Bioshock Infinite is a Must Play Despite the Weak Combat
Trying to keep myself free of spoilers and mindful enough to still obsessively research this game was a daunting task. Bioshock Infinite is a game that a great deal of people had on their minds, especially with the potential presented in a studio such as Irrational. Before Bioshock Infinite, everyone was pining over the spiritual successor to System Shock 2 in Bioshock, a romp through an underwater city that is falling apart right before your eyes. What stood out to me in the original title was the world itself, if that world did not exist the mediocre combat would have sunk that game entirely. Though in Bioshock we see a game that is one of the must plays of an entire generation because of the creepy atmosphere and intriguing dialogue presenting itself in the audio logs. The second one in the series came around, which was frankly unimpressive. Whilst the world was still alive and full of new surprises, the gameplay itself was just as mediocre, if not more so than in the original title. The biggest thing to take away from Bioshock 2 was it felt contrived, and as I think about it that's fine with me as long as I could spend one more game exploring Rapture.
Somewhere...Over the Sky?
Enter Bioshock Infinite, which turns the core aspects of the original two titles on its head and runs laps around them. Instead of being in the sea, Irriational took it in the exact opposite direction: Putting a city in the sky. The game establishes its charm right away on the opening minute while Booker DeWitt, the protagonist is off to a lighthouse to begin the journey. The dialogue between the couple in the boat shows that this is not the same game as the original two, where you are immediately thrown into a disaster and off to fend for yourself. The charm continues to show itself as you find yourself in the actual city in the sky known as Columbia. The world isn't decaying or destroyed like in the previous two games which is something I appreciate greatly. Watching the citizens explore the city first hand, go about their business was a great way to immerse yourself into the world. It was a picture of a functioning city, a very strange city you want no part in, but a city nonetheless. As you venture into the city things start to go wrong as you are accused of being a "False Shepard" due to a brand on your hand. It quickly settles in that the citizens blindly worship the leader of the city Comstock, who has created a cult of personality. The city as you venture through it, fighting through mobs of police and other baddies begins to show how ugly it truly is. Race is a huge issue that exists in Columbia, and it gets rather uncomfortable as you discover exactly how they treat others that break the status quo, just as Booker DeWitt happens to be doing. Going deeper into the city, discovering how disgusting of a place it happens to be from the standpoint of morals, it makes one actively look for an escape. Enter Elizabeth, your companion for a great portion of the game. I have to say I enjoyed the company Elizabeth provided throughout the game. It added a great deal of character to the experience which, in a title like this happens to be everything that matters. I felt connected to the two in a way a lot of games fail to establish, I wanted to see them escape the city, couple that with the others you meet throughout the game shows that character interaction is the greatest aspect of this game.
Lots of Guns, Nothing to do
I played this game initially on 1999 Mode, I felt it would give the greatest experience as well as a challenge. The first thing I noticed after a few hours of playing was that most of the Vigors weren't too great. I went through the entire game effectively using only the first vigor you obtain in Possession. Everything else felt incredibly weak and even when money was put towards the other Vigors they failed to make much of a difference. The weapons felt okay, though I was able to skirt through the majority of the game using only the Pistol, Carbine and Sniper Rifle. The most damning thing you can say about a first person shooter is that the combat was boring. In Bioshock Infinite the gunplay was lackluster. I did not feel pressured for the entire game save two fights with one of the bosses. The shooting was very easy and the enemies didn't do much to counter my selections. This was on the hardest difficulty as well so it's hard to imagine what the game is like on the easier difficulties. I would think Vigors would be more useful but at that point one might as well just use guns all the time because it accomplishes everything you need to do barring instances where the game sets situations up as if telling you "Use This Vigor. The Heavy Hitters had a tendency to often get stuck in place during fights which did a great deal to ruin suspense.
The thought that you only need to use a certain few weapons, that the others were superfluous kept me from cycling my weapons, substituting one for another unless I felt the need to spice things up. When I did use other weapons though they felt, for the most part, useless compared to the Carbine or Sniper Rifle I had obtained that had no modifications to make them better weapons. There were the Sky-Lines, which I used quite a bit especially on fights with enemies like Handymen as a means for escape and to set up new traps along the way. When using the Sky-Lines every motion felt fluid, whether it was pinging enemies while traveling at high speeds or jumping off immediately, producing a trap whilst falling to the ground. The combat mechanics felt like a well oiled machine when Sky-Lines were involved, but those moments as too far and few between to make a lasting difference.
Wait...They did WHAT!?!
This game really attached to me in a huge way by the time the ending came along, which I really do not want to spoil. No really, you don't want to know what happens. What happens is so insane, so goofy that it becomes something incredible worth seeing for yourself. It featured one of the few times I audibly cheered in any game, a story going 100 miles per hour as you follow along, not even missing a beat. It accentuates the fact that for the storytelling alone this game is a must play. Sure the combat is pedestrian, the AI in the Heavy Hitters would occasionally get itself stuck in place, and the variety in the weapons didn't amount to much, but what you get despite the flaws is a story so crazy, a world so vivid and breathtaking that it makes me wanting and hoping for more.
