Bioshock Infinite

A very tricky one to review, this.

Let me say right from the off that this IS a good game, and I do recommend it. It certainly makes you want to keep on playing. If you've never played a Bioshock game before, go out and give this is a try. It'll be different and well-worth playing.

However, if you're already familiar with Bioshock, this is where it gets a bit tricky...

(A quick disclaimer though: I haven't finished this game yet. I'm about two thirds through, so this is subject to an update. Also the following isn't a rant; it's just trying to illustrate a point...)

Bioshock Infinite is the gloriously sculpted, shiny chassis of a Ferrari Enzo bolted onto the misfiring engine of a mid-90s Fiat that's stuck in second gear. It is not anywhere near as good as it thinks it is - or at least, wanted to be.

OK, it has a beautiful new setting in Columbia. Yes, it has a not-annoying AI partner in Elizabeth and yes, it has a couple of nice new touches in the Skyrail system and the `tears' idea. As I say, it IS a good game. But if you look underneath the bonnet...

The Unreal Engine in BI is very dated. It cannot handle the scope of the game and you can see visually and mechanically that the Skyrail system is nowhere near as complex and intertwining as it was intended to be (they are essentially glorified staircases). The character designs (and textures) are not sufficient enough to convey the emotional axis that is supposed to be the beating heart of the story. It's functional, but not brilliant. For any normal game this would be fine, but for BI (or what Ken Levine envisioned it as), it is not up to scratch.

The gameplay structure is very dated. It worked in Bioshock 1 because of the awe-inducing environments. But here, battling your way through to the destination (door) only to be told you need to spend 1-2 hours re-tracing your steps (across naturally linear platforms - they are floating buildings) to find a `key' to open it (and then repeat) is not fun. If you wanted to be really cynical; it's tedious.

Mechanically, you can no longer hold things in an inventory, which essentially means that you have to investigate and search every `trash' can you come across in a system that is essentially `scrounge-and-pound' rather than `get-lost-in and admire' (a brilliant city).

There are other points too, which I won't go into in detail. But suffice to say the AI, Vigors (Plasmids), upgrades, Voxophones (Audio Diaries), map (there isn't one!) and even the menu systems are all far inferior to the original's versions.

Now, some might say that it has been streamlined into a more focused, combat-orientated shooter that is much more fast-paced, intense and in some places breathtaking. Valid point. Others might say the organic multi-layered choice of exploration-led gameplay has been completely removed in favour of `shoot and move and shoot and move and...' on a floating city. Valid point.

I'm not `taking sides', but for me Bioshock has gone from a perfectly-paced story-led adventure that used FPS as its delivery medium; to a blatantly stripped-bare shooter that has had a story of such weight lumped on top of it that it's actually broken the pillars the series was built on in the first place.

I won't comment on the full story yet as I haven't finished it, but so-far I think it is too brash. It is so apparent and so overtly oppressed onto you right from the start that `all is not what it seems', that you actually are expecting a twist or three, which completely defies the point of having a twist. I hope my opinion on this will change by the end, as many people are championing the story and the ending, so I look forward to that.

There is another valid point too which could be the crux of the whole thing/not important at all depending on your point of view, which I may put in the comments section later, but that is not within the scope of a review.

Now, I'm not trying to dissuade people from the game here. I'm in no way saying it's bad. It does have the `magic' that makes you want to keep playing. But ... I can't help but feel a little disappointed by Infinite. It feels ... hollow.

That said, the variety of enemies is much improved; the `Houdini Splicer' equivalent is a swine to kill and will cause you problems. And the robotised Patriot is a marvel. Praise should go to Irrational for giving us a game with balls - this is not easy and you'll have to think about what you're doing, which is an all-but-lost aspect of modern games.

But, it seems to me that no matter how many good things BI does or tries to do - and there are plenty - it's as if Ken Levine's original vision has just been bottlenecked into whatever the PS3 (or perhaps more specifically, the 360) is capable of outputting.

I know that all and sundry and saying it's the best thing ever and the `official' reviews are falling over each other to kneel at its feet, but any gamer worth their salt(s) can see that this game is compromised.

Ultimately, though, Bioshock Infinite is a good game whichever way you slice it, and please don't let the tone of this review put you off - that is not my intention. As I say, I am enjoying it, and you will enjoy playing it too. Just be prepared to not love it.

7.5/10.

I'm not going to pretend, I am a big fan of the Bioshock series, I have immensely enjoyed the previous two games and collected quite a bit of merchandise over the years. I was eagerly awaiting the release of Infinite, and got it on release day (in fact I pre ordered the Bioshock Infinite: Premium Edition (PS3) to get all the extra stuff to add to my collection).

I was of course worried that I would not like the new location, Columbia, as much as my beloved Rapture. It is a big change moving from under the sea to in the sky. However, from the second I began playing the game I loved the look and feel of the game. A stark contrast to the dark, somewhat claustrophobic Rapture, Columbia is bright, colourful and sprawling, completely different and yet it still feels familiar when playing for a variety of reasons. The gameplay style will instantly feel familiar, weapon on one side, Vigor (the columbia version of plasmids) on the other. Vigors really do feel like plasmids and help give the familiar bioshock feel. Picking up the voxphones (audio diaries) to hear backstory of the game will also be familiar to players of previous Bioshock titles.

There are of course differences as well as similarities. Booker DeWitt (your player character)speaks, although he does not say a lot. The enemies are not as creepy as Bioshock's splicers, and the Heavy Hitter enemies do not feel as challenging as Bioshock's Big Daddies. You cannot keep and store top up health kits and salts, and you can only carry two weapons at a time meaning if you want to change you have to drop one to pick another up. The biggest change is Elizabeth. She could have been terrible but as AI companions go she is not intrusive, she will not stand in your way or block doorways and will actually offer help during combat, throwing you supplies and opening "tears" in the world where applicable to bring help through. She is a pleasant character to be around, not too talkative and what she does say is interesting and relevant to the backstory and not repetitive (except for "Booker Catch!" "Found Ammo!" etc, which you will hear her say when she passes you supplies in combat sequences). Your enemies will not harm her in combat, so you do not need to concern yourself with protecting her all the time and she unlocks doors for you buy lockpicking. She is on the whole an asset and one you will most likely find yourself missing during any section of the game where she is not at your side.

I could write reams on the storyline but I won't because it's pretty complex and I wouldn't want to give away spoilers, so all I will say is the game is set in a fictional version of the year 1912 and you play as Booker DeWitt, a down on his luck former Pinkerton agent who is in debt and in order to repay his debt he is asked to go to the floating city of Columbia to rescue the mysterious Elizabeth. On arrival in Columbia he discovers that this beautiful city is under the control of the "Prophet" Zachary Hale Comstock and that things are not as blissful as they appear, there is a great divide between rich and poor and racism is rife. The story is as engrossing and immersive as previous bioshock games, with an ending that will certainly make you think.

The game is perhaps a little shorter than I would have liked but this is a minor gripe and I will certainly play through it again. There are various difficulty levels you can choose from to suit all levels of experience including a "1999 mode" which is supposed to be super hard, but I don't usually go in for hard difficulty after having my butt thoroughly kicked by survivor mode on the original Bioshock, life is too short!

PROS

Beautiful game world, lots to explore, the opening and closing cut scenes are amazing, gameplay is easy to get the hang of, Elizabeth is a useful companion, the story is very immersive and made me want to play "just a bit more" for hours on end as I wanted to find out what happened next, if you have played previous Bioshock titles it will feel both familiar and different, if you have not you do not need to worry as this game is a departure from the Rapture story line with completely new characters and game world so no need to play them first if you don't want to. Various difficulty levels to suit different abilities.

CONS

You might finish it quickly and think it was too short. Bad guys not as outstanding to me as the original games (in my opinion of course, you may not agree!). If you like online multiplayer or co-op gameplay, this may not be for you as Bioshock Infinite is purely single player only. Unlike previous Bioshock games choices you make will not change the ending.

So, to sum up... at present I would say that I love the original Bioshock and Bioshock 2 more than Infinite. There's just something about Rapture's atmosphere and those crazy splicers and creepy little sisters that is not present here. But that is just how I feel. I still think this is a five star game, there are not enough games these days that concentrate on the single player experience and for me those that do should be applauded, there are also precious little original ideas out there, and this game is certainly original in it's concept even if it does have that familiar Bioshock feel. Plus, I've only done one playthrough, so it is natural I don't love it as much as the previous two since I've been hanging around in Rapture for years now! I thoroughly enjoyed infinite and would recommend it to anyone looking for a single player game that is a little bit different, and I believe that in time I will most likely grow to love it as much as its predecessors.

Bioshock Infinite is the kind of game that goes beyond general approval and becomes a milestone for the medium. It is a 5 star game, not because it is perfect, but because it is exactly what games should strive to be. A powerful, incredibly compelling sci-fi plot that never lets up on either pacing or content and never fails to keep players engaged is coupled with a deceptively deep combat system. This is the kind of game that isn't just a great purchase but an essential.

For multiplatform owners all I can say is the PS3 is good enough, PC is probably the best platform of choice but getting it on PS3 in no way diminishes the experience.