BioShock Infinite completely separates itself from its predecessors with a whole new city, a new story, and new gameplay features that make this game amazing. You are not going to find another first-person shooter such a deep enthralling story. This game is a breath of fresh air with a long campaign that will take you upwards of ten plus hours to complete. There is no multiplayer in BioShock Infinite, which I would have liked, but I am glad they did not include. Not every game needs to have multiplayer just for the sake of having multiplayer. And without a multiplayer or online mode, the player gets to focus on the amazing story of BioShock Infinite, which has a great ending and a twist that you will be looking for the whole time but will never see coming. Don’t worry, this will be as spoiler free as possible, so if you haven’t picked up the game yet or haven’t completed it you can still check out this review.
Story:
You play BioShock Infinite as Booker DeWitt, who is in search for a teenage girl named Elizabeth. You start the game on a boat as you approach an eerie lighthouse, and as you progress through the lighthouse you get the feeling something just isn’t right. Nevertheless you reach the top of the lighthouse and sit in a chair that then seems to take off like a rocket and then you reach the city, Columbia. Set in the clouds, Columbia is stunning. It is set in 1912 and has an amazing old timey Americana feel, however again something feels off and not right about this city. You soon start to realize that the people of Columbia are dilly white and that is where the story really kicks off.
The main theme of BioShock Infinite is religious and racial purity. The people of Columbia believe that they were cast from the hells of the world below and were given a second chance by God by living in this city in the clouds. Columbia is led by Zachary Comstock who is believed to be a prophet because he claims to have the ability to predict the future. Â The people of Columbia are religious extremists. At one point early in the game, you even walk into a building and break up what seems to be a clans meeting, except they are wearing blue hoods instead of white. Booker never quite fits into this city though; during his search for Elizabeth it is discovered he has an A.D. on his hand, which is the mark of the Anti-Christ So because of this, Booker is constantly on the run has to fight tons of enemies, which makes escaping with Elizabeth a challenge. That is about all the story I want to reveal without ruining anything, it is so amazing and is something that you really have to check out yourself.
Gameplay:
The city of Columbia and the story behind its town’s people is amazing. It is vastly better than most of the other first-person shooters already, then add in solid gameplay and you got yourself one hell of a game. One thing I like about the gameplay and combat of BioShock Infinite is that it is extremely varied. You can use your guns to blast through enemies, or use your vigors or perhaps the hook on your hand to brutally kill anyone in your path. Unlike the other BioShock games, you don’t stock up on health packs, instead you have to constantly find food and salts. Salts charge your different vigors that you obtain throughout the game and each vigor has different abilities. There is possession where you can take possession of turrets that are shooting at you and turn them on your foes. Devil’s kiss allows you to shoot fiery grenades out of your hands or lay fiery traps for your opponents to walk into. Murder of Crows shoots crows into your enemies faces and distracts them allowing you to then blast their face off. And there are several other vigors, in fact there are eight in total. And what is awesome about these is that none of them seem useless. You will use all of them in one way or another and they are extremely useful.
Now I touched on the hook that is on your hand briefly but this is probably my favorite part of the combat system. This thing is brutal and devastating but also useful. You can womp enemies in the head with the hook and you can also perform finishing moves that are bloody and awesome. But where the hook really becomes a tool and not just a weapon is traveling. You can shoot up on the sky rail and travel on it like a roller coaster. You can perform attacks on enemies down below and that too is very gratifying. And as if combat wasn’t varied enough, Elizabeth also becomes useful as you are fighting your way through Columbia.  Elizabeth has powers as well and can assist you in battle. She can deploy cover for you to hide behind and she can deploy turrets and many other things that can give you the edge. The combat system and fluid gameplay of Infinite works extremely well and there really are no shortcomings.
Flaws, Downfalls….Did Anything Go Wrong?
It is really hard to find something bad about this game. If you are going to nitpick then yes you can find a flaw here and there but nothing major at all. One thing that I didn’t like was the fact there was no map. In fact none of the people had names above their heads and there was no real direction at all. I always like having a map in the game, nothing big, but just something that gives you a sense of direction. Yes you can hit the up button on the d-pad when playing on the consoles and it projects an arrow where to go, which is nice, but I still missed the map. But honestly that is about it when it comes to what I didn’t like. Again I would have liked a multiplayer mode but I think that it is unique different that a first-person shooter doesn’t have one, because this game really doesn’t need it. I just think it would have been an added bonus.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRjNMQZ1qBk]
Final Thoughts:
BioShock Infinite is a must have for anyone that enjoys first-person shooters or any gamer that enjoys an awesome story. The graphics are amazing, the voice acting is amazing this game has few flaws and will be an obvious game of the year front-runner. Are you still reading this review? Really? If you do not have this game just go get it, you won’t be let down. And if you have this game, then go play it, seriously you have to see how it ends. And if you beat it already play it again, it is that good.
Final Score: 5/5
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