BoG

@the_laughing_man: Well... my bad. I didn't notice them. I hate this game now.

@nodima: I found something like that, but I didn't notice the color. I just remember Booker saying he had never heard the song, and Elizabeth saying "I don't think anyone has heard that song." I recognized the song, but I don't remember what it was. I've heard that these moments are nothing more than easter eggs, but who knows.

Some old pop songs were actually changed and done in an early 1900's style. I heard a reimagining of "Tainted Love"at some point.

The beauty of this game is in the small details. A lot of people have already mentioned the guitar scene, which none of us will be forgetting any time soon. I'm just curious what other little details you have all noticed? I noticed something neat about the game's currency:

Did any of you notice Columbia's currency? Your coins are Silver Eagles. Sometimes, you even find bars of silver. I thought that this was a neat detail, considering the politics of the early 1900's. It was William McKinley who built Columbia, and it was from McKinley's (or Roosevelt's) United States that Columbia seceded. One issue at the time was that of the gold standard. In the 1896 presidential election, McKinley supported gold, and his opponent silver. In 1900, Gold became the standard for American currency. It looks like Columbia went the other way, adopting the philosophy of "free silver."

So, what have y'all noticed?

The beauty of this game is in the small details. A lot of people have already mentioned the guitar scene, which none of us will be forgetting any time soon. I'm just curious what other little details you have all noticed? I noticed something neat about the game's currency:

Did any of you notice Columbia's currency? Your coins are Silver Eagles. Sometimes, you even find bars of silver. I thought that this was a neat detail, considering the politics of the early 1900's. It was William McKinley who built Columbia, and it was from McKinley's (or Roosevelt's) United States that Columbia seceded. One issue at the time was that of the gold standard. In the 1896 presidential election, McKinley supported gold, and his opponent silver. In 1900, Gold became the standard for American currency. It looks like Columbia went the other way, adopting the philosophy of "free silver."

So, what have y'all noticed?

@snail: I explained this in another topic, but I don't mind doing it again. I expected something more like the original game. The first game was about Rapture: the philosophy, the people, the golden age, and the downfall. Columbia is as richly developed a location as Rapture. I would say that the first hour or so set up my own expectations for the story. When you first arrive in Columbia, you are in what is essentially a church dedicated to a religion that worships America. When you leave, you see three of America's founding fathers, who are essentially canonized saints in this church. You hear about an angel appearing to George Washington, about The United States having lost its way, becoming "the Sodom below." Columbia is American Exceptionalism gone too far. I wanted the game to explore the idea of American Exceptionalism. Just as Rapture is a worst case scenario of Ayn Rand's Objectivism, I wanted Columbia to be a worst case scenario on American Exceptionalism. It's a relevant topic. Today, you hear people talking about a "Christian Nation." I wanted Columbia to be a deep exploration of this concept if it were to take over and drive the people. The mere fact that Columbia exists andis a well developed location is an exploration of this idea already... I just want more!

@snail: You're right. I'm in a tough situation. The story wasn't what I expected, and I had good reason to expect what I expected. However, what I got was still fantastic. Once I accept the story for what it is, I'll be fine.

Perhaps, though, the beauty of the game is that Irrational didn't make it a one trick pony. They certainly could have told the same multi-dimensional story with gritty soldiers in some near-future world like everyone else, but they chose to set the story in an American Exceptionalist dream world with a proletarian uprising. They don't shove those ideas in your face, but they are present, and we can still consider them.

I agree, and noticed the same thing. That opening scene got me really excited for a game that would dig deep into Comstock's radical American religion. Then... it's gone. When I arrived at Fink's, I thought that maybe we could explore Marxism. Then... nothing. To me, these would have been far more interesting than the multiverse story that we were given.

I still enjoyed the story, just a little disappointed that these interesting and relevant ideas were nothing more than set pieces.

So, this topic has spoilers for everything. I won't mark them. You've been warned.

First off, I want to say that I loved the game, and I enjoyed the story. The story is not what I wanted, and that's ok. I'm a bit bummed about it right now, but I'll get over it. I just want to mention a few of the themes and ideas the story presents and then doesn't explore on a deep level, something that I would have loved. I am a student of American politics, and some of the issues which are part of the games setting would have been fun to explore. But they aren't. I'll elaborate.

The original Bioshock was about the setting. Rapture was a city founded on an idea, and idea which eventually tore it apart. Columbia is exactly the same, a city founded on an idea (Side note: that ending means so much right here!) Columbia is a city founded on the idea of America. American exceptionalism is the defining philosophy of the city. Columbia is American Exceptionalism taken to its most extreme level, the results being the worship of our founding fathers, preservation of extreme ideas (racial purity), and demonizing of those who would do away with that extremism (Abraham Lincoln). These religious ideas lead the city to rally behind their prophet and secede from "the so-called union," the "Sodom below" to preserve their vision of America.

This idea is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. Going into infinite, I didn't really know that they created a fictional American Exceptionalist religion. When I entered Columbia, I was blown away. The idea was so cool. I'm very interested in (and critical of) American Exceptionalism. (Furthermore an American religion which probably inspired Levine's fictional one has played a big role in my life, Mormonism, but that is less important). I thought that this was an interesting worst-case scenario of American Exceptionalism, in the same way that the original game is an Ayn Rand worst case scenario.

I would have loved it if the game explored the evils of American Exceptionalism. It doesn't. It showcases it, and then changes subjects. Maybe we see how the idea can be intolerant and lead to violence, but the game never goes further than that.

Why didn't the writers see fit to describe a conflict between Columbia and the United States? Why didn't they go deeper into the motivation for secession? Why didn't they expound the radical doctrine of Comstock? These, and so many more ideas, would have been so interesting. There were so many ideas that would have made for a good story, but they didn't use them.

Again, I liked the game and the story, so I'll get over it. I'm just a bit bummed that the game created the perfect setting for a story about American Exceptionalism, and then went in a totally different direction.

Thoughts?

I've done health and shield two times each, and since then it's been all salts. Salts are all that matter.

My favorite rappers are Kanye West, Jay-Z, Biggie, and R. Kelly. All east. A$AP Rocky is new on the scene, he's great, and he's from the east.

I'm planning a similar trip, to either Toronto or Montreal. This topic helps me, too!

I've only ever been to Canada once, when some friends and I drove to Vancouver. It was a 15 hour drive from Salt Lake, and it was totally worth it. I live in a place that people praise for how beautiful it is nestled into the mountains. Vancouver is essentially the same, but I was still impressed by its beauty. The people were all nice, and the food was great.

The main drawback is, as others have stated, it's not too different from the Western US. If you've been to Portland or Seattle, you've been to Vancouver. Nearly everyone I spoke to in Vancouver said that theirs is the least Canadian of all the country's major cities. The roads are also a problem. Traffic was awful. If you're driving (and you're from Texas, so I assume you aren't) the traffic from the border to the city is nightmarish.

Still, it's a gorgeous city.