System: PC (also available on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3)
How far did you get: 1 rather thorough playthrough (11 hours)
Anyone who considers themselves to be a gamer is most likely familiar with Bioshock. It's often lauded as the best game of our console generation, and even someone who thinks it might be another game will at least understand that Bioshock is at least an incredibly strong competitor. It took first person shooters in a very different direction than had ever been seen before. A few years after it's release, it did receive a sequel, but it's mostly agreed that we'll all forget that ever happened.
Fortunately for all of us, Irrational Games took the past 4 years to make the new Bioshock game, Bioshock Infinite. It's very clear that the developers put everything they had into this game, and gamers will likely be arguing for years to come whether this game is better than the first Bioshock.
The most important thing to note about Bioshock Infinite is that it succeeds with excess in everything it does. Only two things bothered me about the game. The first is that I had to download and install a beta driver in order to keep it from making my entire computer crash. Secondly, the default mouse control settings are a bit too sensitive, which is easily remedied in the options menu.
Now that we've got that out of the way, let's talk about how awesome this game is.
After nabbing the beta drivers required to get this game to actually work, I was able to crank the game up to ultra settings. I pity console gamers. On ultra settings, this game is mind blowing to look at. The Bioshock games have a very animated look to them, so if you're looking for something that's incredibly realistic looking, this isn't your game. Don't let that stop you from picking it up to see how amazing it looks, though. It's stunning, through and through. It's immensely colorful and everything that ought to be animated, is. Everything from Elizabeth's facial expressions to the sheer depth of the cloud city of Columbia is a full of beauty and imagination.
With a little tweaking, the controls are also incredibly tight. I rarely found myself in that infamous position where I'm yelling "I didn't press that!" or "Why didn't you do what I pressed!" Jump controls feel just right, and being able to hotkey your powers on the PC version is quite helpful.
As is to be expected with one of Irrational Games' projects, the story is truly something to behold. It's one of those stories that helps legitimize the games industry in comparison with the film industry and helps you understand why a movie only costs 20 dollars and you're paying 60 for your game. It's in depth, masterful, and could only be told in a video game. You play as Booker Dewiit, a man with a long, storied, and rather unpleasant past. He has a debt to be paid off, and he needs to get Elizabeth in order to pay it. He never seems quite sure what the debt is he needs to pay, nor who it is that is requesting it of him. To his surprise, he is launched into the unknown city in the sky, Columbia. There you'll be looking for Elizabeth, finding her, and trying to get her out of the city.
Bioshock Infinite has very dark undertones. In order to even enter the city, you must be baptized in the name of The Prophet, also known as Zachery Hale Comstock. The entire city sees him as a leader and savior, and it's all kind of creepy. In addition. the inhabitants are nearly all white. Blacks and Irish are used as slave labor. It handles these touchy subjects with a nice blend of vigor and restraint. It reminds me a bit of the Wizard of Oz. It's a beautiful place to look at, but not all is at it seems.
So the most important question remains: is it fun? Bioshock Infinite may be the most fun I've had playing video games since Mass Effect 2, at least. The best part of it is just how perfectly paced the gameplay is. The action sequences are all insanely frantic, and you're given plenty to search and look for in your downtime. For a game that is not open world, there is a lot of space for you to roam around in. People are having their own conversations, adding to feeling that this could be a real place. There are useful things lying around everywhere, from food and drinks to increase your health and "salts," to ammo and gear you can equip. I especially liked the audio recordings and telescopes you could use to get a better look at some of Columbia's more gorgeous settings.
The action gameplay gives you several different ways to approach each fight. You're only allowed to carry 2 guns at a time, but I feel this was done to help utilize the idea that you have other ways to fight. You use "vigors" as powers, and they are awesome to look at, fun to use, and actually helpful. I became quite fond of the shock vigor, which allowed you to stun your enemies and do pretty much whatever you liked to them (I preferred using my melee weapon). Speaking of that, your melee weapon is this strange hook/wrench hybrid that can do some pretty brutal things if you decide to finish your opponents with it. Actually, I highly recommend doing it whenever possible. The reactions you get out of Elizabeth are hilarious.
In addition to all the crazy things you can do in battle, you have Elizabeth. She isn't your typical video game heroine. When you rescue her, the game actually tells you that you do not need to protect Elizabeth, because she can handle herself. She not only handles herself, she's a wonderful asset in battle. When you first get her, she helps you by throwing you whatever you may need. In battle, she'll throw you health, salts, or ammo. Sometimes she'll even throw you a weapon that may be useful in that particular situation. Outside of battle, she randomly throws you money. She's also responsible for bringing you back when you run out of health, which is an interesting way of explaining how you don't actually die when you...die. Later in the game, she opens rifts into other worlds, which can help you pop in a turret gun or some cover into your world.
Bioshock Infinite is one of those rare cases where not only is everything that makes the game come together done fantastically, but it more than lives up to expectations. It's also one of the few campaign only first person shooters you'll actually want to play again. I know I will.
Rating: 96/100
