Overview—
Over the past several years 2K games has made a name for itself with its top-notch games and great investment in details. A few years back a game called Bioshock burst onto the scene making big boast of brilliant graphics and awesome story. It fulfilled those promises and gave new breathe to the first person shooter genre. A few years later it followed up with a solid sequel in Bioshock 2. While not as dominant in story as its predecessor this game still brought a lot of fresh plot twist and gameplay to the table. Now it’s 2013 and Bioshock: Infinite has landed on PC, PS3, and 360. The question is: Is this game worth your time and hard earned money? The answers shall be revealed.
Graphics—
The graphics in this game aren’t as shockingly good as the first Bioshock were, but they overcome this shortfall by doing things the original did not. You meet people wondering the streets of the sky-laden city called Columbia. You get a chance to interact with them while looking at the gorgeous back drops that have been greatly emplaced. The sky city is a great change in keeping with original ideas as was the under water city of Rapture. At every turn you’ll notice the great care given to the detail of the metropolis in the sky. With the use of your sky-hook you can get an even more appreciative view of things. Stores, fairs, and religious backdrops adorn this very breath taking game. With that being said the game does have its drawbacks. Enemies react kind of stale and robotic. Limited animations on the PS3 and Xbox hamper things slightly. Otherwise it’s a great game to look at.
Story—
Original in nature from the first two and taking place before them the story is as follows: You are detective Booker Dewitt a man who also has a slight gambling problem. He racks up a huge debt and must redeem this bet. In lieu of money the party he owes choose to give him an alternative. That alternative is to go to the city of Columbia and retrieve a girl named Elizabeth. He reluctantly accepts, but it’s a better deal than paying the large quantity owed, or so he thinks. Mr. Dewitt proceeds to the awesome city in the sky, not sure of how to rescue the girl or even where she is precisely. It’s a slow building romp, but once started things become fast and furious and as any Bioshock fans might expect things are not always as they seem. You collect little audio diaries which help flesh out the story and bring intrigue to Mr. Dewitt’s ever looming trouble laden Journey. You can trust no one in the city of Columbia…who knows you may not even be able to trust yourself.
Gameplay
When it comes to controlling things in this awesome adventure things are a bit different from other FPS games, and even from its predecessors. Face buttons are mapped out rather strange, and powers are tough to get use to. Although they are given to you at a nice pace Vigors are great toys to use and take a while to get use to. A good portion of the game is used teaching you the ropes (as with a lot of games these days). Every time you obtain Vigors (plasmids in the first two games) they are explained to you, which make things easier to follow. It’s fun to mix up these Vigors, and test out new ways to take out your foes. Foes who are pretty smart, but pose no big threat as you move through the world of Columbia. The one thing that really makes things a bit different from previous games in the series is the abilities that Elizabeth provides while in combat. She can open “tears” and bring in certain items that provide you both offensive and defensive devices. Its kind of annoying that the game is so easy as you die and are brought back easily brining no real consequences from death. All in all it’s a nice mixture and change of pace from the last two installments.
Sound—
The sound is top-notch in this game although there are no real world weapons they are still based on guns you may be familiar with. Shot-guns provide bursting sounds while machine guns sound off at a loud and repetitive rate. The voice acting is slightly better than your standard fair as each voice actor delivers their lines with awesome timing and feeling. The music kicks in when you’re in the thick of action. Otherwise things are usually silent for the most part.
Control factor—
The replay of this game is standard fair. Once you play through the story, which could take, you anywhere from 10 to 15 hours things are pretty much the same. You earn harder difficulty levels, but as mentioned before death brings no real consequence other than lost money. Frustration will set in at higher difficultly levels, but other than that things won’t change much. There is plotted out DLC that is scheduled to come out which will make things better, but at a price. The online feature from part two is gone so you may feel a little cheated. All in all this is one of those games you will have to enjoy the story and gameplay a whole lot to keep playing it. It does beg to be mentioned that the PS3 version gives you the original Bioshock for free and has PS Move controls.
Multiplayer—
As mentioned before it has been removed…why this gamer can’t tell you as it provided some much needed variety, and muti-plat in a FPS is more than standard fair these days. Although Bioshock 2 didn’t break new ground in the multiplayer realm it provided a reason to come back and keep playing the title. Sad to see that it has been taken out, but maybe 2K had a good reason for excluding it in this title.
Closing—
To close things out, for a game that was hyped to be a big thing for more than a year from its release it’s classified as average at best. Things haven’t changed much gameplay wise from its previous installment. The story and time period provide a refreshing take on things, but a lack of multi-player, and innovative gameplay wont win this entry any awards. If you are a fan of the series as this writer is then go for the gusto as Elizabeth’s powers adds depth to the aging game play and the story is very, very good, but beyond that Bioshock one still stands as the best in the series. To be honest buying this game new might not be the best choice, but once the price drops you’d be urged to give this game a whirl.
score
This game gets a 7.0 out of 10. Maybe the next Bioshock will shock you! PUN is definitely intended. Peace and keep gaming!