Review - BioShock Infinite (PS3)

The beginning of a console generation brings forth games that are always a little rough around the edges but also show what designers & developers are willing to do to push games forward to a higher quality of entertainment. For the industry, it’s a time when they come to grips with each systems capabilities and how to execute bigger & better things. A multitude of ‘good’ games were released at the beginning of this generation but only one set the bar so high that only a handful of other games could reach it. That game was BioShock. Players assume the persona of a plane crash survivor who must escape the underwater utopia of Rapture & it’s insane inhabitants, BioShock was critically acclaimed for it’s story, atmosphere & gameplay which can only be described today as one of the best experiences in gaming.

Led by Ken Levine, the team at Irrational Games is once again attempting to raise the bar even higher with BioShock Infinite. Casting players in the role of Booker DeWitt, a private investigator & war veteran. After getting on the wrong side of some rather bad people, Booker’s offered a deal that would wipe his debt clean. That deal: To travel to Columbia, rescue a girl called Elizabeth who’s been imprisoned there & deliver her to New York. This is the set-up for a deep & rich story that deals with subject matter that very few games have taken on before. Throw in two warring factions and players will experience a game that has all the twists & turns they could poke a stick at.

The world of Columbia, much like Rapture, is rich in atmosphere & architecture with a use of bright & vibrant colors that might remind some people of an animated Disney film. Players are bought into the floating city through the one of many breath-taking vista moments, allowing them to stop & stare at the beauty of the world. I did, however, notice some muddy textures on the console versions but it’s nothing players will notice if they aren’t actively looking for it. Irrational Games have done an unbelievable job at creating a city that feels alive. Players are welcomed to Columbia by its friendly townsfolk who can be seen doing an array of different activities. Some may be on a family picnic; others may be working at a cart selling food. I found it slightly disappointing though that Booker was unable strike up a conversation with the citizens. Occasionally Booker may have a line or two to say to someone walking by but that’s all. Nonetheless, Columbia is a beautiful city among the clouds.

The world around the player is incredibly immersive, wide shots of the whole city draw attention to just how big it actually is. This obviously lends itself well to huge ‘explosive’ set pieces that highlight exactly what Irrational are capable of given the right situation. The original BioShock placed players in a city that had already torn itself apart whereas BioShock Infinite puts players in a city just before a civil war erupts which allows for more noticeable destruction of the world. These set pieces are exhilarating not only because they look amazing but also because the player is often put in the thick of the situation.

When it comes down to genres, first-person shooters are more often than not, the most accessible. BioShock Infinite realizes this and runs with it, adding mechanics on top of the already established formula. Elizabeth acts as the players AI companion for the majority of the game, throwing Booker useful items such as health, ammo & salts when needed as well as money when players explore the world. This is an incredibly useful mechanic that changes the pace of combat for the better. On top of this, Elizabeth possess the ability to open ‘tears’ in reality, in other words, players can tell Elizabeth where to spawn helpful items into the heat of battle. Things like cover, automated turrets, medkits, salts & guns can be placed at allocated points in a fight. Granted, not all of the items mentioned would be in every fight, which keeps players from becoming an unstoppable badass in every situation.

As well as a standard selection of guns, BioShock Infinite has a decent combat system that mixes up the tradition. The only problem is that there’s a little too much combat. I found myself wanting more story-centric moments rather than having a handful of goons tossed at me in a large area to ‘pad’ out that section. This could be because I found myself not using the vigor’s as much as I used plasmids in the original game but at the end of the day, the combat starts to feel boring because there’s so much of it. Yes, the variety in weapons & vigor’s are there but the focus is on gunplay rather than secondary attacks such as vigor’s or environmental hazards which add a layer of strategy to battles. Among these problems, it’s worth mentioning that on the harder difficulties in some sections, the difficulty spikes to an unfair degree, which makes the game feel somewhat ‘cheap’ at times. This is more noticeable when players encounter a larger group of enemies, notably the ‘graveyard’ section. These are only small issues that aren’t in any way, a deal breaker.

Since Columbia a floating city in the sky, there would need to be something holding each district together, right? That’s where the sky-rails come into play. Instead of using them as a means to travel to different areas of Columbia, they’re used in combat as a means to escape a tight situation, which comes in handy on, especially on the harder difficulties. Many were skeptical about their implementation, thinking that they’d only be used in heavily scripted moments but thankfully the developers applied them almost perfectly. The only issue is that they can be slightly fiddly at times when the camera swings & jolts around as they hook themselves onto a rail.

Irrational Games have done a remarkable job at creating a strong relationship between the player/Booker & Elizabeth. As I progressed through the story, I found out more about Elizabeth & her personality and discovered myself genuinely caring for her, especially towards the end of the game. Telltale’s The Walking Dead is the only other game were I found myself caring for characters in a way that I would care for other people. There’s a scene about half way through the game that helps players really connect with the two main characters. I noticed that some players didn't come across this because in order to find it, they needed to explore the area so I've included it below. (Don’t worry, no spoilers)

BioShock Infinite provokes emotions & thoughts through superb story telling in a way that few games have done in the past. I chuckled, I cried & ultimately, I felt the relationship between the characters. This is an extremely hard thing for developers to do given that they can’t make a tailored experience for every person who plays their game. Irrational Games have done an incredibly good job at what they’ve tried to achieve. BioShock Infinite is a masterful game that, at times, has some issues but isn’t held back by them. It’s a game that will be talked about for years to come. If you haven’t played it yet then I strongly recommend you do so because it’s an experience you will never forget.

BioShock Infinite gets 10 ‘Muted Microphones’/10.
+ Superb Story Telling
+ Beautiful Atmosphere
+ Adds New Ideas to the Formula
- Combat Becomes Slightly Repetitive
- Unfair Difficulty Spikes