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- Publisher: 2K Games
- Release Date: Mar 26, 2013
- Also On: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
User Score
Generally favorable reviews- based on 6224 Ratings
User score distribution:
Positive: 5,334 out of 6224
Mixed: 355 out of 6224
Negative: 535 out of 6224
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May 15, 2013The game looks absolutely beautiful but it just is repeating itself from earlier Bioshock games. And it ain't half as intriguing or exciting in my book. I had hoped the developer would have come up with some new concepts but it is rather lacking in innovation in comparison to the first one. Where is big daddy..?! Competent game but not a GOTY. Kinda like Diablo 3 from last year.
Apr 13, 2013Infinite sets out to be a bioshock game but fails to grasp what made Bioshock 1 good. Bioshock 1 and 2 was set in a city under the sea and this not only made for some interesting environments and Lighting but also gave you a much greater feeling of decay and danger seeing how the city was gradually being reclaimed by the sea. These feelings are lost in infinite largely due to the inabillity to look out of most windows and the fact that thers no real sense of danger if a window or even an entire wall breaks.
Another thing that this game lacks is the use of plasmids (or vígors as they call it), sure they exist in the game but the only enemies that actually uses any seems to be the Zelot and fireman making alot of the combat dull and generic. They also lack a good explenation to why or how these vigors where invented in ifinite making it feel like they where just thrown in at the last minute.
One small thing that i miss that you can no longer see the difference on your weapons or plasmids after upgrades. I also think that it is very sad that they dont have puzzles like lock-picking and hacking.
But even rating the game without looking at the games that came previously in the series does not make it better. The story started ok but made less sense the longer i played and resulted in a rather lackluster ending after a few uses of the plot progression tool known as "rifts". The Graphics are not terrible but lags behind as most console titles tend to do and it only supports checkpoint saving.
The game is also laughably easy due to 3 reasons: Regenerating Shields, Elisabeth keeps you rather well supplied with ammunition, Health, salt and coins and If you die you will just get ressurected closte to where you died and lose some Money.… Expand
Mar 28, 2013A piece of art through and through.
The amazing art style, the graphics, the narrative, the story, the characters, the gameplay just everything are in perfect harmony.
One of the best shooters of all time!
Apr 23, 2013I love Bioshock 1, System Shock 2. Bioshock Infinite has an incredible atmosphere, but then again, that's all it's got going for it. The game is absolutely playable. But it is a completely generic first person shooter. All problems in the game are solved in 1 way. Brawns, not brains.. Shoot with guns, take cover, use a tonic, take cover, jump on a "skyline" (gimmick to move from place to place) etc.
I'm not sure what Ken Levine meant with the "1999 mode" because there is NONE of the depth of System Shock 2 in this game. In this, I am disappointed in Ken Levine. He started some of the most seminal works in gaming, including the Thief games, System Shock 2, and Bioshock. Now Bioshock 1 was already a "step back" from System Shock 2. But having read about the "1999 mode" I naively assumed this game would move the opposite direction away from dumbing down the gameplay. But really, 1999 mode is just a difficulty setting, that's all it is.
If you haven't played or been exposed to as many classics as I have, then I'm sure this will live up to the hype for you. But know that something 'better' has been made in the past, by the same man.
7/10 some incredible atmospheres, sceneries, great art direction as always.. but... Gameplay is king. And it is this game's weak spot unfortunately.
Gameplay>Story>Art>Tech>… Expand
Mar 29, 2013An outstanding achievement by any measure across all dimensions. Bioshock Infinite is a much-needed radical departure from today's deteriorated gaming standards. The story of this game is soul-liberating! Although the FPS and RPG components of this game fall short of being great with the just-about-good skill set (vigors) and gunplay mechanics, you can tell that Irrational Games was after a higher goal. Instead, they focused their resources to create the visual and cultural gaming masterpiece of 2013. If you haven't bought this game yet, you need to start running and grab it! Let's support great games! Easily my Game of the Year.… Expand
Mar 29, 2013I was never really excited for this. Enjoyed the original two Bioshock's, but I wouldn't really go crazy over them. This though, this was the biggest surprise of my life. It is genuinely the best game I've ever played, best game ever made IMO. The characters and dialogue are so well crafted, visually it is beautiful, gameplay is exciting, it's the whole package. Some may argue the lack of choice is a bad thing, but upon completing the game you should realize why there aren't many choices to be made. Overall, it was a mind blowing experience, which I loved. The most perfect game I have ever set my eyes upon.… Expand
Mar 29, 2013There are games and there is Art. This game is the latter. It's not just a great shooter (which it also is), but it's a game where you emotionally bond with the characters and the story, with a very detailed world, great dialogues, a couple of good jokes and easter eggs. The game is also rather bald in the way it mocks religion, racism and patriotism and portrays the early America. The gameplay itself is in perfection: the way they innovated the idea of a proper gameplay companion, the tactical combat (tears and skylines with constant lack of proper ammunition), the choice of vigor upgrades and weapons, the nice RPG elements it's all there. The difficulty is challenging on the "hard" difficulty, I died about 10 times before the last combat scene, and I was unable to finish the last combat mission on "hard" in 4 attempts (lowered the difficulty because I really wanted to find out what happens in the end). The challenge is increased due to the "auto-save" system, which I found appropriate for this game. I enjoyed everything about this game except for the ending. Without giving away any spoilers I will just say, that I find it in contradiction with the plot and simply not enjoyable with too much mysticism for my rational mind to handle. I would also like to say that the game runs really smooth on my nvidea 570gtx with no lags. I was unable to find any bugs during the gameplay. It's an example of a successfull port from the console. 10 for graphics and optimization 10 for gameplay
10 for originality and concept
10 for character and game design 8 for the plot (mostly because of the ending). It's good, just not as great as it could be in my oppinion.… Expand
Aug 8, 2013The game was stylish and had a decent story (but the ending was filled with holes), other than that, it was a very average game. Overly repetitive, dull upgrades, extremely linear, the environment wasn't interactive, and a terrible final boss fight.
Mar 30, 2013One of the best FPS i ever played. Graphics style is very good and combat is fun. After trash story lines like in hearth os swarm or mass effect 3. We finally get a game witch has a really good story. The only minor problem is low difficulty even on hard, but that does not také away from superior gameplay.
Jun 30, 2013BioShock Infinite, like the rest of the of the BioShock franchise, was very enjoyable to play, combat was very fun and graphics were great. However I'd still say that the original BioShock was more fun to play.
I was also slightly disappointed that BioShock Infinite didn't live up to expectation set by developers in early production. Even elements shown in the Beta game-play seemed to be non-existent: such as being fired at with artillery weapons and having a telekinesis power to stop the shells, sandbox level design, larger and more open areas and the random collapse of buildings. However due to time, story and technology restraints many of these features were unrealistic so many of this is excusable.
Also I found the ending to be a bit weak, but enjoyable non-the-less. The re-playability is also somewhat non-existent. I still strongly recommend playing the game. Good job 2K.… Expand
Apr 5, 2013Well told story with one of the most complete worlds ever made. Solid game play that is fun and worthwhile. Sound and animation are very good. Must buy
Aug 23, 2013Incredible presentation, an interesting commentary on a the nature of US politics and American exceptionalism with gorgeous visuals, tight voice acting and an compelling plot...
...That is completely ruined by actually PLAYING the game. Having gameplay that hasn't improved much since the days of System Shock 2 is simply not acceptable nearly 15 years later. The combat is boring, clumsy and mind numbingly easy. This lack of responsiveness and the horrific violence in the game makes it more seem one step up from a quicktime event style execution game. It also feels more like filler in an already brief game. It is inferior to the previous two Bioshock in the manner of it being a game.
If the game wasn't so stellar in every other way, it wouldn't be much higher than a 4 and you'd be better served catching the highlights on youtube.… Expand
Mar 30, 2013Words are powerless to describe this game...you should play it by yourself, and then you will know whats INFINITE. Irrational games have been amazing always, and this time they are into their infinity Bioshock infinite is a masterpiece of this generation...may not be easy to chose is as the GOTY yet, but Infinite will be definitely on the list. Aside of being game it is also a real piece of art in terms of designs. Gameplay is proven over the Bioshsock 1 and the story is as awesome as I expected. Graphics are great only if you play it on a good PC otherwise frame rate and textures on the both console versions arent that nice.… Expand
Mar 28, 2013Bioshock Infinite: The best pc game of 2013, I am 100% sure of it. Story is brilliant, even though the ending takes some time to settle in, once you dig into it, it all makes sense. The setting is perfect, even though I was a bit suspicious about moving away from my beloved Rapture. Enemies are superb, well thought through and some are a bit challenging at times. This game follows up the good Bioshock series by keeping the game mechanics and the good feel, unlike most other new games coming out nowadays (See Far Cry 3, DmC, Tomb Raider, Dead Space 3, Hitman Absolution and so on..) The graphics are so-so. At a distance the graphics truly shine and some of the effects are just beautiful, but at close some items and textures are really poorly drawn, but nothing big. Here might be my favorite part: No quicktime events. I was really scared this game would follow up to the usual crap new console ported games come with, but Bioshock Infinite didn't bring anything awful from the consoles, it all worked very well on PC. No multiplayer however, unlike in Bioshock 2, but it wasn't really needed, even though it worked perfectly in Bio 2. My only complain about this game is that, it's too short. 15 hours of gameplay and it left me feeling like there should have been more gameplay with the Vox Populi for example. I hope the game developers decide to make tons of future dlcs for this game, as it needs more content. All in all, a fresh breath from all the crap we've seen come out in the last few years. Bioshock Infinite has all the major aspects put just where they need to be. 10/10.… Expand
Apr 4, 2013Great game, really intense, i wish this game would have last longer than 15 hours!
The City looks great, the character are "belivable", the soundtracks just awesome!
And the End... Ah this end...
Mar 26, 2013From the very beginning I was blown away by the visuals, not simply the quality of the graphics themselves, but how every little detail of the world is fleshed out. From the posters and newspapers, to radio broadcasts and NPC conversations, Infinite really make the world feel real. I felt like I was presenting an E3 demo for the first few hours, as a walked around slowly taking in every bit of atmosphere. Gameplay wise, I'd give it a solid 8.5/10. Its not revolutionary, but there are quite a few things that freshen it up, including impeccable pacing, and the wide open aerial sequences. Last, but certainly not least, it story. Story is the reason this game is such a masterpiece. It's aided greatly by the game world, as you'll hear NPCs having interesting conversations, and the environments themselves are constructed in a way that the player begins to ask questions. As in the original Bioshock you pick up recordings, which fleshes out the story even further. Elizabeth herself however is the greatest attraction. I felt as if she came out of a Disney movie, with an expressive face, flawless animations, and a curiosity that can clearly be seen. By the end of the game you really do care for her, which is a hard thing to do in a video game. In conclusion, the game really is perfection. Stop reading this and go buy it. Now. It will take you on a journey that few games can come close to.
PS: Don't rush through it. Take your time and enjoy the little things. You'll be glad you did.… Expand
Apr 9, 2013There aren't enough words or review that can tell you how good this game is, but if some word is close to describe it is masterpiece, easily, one of the best games out there right now, is one of those games that always amaze you and you never want to finish it because every fragment of the game is awsome.
The ability to make you feel the plot, the identified you feel with Booker is something that no other game had transmited me before.
The music, artistical design, the environments fit perfectly to the situation.
I'm not gonna say that the gameplay mechanichs are amazing because maybe are a bit simple, but they are fun as hell and the made their goal because I haven't experience myself that tedious moment in other games of here are enemies", they probably should change the vigors and weapon enhancements to make them more fluid, I didn't change my vigors because I had the maxed and same with the weapons, that isn't bad either, but in some places I felt that I wanted to use other weapon or vigor and I realise that was a bad idea because they weren't leveled, but, as I say, the combat is very fun despite being a bit simple.
The A.I (Elizabeth) is the best partneryou can find in an game,she reacts to the environment, she interacts with it, she speaks you acordingly to the situation, simply amazing.
Congratulations to Ken Levin and his team, I can count with my fingers the games that I think they deserve a 10/10 and this is one of them.… Expand
Mar 27, 2013May be one of the best games I have played during the last five years or so. The art style, the sounds, the connection with Elizabeth, the game play, I'm blown away. Add to that an interesting and intriguing plot with a twist in it that will make you go "What?!"
This is a rare find when it comes to games nowadays, I'm glad they took the time developing it instead of rushing it out like most companies does these days. Did explore everything, got a good 19 hours out of it.
Brilliant! Buy and play this game NOW!… Expand
Mar 29, 2013Warning to everyone. Pay attention to the story details if you desire to understand such a complex ending. The game has to be the best first person shooter in quite a long time, it is definitely going to be the best one this year. The scenery and level design has to be praised here. The game is by no means linear however with a simple press of a button, you get a clear direction on where to go. Yet you can still venture off to a room where you can loot some ammo or search for voxaphones (audio tapes that give you tidbits of background information.) My favorite character is Elizabeth, she's smart and in the beginning of the game she lightens the whole mood. You see her grow as a character, as she learns more about her parents and her whole predicament. It's really great to see the main protagonist and Elizabeth become almost partners. Religion and racism play a huge role in Columbia, this adds a whole different type of realism. It's almost like they are trying to recreate America before it's civil war. Irrational games, thank you for such a gem.… Expand
May 18, 2013Infinite delivers a well told story that other games have not gone to. It's setting is new and along with its very well made narrative.It grips your balls onto the story. But then you have the combat, the combat is not that game changing, kinda gets a little boring after you spent a lot of time just shooting people. And the game does not really put into ball gripping emotions except for the one you have with Elizabeth. You wouldn't really feel any other emotions towards others except for her. I would give this game a 8/10, but since it's story takes a new direction in narrative i give this game a must own.… Expand
Mar 30, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Overall, the first part was fun and visually stunning but got more and more disappointing as it went on. The graphics and visuals were great but they made the game waaay too easy. Being set back a few feet away is not much of a punishment and if you can't really die then wheres the thrill? On top of that, what happened with the songbird?? We only saw it a few times, never got to see it or ride it. (and "controlling" it for that brief fight towards the end totally doesn't count, that was a tease) and nothing crazy happened when the songbird DID show up that we hadn't already seen in the trailers. You just can't have a Bioshock game without Rapture or the Big Daddys and Little Sisters. A steam-punk theme FPS with powers aren't the staples to the franchise, The City and the Big Daddys are.… Expand
Mar 28, 2013I really love this game. The stroy is really amazing, and the graphics and the combat system is fun. I was able to connect with Elizabeth and Booker better than any other game characters. The enviorment in Columbia was really good. The part when Elizabeth said she didnt want to go back locked up again by a baddie. This is what made me feel like i had a duty to do. It made me care for Elizabeth and dieing was not an option to me. The skyline system was very well done. I actually repeated several mission because the skyline action was just too awesome. This is the first game i ever gave a 10 rating, and it deserves that.… Expand
Jun 14, 2013This game is insanely average.
The gun fights have been reduced to just a wave of enemies at every checkpoint with very little diversity of enemies (1 out 15 enemies use vigor, or plasmids, while the rest use guns) making the game feel like another CoD campaign. To add insult to injury the final mission is almost endless waves of the same enemies that you have killed countless of times before.
When you're not gunning down enemies while ignoring useless vigors the game seems empty of exploration and decision making.
The storyline is linear, forced, short, anticlimactic, poorly explained, and a knock-off of a show called Fringe. I'm not joking about that. You can watch the show and get the same story as infinite.
The difficulty of the game is a joke. They put vendors and items in what seems like every corner of the map having you constantly upgraded on weapons, stocked with money, and full on salts.
Then they try to keep you entertained with gimmicks such as Elizabeth handing you vigor salts, coins, and ammo (not to mention the unnecessary sound effects that follow it) as well as the sky-lines which you are most likely only going to use in areas that you have to.
Aside from the negatives the game does a good job with art style and character depth, but that's about it… Expand
Apr 26, 2013After finishing Bioshock Infinite I realized that rather than playing a game I was instead watching a movie where I had to click my mouse a lot to see what happens. When it was done I was disappointed by a poorly thought out ending, which reinforced my belief that I hadn't been playing a game.
That being said, there are quite a few good things about the game that I liked very much. Just like everyone else, I think this is a visually gorgeous game, and the art is one of the reasons I gave it a seven instead of a five. I also enjoyed the music and audio design, and I loved some of the musical Easter eggs in the game. I enjoyed having enemies I could blast with no moral qualms at all. There are a lot of good things in Bioshock Infinite and if you can put up with the game's shortcomings it is probably worth doing so just to see all the neat stuff in the setting they created. Also, it's fair to say that Elizabeth is one of the better sidekicks I've seen in a game.
Sadly, the game falls short in the gameplay category to the point where I'm not sure you can call this a game. The enemies are generic for the most part (though a couple are interesting from a visual standpoint, naturally), and they took out the lock picking and hacking mini-games from the original Bioshock, so you spend most of your time looking in trashcans when you aren't shooting large numbers of cookie cutter enemies. Weapon upgrades and your "vigors" (magic zappy powers) aren't much different from previous Bioshock games. In the end, the lack of gameplay mechanics and generic shoot outs left me just wanting to be done with the game. Once the appeal of the setting started to wear off, things got pretty tedious.
The deal-breaker for me was the fact that I had no meaningful control over the character when it really mattered, because those were the times you were stuck in cut scenes, right up to the end. It's hard to explain how unsatisfying the ending is without spoilers, but I can say that the end itself made no sense at all in the context of the rules they themselves had made, as well as being kind of banal and predictable. It was a huge disappointment for me and I felt I should have stopped playing sooner rather than toughing it out to the end.
To sum up: people who love watching a story unfold and don't mind a bit of tedium may find Bioshock Infinite right up their alley. As for me, I think Bioshock Infinite might make a good movie but as a game it was a fairly average offering.… Expand
Mar 28, 2013The Good +Solid story and narrative that really draws the player in +Very thematically ambitious +Gorgeous world really draws you into the experience +Solid gameplay mechanics +A lot of variety in ability and gear to help change up the experience +Elizabeth is a very well crafted character +The music and audio is very good; the voice acting is fantastic The Bad -Slight dips in framerate from time to time
-Death can feel a little disorienting
-Some choice decisions fail to have an impact
Note: The Following Review is Long
In 2007 the original Bioshock came out and added a layer to gaming that few games have been able to do. The game was not nearly as big of a success as other titles of the year such as Halo or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. A game that Bioshock Infinite is here and it reaches. In some regards, perhaps even higher than the one that started it all.
You play as Booker Dewitt. He's got some debts to settle and believes he can do so. He must first venture to the floating city of Columbia. There he must rescue a young woman named Elizabeth. But it will not be easy. Columbia is a city ruled under the watchful eye of Father Comstock, a prophet who can supposedly see the future. It isn't long before Booker realizes that rescuing Elizabeth and escaping the city of Columbia will be much more difficult than he imagined. Quickly branded as a false prophet, Booker comes under attack.
Like the first game, Bioshock Infinite is a very thematically ambitious game. One that begins to elevate storytelling in gaming. There will surely be a lot of discussion to follow with this one. There's a lot of care taken with the world in which it takes place in, as well as with some of the themes it handles. And Bioshock Infinite opts to hold very little back. Here you'll be tackling themes such as racism, religion, false prophets, gender roles, even moments that will test your own morals. It's got a lot to say. The story and the world also come to life in the same way that Rapture does. While Columbia is not as dazzling as the trip into the underwater world, it does have a pulse just the same. You'll find Voxphones scattered throughout. These, like the original Bioshocks audio diaries, add a lot more to the tale at hand. They add to the story, the world and the atmosphere. To ignore them is to miss out on a considerable portion of the game. For those very curious about the world they're playing in, they will most certainly want to pick these up.
From the outset it doesn't seem as though there is much which separates Bioshock Infinite from it's predecessor. Indeed, it takes a moment to get there. Many aspects will be familiar to you from the outset. Instead of Plasmids, for example, you have Vigors. These allow you to do things such as possess machines and make them attack your enemies, or hurl explosive fireballs at your foes. If there are crows an area you can even turn them against your foes. There's a lot variety with the vigors, as well as many different ways to use them. There is a limit, of course, you need salts to be able to use them. Like the original there are also vending machines around where you can use currency to buy upgrades for your vigors or guns. You can also restore health.
Unlike the original, however, you don't stock up on health packs that will be used immediately when your life reaches zero. Rather you have one life gauge that doesn't recharge at all. You must find food or other means of sustenance to restore your health. There is, however, a shield you'll get early on that does recharge. If you can find cover in the midst of a gun fight or keep from taking damage your shield will recharge and you'll be ready again. This seems like it'll make the game particularly difficult at first, but Bioshock Infinite is not too challenging in and of itself. Sometimes the enemies can come in large waves. But should you bite the dust you are never punished too harshly. You'll respawn really close to where you died and you'll be given some health and some ammo. Your enemies will also have some of their health restored as well, so whatever killed you is usually still lurking. The only downside is that there will be times when you respawn and you'll need to take time to adjust to your surroundings. Though you never respawn far from where you've died, there are times when you'll feel disoriented and turned around when you do.
There is also gear you can put on to help you out along the way. These will enhance your abilities. And if you mix and match things will change. One piece of gear, for instance, allows you to run faster when your shield burst. Another lets you set people on fire wh… Expand
Apr 4, 2013Well.... We know now that the marketing for this game was a success. 65 bucks for a 2 day game with no multiplayer? No thanks. Zero challenge in this game. Free supplies and unlimited lives built right in. The A.I. Let me take my time to line up my head shots. And the story? Wow. If you don't have an answer for something just use another dimension to fix it all up. I give a 10 to the marketing team that's it. Rent it,beat it, forget it.… Expand
Mar 28, 2013Bioshock Infinite is Bioshock PERFECTION!! The original Bioshock was my first introduction to FPS. Infinite brings it to 11. Well done! It's going to be difficult to compete with this one.
Mar 26, 2013This game is severely overrated. The visuals are ok (textures are great) but the models are low polygon for the consoles sake. In the visual department the game looks like something from 5 years ago but very polished and with good design. Gameplay is ok but the only kind of original and fun things are skylines and Elizabeth. The plot and missions are not that good to my taste. I also disliked location design in a part where you must travel some locations several times back and forth the very same way. And the game is dumb. Like really dumb. You need these boxes moved to proceed to the next level? pull the lever right beside them and that's it. No clever puzzles or any fun gameplay elements of that sort. When playing i've got a feeling that i'm playing dishonored 1.5 without the stealth, dunno why though.And the game is short. Like really short and easy even on 'hard' game setting. And i'm really glad i've got my copy for free, because the game is severely overpriced for my taste.… Expand
Mar 27, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The atmosphere of this game is just stunning, the graphics, music, voices and so on just perfectly fit together. I've never been bored for a single second playing this game and you definitely have to fall in love with Elizabeth.
There's really only very little to criticise, the gameplay overall is fantastic. The only thing I would change is the weapons system since you can't really focus on your favorite weapons because you need to change your weapons pretty often. That's because you either run out of ammo for your weapon or because you need to adapt your weapons to the tougher enemies.
The story is very complex, maybe too complex for some people. Yes there remain unanswered questions after the ending and there's room for interpretations and it doesn't have a classic hollywood happy ending but that's one reason why Bioshock infinite ist outstanding. And in fact the game does reveal all important secrets about Booker/Comstock and Elizabeth/Anna, where they come from and what their motivations are. But I have to admit that I did like the Bioshock 1 and 2 endings a little more.
However there is no such thing as a perfect game but Bioshock Infinite is as close as you can get, that's why I gave this game a score of 10.… Expand
Apr 4, 2013Great game, groundbreaking story. It's difficult to talk about why the game is so great without going into spoilers, but I'll say this: The gameplay is very fun (though not innovative). The story is awesome. Play it through to the end.
Mar 28, 2013Okay, updating this to an 8 since I find it gets quite repetitive later on in... Good visuals for the Unreal 3 engine but mostly enhanced volumetric/lighting fx as overall its quite low-polygon (Its using all cores on my i5 3570K and getting 60fps all options maxed @1080p on the HD7870) Game play and controls are good no complaints at all.
Mar 27, 2013Revolution, Regret, and Quantum Mechanics The thing that is going to guarantee Bioshock Infinite a place in gaming history is the story. That isn't to say that the game doesn't have a myriad of other strengths, but all of those are in service of the story and its presentation. The graphics, while not ultra-bleeding-edge, are still extremely high quality, and like everything else in the game, presented with an exquisite attention to detail. You will be hard pressed to not spend the first few hours running around taking screenshots of things that amaze you. The sound is presented in equally as high of quality, with positional audio of very high, paranoia inducing quality. NPCs converse, preach, and sing in ways that add a very distinct life to Columbia. The AI behind Elizabeth will serve as a clarion call to other game developers, and will set the bar on what is and is not acceptable going forward. The gameplay is, not too shockingly, reminiscent of Bioshock, with some small refinements. If you have FPS experience and are looking for a challenge, I would recommend starting on Hard mode, as veterans may find Normal too simple. The story… well, the story is executed expertly at pretty much every juncture. In most games I find myself tiring of hunting down things like audio recordings, but in Columbia, there are so many questions that want to be asked, you may find yourself going well out of your way to ensure you didn't miss something. All of this is wrapped up with and ending that is likely to keep you thinking for a good long time after the credits finish rolling.… Expand
Mar 31, 2013This was truly an unforgettable experience. I was positively captivated by the storyline, the aesthetics, Elizabeth especially, and rather enjoyed the games combat mechanics-- the weapon variation was vast, as were the powers (granted a few were mechanically similar) giving you the opportunity to apply some means of premeditation to every combat situation and a deserving arsenal should you choose to ignore that and run in head first guns blazing.… Expand
Apr 15, 2013I bought this game expecting it to be like the previous Bio Shock games and a hybrid of FPS and RPG but this game is much more of straight up FPS with a well told story attached to it. Gone is the hacking and ability to make your own choices instead we have a purely linear story which you are not encouraged to deviate from and for me these aspects are sorely missed.
Despite this there is much to like the story is well told, it is the only game I have played where having a non
playable character does not drive you nuts and the graphics look great.
The biggest downside for me is the action is often so hectic it is more less impossible to work out what is going on, enemies are thrown at you from all directions and non of the weapons/vigors seem to have any great effect against the more powerful enemies. The relentless action also makes the game very repetitive and you often feel you are playing the same section of the game over and over getting killed again and again. The constant action also stops you being able to wander and take in your surroundings which was one of the enjoyable aspects of the previous games.
This is not a bad game but I would not pay full price for it and think it has been over hyped due to the poor standard of recent releases.… Expand
Apr 5, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Having played Bioshock 1 and 2, I found the gameplay experience very familiar, since Irrational did not forget what made the first two games successful. The new setting and 1st person perspective are extremely positive--even my wife likes the visuals of Columbia. What I was not prepared for was the ending--it took me completely by surprise and left me feeling... well.. a little sad. Now that's good story telling. And yep, I'm playing it a second time.… Expand
Mar 26, 2013Short sweet and to the point Story: Awesome, incredible Atmosphere: Awesome, incredible graphics: bloom, nauseating (literally) and gives me a severe headache. BLOOM, BLOOM. Gameplay: boring and repetitive. Bloom is the biggest drawback about this game, around hour 6 i was just rushing cause i was so ****ing sick of the eye strain, the headache, and the ****ING BLOOM. (i take breaks about every 2-3 hours and it still gave me a headache).
I gotta drop it to 5/10 cause a story and atmosphere doesnt makeup for repetitive boring gameplay, and the BLOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM.… Expand
Apr 2, 2013a 10 hour long game? no thank you. Ok ok, the setting is cool, the combat is fun, blablabla. But seriously, what's up with these movies pretending to be game? ya, you are probably looking at me like you don't speak english but a lot of games these days, including Bioshock, resemble more to interactive movies than actual games. However, i give this "game" a 6 on 10 because it has the particularity to be a good interactive movie, likes the philosophy behind it... even if, again, the gameplay is dumbed down, repetitive, and battlefield 3 like: run, shoot, hide, wait for shield to come back up.… Expand
Mar 26, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Maybe it's a good Game, but the Story at the end of the Game it's Stargate meets meets Paralellworlds meets Timetravel meets whatever are in my mind. rly?… Expand
Apr 5, 2013I'm almost crying! Thats the damn best game I ever played! FANTASTIC! Plot is simple awesome, I've never seen so strong story! For sure this is game of the year! You simple must try this! Last time I had same emotions by playing Portal2
Mar 29, 2013Another amazing Bioshock game. Brought back awesome memories of playing the first two games as soon as they were released. The graphics were beautiful, even on low on my older computer. Minor lag during major battles, but otherwise very smooth. The story, as usual for the Bioshock series, was phenomenal. I completed the game on hard in 15 hours over 3 days, and loved every minute of it. Can't wait to play it again in 1999 mode, and the DLC as soon as it comes out!… Expand
Mar 27, 2013Bioshock Infinite is a huge relief in an industry whose releases are saturated with non-inspired and recycled crap in order to make a buck or two. It's not perfect downsides include tedious looting, easy combat and some pacing issues towards the last third of the game. But Infinite shines in its artistic direction, and really pulls you into its environment with so much rich attention to detail. Columbia really is something to behold. The set pieces are massive and will leave you in constant awe of what you just saw. It's definitely on par with Bioshock 1 and might even edge itself ahead. Definite GOTY contender. You can't miss this one.… Expand
Mar 27, 201310. Enough said. 10. Enough said. 10. Enough said. 10. Enough said. 10. Enough said. 10. Enough said. 10. Enough said. 10. Enough said. 10. Enough said. 10. Enough said. 10. Enough said. 10. Enough said. 10. Enough said. 10. Enough said. 10. Enough said.
Mar 28, 2013This game is not only graphically stunning, but also wonderfully story driven with tons of questions and theories to make up while you play. I myself could not put it down for at least the first 5 hours just because i had so many questions. This is a prime example of how video games are an art form. 11/10
Mar 28, 2013Game of the year. Incredible story line, if you're a fan of the Bioshock series, this is definitely going to rock your world. Graphics are astonishing, lighting is incredible and voice acting is superb.
I did miss some of the "creepiness" of the other series, but i have to see beyond that in this masterpiece of a game. I think it might have been the best game I've played in a loong time, and I've played a lot.… Expand
Mar 28, 2013This game is amazing. Really, I don't know how else to explain it. Irrational games has done it again. Compelling characters, enthralling story lines, engaging gameplay... Where did they go wrong? For those who loved the plot twists and engagement of Bioshock 1 and for those who loved the world beauty of Bioshock 2, this game combines the best of both to create an entirely new experience. Though I was controlling the character, I found myself often stopping and looking at elements of the game, not just breezing through areas. They made this game for users to experience it, not just to enjoy it. Amazing! I hope Irrational continues to make these quality games.… Expand
Mar 29, 2013Had to sign up just to respond to this one idiotic comment. The guy that's offended thinking it's racist to have a white and black person together? Are you living in a cave? Wow just wow, some people make my brain want to explode. I'm glad you wasted 60 bucks, serves you right.
Mar 29, 2013I liked this game alot. This has the feel of previous Bioshock but in a completely different setting. Waiting eagerly for the next Bioshock. The graphics of the game were unbelievable. I would like to see this game again further on with a better graphics card. This game supports playing with three monitors. On the older Bioshocks you had to use a hotkey to adjust the fov so that it looked good.
Mar 31, 2013I was really looking forward to this game. I started playing it a week ago, and it took only 8 hours to finish. Pretty short but that's not a huge deal breaker. If a story is written well it can be very engrossing, and this story was fun. I enjoyed the visuals for the most part, though I did find it a little overblown in lighting from time to time. I wasn't wowed by the graphics but they certainly weren't bad.
The game play was very average. Fighting was extremely easy. I played on the medium setting which felt so much like easy that I got bored very quickly with fighting. I died in the final fight a few times, but that was the only time in the whole game that I felt I was actually challenged. The game very much hand holds you from one clue to the next making it a railroad style game, which is ok since the story was very enjoyable but it is not at all an open world sandbox style game. Not even close.
As for characters in the game, I found their voice acting great, very well done, but the nonessential characters were extremely bland and didn't even move when you approach them or react to your presence except in a few extremely rare instances. They are not well rendered. They move stiffly and leave a lot to be desired. The weapon choices were a fairly obvious mix, though some had some interesting mechanics. But ammo was so plentiful i never felt like I had to conserve my shots or take careful aim since I was sure to find enough rounds to keep going. I also found the use of special clothing you can wear a cool touch but it was too hard to tell what the different outfits would do. And then we get to vigors, special powers you get from drinking potions. Total waste of time. You can play the entire game without needing to use them really, except on a few occasions where you must use it to activate something. They are so poorly implemented that they have very little benefit. The combat is already so easy with guns, that using special powers is basically like playing easy mode with cheats. Why bother?
On the whole I think this game was pretty blah. For a price of $60 on Steam I expect to be entertained and challenged thoroughly for several hours. I was entertained pretty well for a few, but honestly I almost gave up on the game after 2 because it was just so easy and with no interaction from NPC's it gets bland very fast. This game should be ignored until it hits bargain bins at $20. then it might be worth while. I would even say $30 is a decent price for this game.… Expand
Apr 1, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First off, really amazing game, when you first arrive in Colombia it's simply awe inspiring! A game where you can just look around and marvel at the setting is always good, the game was really good except I felt rather short maybe more could have been done before the first tear? You suddenly found yourself working for the vox but you never really get to experience that world, before everything is turned on its head and then all out war, the end was really good but left me a little bit confused, Good game but like Dishonoured way too short.… Expand
Apr 5, 2013Bioshock Infinite is not a perfect game, but despite its shortcomings I truly believe that it will be remembered as one of the best video games to ever be made. I was never a big fan of the of the original Bioshock, i didn't think it was a bad game it just never really struck me as being as being anything more then an 8/10 game, and that is me being generous. So I was not expecting much from Bioshock Infinite and I have to say that BI went above and beyond any expectations I could have had for it. There is so much care and love that's been put into this game and it shows. That being said It has its flaws at time the textures made me cringe (tho this was few and far between), and the combat is nothing mind blowing and really becomes kind of tedious once you find out there is no Game Over for dieing you are just re-spawn and continue the fight from where you left off (I actually encountered a bug in the game where it re-spawned me in a room behind a locked door that I could not escape from so I had to reload from the last checkpoint). However despite these problems I absolutely love this game, it is hands down the best game I have played in the past 5 years. This is most definitely a game where story is more important then game-play. The story of BI Needs to be experienced by everyone. If you are not into shooters go out get this game play it on easy. If you don't have a PC powerful enough for this game or a console that can play it then go out buy a ps3 or 360 and PLAY THIS GAME. The story of BI is just that good, especially if you make it to the end! The last half-hour of this game is an absolute roller coaster, NOTHING will prepare you for it. When the credits started rolling there was tears in my eyes and my jaw was firmly planted on the floor. Now if you will excuse me I have to go play Bioshock Infinite from the beginning again!… Expand
Apr 5, 2013This is a message to all butt-hurt idiots giving a 0 or 1 to this masterpiece. Finally in years you have a smart and complex storyline, mixed in with interesting combat mechanics (even if you are limited to 2 weapons but this idea was probably meant for the 1999 mode in mind), intelligent AI, beautiful graphics and atmosphere. Ken Levine and his team at Irrational Games worked extremely hard for this game and you still have immature haters, unable to respect other people's work. Guess the haters will be better off playing a money grubbing mainstream EA like game without any soul what so ever. Creating several account just to bash a game, disgusts me and is a pathetic move. In conclusion It will be remembered as one of the greatest games ever made. Haters gonna hate … Expand
Apr 5, 2013One of the best games I have EVER played. Story was fantastic, graphics were amazing, gameplay was fun. Sometimes it has too much shooting scenes but it's not that bad thing. I just fell in love with this game.
Apr 5, 2013The first two hours, alone, of Bioshock Infinite are worth the $60 price point. The game begins by 'importing' you into the city of Columbia, a city with as much, if not more substance than Rapture (from Bioshock 1-2). The city is beautiful, well organized, alive, and full of atmosphere. The citizens go about their daily lives in believable, and in many instances, entertaining ways. The plot seems simple: infiltrate the city rescue the girl. In reality, the plot is far from simple. From the very beginning 'nothing is true, everything is permitted.' The combat itself is also a step above Bioshock 1-2: the enemies are more varied, both aesthetically and mechanically; every weapon is powerful in its own right; each vigour (equivalent of plasmid) is useful at one time or another; and strategy plays a more prominent role in combat. Simply said, go buy it!
Bioshock Infinite: 9.5 10.0… Expand
Apr 6, 2013If you look closer, the environments are a little buggy. However, this is not a clue here. The story, characters, art direction and a way in which this game approach problems such as racism, are great. The most IMPORTANT game experience of all time.
Apr 7, 2013Good:
• Some highly imaginative set pieces/designs, a lot of which are cool to look at.
• The partner AI is excellent not only in following you but she's invulnerable, opens locked doors, and gives you health and supplies during combat. Too bad I didn't care about her in the slightest (unlike a well-written game like Half-Life and its Alyx Vance).
• Interesting that the doors open automatically. I wouldn't use this as the new normal in all games since it would be horrible for stealth, but it works in this game.
• The quote from random thug: "How much blood you got in you, boy?" is badass and amazing. The only decent writing in the entire game.
• Horrible, horrible story and writing. Almost unbearable to the point of me quitting the game but I had to see if it got better in the ending. It didn't. I would give specifics but I want to avoid spoilers. Basically it just uses deus ex machina type bullcrap to do anything it wants whenever it wants. Combined with a make-believe world and characters that you don't care about because they don't make you like them (even though you're playing first-person as one of them), they don't explain them, and some even appear/reappear randomly. Combined as well with no effects from any of your actions (most of which are just "press X when we tell you to continue the story")... There's no way I could possibly care about anything in the game.
• The gameplay is like a serial killing run at Disneyland. All the violence is there for pure shock value/teenage "fun", with no weight or meaning whatsoever.
• Despite the above, you can't kill children. I guess that's where they draw the line in their heads (read: lawyers). I shot a random family with a rocket launcher and the child had to watch his parents explode in front of him since he was invulnerable and he just got on his knees and cried lol.
• Despite the above, and all the other dreamy fantastical magical stuff in the game, they decided to keep the racism of the time period and hate black people. Nice. Lawyers didn't care about that one I guess.
• The game desperately needs a minimap/map/location finder/pins on a compass or the hud. The destination arrow it gives isn't good enough. You have to press the button a million times and guess where it's taking you and it's harder to see than say, the one in Dead Space. The levels are huge, multi-tiered/3D and confusing and destinations vague.
• The faces of women and children are 10% Disney character and 90% nightmarish. Men are semi-decent though, wth?
• The skyline riding/hanging. It's just simply a mainly optional mechanic in the game. It's too fast and hectic to really be useful or fun, especially in first person and when you can't even tell where you're going when you're just on the ground.
• The music
• The voice acting
• Other basic gameplay like shooting/collecting
It's very sad to see this game get such high praise and I have zero understanding why it got so many 10/10 reviews. Some games I would consider giving perfect tens to: Dishonored, Tomb Raider, Oblivion/Skyrim, Deus Ex: HR, Psychonauts, Beyond Good & Evil, Ys Origin, Half-Life series, Alan Wake series. This is not even close. I even preferred the other two Bioshocks.… Expand
Apr 10, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I usually keep silent, but I can't with this. I'm a game love and a programmer, so I always appreciate the gameplay and also the game construction. Graphics and story aside. I would barely call this a "modern" game in a time when player personal experience is key.
First play, I was easily able to get through the came on difficult level. There was such scene control for User Interface that it was more like playing a movie than a game. Modern games should be more than just a game you play once. I've heard the halflife argument and I'm a huge fan of Halflife, but this is what halflife had this doesn't: Replay-abililty! Even when Halflife was done, I would replay "fight" sequences on halflife over and over, trying different tactics. I think the game creators of bioshock INF. knew this, which is why the game seems for force you onward, not giving you a chance to replay your favorite fight sequence, because you won't have one.
I also played the game through twice, chose all different options in the game, and it had no effect on gameplay. Terrible choice to put the game in a racially charged environment, asking the player to make a racial choice, then that choice has no effect. In a world that publicly pelts interracial couples, which side you are on makes a difference. It's insulting to have the game start with such a powerful personal choice that makes no difference! Take this as a foreshadow for the whole game whether you make careful choices or sleep you way through, the game give no greater reward. So don't bother searching you soul here, just click a choice, forget it and move onward.
This is also reflective of the 'quantum' concept as well. They use the premise that all realities exist and therefor changing one reality can have no effect because in another reality it will happen, which is why no matter what you do doesn't stop the main character. And what was the game designers solution: change reality. What? Stopping baptism in one life doesn't stop it in another, as so stated by the game itself!
They set up the potential that they could create a game with choices that made a difference on gameplay, yet in the end, all players end in the same place, which would feed to their quantum concept that you can't change the outcome because all outcomes exist. It almost feels like the story writers and game designers weren't working together. Like the maps and characters were make here, and the story somewhere else, so when they were put together, the story is vast and wide, and the gameplay narrow.
They created a beautiful world with a super-charged environment, and all they had to do was create a few alter-characters that would talk to you if you made this choice or that, and that little effort would have made the game worth playing again, and choices worth making. Instead, they chose a homogenized experience in a polarized world.
It's like a mediocre high budget film. You'll love it for the effects, find holes in the story, and in the end best waiting until you have a slow weekend and it comes out on video to see. Ultimately, I recommend that people wait till the cost comes down, and then play it once, have fun, and expect to not want to play it again.… Expand
Apr 11, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Well, the game is graphically amazing with interesting game play and it starts out with an intriguing story. Unfortunately, the game has the same ending as any Bioshock game, with the hero undermined by one he saves. It is not like you saw it coming as the story is dreadfully full of holes and it felt like the developers of the game just didn't know how to finish the story, so the reached back in the Bioshock box and said 'that will do pig, that will do.'
The story line is also hampered by the too few guns in inventory, too few vigors (magic powers) to choose from in the UI, and way too little money to upgrade everything. You get to the end of the game and about 20% of your guns are upgraded, and forget about upgrading your vigors as there is hardly any coin for that. Maybe the plan is to give the 'Season Pass' some teeth to enhance your character further don't know don't care. I doubt I will get the pass, simply because the character is 'dead' at the end.
So if you are looking for a game with great graphics, an immersive world, a B in plot, a C- in congruent story logic, with a F- crappie ending, invest your $60 patriots into this beast.
By the way, who at 2K Games has a fantasy for experimentation on demonic children with an embitterment toward organized religion? Three games now with the same basic theme. Did we scrape the creativity bucket clean with Bioshock, or did someone have a nasty childhood growing up?… Expand
Apr 15, 2013A short review: The game has an amazing story, incredibly world design and some brilliant characters, however it falls flat on it's face when it comes to combat, which utilizes a dumb two weapon system clearly designed for consoles mixed with 'vigors' which basically plasmids which are supposed to enhance the combat. It is worth noting that the skyrail system adds a bit more debth but soon you will just start to ignore it unless it's necessary… Expand
Apr 27, 2013Why do people find this game so great? it does not deserve the 9.5/10 score it has. Pretty graphics (even tho graphics doesn't make a game), The game. Is short, you do the same thing over and over again, still a descent game. Once again, I have no idea why people love this game so much. It has one of the highest score on metacritics.
May 3, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Bioshock Infinite is not a game that is what it sets out to be and what many people claim. It is and has been from the beginning trying to being taken seriously. So I took it as seriously as possible and in the end it ended up me being disappointed. The game is nothing more than a normal first person shooter. The game which gives you quite a few vigors and quite a few guns makes you pretty much pick your favorite two since in the end you won't have enough money to have too many. While a lot of the plot tries it's hardest to get a narrative going it doesn't truly stick to one other than its multiverse theory. Which it does not deliver a good and meaningful ending that it has been bragging about since the first trailer which showed quite a lot of promise. It kept to the insanity of the old Shock games while being in this serene seeming place.
Instead of Elizabeth just throwing you med kits and tearing portals open she would strengthen your vigors which seemed amazing. She would actually be helpful instead of helpful in the way of finding an item on the ground is. The complete lack of changing how she acts throughout the item giving process can complete kill any mood the plot has set up. In one scene where she feels betrayed by Booker she complete refuses to talk to him and only utters comments that are to make him feel worse. Then the next second you're in a battle and she happily says, "Here take this health kit." I literally bursted out laughing.
They also try throughout the game to make Comstock and his white elistest into these bad men, which can be done there is nothing I will say about that. But then halfway through the game you enter a portal where the Vox Populi are now these horrible people which makes the gesture of the game going, "Well see we're not racist or picking sides." Which is a cop-out. As well as in the section where you're in the museum and Comstock retells these tragic events that were horrid and not truly knowing what happens unless you learned in history what actually happened it makes absolutely no impact nor does it matter because it amounts to nothing other than say, "Oh look he's a bad guy."
Finally at the end of the game where they want to make such an impactful resolution to end up their game that is to be taken seriously, what they do is end Booker's life and somehow that takes away all of what Comstock did. How could this be true? An adult Booker and only one Booker out of the infinite number of them has decided for it. What about the one we saw just before the ending? What if he decided No Ii don't want to die? Then it wouldn't do anything. It explains nothing and gives an end to this very mediocre game.
Bioshock Infinite should be taken for what it is. A normal first person shooter type of game that says, "Oh look at the pretty graphics. Look we are going to put a slightly arbitrary plot that we can't fully explain or give meaning to while giving characters with little to no depth. We are clearly one of the best games out there." and somehow it worked. I enjoyed it for a little while before it started sinking in and it made me dislike it. I felt like I was playing a dumbed down version of Bioshock with a wider appeal to the casual first person fanbase.… Expand
May 4, 2013Easily one of my favorite games, Bioshock Infinite doesn't fail to please. Its gripping gameplay and intense storyline make it a game everybody should play.
May 7, 2013Honestly, this game isn't half bad. It succeeds far more than it fails. However I just couldn't get into it. It's a good game but no where near a perfect 10 like I keep seeing all over the place. Worth checking out but don't expect anything truly inspired.
May 23, 2013I simply cannot understand the hype over this game. It's quite good and the combat is satisfying with good weapons and fun powers such as bucking bronco, and it looks good. However, it has a fake, lifeless feel like a deserted theme park, with as story and enemies that just did not hold my interest. Nowhere near the atmosphere of the original game. I had no idea (or desire to know) what was going on and just followed the arrows by pressing N. Clearly it doesn't take much to impress people these days.… Expand
May 23, 2013Hyper Magazine says It isn't perfect", so then why give it a perfect 100?
The game is huge, the effort that went into it is enormous. It is fun, but I am half way through and can't really be bothered going any further. The narrative is just not that interesting and I find myself switching off and just pressing N all the time to try to get to the end as fast as possible.
Jun 2, 2013It's fun to leap onto a skyline and grind your way down the rail, only to dismount by landing on an enemy. The atmosphere is something to be applauded when you first arrive. But as the game becomes more and more linear, as it becomes more and more apparent little thought was put into the enemy placement, as the atmosphere dissipates, and as combat becomes a large grind, one thing becomes clear: Bioshock Infinite is not the game we were promised.
It's clear that the developers knew that you had to start your game off strong. The first hour of gameplay was exhilarating, and the narrative gripped me tight, pulling me along with the sweet expectation of a wild ride. The skyline system was limited, but fun and useful for taking out enemies, and the vigors were fun and interesting. How you GOT them was a trip as well.
But then I kept playing.
The game started to get more and more linear. Storypoint, large area full of enemies--the same enemies, for the most part--storypoint. There are few vigors, and even if you place every upgrade into increasing your capacity, you can only use a few before it's back to shooting. Elizabeth gives you ammo fairly often, and your enemies rarely have the ammunition you need, being as you can only hold two weapons out of about eight or so total, so you don't really need to search them for ammo. The upgrade system isn't compelling and it doesn't switch things up--you don't even need to search them for money. You find yourself It all starts to blend together, as you pick two weapons that you like, shoot some enemies, then move on without searching them. You find yourself wishing that you could be done playing the game so the game can take control and show you more of what you're playing for--the story.
But the story isn't that compelling after the gameplay has disengaged you. You're not as checked in as you should be. The one sensation I felt when finding the next part of the story was relief that I could check OUT because I didn't have to suffer combat anymore. It wasn't wonder or a sense of discovery. I wasn't overwhelmed by the quality of the writing. I just was tired.
When I was focused on the story, I didn't feel like this was some amazing narrative I was witnessing. It was good. I found myself calling or raising my eyebrows a few times, but it wasn't bad. Nothing was absolutely terrible. Some of it was even nice! But it seems to suffer from some awkward delivery and presentation, and sometimes things aren't really explained to you at all, or even given the depth that they need to have an impact on the player.
Games are an interactive medium. When the game suffers, no matter how good the story, the story suffers too. A better story would be worth suffering through--or at least worth watching on youtube, but the story is not good enough to handle the beating the gameplay gives it.
People say the game is amazing for the story. The gameplay is mediocre, but the story makes up for it! Most people talk about the ending and how good that is more than anything else, though. They don't seem to be overly fond of what came before, which was serviceable at best.
If there comes a point where you have to ask yourself as a player, "What am I playing for?" You're forcing yourself through something you don't enjoy just to get to an ending that's supposed to satisfy. But the ending won't satisfy as much as it could be by being attached to a better game. An interactive story is supposed to be enhanced by the immersion of the player. The gameplay and the story are supposed to compliment each other, and that's what gives game stories their power. But the gameplay here just brings it down.
But you won't get a better experience watching the cutscenes online. This, like many game stories, is robbed of their its if you just watch the cutscenes instead of going through play. And god help you if you don't like the ending.You'll feel cheated.
Do not waste 60 dollars on this. Do not waste your time. This is a decent story attached to a bad game, and you deserve better than that. I don't know who I could recommend this game too. It's linear and it's a grind, and the only thing good about it is a story that's only above average and a controversial ending that might be worth watching. But that ending isn't worth suffering through the game, and I wouldn't rob it of its power by watching it online. Skip it. Take your money to someone else who deserves it more.
Unfortunately, virtually every game deserves your money more than this.… Expand
Jul 1, 2013Boring and repetitive combats.
Storyline not that original, the final twist is not shocking at all -
seriously, since Usual Suspects in freaking 1995 it is NOT novelty.
Just another wannabe shocker plot that falls short.
Other than the twist attempt, déjà-vu save-her-from-her-tower story, which is very well told.
Great mise en scènes for such weak story...
Jul 15, 2013It worries me that this game has so many positive reviews. It's the epitome of mediocrity. Poor story, gameplay, graphics, and difficulty (way too short and easy) will leave you wanting to replay the original.
The gameplay is incredibly mediocre and provides no challenge whatsoever. There is absolutely no need for the salts (magic feature) as well.
What irks me the most is Bioshock Infinite's story (or lack of). It's extremely disappointing seeing sequel to a game with a very good story so cheesed up. The story also contradicts itself many times. The characters are also extremely cheesy.
The set pieces look decent enough from afar but nothing to phone home about, and once you get close to them they're pixel messes. The faces on bodies of the humans and characters however are extremely uncanny.
The difficulty is embarrassingly easy and provides no challenge. Most of the game seems to be shoot baddies cheesy dialogue shoot baddies repeat.
To conclude, the game is the definition of mediocre, and left me just wanting to go back and play the original Bioshock the entire time. At least the original did everything this game aspired to do properly.… Expand
Aug 2, 2013As a fan of the previous 2 games, I am very disappointed in this cash grab of a sequel. Not compelling; I can't understand how this game keeps getting rave reviews. Did the publishers pay the magazine reviewers to give such great reviews? It doesn't live up to the 'gameplay' trailers that were released on YouTube. There is no compelling reason for Elizabeth at all, yet she was supposed to be a combatant in the videos. Gameplay is sadly lacking, it's just a shooting gallery as stated by other people on here. The game just does not live up to the hype and I am one very disappointed customer, even at Steam summer sale prices! The game is way too linear, as previously stated by others characters are not engaging. I would say this is their equivalent of "Duke Nuke'em Forever". An overhyped, overpriced, letdown of an unqualified failure of a sequel.… Expand
Aug 9, 2013When i saw Bioshock: Infinite's average score, i decided to give it try. Let's start from his graphics: in a powerful geforce 65' with hd monitor, graphics were disappointing: too sloppy for a 2013 game. About his gameplay, it's quite the same thing of its sequels, except the ambientation there's nothing different. The plot could be original but it's too difficult to understand due to the fact that there isn't any explicative cutscene and you have to understand the storyline it by your own. Firefights are dull: foes are always the same except some bosses here and there and everyone wield almost the same weapon. Ii can describe this game with one single word: BOOOOORING. It can be divided in 3 phases: explore, kill, gather. You do those actions and then continue the storyline, which is linear and lifeless. I can'r really understand how this game has such an high score.… Expand
Sep 7, 2013---Rating--- Design: 3 /5 (the novelty of both the mechanics and narrative wears off after a while) Polish: 5 /5 (technically sound, and the setting's vibrancy is the main selling point) Value: 3 /5 (decent amount of content, but there is little conceivable replay value here) ---Review--- The first hour or so of Bioshock Infinite is utterly captivating, owing to the magnificent sense of awe and wonder manifested by the game's beautiful setting. The floating city of Columbia presents shimmering visuals and captures the spirit of a period (namely the turn of the 20th century) that historical and retro-futuristic video games have largely ignored. Unfortunately, despite the abundance of lore tidbits littered throughout the game, the novelty of the setting gradually wears off as the gameplay and narrative never seem to match the setting's potential.
Booker DeWitt is merely a generic film noir protagonist, and even though the player spends the whole game viewing Columbia from his perspective, there's a jolting sense of disconnect every time he rattles off one of his predictably cynical lines. This is because the player has no agency with regard to DeWitt's role in the narrative, which mostly consists of carefully sequenced set pieces.
DeWitt's grit is contrasted by a pretty and endearing ingenue by the name of Elizabeth- whom the player is tasked with rescuing and escorting out of Columbia. While this unlikely combination produces its fair share of interesting exchanges along the way, the net result of this juxtaposition is simply that Booker's deadpan facade becomes even more difficult to relate to. As such, Elizabeth is undoubtedly responsibly for facilitating the majority of the player's emotional investment in the story.
The story itself is a bit of a mess, abruptly transitioning from utopia to dystopia and milking the latter for all it's worth. Infinite flirts adventurously with serious themes such as racism, power, responsibility, and so on, but the game never manages to tackle any of them in a terribly nuanced manner, instead veering more toward black-and-white caricatures and using Elizabeth to point out the obvious to the player. The story also features a bit of inter-dimensional time travel nonsense that feels completely unnecessary and ill-conceived, given how many other narrative hooks the game utilizes to pad its length. By several hours in, there's an impending sense that the game has lost sight of its original narrative completely, and it only becomes more convoluted from there.
The Infinite's storytelling experienced isn't helped by the fact that its pacing is horrible, with gameplay becoming simply a chore that must be completed in order to reach the next stage of the story. In some ways the world seems to communicate to the player that they should explore the setting at their leisure to uncover the rich detail present in Columbia, but somewhat paradoxically there are countless points of no return that largely prevent this. However, easily the worst aspect of Infinite's pacing is the fact that the player seems to spend more time looting nearby corpses and containers than doing anything else. The boring looting process serves an interlude between every combat encounter and/or narrative event, destroying any sense of immersion the player managed to attain with regard to either of those.
Infinite is thus very fragmented, and unfortunately the core gameplay isn't all that much more interesting than the rest. Despite the decent variety of weapons and vigors (as the token magical superpowers are called in this installment) available to the player and the enjoyably nonlinear qualities granted by the sky rail system, the gameplay just never feels like anything other than generic swashbuckling action under an unconventional guise.
Bioshock Infinite has received tons of hype since its release, and while it possess an interesting and colorful setting, the game falls somewhat short in most other ways.… Expand
Oct 21, 2013Bioshock Infinite is the best example of a game company favoring story over game play. The game holds the players hand throughout the game, there is a line the player can bring up to show where to go, or you can go exploring and rummage through trashcans for food that don't do anything for the player. If you die the game just brings you back to life where you just died with little to no consequence, even on the hardest mode available to a first time player. The difficulty in the game is just non-existent.
The story in Bioshock Infinite is the best redeeming quality for the game. The player assumes the role of Booker, who is sent to Columbia to rescue Elizabeth to pay off a debt. The real positive part of the story is more of the characters than the actual time line of the story. The game makes you actually care about the characters, but the actual content of what you are playing just feels unimportant. Add one of the most disappointing endings to a game and you've got the story of one of the most overrated games of all time.
The graphics are nice to look at, if you like the art direction the game took, and there is no denying that. While the game looks good, it still doesn't play well.… Expand
Mar 29, 2013Enjoyed the experience a good bit due to the crazy setting and story but just like the original Bioshock, the combat that you are doing throughout the entire game is lacking.
Apr 12, 2013Fantastic game, fantastic story, fantastic graphics, fantastic gameplay, fantastic characters, fantastic locations, fantastic twist, fantastic enemyes and truly sad ending.
Apr 7, 2013Pros: Setting is masterfully crafted and well-detailed. Good main characters. Lots of style and flair. Decent story with a moral backbone that few other games have.
Cons: Gameplay leaves lots to be desired. Like its predecessor, Bioshock, it still leaves a lot to be desired in comparison to the game these titles are supposed to be the spiritual successor for: System Shock 2. Bioshock Infinite is a shooter with extremely light RPG influences, and even as a shooter, it's only an OK one. Playing B:I, I myself looking forward to the dialogue between the main characters--which thankfully there is plenty off--but nearly falling asleep during gameplay segments, looking forward to them being over so I can get to the next scene. Also, the UI looks nice, but it's terrible from a usability perspective, especially on the PC. The gear system, for example, is pitifully designed.
All in all, it's a well-polished game. I love that it's focused on single player only with no frills. I love the game's themes and design. But the gameplay is so shallow, the AI is weak, and I'm left with little desire to play the game again.… Expand
May 5, 2013Good game but there is no replay value after finishing it The game world and the story are a bit ridiculous for my taste and the graphics are very "cartoonish". I gave it a 7 for being a good game but this is not a classic as it is majorly overhyped by some people
Mar 27, 2013Bioshock Infinite is a masterpiece. Quite literally, one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. People will speak of this game for decades to come, not just for what it did, but for what it helped lead to long after its creation.
Dec 7, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The FPS is completely a train ride. The story and level seem to drag out longer than necessary while leaving characters purpose unexplained. The ending makes the whole story meaningless.… Expand
Mar 27, 2013After playing this game I have one word to describe how I feel about it. Wow; it was one of the most fascinating and well thought out games that I've ever had the pleasure of getting my fingers on. It runs well on a wide variety of machines and my goodness the ending? It will set your brain on fire. I'd like to congratulate Irrational Games on this monumental triumph and I have to say I look forward to more Bioshock in the future and maybe if we're lucky we can see more of Booker Dewitt and Elizabeth.… Expand
Mar 29, 2013One of a kind game, enjoyed it. The soundtrack and sound-effects are pretty amazing too! The only major drawback is the graphics. Sloppy texture and details, but the overall game still held together beautifully. I can just close my eyes and imagine how much more beautiful this game could have been made, especially for those who got an extremely high-end rig. I guess 2K spent just enough money to satisfy a majority of players and didn't want to spend a penny more to make it a legend. But overall, still a pretty game.… Expand
Mar 31, 2013Bioshock Infinite is a flawed game which elevates games as a story-telling medium as high as Columbia itself. For the first three-quarters of the game I had a mixed feelings about this one. The city of Columbia is beautiful, but eventually is experienced as a long narrow corridor. The themes of racial discrimination, American exceptionalism, fanatical religious teachings, income inequality and violent uprisings are there, but are left as themes, and undeveloped themes at that. The chatter of the citizens is atmospheric, but too rare, and the citizens themselves are wooden figurines without emotion. Even Elizabeth, for all care and labour the designers have put into her is far from the girl we've expected since gameplay video at E3'11. Yet, for all its shortcomings, Infinite shines in the last quarter of the game. The asylum part was my personal favorite, tragic, yet nuanced and beautiful at the same time. And its main point that you can't wash away your sins, but have to live with them and let them make you better is delivered so masterfully, that you are left pondering it long after the credits and the ending scene. Surely, it's a variation on the Planescape theme --What can change the nature of a man? Regret. but that doesn't diminish the game in any way. So while I'm longing for what the game could be, I still find it hard to give it anything below 9. It's not perfect, but you would do yourself a disservice if you miss it.… Expand
Jun 13, 2014I'm another one not getting the hype. Sure, the graphics look good (even though that impression is created more through the use of trickery than actually beautiful textures but that's fine with me) and the setting is very interesting, but you never get to explore any of it. You move through a linear series of shooting scenes against poor AI using a clumsy feeling protagonist. The game is most interesting when you aren't shooting at things and that's a problem for a shooter. The story promises real depth but then abandons all that for shooting and drama, it never reaches real depth.
If you're a fan of shooters, the action here will likely bore you and feel too easy, if you're a fan of sandbox environments and fascinating settings, you'll be frustrated by how you're not allowed to actually explore anything yourself and if you're a fan of adventure game story-telling, all the useless shooting will probably ruin the experience for you.… Expand
Mar 27, 2013A beautiful masterpiece of a game. You could almost assume what the ratings would be upon just viewing the trailers. Irrational Games delivers in full, and then some. The amount of first rate writing and originality is all there in full, and it's much, much more than enough to make the game good. The graphics are breathtaking. The game mechanics are extremely well polished. It may not be the game you'll play over and over like Team Fortress 2 or an Elder Scrolls game, but BioShock Infinite will still linger in your head after completion because the storytelling is just that good. Ken Levine, you know how to write a damn good story. Feel good about that. It could be a very long time until another game with this good of writing comes along again. It doesn't have the moral directions that Levine's BioShock 1 had, or what Jordan Thomas' BioShock 2 had (which wasn't AS good as BS1 or Infinite, but still a great game). I also found the game to be a bit short, but that's okay, because it might have felt like it dragged on a bit if it was longer, you never know. Overall, this is the kind of game every type of gamer should try before they die.… Expand
Apr 13, 2013Meh. Overrated on mere graphics alone. Yes, yes, yes. We know the "critics" believe it's a "masterpiece", but the vigor's are pointless, the weapon combat is repetitive, and the incessant searching to purchase upgrades is nonsense.
May 3, 2013This is Bioshock only so far as it has clunky shooting mechanics, is full of moral ambiguity, and makes heavy reference to a historical period. That is the end of the resemblance. Level design is linear and frightfully dull. None of the weapons is actually satisfying to use. The story is multi-layered and imaginative, but simply falls flat in regards to making the player interested or invested in anything. Original Bioshock was weird, scary, and immersive; this is just weird.
Orignal Bioshock, I remember several instances where I felt motivated to plan out an assault; where and how am I going to engage these guys? This Bioshock; "there are some guys, I'm going to shoot them. If they shoot me, I will hide behind this corner here, wait until they stop shooting, then pop out and shoot them some more. Then I will loot their corpses and eat a can of beans."
Pros; a couple of interesting complex fights utilizing multiple levels and choices of which structure you'll have Elizabeth "warp" into existence. Attractive environments.
Bottom line: It is attractive and the artwork is very imaginative, but it simply isn't fun to play.… Expand
Jul 13, 2013Boring combat and gameplay, uninteresting story and no challenge. Only good Bioshock was the first one, and even that was mediocre 7/10 tops. System Shock is where it's at.
Be wary of the high scores BioShock Infinite received, a lot of them are given by new accounts whose sole contribution to metacritic is giving 10 points to Bioshock Infinite. Not saying someone's boosting the scores but it's a possibility.… Expand
Nov 7, 2013This is one of the special ones. Very nice atmosphere and a strong emotional concept to it. I never felt those cind of feelings in a game before, so this is the first game that i would rate 100 emotionaly. It really delivers a great experience with innovative and original leveldesign.
Apr 10, 2013An immense world with gothic buildings and very nice artwork stuff with hype and a boring story. After a few hours you'll realize that that's all there is it to is a laggy fps with absolutely no interest. I never finished the game so I dont know how the ending is. The rest was nice but boring.
Mar 27, 2013The Greatest game I have ever played. This made me so happy to play, every step the story took was better than the last, it did nothing wrong. Both Booker and Elizabeth are written perfectly, the game-play is fresh and exciting especially the skyline fighting. This blew me away, I'm speechless. Thank-you Ken and thank-you Irrational Games!
Jul 27, 2013A disappointing game, although that is somewhat expected. I've come to expect the content and gameplay concepts of pre-release gameplay demos and trailers to not be present in the game.
To start off, the story is above average. The storytelling is below average. The concepts behind the story are intriguing, and also link back to the previous games. The depth of the story through the game's backstory, which is often shown through audio logs, or "voxophones", lets you piece together the story, and helps with the eventual "epiphany" at the end of the game, as if the game was some sort of mystery/corridor shooter where you get thrown information, and while you are trying to figure this out, the game continues to tease you with the fact that there is going to be some sort of twist at a later part of the story. However, the fact is that you cannot figure it out until the twist, and the fact that you expect the twist for the majority of the game. Unlike the previous games and also many other works of fiction, the content of the twist itself may be a complete surprise, but the existence of the twist is completely expected, so instead of truly being surprised by the twist because it's so unexpected that you had never even thought of there being a twist, or that the twist was what it was, you simply think "Oh, so that's the twist.". Other works of fiction have genuinely surprising twists in both aspects of a twist that I have mentioned, for example in the first Bioshock. The twist(s) in that game come as a complete surprise, and are much more well done.
In terms of the story through characters, the characters themselves have a decent degree of depth to them, but every character in the game simply seems flat and uninteresting. Even Elizabeth, a companion that you spend time with throughout much of the game, seems completely uninteresting. I found that I barely gave a damn about her until the closing parts of the game. There simply is not enough character development and interaction. Elizabeth speaks occasionally throughout the entire game, and the conversations between Elizabeth and Booker are simply short and meaningless. Their attitudes towards each other seem quite static at times, and even when they seem to suddenly change, they immediately change back and you are left asking yourself "What the hell was all that about?". This is essentially the same with all major characters as well, they are simply 2D characters that do the things they do simply because, and they stay the same way. Elizabeth essentially felt like some sort of AI pet who just follows me around and serves as an extension of my will. If Booker was given the power of opening tears, picking locks, and randomly finding ammunition, health, and salts in the middle of nowhere and Elizabeth simply followed me around, it would have been the exact same experience. With literally every single other character in the game, whether it be a major character or not, there simply is not actual interaction except for a few lines of scripted events and dialogue here and there. Whatever miniscule amount of interaction you have with those characters seems to have no repercussions, and whatever it is that you do, you'll simply not give a damn and forget about it. The E3 gameplay demo for Bioshock Infinite had more character development that the actual game (excluding the ending and twist).
Now the gameplay is nothing shabby, but it really isn't anything amazing either. Based off of the early E3 gameplay demos and gameplay details, the gameplay had such great potential. However, the actual result was essentially the opposite of what was shown and expected. Levels were "massive", but closed and segregated. A level was essentially divided into tiny little section. You can only ever choose to be extremely aggressive and militant, as hostile attention will always be drawn to you no matter what you do. The skylines are mostly pointless decoration that is limited to what is essentially a total area of 20 meters cubed that you can completely play without other than a few parts of the game where you simply must use them to reach point B from point A. Most of them also do not make any sense in an actual logical manner, as if they were placed there just so Booker can swing around and fight on them if he wants, and not because the city planners thought it would be of actual use, which it seemed to have been in the early parts of the game. Miniscule gameplay elements like the gate-lifting, stealing, powering machines with the shock jockey, and so on are introduced in the beginning and then completely forgotten, never to be seen again. And the only vigor that enemies use are the Devil's Kiss by the firemen and the shock jockey by a single mid-game boss. Oh, and vigors are useless.
I could go on, but the character limit won't let me. However, I definitely believe that Bioshock infinite is simply a highly overrated game that is just disappointingly mediocre.… Expand
Mar 26, 2013Right let's get one thing straight... I loved original bioshock, and number dissapointed to no end. Bioshock Infinite is good: 1. Gorgeous graphics 2. Average gameplay not overwhelming amount of effort has gone in to making the gameplay positive though at no point was it bad or unplayable, plus seen no glitches in full play through on day one since release. 3. Very short, very very short only about 8-10 hours of play is a bad point so know that it won't be a game that will last.
4. Most importantly the story of this game is absolutely out of this world this game has the best story of any game released in recent history not to say it could easily trump most highly appraised games of old as well.
So all in all if you are looking for a game with a lot of shooting and killing and such go back to playing COD kid this is a game for those of us who love a great narrative frankly I think this game could be the best game I have ever played, when it comes to story at least, and few games match the beautiful graphics that are jaw-dropping for even the most jaded players.
If anything give it a look and if you are not interested in playing it at least watch someone play through the thing so you know the story as it is worth seeing cuz it is amazing… Expand
Dec 9, 20133 hrs in so expect minor spoilers.
This game is not only supremely boring and linear, it's also aggravating and repulsive from a story point of view. So there's this beautiful city in the clouds, where people live in (seeming?) harmony, and my job is to... kill everyone?! Violently and indiscriminately? Seriously, why would I do that? Because they're devout Churchgoers (not a big fan of religion myself btw)? Or because they haven't achieved race equality yet? Now how about changing these things through political and social means, you know, bringing about enlightenment and humanist thinking by educating people? But no. The only way to progress in this game is through mass-murder. Now if this was GTA I'd find that fun, too, but
this game seems to be wanting taken seriously.
Apart from that, it's just a very linear shooter with mindless enemies, repetitive gunfights and poor animation. Last night I actually fell asleep while playing go figure.
A few points for the beautiful flying city, though.… Expand
Apr 28, 2013This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game-play was all repetitive. The same enemies, just repeated, the same goddamn tactics being repeated too. Honestly its a shame that they didn't use those enemies in the art-book; perhaps it would had made it more interesting. The vigor powers basically did similar things: They lay traps (some bigger and more lasting) or attacked directly (some with a bigger range and blast). Only 3 of them did a drastically different thing. There was really no need for all them, frankly some of them where useless in the heat of a battle. I did however pretty much used them all at some point. If I was the developer I would had spent more time planning and implementing the vigors.
The only way to gain an upgrade is to pay for it and the machine. To get money you have to search through bodies, trash cans, desks etc. but wait... they tried to make you think! They include items that take can take away your health or take away something and give you something back. However I really didn't care, I was just spamming [F] all over the environment because I just wanted to get all the gold. I never ever did not take something, I always took everything because I just was not bothered. Its like the system was broken; Its like they tried to make an mechanic more interesting but ultimately failed at it. Perhaps upgrading should had happened through other means?
During the game I was careful not to kill civilians; thinking that It would have some out come later in the game, but I couldn't be more wrong; the game couldn't care less and frankly you would be better off killing them for loot.
I also think that they were too few guns for the scope and longevity of the game. Perhaps they should had also invented some of their own instead of relying on real life ones. They had the classic shotgun, the classic sniper, the machine gun etc. They should had added some fantasy to it in-order to keep it interesting. They already have quantum physics, flying cities multiple dimensions and yet they don't have a quantum gun or some weird stuff like that. After a few hours you get bored of using the same things over and over again.
After a few hours I found myself playing it just to complete it; I really wanted to know how the story ends. I didn't really find the game fun anymore; I got bored of the same mechanics, the same enemies being used.
Boss fights are just more powerful enemies (why couldn't they design something more unique for the occasion?). The only potentially good boss-fight was the bird; but Instead Elizabeth decides to kill it for you. Perhaps they should had turned Comstock into boss fight; considering Comstock is Booker and considering he has access to some impressive technology, he could had held a good fight (even though hes an old man) but that would go against him being a "holly" man.
Instead of having a final boss, the game decides to give you a defend your Zeppelin reactor (em tower defense), which for some reason Comstock thought it was a good idea to locate it on top of his ship, so that it is easy to hit by his enemies (though if I was the enemy I would probably just not even bother with going on board and just blow it up from far).
There is no true exploration, its just a singular path for most of the time. To make it more interesting they thrown in a key fetch quest (Elizabeth suddenly forgot how pick-lock an ordinary looking lock).
The game is probably one of the most repetitive games I've played lately. Its not a game that deserves a score of 9/10 or 10/10 its a game that deserves a score of 6/10, 7/10. It just that this game doesn't really bring anything new to the table, its all been done before, and whatever it does it does it in cycles and cycles. Apart from the production values, the score, and the thought evoking game ending (though the story could had been explained better) there isn't nothing really to it Its like they were trying hard to be like Hollywood but they forget to make sure the game-play remains interesting and fun though out all the adventure and not only for the first few hours.… Expand
Apr 4, 2013Gameplay: Bioshock Infinite's combat is so dumbed down it reflects the state of the gaming industry; remove content out and people will claim it to be a masterpiece. There is so much missing that it can hardly be called a Bioshock game, shame on Irrational games to limit the amount of weapons to a disgraceful two, shame on 2k for reducing plasmids from 13 to 8 as well as copying and pasting them all from Bioshock with essentially reskinning. Liked passive gene tonics? You won't like this game, because they made a huge leap backwards from a total of 24 to just 4. The 'tears' are limited to and only limited to combat: Ammo, Med-kits, Ground Turret, Flight Turret, Cover and Grappling hook. What did Infinite do right with combat? Simply the sky-rails and handymen fights; too bad there are a gran total of 7 of them throughout the 12 hour game.
The story: Convoluted complemented with unmotivated characters. Elizabeth is such a forgettable character I had trouble remembering it writing this review, don't center your game's story around a generic Disney princess and invoking emotion for the sake of invoking emotion. The racism debacle has now spread from books to games, it's refreshing to have a game that treads unsteady ground for once, however like in literature the 'Racism is bad' theme gets redundant and deprives from the main story. The ending is great regardless of what anyone has told you, maybe rushed, but It is defiantly interesting.
The visuals: Running on Unreal Engine 3, Irrational managed to make everything not look like plastic. Visual fidelity is fantastic but the city of Columbia is so forgettable where as Rapture was a hand-crafted marvel. The centerpieces and design choices are nothing new, the steam punk fad has been around, Columbia is not a new or interesting concept considering the explanation is just 'Science Because'.
In the end I didn't dislike this game because it was a jumbled up mess, utterly terrible and I had spend 60 USD on it, I dislike it because it's just so mediocre, It's not a great game that makes me exited to find out what happens next, and it's not a bad game that I can laugh and poke fun at, it's in the uncanny valley of video game development along-side Call of Duty and recent Bioware games.… Expand
Mar 27, 2013Absolutely fantastic game. Right at the top with the great games of our generation Dishonored and Skyrim. I'm playing on a high end PC so I will not bang on about the graphics as of course they are amazing but of course they would be when they utilise every pounds worth. Great story, simple but effective controls, personable characters, great scenery, great soundtrack...nuff said. Miss this miss out bigstyle.… Expand
Apr 5, 2013It's official: We have a new poster-child for how a good story can be told through the art of video game development. You owe it to yourself to look past the gameplay flaws and play this game, if only for its beauty and artistic interpretation.
Aug 30, 2013What so many people see in this game? I'm so disappointed based on all this hype I bought it,expected something fantastic, played for some hours, and... stopped. For me, that's a boring game, average,
Yes, devs lost time and energy working on it and i respect their work. But these critics with scores of average 96... There must be something wrong with me, I guess...
Jun 11, 2013The most overrated game of the year, with a ridiculous setting, a badly-narrated plot that made no sense at any point, and that left the player wondering what's happening throughout the game. And the game itself was just an average, straight forward shooter that wasn't even much fun. It was a bore to get through it, and I only endured it because I wanted to see what the ending was all about. Honestly, the game is not worth the time invested, and I don't know why all the critics are raving about it.… Expand
Apr 3, 2013this game is amazing, brilliant, one huge problem the ending it was not as abd as me3 but that ending WTF?, its confusing odd and is just 20 minutes of walking. The rest of the game is great some levels feel a little lazy cough* cough* shanti town, but its still a great story and the tiny tie in to rapture brilliant!!
May 17, 2013What's all the hype about with this game?! I'm a seasoned FPS gamer, and have played all previous Bioshock games. I found this incarnation to be the weakest from the series by far, so much so I've actually stopped playing before even completing it...and doubt I'll ever go back to do so.
The graphics are ok, certainly not revolutionary or ground breaking. All the shimmering and light bloom is just smoke and mirrors to obscure you from the fact that the environments are pretty uninteresting and repetitive, with bad models and textures. Models are shamelessly repeated throughout the levels (you shoot the same guy dead about 1000 times by the game end).
Gameplay is slow I felt, and ridiculously easy, even on harder settings. Weapons and modding was dull and uninventive, nothing new here. Bad guys came at you in the same form over and over again, with terrible AI leading them to certain death in the same way over and over again. I wasn't captivated by the story, which seemed a bit bizarre and disjointed. The characters weren't intriguing and I felt no attachment to them, even hours in.
A vastly overrated game, hyped up by an expensive media campaign, but ultimately shallow and generic.… Expand
May 5, 2013This review is the xbox 360 build of Bioshock Infinite- Game was played on normal difficulty and took about 11 hours to complete. Very minor spoilers ahead.
Be The bee..........
Bioshock Infinite is a rare gem. Not only in gaming but in over all fantasy story telling and lore. However, not only is Bioshock Infinite an incredible story and setting but it's also one of the greatest FPS ever made. Yes. It's that good.
Before, this review get's into the nitty gritty of the game, lets set up the setting and narrative arc. You play as Booker Dewitt- a pinkerton, a hired gun and over all renegade, who's only interested in the job- bring the girl, and wipe away the debt. From the very offset of Bioshock Infinite- it's clear that this will be no simple search and rescue type of mission for good ole' Booker. The intro- Like many of the Shock games, starts in an ominous way. Booker being rowed along in a boat by two faceless NPC's that lead on they no more than they are inclinded to share. They take you to a light house, form their your journey begins.
The ascention to the grand, epic and awe inspiring city in the sky, Columbia, is an incredible moment. It's gorgeous and the since of awe is astounding. It's hard to believe that with a 8 year old console devs are still putting out graphical fidelity seen in game like Bioshock Infinite. This game, much like it's addorable Elizabeth, is beautiful. The lighting, the shadders and art style is awesome. However, their are some frame rate issues and some. SOME. Muddy textures, but this game is gorgeous.
Upon arriving in Columbia, it's clear that this place is "off", and things quickly turn violent. Very, very Violent. But Booker is no N00b in the art of killing- quite the opposite. The combat in Bioshock Infinite is innovative, immersive and fun as hell. You get guns- shotguns, pistols- the hand cannon is amazing, machine guns- lots of varitey, sniper rifle and rpg's and explosive delivery type weapons. But the real star of the show is the vigors. Much like Plasmids in Bioshock 1, the vigors are the x factor of Bioshock's combat.These powers are awesome and are great at crowd control battles- the majority of combat in the game. My favorites are Murder of Crows and Return to Sender. Hell, there's even a vigor for all you Mass Effect vanguard fan boy's out there with charge- awesome. But it's not just about the incredible guns and awesome powers, but also the environment and how using the rails to get around and gain advantages over the incredilble AI of the game is in itself amazing. Destroying a certain aerial vehicle and and a certain fight that set's up the colmination of the game require's you to not only be sharp with your shooter and vigor skills but also keep's you on your toes and using the environment to gain verticality and line of sight on enemies. The combat of Bioshock infinite is great and rewarding.
The visuals and combat are only equaled by the games incredibly engrossing setting, story and voice acting- most notably Courtnee Drapper who plays Elizabeth. Drapper is amazing and did an incredible job with Elizabeth. And that's where the game shines. Lives or dies. All in. With the character of Elizabeth and her relationship with Booker. She's not just some dumb AI- she's very helpful in combat, but she's actually an incredible sympathetic character and one of the greatest NPC's in gaming history. The game would either fall or soar with her, and needless to say it tears through the sky like an F-35 raptor.
The plot and narrative of this game is absolutely ground breaking. I can't stress how far and above it is beyond anything else in gaming. But suffice it to say that nothing is what it seems in this universe that Ken Levine has created. Nothing and noone is who they are in this game, and duplicity is a central theme of this game. The plot and narrative will lose many, but those who can keep up- As it is truly "high level" storytelling, will be rewarded with one of the greatest narrative arcs in recent fictional storytelling. Again, it's that good. Creators like Ken Levine are rare. Creators like Levine in the game industry are even rarer. Hopefully, he stays in the industry because the medium needs creative minds like his. Much like his games, Levine truly set's the standard for creative storytelling in games. Bioshock Infinite is a prime example of that.
Bottome Line: This is the greatest single player FPS since Half Life 2. Yes, I said it. Bioshock Infinite is the greatest game I've played since Mass Effect 2. It takes it's place among the greatest titles of this generation. It ascends past it's predecessor and shockingly raises the FPS bar again. Buy it. Play it. Love it.
A 10 out of 10. Perfection.… Collapse
Jun 5, 2013Play BSI slowly, relish the moments and don't rush to the end. It's certain that you will have lived one of the richest gaming experiences that, as far as narration, lyricism and story are concerned, will take a lot of time to forget! [May 2013]
May 7, 2013A very solid, but not revolutionary shooter in an amazing setting, with a story that struggles to convey its authors' ambitions and is only seemingly complex. The vision is less focused than in previous Bioshocks and it does a worse job on binding the plot with gameplay. [CD-Action 05/2013, p.46]
May 1, 2013Problematic plotting and excessive amounts of poorly balanced combat apply friction to what is otherwise one hell of a rollercoaster. [May 2013, p.80]