Bioshock Infinite Review
Bioshock Infinite is a prequel to the original game. But instead of taking place in the underwater city of Rapture, it takes place in Columbia: a city in the sky. While a few mechanics have been tweaked, gameplay is largely the same. The story takes a less philosophical route this time, but is still complex and not without it’s fair share of cool plot twists.
The story kicks off with Booker DeWitt, broke and in debt, taking on a job to go to Columbia, find the girl Elizabeth, and bring her back to New York City so Booker can “wipe away his debt.” Like in the original Bioshock, we’re given a chance right in the beginning of the game to get a good outside look at the city before we enter it. The graphics in this game are great and the environments beautiful. While nowhere near as atmospheric as the first Bioshock’s Rapture, Columbia is still an interesting city to explore. The bright colors and residents going about their daily business not only pull you in, but make the city feel alive.
The game starts slow but quickly picks up once you realize Columbia is full of racists, overly religious assholes. The leader of Columbia, Comstock, calls himself a prophet and the residents of Columbia worship him like a god.
After a couple of hours you find Elizabeth, a young woman locked up in a tower. While the story is the star of the game, Elizabeth is the star of the story. Sure, Booker is the main character, but he is quickly dismissible as just another rough, rugged video game hero. Elizabeth is a fully realized, fleshed out character. I really felt for her through out the plot and was heartbroken by some of the things she had to go through. Her character arch is very well done. Plus, the exceptional voice acting really brings her character to life. In fact, all the characters have great voice acting.
Overall, everything about the presentation of the game, from the story, the characters, setting, and dialogue, is well thought out and polished. The gameplay on the hand, is a bit lacking. Like the original Bioshock, you use guns and magic. (This time called vigors.) The shooting mechanics aren’t bad, but don’t hold up compared to other games in the FPS genre. The enemy AI is pretty bad as well. If enemies aren’t standing out in the open, they are running right toward you despite the fire you are flinging from your hands at them. The gun aiming isn’t as good as it could be either, but don’t get me wrong.
Nothing about the gameplay is bad; it just isn’t as good as it could be. But it’s okay because the emphasis is on story and setting, and that’s what you really should be playing this game for. Honestly, if you are looking at this game because you just want another FPS to divide into, tread carefully. Combining vigors is a lot of fun, and each gun feels satisfying to use (even if some are rather similar), but the gameplay just doesn’t perform as well as other shooters. The game is also easy as heck on Normal, and not that much worse on Hard.
One thing that annoyed me about the first game was the backtracking, and I’m sorry to say, it makes a return here. I don’t understand why the player is expected to run through an area only to fetch something, only to have to run back the way you came, sometimes without any more enemies to fight. Yes, the locations are nice, but it gets tiring having to run through the same ones over and over again. And having to run back into the action, across the same empty areas, every time you die is just boring as hell.
In fact, one thing I noticed right away is that even though Columbia feels like a real city, it isn’t nearly as interesting as Rapture. In the first Bioshock, Rapture pulled you in with its great atmosphere and the story gave you some really great moments in different locations. Infinite doesn’t really give me any reason to care about the particular area I’m in at the time. One area could easily be substituted for another and it would feel pretty much the same.
It’s hard to say which story is better, the original Bioshock’s or this new one’s. Both are expertly crafted with mind-blowing twists, but they both take different approaches. In the original game, the major plot twist came about two-thirds of the way through, and after that, the story crashed hard. There was nothing else to add, but there were still a third left to the game, making the final moments feel more like a chore than a pulse-pounding experience.
In Infinite, the major plot twist doesn’t come until the very end: after the final showdown. And it’s crazy. However, the twist can be hard to take in because after the final showdown is when all your questions are answered in quick succession. It can be overwhelming.
I can’t say which story I prefer. Bioshock’s story had a powerful point behind its plot and the surprises it dishes out, Infinite’s is just really cool. Both are well crafted and keep you engrossed through out.
While not as good as the hype built it up to be, Bioshock Infinite is still a great game, and it’s story a triumphant achievement. Honestly, play the game for it’s story, setting, and characters. Play it for Elizabeth and for the same man and woman that keep appearing for no apparent reason. (Hint: There is a reason, and it’s awesome.) The gameplay, while fun, does take the back seat here. But that’s okay, because the rest of the game is that good.
Overall:
Pros:
- Excellent, interesting story
- Realistic characters
- Great voice acting
- Cool locations
-Vigors are fun to experiment with
Cons:
- Gameplay could be better
- Backtracking
- Setting way less memorable than Rapture
- Ending can be confusing
Buy, Rent, or Pass?
If you are looking for a great story and don’t mind the gameplay not being as strong as it could, then you need to buy this game. Even if you are more interested in gameplay, I would still strongly recommend trying this game out: even if you rent first and then buy it.
Bioshock Infinite is a prequel to the original game. But instead of taking place in the underwater city of Rapture, it takes place in Columbia: a city in the sky. While a few mechanics have been tweaked, gameplay is largely the same. The story takes a less philosophical route this time, but is still complex and not without it’s fair share of cool plot twists.
The story kicks off with Booker DeWitt, broke and in debt, taking on a job to go to Columbia, find the girl Elizabeth, and bring her back to New York City so Booker can “wipe away his debt.” Like in the original Bioshock, we’re given a chance right in the beginning of the game to get a good outside look at the city before we enter it. The graphics in this game are great and the environments beautiful. While nowhere near as atmospheric as the first Bioshock’s Rapture, Columbia is still an interesting city to explore. The bright colors and residents going about their daily business not only pull you in, but make the city feel alive.
The game starts slow but quickly picks up once you realize Columbia is full of racists, overly religious assholes. The leader of Columbia, Comstock, calls himself a prophet and the residents of Columbia worship him like a god.
After a couple of hours you find Elizabeth, a young woman locked up in a tower. While the story is the star of the game, Elizabeth is the star of the story. Sure, Booker is the main character, but he is quickly dismissible as just another rough, rugged video game hero. Elizabeth is a fully realized, fleshed out character. I really felt for her through out the plot and was heartbroken by some of the things she had to go through. Her character arch is very well done. Plus, the exceptional voice acting really brings her character to life. In fact, all the characters have great voice acting.
Overall, everything about the presentation of the game, from the story, the characters, setting, and dialogue, is well thought out and polished. The gameplay on the hand, is a bit lacking. Like the original Bioshock, you use guns and magic. (This time called vigors.) The shooting mechanics aren’t bad, but don’t hold up compared to other games in the FPS genre. The enemy AI is pretty bad as well. If enemies aren’t standing out in the open, they are running right toward you despite the fire you are flinging from your hands at them. The gun aiming isn’t as good as it could be either, but don’t get me wrong.
Nothing about the gameplay is bad; it just isn’t as good as it could be. But it’s okay because the emphasis is on story and setting, and that’s what you really should be playing this game for. Honestly, if you are looking at this game because you just want another FPS to divide into, tread carefully. Combining vigors is a lot of fun, and each gun feels satisfying to use (even if some are rather similar), but the gameplay just doesn’t perform as well as other shooters. The game is also easy as heck on Normal, and not that much worse on Hard.
One thing that annoyed me about the first game was the backtracking, and I’m sorry to say, it makes a return here. I don’t understand why the player is expected to run through an area only to fetch something, only to have to run back the way you came, sometimes without any more enemies to fight. Yes, the locations are nice, but it gets tiring having to run through the same ones over and over again. And having to run back into the action, across the same empty areas, every time you die is just boring as hell.
In fact, one thing I noticed right away is that even though Columbia feels like a real city, it isn’t nearly as interesting as Rapture. In the first Bioshock, Rapture pulled you in with its great atmosphere and the story gave you some really great moments in different locations. Infinite doesn’t really give me any reason to care about the particular area I’m in at the time. One area could easily be substituted for another and it would feel pretty much the same.
It’s hard to say which story is better, the original Bioshock’s or this new one’s. Both are expertly crafted with mind-blowing twists, but they both take different approaches. In the original game, the major plot twist came about two-thirds of the way through, and after that, the story crashed hard. There was nothing else to add, but there were still a third left to the game, making the final moments feel more like a chore than a pulse-pounding experience.
In Infinite, the major plot twist doesn’t come until the very end: after the final showdown. And it’s crazy. However, the twist can be hard to take in because after the final showdown is when all your questions are answered in quick succession. It can be overwhelming.
I can’t say which story I prefer. Bioshock’s story had a powerful point behind its plot and the surprises it dishes out, Infinite’s is just really cool. Both are well crafted and keep you engrossed through out.
While not as good as the hype built it up to be, Bioshock Infinite is still a great game, and it’s story a triumphant achievement. Honestly, play the game for it’s story, setting, and characters. Play it for Elizabeth and for the same man and woman that keep appearing for no apparent reason. (Hint: There is a reason, and it’s awesome.) The gameplay, while fun, does take the back seat here. But that’s okay, because the rest of the game is that good.
Overall:
Pros:
- Excellent, interesting story
- Realistic characters
- Great voice acting
- Cool locations
-Vigors are fun to experiment with
Cons:
- Gameplay could be better
- Backtracking
- Setting way less memorable than Rapture
- Ending can be confusing
Buy, Rent, or Pass?
If you are looking for a great story and don’t mind the gameplay not being as strong as it could, then you need to buy this game. Even if you are more interested in gameplay, I would still strongly recommend trying this game out: even if you rent first and then buy it.
