6:26PM

QCF: BioShock Infinite

ioShock was one of those games that defined this generation. When I first played it more than six years ago, it was mind blowing. It was quite possibly the first game of the generation that set the benchmark for where games were heading in the future. BioShock Infinite is from the minds of the original team after the B-team took over for BioShock 2, and what Ken Levine and crew have achieved must be experienced by anyone who ever considered themselves a "gamer."

BioShock Infinite puts you in the shoes of Booker DeWitt, an alcoholic veteran from the battle of Wounded Knee tasked with bringing the girl, Elizabeth, back to New York from the flying city of Columbia in order to wipe out his gambling debt. What follows is 10-12 hours of some of the best storytelling in the last five years of gaming. I have completed this game twice and I just cannot get the mysteries and revelations that happen in the city of Columbia out of my head. I bet I will be thinking about them for the next few weeks.

Columbia is like a character itself. The city rose to the skies to hold the values of American supremacy first and foremost above all else, even worshipping the founding fathers as gods. You'll want to explore every nook and cranny that Columbia has to offer, which leads to discovering that not everything in Columbia is as beautiful as the vistas. Columbia is a city wrought with racial and religious segregation, and may not be for the faint of heart since these two themes hold true though the entire adventure. BioShock Infinite makes bold use of its M rating in both narrative and graphical content.

The interactions between Elizabeth and Booker carry the bulk of the story. Both well-written characters play off of each other’s reactions to events throughout the entire game, and to the point that even on my second playthrough I would stop and watch the two interact. They react to events in a real and emotional way, making you feel for the characters on a personal level. Players will feel the revelations that the characters must confront in the dialogue and staging of almost every scene from beginning to end.

Elizabeth also plays a major role in combat. She can pick up health and ammo refills on the battlefield and throw them to you. On harder difficulties, this becomes crucial to your success on the battlefield. You also don’t need to really pay attention to her, as she does all of this on her own. The enemies ignore her for the most part, so unfortunately the scene from some of the early trailers where we see her grab a gun from a guy’s hand and kick him over the edge doesn't seem to happen, so it seems her contribution to combat was scaled back at some point. Elizabeth also interacts with tears in the environment, pulling things like cover and automated turrets through to help you in battle. She can do this as often as you like, but you can only have one tear open at any time -- choose wisely.

You'll need Elizabeth's help since the combat gets very tough at times. On harder difficulties, the Handyman and ghost enemy types were near impossible to take down in a face-to-face confrontation. While the vigors and skyline add a nice wrinkle to combat, they tend to throw so many enemies at you from every direction that you may begin feeling a little overwhelmed. Enemies will flank and move constantly, Firemen will flush you out of cover, and Handymen will rush you without letting up.

The Big Daddies were dynamic, and stayed neutral until you decided to mess with them; this allows you time to strategize and come up with a plan of attack. While the vigors are great, you'll tend to use one or two the entire game instead of swapping constantly, and the same goes for the multitude of great weapons BioShock Infinite has to offer. Overall, the combat is the weakest point of Infinite, and I think a little more time could have been spent play testing it at higher difficulties.

Ultimately, BioShock Infinite nearly perfects the art of storytelling in a video game. The gorgeous world, incredible sound design, and amazing writing merge to create one of the greatest narrative experiences of this or any generation. While the combat seems to be lacking something, it remains fun and engaging. BioShock Infinite stands shoulder-to-shoulder with legendary games such as Half-Life and Metal Gear Solid, and is a definitive must-play for anyone who has ever picked up a controller.

Whether or not you agree with the way it wraps everything up in the end, BioShock Infinite will be studied and dissected for years to come.

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Reader Comments (1)

This game is a masterpiece. The ending blew my mind on several levels. I sincerely love this game and, more importantly, this franchise. I sincerely hope that Ken Levine, the genius that he is, continues to make new entries in the Bioshock series in the future.

April 4, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterALF
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