By John Burke, Staff Writer
Bioshock Infinite is a stellar game with an engrossing story, creative gameplay and stunning graphics. Aside from occasionally feeling disconnected from combat and a slightly tedious middle section, I have nothing but resounding praise for this game.
As a newcomer to the Bioshock series, I had high hopes when I purchased the game. Perhaps even unrealistically high hopes, I thought to myself as I put the game into my Xbox 360. It is appropriate that Bioshock Infinite is set in Columbia, a city in the clouds, because it blew away my sky-high expectations.
The graphics were the first aspect to blow my mind. The bright color scheme along with the amazingly detailed structures, people and other scenery is amazing to behold. Aging hardware limits the graphics on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, so if you really want the full effect it’s best to play on a PC (but don’t get me wrong; I played on my Xbox and I was still blown away). Remember to stop and smell the roses while playing throughout the campaign; don’t just rush through the story. Taking in Columbia’s stunning setting will be more than worth the wait.
I can’t go too deep into the story line without revealing some spoilers, but I can say that I was hooked from beginning to end. The protagonist is Booker DeWitt, a man who has a chance to erase his debt by rescuing Elizabeth, a girl imprisoned on the floating city of Columbia. The plot twists and thickens realistically, leaving you completely engrossed without making you roll your eyes at some of the wilder events. And even if you are expecting a big twist, it will still catch you by surprise when it comes.
Though these features add to the overall effect, the real core of any video game is the gameplay. And for the most part, it was just as amazing as the rest of the game. Irrational Games does a good job of keeping the combat encounters varied and exciting. Your companion, Elizabeth, brings her unique set of powers to the table. She can teleport in objects such as cover, automated turrets, ammo and health supplies.
A huge part of combat in Bioshock Infinite is vigors — plasmids for you original Bioshock fans. Vigors give Booker special powers he can use to influence the tide of combat. For example, one vigor gives Booker the ability to levitate enemies into the air, removing them from cover. Another enables him to possess enemies, while another brings down a swarm of crows on any hostile in the vicinity. But these vigors bring about one of the few problems I had with the game. Despite unlocking eight of them throughout the course of the game, you can only hotkey two at a time. I often wanted to use far more than just two throughout the course of an enemy encounter, but this feature forced me to bring up the vigor menu several times per fight. This removes the player from the action, and it is slightly irritating to only get to keep two vigors at the ready.
My only other real problem with the game was a middle that went on for too long. Throughout the center portion of the campaign, it seems like you are just running from encounter to encounter. I still enjoyed the combat, but it got a little tedious.
Overall though, this game has definitely turned me into a Bioshock fan. Amazing graphics, an immersive story and mostly enjoyable gameplay lead me to give this game 9.5 out of 10.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31-NAkq8YEY
Courtesy of www.digitaltrends.com, images.vg247.com and lh3.ggpht.com