BIOSHOCK INFINITE

The original Bioshock was easily one of the greatest games of all time. It was one of the first games that made me feel like the format had really evolved beyond a form of entertainment for kids, that as an adult it was okay to play games because it was a compelling medium that conveyed more emotions because the audience was actually in control of the protagonist. The fact that it was a videogame enabled them to achieve a story with such an extremely emotional and visceral climax that it redefined the medium, the climax being a twist that played on the mechanics of videogames which forced players to reconsider their motivations for playing. Its hard to explain without spoiling the story, but it was revolutionary.

Ultimately, Bioshock Infinite surpasses the original. Easily a 10/10. I'll go in to more detail after the break:

Visuals:

I played the game on the Xbox 360 and it was beautiful. Early on a common concern was that "if this game takes place in the bright sky, how could it be scary or build suspense?" Bioshock had an atmospheric tone that was always ominous, even when nothing important was happening, because of the underwater location, art deco stylings and the appearance of a city torn asunder. Infinite, on the other hand, takes place in a shining metropolis that is bright and vibrant and full of patriotism. The overabundance of regalia leads to the feeling of being trapped in a Stepford Wives kind of scenario, and it doesn't take long to realize that isn't too far from the case. While a significant portion of the game takes place in open areas, from time to time you'll have to explore dark abandoned buildings where you can't help feel that something is waiting for your around the corner but all you can hear is the building creak and adjust as it floats in the air. At one point I knew I was headed towards an ambush and thought I heard people but couldn't tell if it was just the building moving, I looked down the hallway and thought I saw someone peek from behind a roman pillar, as I neared the room I saw a shadow run across the doorway silhouetted by the evening sun, when I finally reached the room it was this giant bank lobby where a statue was being erected in the center, as I neared the statue the enemies ambushed me. Maybe I don't do it justice but the creators definitely knew how to build suspense.

Gameplay:

A large part of the game is exploring building and searching desks like in Bioshock, but what sets this game apart gameplay wise is the open area gunfights. Quite often you'll walk in to an open area and have a few options on how to approach your enemies: you can use your vigors and guns to run in head first, you can use cover for a more tactical approach, or you can ride the skylines. The gunplay and vigors work phenomenally well and this game and the action moves a lot quicker than in Bioshock. The gunfights are very similar to Bioshock (but faster, and more fun) until you incorporate the skylines in to your strategies, which you're encouraged to do very early on. The skylines allow you to swiftly move about the map and attack enemies from numerous vantage points. At one point I walked in to a courtyard with cover right in front of me, I ran up to the cover and took out a few enemies with vigors and some well placed carbine shots but soon was overwhelmed by enemies and low on ammo, I hopped a skyline to a higher vantage point to grab ammo and snipe a few enemies, then I rode the skyline to my cover and sniped a few more enemies while on the skyline, I pounced on an enemy Assasin's Creed style and was able to finish off the last few enemies by throwing them off the floating arena.

Story:

"Bring us the girl, wipe away the debt." Not quite as memorable as "Would you kindly?" but my favorite quote from Bioshock was always "A man chooses, a slave obeys." Anyway, the story has you playing Booker DeWitt a former pinkerton who has racked up some serious debt and is forced to go to Columbia with the mission to retrieve a girl by the name of Elizabeth. You quickly learn that it won't be as easy as just finding her and fleeing, a tyrannical prophet has his sights set on stopping you, and you find yourself in the middle of a civil war. It only gets more complicated from there as you begin to realize why someone might be interested in Elizabeth and how important she is. Elizabeth accompanies you throughout the game and really enhances your experience, of course she helps out during fights by finding you ammo or health, but most of the time I found myself excited to see what she would do next while exploring an area. At one point in an arcade I returned from exploring to find that she had bought her self some cotton candy.

Conclusion:

Play this game. I would tell you to play the original Bioshock first but 1.) you should have done that already, seriously why wouldn't you play that amazing game, 2.) You probably have played Bioshock, 3.) If you haven't played Bioshock by now, just skip it. I don't want anything keeping anyone from playing Infinite. Why do you keep talking about Bioshock? You know what, if you haven't played Bioshock yet, play it before you play Infinite; I'd hate to think you would find Bioshock to be bad because Infinite is so good. There is also this problem where, after beating Infinite all other games just don't seem worth while any more. I'm sure the feeling will fade, but just know that it is possible to fall in love with Elizabeth. You have been warned, now go play Bioshock Infinite.