Game Review: Bioshock Infinite (PC)

"Booker, Are you afraid of God?"

"No. But I'm afraid of you."

Welcome to Columbia.

  I've always loved a good, complex story. Two of my favorite movies of all time are The Prestige, and Inception. Which if you've seen, you know these are very intricate and complicated movies. Bioshock Infinite's story might not stack up to these examples, but it has no shortage of complexity. Immediately upon beating the game I rushed to the forums of gaming sites to see all the theories behind the ending. I saw some things that I had missed, as the ending throws EVERYTHING at you at once, so it's quite hard to take it all in immediately. I saw theory after well-thought out theory, and there was plenty of controversy to be had. This alone to me, was the thing that made the game so special. A modern game that compares to it well, is Alan Wake. Scour the internet for more than 10 minutes about the game and you'll be waist deep in fan theories about it's climax. Infinite is the same way.

  By this point, you know that Ken Levine has set the bar for gripping twists in video game stories. So, in possibly his last entrance to the series, has he done it again? Well, I can't say. But what would be the bigger twist now, if there was a twist, or wasn't one? What if the twist was that there wasn't a twist at all? Nah, I'm only kidding, of course there's a twist. And it will probably floor you. I can't get into all that, so I'll move on to giving you an idea of what this game is all about.

Columbia is one of the most fully realized settings ever put into a video game.     

  It's 1912. Well, 1912 in an alternate reality. You are Booker DeWitt, and you start with one seemingly simple goal : Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt. The problem is, Booker doesn't really know who the girl is, sparing a few minor details. There's another problem. This girl just happens to be being held prisoner in a floating city in the clouds. There's clearly some sci-fi craziness going on here. The true wonder here though, is how believable this utopia is. I found myself at certain times wondering, "Is this really possible?" From the townsfolk, to the scenery and advertisements, Columbia feels like a fully fleshed out city from the early 1900's. It just happens to be floating in the sky. The city itself, like Rapture before it, is the true star here. It inspires awe, while delivering chills all-the-same. The characters are beautifully brought to life and acted, and Elizabeth ranks among the best female character ever in a video game. I truly enjoyed my time playing with her by my side, and at no time did it ever feel like I was babysitting, she was truly helpful and never in the way.

It takes a while before Elizabeth warms up to her kidnapper.        

  The story is still the main driving force in the series, and I would argue especially with this one. Even the underlying themes in Columbia are deep, ranging from racism to sexism to religion. The antagonist of the game, Zachary Hale Comstock or "The Prophet", has created a utopia, or dystopia, based on his ideals, which aren't always so pure. The racism in Infinite shocked me, as I wasn't expecting it at all. It plays a central part of the underlying war between the Prophet's army and the "Vox" populi, the rebels so to speak, led by Daisy Fitzroy, a black woman trying to free her people of oppression. The founding father's are looked upon as gods in Columbia, and even the patriots, large robotic chain-gun wielding enemies, are modeled after George Washington. Interestingly enough, Lincoln is hated, presumably for freeing the slaves, and John Wilkes Booth is another idol of Columbia. The lore is deeply woven into every bit of Columbia, and the voxophones (audio logs found around Columbia) were a joy to find and listen to as they really helped flesh out some of the more vague parts of the lore.

Bioshock Infinite's story relies heavily on sci-fi staples such as alternate realities.   

   I had read in other reviews before I started the game, that the combat was the major downfall and most people were rushing through to get to the next story segment. I never really felt this way. There were certainly times where combat was quite annoying and seemed put thrown in to artificially lengthen the game, but by the end I was having a blast with all my vigor abilites. I was actively looking for enemies so I could set up a new trap or try out a new vigor combination. Like in previous Bioshock games, the combat consists of your typical running and shooting, and magical abilities ; now called vigors. Most of my time, I was using Vigors and only shooting when neccessary. Although the shooting in this game is spot on. Guns truly feel powerful, and a headshot is devastating. Enemies react to gunfire very satisfyingly and I never really felt like I was being cheated by an enemy taking too little damage. Then enters Elizabeth, a pyschic beast who can bend environments to her will, which makes for some interesting strategies in the harder battles the game offers.

  Which brings me to the enemies. There are a few different types to hit on. You have your basic infantry units, who are just gun weilding soldiers. Next in the chain, are the Patriots. Large, almost humorous, robotic replicas of George Washington. After that, you have the Handyman, which is basically Infinite's version of a Big Daddy. Though way faster and more agile. Every encounter with these enemies was both fun, and terrifying. Then lastly, there's the Songbird. A huge mechanical bird tasked with guarding Elizabeth from leaving her tower. After breaking Elizabeth out, Songbird is not one bit happy and pursues you throughout the game. This led to some very intense moments when Songbird would show up out of nowhere just to terrify me. Even the Songbird has a deep, though hidden, back-story and I felt pity for it rather than dislike. There is the occasional boss battle, but nothing really stood out. Combat worked for me, the enemies were fun and ridiculous, and the AI companionship was miraculously well done.

You will build a true connection with Elizabeth and want desperately to protect her.    

   In past Bioshock entries, the game has tended to flicker out in the final acts. This is not the case with Infinite. In fact, it's quite the opposite. The game builds and builds until the final moments when everything is thrown on you at once. Some people hated that everything was all laid out in one spot, but I personally loved it. It's been almost a week now, and I'm still listening to spoiler-casts, reading forums and discussing the story with other gamers. This to me, is the tell of a truly good story. If I have any complaints about the game, it would likely be the complete lack of puzzles. The game truly is just blasting your way from one cutscene to the next, for better or worse. Still, I have to consider that puzzles might have just gotten in the way. I was always dying to get to the next story segment, and a really hard puzzle slowing me down would have likely only deterred me.

I was continuously surprised throughout the game, as there was always some cool new easter egg or scenery, or event around the next corner. I would play Infinite again, and I will, which is something I rarely do. I wanna see all the little things I may have missed, and re-watch some of the more beautiful scenes. I will keep this game around for a very long time. Long story short : Bioshock Infinite is one the best games in recent years.

                                                                     Final Verdict

                                            
- Darrell