Bioshock Infinite Review

Bioshock Infinite Community Page

Wow, what a magical spectrum I’ve just had. After completing Bioshock Infinite I felt I needed to think on my experience and address myself the journey I witnessed. There are not too many games that have that effort on me, but the combined arts of wonderful storytelling and a flourishing world can get you drawn like that.

I’m sure this goes towards most of you as well but the original Bioshock blew my mind away, it was one of those revolutionary games that bench-marked the experience I had in gaming. The environment of rapture was so unique and distinctive; it’s theme to me was like a spooky circus set in somewhere that felt antique and mystifying.

It was disturbing, but in a really good way. An underwater city sounded pretty preposterous but it was amazing to venture the depths of and explore every crock and nanny of it. The story held you like a puppet, slowly leading you forward revealing little by little, keeping your curiosity to the end.

Since then, we had a direct sequel that followed the identical world but through a different pair of eyes and now with the third instalment in the series, Bioshock Infinite sets its own course in a new house with a diverse storyline.

If you have seen any footage then you would already know that the scene takes place in the sky city of Columbia set in 1912, captivating and breath-takingly beautiful are the first thoughts that come to mind when eyeing this marvellous plane.

Of course, many questions surround and you ask yourself. Indeed that is the main scope here, and as you pursue further into Columbia many answers will be revealed to you, it feeds you small bits of bait as the original Bioshock intended.

It captures you in its enchanting gaze, then leaves you to your own to wander mindlessly for a while and then slowly showing the long pathway to the answers you seek.

Heads seems likely

You are given a simple goal at the beginning however. You are protagonist Booker Dewitt, sent to the air city of Columbia to find a girl named Elizabeth. You are from the beginning to bring the girl to the mysterious people you are working for as part of a deal you made. You don’t understand why but in good time you will.

Once you arrive at Columbia times are peaceful and you get the wander the streets to venture like a little kid gazing about the sites and spectacles.  I like how developer Irrational games lets us take in the marvel city of Columbia as an introduction, it’s a beauty to enjoy for sure. It’s not too long though before your presence get’s noticed, hell breaks loose and it’s for Booker to stop sightseeing.

Booker Dewitt is very capable and with plenty of weapons available at his disposal, he can cause a lot of trouble. They can be obtained by finding them while searching the environments, whether found on the ground or hidden in one of many searchable objects.

You can also pick up dropped weapons from the recently deceased foes that were in your path, and with over ten types ranging from the pistol, shotgun, sniper rifle, rpg, burst rifle you got plenty of firepower to help your cause.

The other addition (which if you played a Bioshock game before) is the psychokinetic powers you had much delight in using on your enemies. They return here which you obtain by drinking vigors you find throughout the game progress.

This is a special kind of brew

Booker will be readily equipped able to use his powers with his left hand and taking down his adversaries with a gun in his right. You can combo together which is very useful especially when outnumbered greatly or you find yourself cornered with no way out.

Something new and unique that adds to the gameplay is your ability to skyline, using your hook. You can grab onto a rail and move like a train across platforms and get across tough environments. It can also be used efficiently to in open wide fire fights and when encountering the heavy hitter enemies.

The vending machines return here with ammo refills available for your weapons, health and vigor levels. A separate machine can be used for weapon upgrades, though they are quite expensive and you’ll need to save up some coin to acquire them.

Typically Bioshock Infinite plays like a first-person shooter, and it does this pretty well. I had an issue with the game though, I felt the scary unknown of enemy encounter patterns that the original had are no longer present, and were left with a typical unsurprising notion of when the next battle will happen.

Yes, it’s not within a dark, underground city like Rapture, its high in the clouds of Columbia – a brighter and innocent looking place; however I felt they could’ve made an effort to make encounters less obvious.

It reminds me of other first and third person games where you see ahead cover walls which you automatically knew a enemy encounter was about the happen. It slows the excitement because you’re not surprised; it’s more tedious than anything.

Seems like I’m making a big deal about it, but it’s the only issue I had with Bioshock Infinite. The combat is very fun, and the highlights are when encountering the heavy hitters particularly the handyman who is a huge machine that moves very fast and is quite powerful, run and gun as a tip.

This guy is one tough monkey

Once you acquire Lady Elizabeth she will help you out in times of need, with her powerful time warp abilities. She can open warps in particular areas to aid you in those fierce battles to distract the enemy and give you the upper hand. Elizabeth will also regularly throw you supplies including ammo, health and vigor potions and even coins to add to your money bank.

While the main story is quite linear, side quests are involved as you explore deeper into Columbia. They are optional and most require you to travel back to a previous location you visited. You can find side quests by exploring the non linear paths in your locations.

The other reward by searching high and low and all around is treasure. You can find special loot behind locked doors where Elizabeth can open if you find enough lock picks scattered across everywhere. It’s well worth investing as some treasures grant permanent bonuses to raise health, vigor and shield.

Your shield acts like the ones from the mass effects games where you can take so much damage but it affects your health. If you don’t take damage within a few seconds your shield will recharge, so don’t get caught in a corner and always have a place to hide, even for a few seconds.

I found the AI to be quite impressive in Bioshock Infinite. They act quite aggressive when in large numbers, and if you try hide behind some cover they will try to flank you. Still, they aren’t too difficult to deal with; I rarely had much issue when playing on the normal difficulty setting.

Now we move onto the visual aspect of Bioshock Infinite. What can I say; it’s a gorgeous looking gem, both technically but particularly artistically. The city of Columbia shines so vibrant and elegant; the use of colours is marvellous, it’s truly a paradise in the heavens.

I did notice some small issues on the console version though. Character faces were lacking texture probably because of the limitations of the hardware. The PC version stands far above visually so if you got a high-end PC use Bioshock Infinite to showcase.

The soundtrack to Bioshock Infinite was probably one of the best I’ve heard, it’s amazing. You really need to see what kind of effort the composers did to arrange music and make it sound suitably old fashioned. Everything from voicing to sound work is top notch, and that’s not surprising.

I was a little disappointed with the linear combat, but perhaps I was over expecting. Bioshock Infinite makes you relive the fun from the original game, giving you many wow factors. Once you complete the decent length story, and can play through the 1999 mode, which is quite interesting.