I cannot begin to describe the fervor with which I have waited for this game. I've said before, the first Bioshock is one of my favorite games of all time. Granted my feelings on Bioshock 2 are well documented, but that never tarnished my love for the first game. Infinite had big shoes to fill, but on the other hand it was promised to be a whole new experience. A "spiritual" sequel, not literal. Set in a new city, in the sky instead of underwater. A new feel; American Exceptionalism over American Industrialism. It was even set decades before the events of Bioshock. Everything was new and different and terrifyingly exciting. Would it be amazing? Would it suck? Would it feel like Bioshock, or would it be the same in name only?
Rest assured, players, it was worth the wait. Bioshock Infinite is everything we ever wanted, and more.
Holy mother of Americana, this game is beautiful. That is the first thing that will just smack you across the face. From the moment you burst through the clouds and get your first glimpse of the city, this game is absolutely jaw-droppingly gorgeous. The floating city of Columbia is so beautifully realized, so perfectly detailed, it will blow you away. Ken Levine said that the entire city should capture "The Fourth Of July, 1912", and they knocked it out of the park. The soft color palettes, the architectural designs, the clothing and hairstyles of the people, the soft bloom lighting effects, every single detail of Columbia will leave you in awe, even in the heat of battle.
The game doesn't even give you a weapon for over an hour. Or at least, it'll take you an hour. I am sure that if you sprint your way through, you can get to that first fight in about 20 minutes; but you won't want to. After a chilling introductory scene bringing you to the city, Bioshock Infinite just sets you loose, and you are free to walk through and explore a bright, happy day in Columbia. You will stroll, trust me. You will feel how alive Columbia is, and you will be compelled to just wander in awe, taking in all of the sights and marveling at its storybook grandeur. Reading all of the signs and peering into the shops, exploring the fair, taking in the vistas of the floating city out in the clouds, watching the different city segments connect and interlock. The game will never force you to watch the salesman put on his show about the powers of Vigors; you can ignore it and walk on by. But Columbia feels so vibrant, you'll find yourself doing it anyway.
But make no mistake; this is still a Bioshock game. There is a powerful darkness under that veneer of quaint beauty. The first death in the game is a bloody one, and it hardly lets up from there. The town is run by one Zachary Comstock, a religious zealot and self-proclaimed prophet, who believes in racial purity and sacrifice. Columbia is rife with racism and labor injustices. There is a tone of fear, as the rebel group, the Vox Populi, stand to rise up and overthrow Comstock in the name of the people. And the Vox is not afraid to get blood on their hands, to see their goals come to fruition.
You play as Booker DeWitt, a disgraced former Pinkerton agent who has fallen on hard times. DeWitt has received a job: "Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt". The girl is Elizabeth, a Rapunzel figure who has been locked away in a tower her entire life. Elizabeth was born with the ability to pull open tears in not only space and time, but in possibility and probability, as well. DeWitt doesn't care about the fight between Comstock and the Vox, he only cares about getting Elizabeth back to New York City, even if it means lying to her, or taking her against her will.
When I first learned about Elizabeth, and heard that she would accompany you along your journey, I had my reservations. Fortunately, I worried for nothing. From a gameplay aspect, Elizabeth will never get in your way. She does not need to be protected in combat. Her AI isn't buggy, and she doesn't get stuck or lost. She doesn't need to be told what to do. In fact, she will help you with combat, often scouring the battlefield to throw you much-needed health or ammo. She can even use her tear ability to pull objects from other realities to help you, like cover objects, turrets, or weapons. On a technical level, her pathfinding isn't linear; she will often appear behind you, causing some unintentional "Creepy Watson" moments. It's accidentally hilarious, and often puts cracks in the game's immersion, but it's better than the alternative.
One of the greatest achievements of Bioshock Infinite is that throughout the entire story, it presents a wildly different world, tone, and story from its predecessors, and yet it still manages to feel like a Bioshock game. Starting from the hauntingly familiar opening scene, the player never has any doubt that they're playing Bioshock. Menus may look different, but they feel familiar. Sound cues for many events feel the same. Vigors are simply Plasmids under a different name. The Dollar Bill shopping kiosks may look completely different from Rapture's Circus Of Value vendors, but they sound similar enough to give the player mnemonic echoes. The fact that they were able to give us something so radically different, yet so comfortably familiar is astounding to me.
The newest addition that Infinite brings to the series is the Skyline system, a sort of midair rollercoaster rail system that Booker can ride through the use of a magnetized hook acquired early in the game. Far from just a transportation method, the skylines completely change the game's combat by allowing you to swiftly ride to better vantage points, or drop onto unsuspecting enemies with a Skyline Strike. It's not nearly as complicated or disorienting as I had thought it would be from the trailers. The player has complete control over speed and view, and it comes off as a very smooth, fast, fun method of combat. The game uses it frequently, but honestly I found myself wishing they'd used it even more. I was originally thrilled that the game eschewed a tacked-on multiplayer, but having played with the Skylines, I can't help thinking it would have been a ridiculous amount of fun.
If it feels like I am deliberately dancing around the overall plot of the game, I am. To even begin to explain the story more than I already have, more than the trailers have shown, would roam quickly into spoiler territory. I'll tell you now, the story is excellent. It's a bit hard to follow, as it deals a lot with metaphysical concepts. Players may notice certain anachronistic elements in the game, especially in the music. This is not accidental. As I said, Elizabeth has the ability to not only reach through space and time, but through probability. The idea that for every choice that happens, a parallel universe splinters off for each decision. Strangely, despite this theme, Ken Levine was adamant that the game not have multiple endings; this doesn't make sense until you have seen that ending.
The game's ending is not something I can really talk about, because much like the story, it's something the player must experience for themselves. But I wish that I could. It left me with my jaw on the floor, scratching my head, and trying to sort out what I'd just seen. I mean this in a good way! My mind was blown. But a lot of it is left open to interpretation. There's a lot of "Okay I understand A, and I understand B, but it's kind of unclear how we got from A to B" to the ending. I really look forward to finding some discussions online, because from what I've already seen, a lot of people feel the same way. It's an amazing ending, just...not sure I fully comprehend it.
I have minor nitpicks here and there, like any game, but they really don't take away from the game itself. For one, I felt that Songbird was way too underdeveloped. As important a role as it played, I really expected more depth and backstory than what we got. Also, as helpful as Elizabeth was, I almost felt that her role in combat made the game too easy. I died occasionally, but for the most part I knew that I never had to worry about running out of ammo, health, or salts (the game's stand-in for EVE), because if I could hang on for a few seconds, she would throw me some. There were a few areas that the game forced me to backtrack through, that felt like they dragged on a bit (I'm looking at YOU, Emporia!). And lastly, the game's linearity made more than a few scenes feel more like cinematic setpieces than an actual game.
But these are simply little quibbles. They never detracted from my enjoyment of the game, never made it less amazing in my mind.
I could talk about this game for hours, but I won't. I'm currently halfway through a second playthrough, and it's just as incredible the second time around. If anything, I'm appreciating it more because I can see where the foreshadowing is headed, and I am picking up on little cues that I had missed. There is so much ambiance and tone packed into every step of Bioshock Infinite, along with some incredibly fun gameplay, memorable characters, and one hell of a mindbending finale. I cannot recommend this game enough, to all gamers.
There is an extreme amount of hype going around for this game, and it's easy to be put off by that. This review has been extraordinarily difficult to write, because I don't want to come off like I'm gushing and feeding into it, not giving an objective opinion. But the game is just that good. I can assure you, this is one of the first times where I've genuinely felt that every single ounce of the hype is well-earned, and well-deserved.
BioShock Infinite PC Game Download
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