A game you won't forget anytime soon
So, Bioshock Infinite came out last week...
What a long wait that was, too! I'm sure it had various incarnations but I'm glad this is the one that prevailed. It plays like Bioshock, it feels like Bioshock, but it is so very different. It's an entirely new world, even if there are familiar hints (if only in the mechanics, concepts and aesthetics) and it really looks like it's worlds apart.
The world created by the folks at Irrational Games is a living and breathing one, that would've been strong enough on its own, but if you add in all the additional fiction bolted onto the world, the scale is downright monstrous. What could've been a simple "period piece"--so to speak--becomes in fact a gripping sci-fi story, complete with existential debates and personal heartache, as well as a complex relationship between the two main characters Booker and Elizabeth.
Infinite had me begging for more every time I found a voxophone or a kinetoscope clip I hadn't seen before, fleshing out its already vibrant world. Narratively speaking, this game is brilliantly put together, with a multi-layered intrigue. Mechanically, it is as well-put together.
Indeed, what could've been a generic first-person shooter with less brown than any other shooter around these parts, turns into a super-fun kill-fest. It reminded me of Bulletstorm in a way, as I was constantly trying to experiment with my arsenal of vigors and super-charged weapons.
Additionally, the Vox Populi variants of the regular weapons were different enough to warrant using them, without rendering the old ones obsolete. Of course, I had my own personal favorites, but I definitely could understand why someone would prefer the burstgun to the carbine, or the heater to the shotgun.
Lastly, in keeping with the combat, the aerial elements to the game are simply mind-blowing. In the trailers and videos I had seen, it seemed like a convoluted mess of rails and faster-than-light shooting, but once again Irrational succeeds where other developers would have messed up. The fact that you can throttle how fast you're going on a skyline, can lock onto an enemy or even "skyline strike" (jump on them and straight up murder them cold, from a distance) makes it even more fun and the regular combat. My only complaint was that it was impossible to use vigors in that mode, but that's understandable considering the control scheme changed while on the skyline.
All in all, Bioshock Infinite is an amazing thrill-ride, that has me coming back for an other playthrough or maybe two. It is quite long for a modern shooter (took me about 20 hours to complete the game on medium and finding most of the voxophones and sightseeing locations, save for about 4-5 of each) but it doesn't overstay its welcome. The more time you spend in this world, the more you want to sink time in it.
I can only hope for some downloadable content that will provide me with an arena-like mode or even a horde-mode style of gameplay. That, or any story-based DLC will most definitely please me. Something from the Battle of Wounded Knee or from the Boxer Rebellion. I'm excited to see what's next, not only in the Bioshock-verse, but also what this means for future AAA titles and how the various companies will step their game up in response to this masterpiece of a game.
