. This gives the player far more options than the average shooter and combined with Elizabeth, it creates a unique experience.
Then we come to Elizabeth, the whole aim of Booker's mission, and she is a major part of the game. It's safe to say that if her character did not work the game would have fallen apart as players were trailed by something they considered an annoyance. This doesn't happen as Elizabeth feels like an essential part of the game and adds an interesting element to the combat. She has the power to open tears into parallel universes, she can bring things from those universes into Columbia. These items range from weapon drops, to cover, to medipacs. All of these are bought forth with a simple button press changing every encounter.
From the majestic sky city to the fantastic characters Infinite is an astounding game to look at with crisp images, vibrant colour, and impressive lighting effects. This adds a level of depth to the world that is missing from many games.
But the true star of the show however is the story which lifts Bioshock Infinite far above other first person shooters. This game encourages exploration by drip feeding the plot to the play by finding recordings; these reveal important details that expand the story in interesting ways.
Of course like all games Infinite does have its problems. While the enemy characters mostly do a good job of providing an adequate challenge they can sometimes do stupid things such as not retreat to cover whilst generally relying on sheer numbers to overcome Booker. Vigors give the player many options to tackle the enemies but very few uses these miraculous powers themselves.
But these small imperfections are only made all the more noticeable due to the excellence of the overall experience. This can be counted as one of the best experiences of the console generation.
In conclusion anybody with any interest
in this game should play it immediately and anyone not interested
should be.
LHSRATING 9/10 (PC)
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