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BioShock Infinite
First-Person Shooter
Irrational Games, 2013
Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
No Multiplayer
BioShock Infinite is absolutely stunning in almost every single way. When I think about any potential drawbacks, there's really only one thing that I can think of. That tiny thing aside, the game is stunning, from its fine-tuned gameplay to its astounding achievement in storytelling.
The game opens like the original BioShock. You play as an ex-Pinkerton agent named Booker DeWitt, and you find yourself at a light house in the middle of the ocean, and that light house takes you to a city. Instead of Rapture this time around, you find yourself at Columbia, which is quite the opposite of Rapture. Not only is the city not in shambles, but it floats in the sky above the clouds as opposed to underneath the water. Keep in mind this is 1912, before the events of the original BioShock take place.
Your task is to find the mysterious Elizabeth and bring her back to New York. Once you find her, things go a bit awry as you'd expect. This is also where the game gets good.
The gameplay is fantastic and tight. For a single player only 12-14 hour FPS, just the amount guns is just staggering. You've got a standard pistol, machine gun, shotgun, carbine, rocket launcher, grenade launcher, and sniper rifle, and you can upgrade them using the various vending machines scattered around Columbia. What's more, you'll reach a point in the game in which you'll get a second set of some of these weapons. For example, you'll eventually come across the repeater, which is basically the machine gun with more power and a smaller clip. You'll get a single shot-over powered shotgun, so basically there's a second set of more powerful weapons. However, they feel like completely different weapons, which is pretty awesome. Unlike the other games in the series, you can only carry 2 weapons at once, which is actually okay. Everyone will find a weapon combination that suits them perfectly. What's more, the weapons, at least the bullet-based non-explosive weapons, feel like they have weight and power to them. If you're accurate, you can easily get a one-hit kill, even at long range with the revolver. The guns aren't overpowered, but they feel stable and strong in combat, which makes combat incredibly fun. Finding ammo for guns you don't have even adds up so when you do finally pick up a weapon that you have ammo for, you're already fully stocked. Your melee weapon this time around is the Sky-hook, which is just as cool as it sounds. This actually has a gameplay role outside of melee attacks, unlike your wrench or drill in the Rapture games. You can use the skyhook to traverse the rails that connect the pieces of the floating city. You can use them in most combat scenarios, which adds another layer of strategy. You also have Vigors.
Just like the other BioShock games, you have guns and powers at your disposal, only this time around they're called "Vigors" instead of Plasmids. They do essentially the same stuff. You can throw fire balls that act as deadly grenades, charge at opponents from long distances, and mind control enemies to help you temporarily. You can use the Vigors in a number of ways depending on how your play style is. If you want to run in and blow everything up, you can. If you want to be strategic and pick off enemies in a more controlled method, you can do that as well. It's fun to experiment with the Vigors and definitely worth your time to see what works. The harder the game gets, the more you'll want to have at your disposal, and you can upgrade the Vigors for additional damage and perks. You find Salts around the city. Salt is basically what the Vigors use up when you throw them, which is basically what EVE was to Plasmids back in the Rapture-based games.
In addition to all of this, you'll find gear throughout Columbia. You have four slots for various gears that basically act as perks. You might have an increased melee damage or set enemies on fire if they come into contact with you. They can be found all throughout the city. You also find Infusions, which basically allow you a one-time increase of either your shield, health, or Salts bars. You have to choose wisely, because these Infusions are not the easiest to find. And this is where my only complaint comes into play.
To fully experience the game, you have to look around the city. You have to explore places that you don't actually have to go into, like bars or shops. Of course you don't have to explore, but if you don't you might not find the Infusions, and if you don't find Infusions and upgrade your stats, then you will most certainly die in the later sections of the game. It's like you have to explore off the beaten path to get the full experience. It takes up a lot of time, and while you find what's called a Voxophone, which is basically a tape-recording from various characters that add to the story elements, it's not really required. It adds so much to the story its like they're forcing you to explore when all I want to do is to play the game as is without fretting if I missed a power up or recording. The other BioShock games are like this too. It's the only thing that really bothers me. But hell, the game is so fun that you quickly forget that you're trying so hard to explore the place. It's so full of character that it's probably worth exploring.
The best, and I mean the best part about Infinite is the story and characters. I already covered the gist before, but both Booker and Elizabeth are strong central characters that you quickly begin to sympathize with. You want to see this adventure through to the end, this isn't some Call of Duty story of shoe-horned plot devices and ridiculous characters. The tale of Booker and Elizabeth in the city of Columbia is one of power, corruption, rebellion, prejudice, courage, patriotism, science, consequences, and faith. These characters are believable, thanks to great voice acting and beautiful character animation for Elizabeth, whose facial expressions and body movements feel surprisingly natural for a video game character. She's a very strong and stable character, and she can fend for herself. This ain't no 12 hour escort mission like you might think. She has no health bar and doesn't get in the way. In fact, she even helps you. She disappears briefly in a section later on and I had difficulty fighting off baddies without her help. She hands you extra ammo, health, and Salts when you're low. She can even spawn cover and turrets in the heat of combat, which is something that actually comes into play with the story.
You shouldn't come into this game expecting to sit through the story, you should expect to experience them. And what an incredible story it is. The story doesn't end with the final fight, and as things are revealed to you, the ultimate finale will completely blow you away. And whatever you do, stick around for a post-credits scene.
BioShock Infinite isn't really a shooter. The game isn't about the action that it does so well, it's really about the incredible storytelling and characters. You'll find constant surprises around every corner, but the story doesn't really kick into high gear until the second half of the game. When it gets good, it fucking gets good. There's no multiplayer, but I know that I'm going to take a second tour of Columbia sometime in the near future. It's just that damn amazing.
10/10
If you're asking which system to get it on, I think the PC. From what I've read, the PC version just has better graphics and whatever. The PS3 version of the game comes with a free copy of the original BioShock that you can download straight from the disc.
