Spoiler Free "Are you afraid of god"
This is what you would consider a definitive experience in media. It is the single most beautiful piece of art I have experienced since I first held a controller. In this review I am not going to talk all about mechanics but mainly about story. To start off the one thing they had to succeed with in order to have a successful game with was Elizabeth . Well did they? of course they did she made the game and I have never actually "Fallen in love" with an AI till I experienced her, I was pissed at myself when she was mad at me, when she was taken all I worried about was her and if she was safe, and if the final outcome would be me and her and someone had to die I would rather it be me. They didn’t stop there, one of the most breathtaking experiences I had was when you see Columbia for the first time. I had never had this feeling before exploration, childlike glee and just over all amazement. For those of you who don't know Columbia is a city in the sky based on 1912 America, They worship the founding fathers and their leader Comstock. He is a normal human but they treat him as if he is a deity. But besides the city and the amazing AI it’s what’s hidden throughout Columbia that makes the game even though it didn't need any help. The horrible racial undertones and extreme amount of religious and historical propaganda in this game there are two sides "The Founders" and "The Vox Populi" The Founders are the citizens who follow Comstock and are stuck in the early 1900's frame of mind, meaning they are very prejudiced wealthy people who don't care about anything but themselves. Next is the Vox led by "Daisy Fitzroy”, my main gripe with the game is that she was such a strong character I wish there was more of her. She is an atheist and anarchist they want blacks and whites to live in peace and for every one get what they deserve, she is very brutal about her standing but she means well. Even though there is an amazing narrative and a beautiful environment it still is a video game. Your main attacks against enemy's are guns and “Vigor’s: just like in the old Bioshock you have powers but in this game they are called vigor's and they are replenished by drinking salts, Each has an awesome separate animation and design for their bottle. Not all come to mind right now but my favorites were "Under Tow" and "Ram". "Undertow" can make your arm have the illusion that it is turning into a squid tentacle while it shoots out actual tentacles that collects up to 3 enemy's and immobilizes them for a brief time in front of you. Next is "Ram" which you use with your sky-hook and you use wind power to charge it and ram at the speed of...Well a “Ram" and demolish your enemy's leaving you unharmed. Now if you haven't played you can see why those to vigor's work well together. Undertow to gather the enemy's and ram to destroy them where they stand, make sure you try out this as long as the many other vigor combinations. Next is "Guns" They worked fine none were game changing the mechanics worked flawless irrational games doesn't really have any trouble in that field. Besides the guns and the vigor's there is still one more item in your arsenal. It is called the "Sky-Hook" it is used to jump and glide on one of the many Sky-Lines that cover Columbia. To use this item you look up at a sky line and jump hooking in place and gliding like a high powered roller coaster when it shoots out the gate. Of course you aren't the only one using the Sky-Lines your enemies can also use them meaning you have to jump from Sky-line to Sky-Line or you are getting knocked off. It is something really fresh to the genre and I think has been overlooked way too much in most reviews. Overall with the amount of art and beautiful design flawless game play and beautiful unforgettable characters this is easily the greatest game of the year, maybe of this generation. If you miss out on this game even if you don’t like fps you should not be considered a gamer. This has taken the second spot is in my top five games of all time right behind Journey and in front of Links Awakening. If you haven't played the game I am positive it will end up in yours to. I cannot stress this enough it is one of the single greatest creations of this generation of gaming. If you don't want to play it after this go watch Adam Sesser’s review on YouTube he helped me properly voice my opinion. Don't look this game over, just sit down turn the lights off and play. Game on "Sincerely" Alec the Gamer, Thanks for reading and PM with your thoughts; look for more of my reviews in the future.
