Got BioShock Infinite Early

So I was able to pick up a copy from my local on Saturday night and so far I'm impressed, like seriously impressed.

I'm only about 4-5 hours in, so I'll try and keep it brief and spoiler-free, of course.

First off, Columbia is incredible! When you first arrive and see how realised and fleshed out the universe is, you're really get a feel of the five years of development that was sunk into this game. It's also absolutely gorgeous (I'm playing on 360) and the games art style and direction really brings Columbia's agenda of American exceptionalism to life, as does the beautiful signage and propaganda posters plastered all over the gaff.

Jeff spoke on this in the Ken Levine interview, about some of the themes the game deals with. They're surprisingly quite heavy, in ways I wasn't expecting. Some of which I've wished video games would explore more often. Kudos to Irrational, I guess. I won't get into this here though as it treads in possible spoiler territory.

And if there was ever an "escort mission" that was a pleasurable one, this is it. Elizabeth is not only free of the usual escort character tropes, she's charming as hell and great to have along for the ride.

I'm really diggin' what Irrational have done here, like I mentioned above I'm only about four hours in, but as of yet there hasn't been a dull moment.

Anyone else receive their copy early. What'd you think?

This was a fun post to read, you got me a little interested in this game. but I'm all too familiar with hyperbole and will not buy until game is out and I watch real time videos

still not sure to preorder this on steam but a free copy of x-com is so enticing.

Yeah I don't have a huge amount of interest in this game and I'm not even confident my system can run it without my GPU melting but getting this and x-com for £30 is a pretty damn tempting offer.

edit: Goddamn I've just re-read my post and now I have to go buy it - it just seems stupid not to!

@officegamer I'm very aware of overhyping a game. It's like this, if you loved the original BioShock pick this sucka up day one.

Pics or it didn't happen.

Not to be a total dick, but everything you said is easily discerned from the preview info out there.

How's the frame rate? That's my biggest worry about the 360 version of the game.

@realph: What is the combat like compared to the original Bioshock and other modern shooters? I thought Bioshock was a little stiff and enemies were a bit bullet spongey.

I'm generally just interested in how the combat feels as thats the only part of the game that I'm unsure of. I know the story will be good cause Ken Levine doesn't look like a guy that makes do with some clunky story to tie in all the shooting.

@humanity: The enemies are still quite bullet spongey (even on easy). It suffers from the same problem the original Bioshock did where the late game enemies look exactly like the guys you fight in the beginning but are much harder to kill. The story makes up for it though.

Somewhat related question:

This isn't GFWL on PC, right? I mean, they(2K) can't be that retarded.

@ahaisthisourchance: Just Steam

@bocam Well that's a load off my shoulders.

@bocam: Is it regenerating health or still the same model of health pickups? Please tell me they finally went with regenerating health.

@mtcantor: It's the Sunday before the game comes out, is it not believable that I could have got it 4 days early?

More pics on my Instagram if you need further proof, otherwise you can check my Achievements on XBL:

https://live.xbox.com/en-GB/Activity/Details?titleId=1414793309&compareTo=Realph

@bulby33 Frame rate's pretty much as you'd expect, great when the game's moving at it's own pace but gets a bit hairy in spots when there's a lot of enemies on screen. For the most part, I have no major complaints.

@humanity The combat's very similar to what you're used to in a BioShock game, with a few new additions. The tears Elizabeth can open being one of them, these come in real handy when you need her to bring in a wall to use for cover, or set up a decoy etc. She's also tossing ammo, health and salts whenever you're low, so it keeps the action flowing instead of chasing round frantically for supplies when you're on your last bit of health. Lastly, the Sky Hook adds an extra twist to the combat.

Regarding health, no regenerating health, but you do have a regenerating shield, and as I said above, if that goes down Elizabeth is constantly aware of low health, and throws health packs to you mid-battle.

Any thoughts on the reversible cover? I believe I saw a legit pic on NeoGAF and it looked great.

Got it early too for PS3 and in terms of performace its absolutely fine just incase anyone is worried. It reminds me a great deal of Half Life 2 in terms of the way it moves to each locale and they all have their own flavour while remaining consistent with the world. I think that this level of immersion and detail only comes with publisher patience and trust. I'm around 6-7 hours into the game at the moment and I am so engrossed in every aspect of it. Credit to 2K for supporting Levine & Irrational because it looks like it has paid off.

@uniform: Not a fan of either cover if I'm honest. I thought the five covers they put up for a vote were all pretty poor also. Looked like a serious rush job from 2K's graphic department.

@realph:

That's unfortunate. Well, it looks like you're really enjoying the game, and that's what really matters. Hopefully that's consistent throughout your playthrough. I'm a big fan of the original. Heck, I even loved the 2K Marin part 2, so I have no doubt I'll have a similar reaction to yours for Infinite. Sounds minor, but I'm really hyped to listen to audio logs.

@realph said:

Yeah, most of it looked like early drafts that were made by some intern or something. Not at all near the same level of polish the actual cover has.

Consider getting it on gamesplanet or gamefly instead. A lot cheaper and you still get bonus games, not sure if you get the TF2 hats though. I rarely buy games directly from steam anymore, other sites will have steam codes cheaper most of the time.

http://gamesplanet.com/buy-download-pc-games/BioShock-Infinite-3605-38.html

http://gamefly.com/Download-Bioshock-Infinite-plus-Industrial-Revolution-Pre-Order-Bonus/5004862/

@lclay: I did it!!! i hit the preorder button. Your right it is preity stupid not too.

@fredddi43: Definitely agree with the GOTY nod. The way that first hour plays out is amazing, then they keep up that amazing run for another hour, then another, and another.

I forgot which cover they picked. Which was it again?

GreenmanGaming is doing the same deal for £23.99

Hey guys, so xcom is pretty damn great - just played it for 5 hours straight.

If you haven't played it then I can't see why you wouldn't get one of these INSANE deals and pre-order bioshock infinite. Early buzz is that it is pretty great; yeah you shouldn't get too worked up about pre-release hype but c'mon what are the chances it's going to be a bad game?

I mean green man gaming is selling Bioshock Infinite, XCOM, Bioshock 1 and another game of your choice (Spec Ops: The Line , Civilization V, BioShock 2, Mafia II or The Darkness II) for £24 - I don't know what the deal is in weird American money but I bet it is good.

That's fucking nuts.

My only regret at the moment is that I didn't look around before pre-ordering on steam so have missed out picking up Spec-ops as well for less money than I paid for everything else :(

@realph: Is there an upgrade system in the game? I haven't heard any reference to one in the previews.

I'm really itching to get it from GMG. That deal is just so good, and it looks like a cool game

This is what I saw posted on NeoGAF

@uniform said:

@the_laughing_man said:

I forgot which cover they picked. Which was it again?

This is what I saw posted on NeoGAF

Thats real nice...

@jacksmedulla: There is, albeit a bit basic. You can upgrade gun damage and clip size for each weapon when you have enough money. They all seem to have pretty linear upgrade paths though (Upgrade damage by 25%, Upgrade clip size by 50%, Upgrade Recoil etc).

There is a perk system called "Gear", of which you can equip four pieces of Gear at any one time. So, for example, with the corresponding Gear equipped you can increase the radius of your explosives, or another one increases your critical hit damage, stuff like that.

Wow, that box art looks cool.

@realph: Okay, that's something I guess. How do you feel about the variety in gameplay so far? From what I've heard irrational has seemed to limit the player a bit more than in the original Bioshock.

I'm really glad to hear that we're finally getting a game that people think is okay after all the weird stuff with SimCity.

One question. Is the AI for the girl smart or does she get annoying?

Thanks!

Or your shields right?

What if you didn't like the original Bioshock but are interested in this one?

@liquidprince: What didn't you like about the original Bioshock?

@jacksmedulla: Ahh, it's pretty much what you've come to expect from the series. Press X to loot anything and everything that you're able to interact with and frantic combat battles. It feels very much like a BioShock game, with a few twists here and there (Sky Lines, Elizabeth) that help keep things fresh. Seriously though, Columbia feels so different from Rapture you hardly notice the overlap between the first game and Infinite.

@funkydupe She doesn't get in the way one bit. Irrational have designed her with the escort character tropes in mind. One being she's super quick, so you're never looking back, or waiting for her to catch up. She also is excellent during combat, constantly helping you out without being overbearing.

@thelaughingmann Yeah, I'm sure there's some perk for your shield. I was quite happy with how I had mine set up that I didn't experiment when I'd find new ones. Maybe on a 2nd playthrough or something.

So, I literally just finished the game and holy shit! No bullshit, I think it's better than the original BioShock, which I realise is no small feat, as is the ending.

I seriously have to tip my hat to Ken Levine and everyone at Irrational. I won't lie, when they went silent and the rumours starting coming out, I thought the game was in trouble, which sort of cooled my interest for this release. It didn't help the game kept on getting pushed back.

But through it all (and I'd like to remind you that this is just my opinion) they've somehow managed to trump one of the greatest games this gen. I know there's a long way to go, but if something does come along this year and beats what Irrational have achieved with this game, well, 2013 will be a hell of year for gamers.

*cue the hyperbole* Hey, if the rest of 2013's releases keep this trend up we might have a repeat of '07, if the likes of GTA, Last of Us, Beyond and other high profile releases deliver of course.

I think the embargo drops tomorrow, can't see this getting nothing but exceptional scores (9s and 10s), possibly an 8 just to throw a little controversy into the mix.

Anyways, I'd love to hear some impressions from anyone else that gets it today.

@fredddi43: I'd also like to hear what you think buddy. As we both seemed to enjoy that early 5-hour chunk of the game. I hope you saw it soon and enjoyed how it played out.

Words do not describe the last hour of this game.

@realph: @drdarkstryfe: how long did it take you dudes to beat the game? did you main line the game, or went searching for the collectibles.

so stoked for this game.

@realph: hows the gameplay? i thought the gameplay didnt quite "feel" right in the first bioshock, really hope its satisfying in this game.

I had to do some math with how the chapter checkpoints are, and I came up with 12-14 hours on normal. Granted, I explored a ton in this game, and didn't fire my first shot till more than an hour in.

Normal is pretty damn easy, so it could be a 15+ hour affair the first time through on Hard.

@mrfluke: I did what I normally do in a BioShock game, tried to explore every area, listen to every Voxophone (audio log), and open every locked door I could find. I also worked out one of the ciphers but couldn't find the other one. Probably took me close to 18 hours.

The gameplay's still BioShock-y. I won't lie I'm not the biggest fan of the combat, but honestly I don't know how else they'd do it. When you're in control of your battle it is satisfying at times, it's just maybe a bit too frantic and crazy when it gets crowded.

@drdarkstryfe: Dude, this:

"There's always a lighthouse, a guy, a girl, a Comstock"

blew my fucking mind. IT BLEW MY MIND!

@realph: Don't get me started on the Twincesteither.

Damn it! I have to wait till Thursday.I'm glad to hear that a lot of the key elements to the game turned out well. I'm really excited for the game, even though I'm pretty sure some Prick on IGN spoiled it for me.

If my copy doesn't get here tomorrow, heads will roll.

@realph: You just put a huge smile on my face, this is what I was hoping for, I'm a huge fan of the original and I enjoyed 2 quite a bit and everything I have seen of Infinite looks like exactly what I want. Hopefully my copy will arrive today and I can start digging in to it.

@drdarkstryfe: What difficulty would you recommend the first time through? like you said normal is pretty easy, would you say it was too easy?

Wait a minute, I was expecting a Quick Look and review today, is that not happening due to PAX? F that noise.