BioShock Infinite (2013)

After Bioshock 2, I was kind of done with the Rapture theme. Although I can play the first two Bioshock games over and over again without it ever boring me, if there was ever to be a new game, I wanted some fresh new ideas. My wish had been granted when Bioshock Infinite hit the shelves.

Instead of playing on the bottom of the world, you are now playing high in the sky, almost touching space. Bioshock Infinite takes places in a new city Columbia. It floats high in the air by massive fans and, just like Rapture, keeps hidden from existence. You play as Booker DeWitt, a new character and a good one I might add. Just like Jack from the first Bioshock, you immediately feel some sort of connection with him because of his excellent dialogue, expression and overall interaction.

Irrational studios has done it again. They produced another excellent game with another excellent story. It is what the Bioshock games are known for and they did not disappoint with this game. Because of this reason, I will not review any part of the story in this review, this is something that you need to experience for yourself, especially in combination with the two DLC episodes “Burial at Sea”.

The mechanics of the game work very similar to the first games. You got a selection of new different weapons and instead of using Plasmids, like the previous games, you use Vigors and Salts. The Vigors have the same idea as the Plasmids but are still completely unique. You can shoot a horde of murderous crows at your enemies, posses them so they attack other enemies and then shoot a bullet trough their brains or splash them away with water and tentacles.

For money, you collect the national currency of Columbia, the Silver Dollar.

The new enemies in the game are also very well created and a lot of thought did go into them. You got your standard police officers and other human enemies, but then, out of the blue, you got attacked by a big, mechanical patriot doll, complete in the style of George Washington. And if that is not enough, you got the Handymans, humans in a big exoskeletons with their hearts outside of their bodies, encased in the middle of their suits. The only thing they do is Hulk Smash so they are predictable, but when they hit you, you just bought yourself a one way ticket back to earth.

I like the combat, besides shooting and bewitch enemies, you can also knock them off Columbia. If there is a ledge and you have your trusty Broncho Vigor selected, let them fly!

Speaking of flying, the new rail mechanic, in which you can use kilometers of metal railing to quickly travel to other places, or giving you the advantage in a fight, is really cool. You collect some sort of grappling hook early in the game and can attach it to the railing whenever you want. You even got a nice attack when disengaging from the rail and jumping towards an enemy.

The controls in the game work flawless and the new mechanics, Vigors and rail sliding is easy to understand and master. You just feel like you are in control.
The graphics in Bioshock Infinite are beautiful and the environments and attention to detail is just stunning. The lighting is also very well done and gives objects, enemies and scenery a nice finishing touch.

I must say that the ambient music and fight tracks when sh!t hits the fan, are a little disappointing from what I was used to from the previous games. They are just generic and “all right” .However, this did impact my positive experience with the game.

I really don’t have any complaints or minor issues with Bioshock Infinite, it is just another game in the series that impressed me just as much as the previous installments.

If you cannot tell, I really liked the game and would recommend it to everyone. Even for the players that did not particularly liked the first games, because the action and combat is this game, is spot on.

When the Burial at Sea DLC’s came out for Bioshock Infinite, I thought it would be the same idea as Minerva’s Den for Bioshock 2. A nice little piece of extra story, played trough the eyes of an previously unknown character, to view another point of perspective.

Man was I positively surprised when playing Burial at Sea Episode one and two. This is a prequel to the events of the first Bioshock game and takes place in an era that Rapture was prosperous and alive, instead of the dead, rotten city it has become.

You play as Elizabeth in Episode Two. Her play style is a fresh new perspective for the game because you don’t go full Rambo and guns blazing like Jack or Big Daddy, but rather do things the quiet and careful way. You use stealth, darts and traps to take care of your enemies and rather get away safely than engaging in combat. I really liked this way of playing.

The added story in Burial at Sea episode one and two is excellent. I played many games and watched many movies in which the creators try to add some unknown uncle or nemesis, that always was there, in their prequels, but in this game, the added story and the way that it all fits in with the first Bioshock game and Bioshock Infinite just blew my mind. It is flawless and perfect. I literally applauded when finishing the two episodes. For this reason, again, I will not spoil or mention any of it in this review.

In the end, all I can say is that these two DLC’s for Bioshock Infinite are the best DLC’s I ever played in a game and have yet to be matched in the future.

Clash in the Clouds is another fun DLC for Bioshock Infinite. It adds four arena’s with fifteen waves each. Each wave contains a special challenge that you can complete to earn a Blue Ribbon as proof of completion. Wen you collect all sixty ribbons by completing the challenges, you earn an achievement.

Although the arenas are fun to play and adds some variaton to the game, my personal problem with Clash in the Clouds is that it is just too damn hard. I completed the main game on 1998 mode, something that I am quite proud of, but this DLC is just impossible for me.

The biggest problem is that you cannot start waves over. When failing your Blue Ribbon challenge on wave thirteen, you don’t get another shot. You need to complete all the other waves again to reach Wave thirteen again, in which you can try again. This can make it atrocious to attempt the Blue Ribbon challenges and for me, it killed most of the fun I had with it. The Blue Ribbon achievement is the only one that I still miss for Bioshock infinite.

Maybe I just need to git gut, but this is just a feat that I cannot complete. Maybe I will try it again someday, but for now, I am too scared to try.

Game: Bioshock Infinite
Genre: First Person Shooting - Horror
Developer: 2K Games
System: Steam (PC)
Total Score: 93/100
Value Score: 9.3/10

• Story: 10/10
• Characters: 10/10
• GamePlay: 9/10
• Graphics: 9/10
• Sound: 10/10
• Music: 8/10
• Length: 10/10
• Replay Value: 7/10
• Player Value: 10/10

Pros
+Main protagonist actually has a personality/character compared to the first two Bioshock games
+The buddy system with Elizabeth is a unique and fresh breath of air to the series
+The setting and environment is nicely done - has a mixture of the dark atmosphere that BS1 had and a unique colorful vibrant atmosphere as well unique to the game
+The DLC consists of two episodes which continues the storyline but with a twst and also contains a arena mode type of mini game allowing you to challenge yourself in combat
+The story adds humor and dramatic story telling compared to the previous games
+Voice acting is fantastic and goes well with the storytelling
+Many key elements from the original Bioshock games come back both in the main game and in the DLC

Cons
-In the main campaign you can only carry two weapons at a time however in the DLC you can carry as many like in Bioshock 1
-Not many mini games in Infinite compared to Bioshock 1 except until episode 2 of Burial at Sea DLC
-Difficulty in Bioshock Infinite gun game combat is easier than previous games
-There are some lazy designs in some of the models such as the environment (i.e. Apples in a basket)

I found this game to be solid and a great entry in the Bioshock franchise. Although the game lacked in the interesting AI routines that made the previous entries so special, it still delivered on a fascinating story and intriguing universe. Sure, there are a few major plotholes, but I can't say that I didn't enjoy the hell out of my time with this game. Highly recommended.