BioShock Infinite:
Booker DeWitt, a private detective an ex-Pinkerton agent, is deep in debt to the wrong kind of people. He is given one final chance to clear his debt: travel to a city called Columbia to rescue a girl named Elizabeth and return her to his employers. In an opening, that mirrors the original BioShock, Booker is dropped off at a remote lighthouse in the middle of the sea, and enters a Bathysphere-like device and is launched thousands of feet in the air. He arrives in Columbia, a beautiful, floating sky-city founded by the visionary "prophet" Zachary Hale Comstock. But Columbia is not all what it seems to be. It is a place with very dark secrets, and after rescuing Elizabeth from her prison tower on the floating Monument Island, they must work together to escape the nightmarish city, and uncover it's hidden and disturbing past. The team behind BioShock Infinite (Irrational Games/2K Games) did a fantastic job. The visuals are different than the original games, but are close enough, and are really unique. The characters are fantastic as well. Booker DeWitt (voiced by Troy Baker from The Last of Us, Batman: Arkham Origins, Batman: Arkham City, LEGO Batman) is a cynical, skilled, and bad-ass hero. He is a pretty layered character, which is pretty revolutionary for a game. He's also the first hero in the series to have his own identity. Elizabeth, the girl, is innocent, sweet, cheery, and a little mischievous. She is actually really helpful in battle, as she will throw you supplies and ammo when you need them. The designers insisted her features be hand-animated unlike other characters so her features could really pop, as she is basically the focus of the story. The eccentric and enigmatic "twin" scientists Robert and Rosalind Lutece are pretty entertaining, and prove to be useful, albeit strange, allies. Songbird, the guardian of Elizabeth, is an amazing game character in his own right, and he, on the surface, appears to be just a bird. Comstock is essentially the flip-side of Andrew Ryan of the first game: he's a visionary leader, but instead of taking his civilization in a scientific direction like Ryan did, he took his city in the direction of religion, as well as idealizing the Founding Fathers, rather than rejecting the ideals of every country, including the US. I know people have already pointed this out, but Columbia is the flip-side of Rapture: instead of being a dark, damp, hellish dystopia in the deep ocean, the city is a bright, colorful, "heavenly utopia" in the high sky. The weapons are similar. You now have Burstguns, Sniper Rifles, RPGs, and a "Hand Cannon". Instead of Plasmids, you have "Vigors", drinkable chemicals/potions you drink that grant you superpowers, and instead of collecting ADAM and EVE chemicals, you collect "Salts" for your Vigors. Instead of sticking with three main powers, I tried several different Vigors throughout, including Murder of Crows (the same as Insect Swarm but with birds instead of bees), Devil's Kiss (the ability to throw fireballs), Bucking Bronco (the ability to levitate your enemies briefly), and Possession (the ability to control machines and enemies to assist you). The game also gives you the option to use your Vigors to set explosive traps for your enemies during combat. Unfortunately, these powers run out quicker than Plasmids, and you can't collect multiple health packs at once. The Vending Machines in the game give similar items to the ones in Rapture, but this time have animatronic characters greeting you when you pay. The enemies in the game are similar to the standard Splicer enemies, except not insane, and vary from cops, to military soldiers, to anarchists. But, instead of just one special enemy class (such as Big Daddies), the game designers decided to have multiples special enemies, dubbed the "Heavy Hitters". There's the Motorized Patriots (mechanical enemies with humongous machine guns, who are modeled after revolutionary figures in American history, such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, with their weak spots being mechanical gears, they also have no preservation instinct), the Handymen (the signature villains of the game, tragic figures who are painfully shoved into "Autobodies", robotic suits that make their every day a living hell, which are difficult to beat due to their advanced AI, strength, speed, and endurance), the Siren (a ghostly woman who can raise the dead enemies around her, the player can choose to ignore the other enemies and kill her, which will take her minions down with her, or try to focus on the enemies that are attacking them), and the Boys of Silence (frightening foes which are brainwashed young men fitted into painful-looking metallic helmets and blue colonial schoolboy uniforms, who serve as the invincible watchmen of Comstock House in Emporia, who, if they spot you, will summon other hypnotized young men in droves). These enemies, the more they appear, become more difficult to beat, and are very creep and interestingly designed. But don't be fooled, this game, while there are definitely horrific moments, it is not survival-horror/action like the previous games, but rather a sci-fi/steampunk action game. But just the like the other games, it has a great original musical score and soundtrack, this game's includes "Tainted Love" by Ed Cobb and "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (which briefly appears twice). Instead of Audio Diaries, you pick up the Voxophones, recording devices from Columbia which bring you up to speed on the events within the city. Another way to catch up is via the Kinetoscopes (movie machines) scattered throughout the game. The game has a money system like the last game, but has no dollars, replaced by the Columbia currency of "Silver Eagles". The combat in the game is fantastic, incorporating the Hookblade, a new melee weapons, which is like a saw made of hooks, as well as the Skyhook, a rail system of travel throughout the city that the player can ride on using the Hookblade during combat, especially in combat with Handymen. Another interesting element is that sparing enemies doesn't have much benefit as in previous games. The game also eases you into the action, rather than just throwing you right into it like before. This game is also primarily set during the day as opposed to night. Although you don't have to play the first game, it helps as there's a few Easter Eggs for fans of the original thrown in throughout the game. Speaking of which, the twist ending in this game is just as mind-blowing and excellent as the original's was. The atmosphere in this game is fantastic as well, with great voice-acting and sound design to compliment the amazing graphics and visuals. BioShock Infinite is the perfect game, everything you could want (great story, deep themes, complex characters, fun and challenging gameplay, etc.) is present here, definitely one of the top 5 games of the year, hell, of the past ten years. It's not just a game, it's a work of art, an experience. It's right up there with the original as one of the most revolutionary games of modern times. 5/5 stars.
(Images: Wikipedia, hoodeutilitarian.com, Gamespot)
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