Bioshock Infinite Review

Following up a massive critical and commercial hit like the influential Bioshock isn’t easy: as enjoyable as Bioshock 2 is, a common criticism is that it didn’t bring enough new stuff to the table.   Enter the third entry in the franchise, Bioshock Infinite.  Helmed by original Bioshock scribe Ken Levine, this game shakes things up with a new setting, new time (and possibly timeline) and of course a massive story with plenty of twists along the way, especially in the end.  While I wouldn’t say it’s the best, but this change has me interested in what’s to come for this franchise.

Unlike the previous Bioshock games, your character isn’t a blank slate acting as a conduit for the gamer.  You play as the awesomely named Booker Dewitt.  The former Pinkerton agent turned private eye is assigned to “bring [them] the girl and erase the debt” (a phrase repeated like “Would you kindly?” from the first game).  His mission takes him to the floating city of Columbia, a city built on the ideas of American exceptionalism and Christianity.  The girl in question is Elizabeth, a young woman with an unusual ability that makes for some interesting moments in the gameplay.  In the process you incite all-out war between the city’s Founders, led by Zachary Comstock, against the rebellious Vox Populi, led by Daisy Fitzroy.  Somehow you two have to navigate your way out of the city, which leave both Dewitt and Elizabeth facing some hard truths about themselves.

Once Elizabeth is found the game takes off.  She can assist you by tossing you supplies when you need them.  Luckily Infinite knows not to fall into the trap of having her be an escort mission.  You can leave her alone and not worry about her being hurt in a fight.  However, as good a character as she is, she could’ve been more active in combat.  Most of the time she cowers behind something as the player goes out to fight.  Compare this to some teaser footage of the game from a few years ago, where she played a crucial role.  The often passive treatment she gets in the combat scenes is a disappointment, especially for people who saw her as a strong female character (believe me, I saw several women dressed like her at PAX East the last couple years).

Like the previous games, the art direction is top notch.  You may find yourself spending as much time exploring the peripheral areas looking for Easter eggs as you will playing game missions.  Being up in the air as opposed to the bottom of the ocean, it’s the brightest looking game of the series.  I wish there was a little more variety in the level design, but it’s hard to complain too much with visuals this great.

The game play is similar to the first two, with a mix of weapons and kinetic powers (called Vigors instead of Plasmids and requiring Salts rather than Eve to work).  The decision to be able to carry only two weapons and vigors at a time leads to some frustrating gameplay.  Perhaps this is an appeal to gamers who want a tougher experience, but one of the fun parts of the Bioshock series is upgrading weapons and having a diverse arsenal of weapons and supernatural powers at the ready.  Also annoying is the guidance system, which instead of a nifty directional arrow on the top of the HUD, players activate a green arrow that briefly flows in the direction of the goal.  With a world like this, why is there no map for it?  I also would’ve liked to been able to turn on closed captions so I could hear some of the less audible dialogue, but I couldn’t find it (transcripts for the recordings scattered about Columbia are available in the pause menu).  New to the game is skyline transport, where a special hook you gain early on allows you to ride special rails around the city, enabling you a special attack from above.

The ending is one I’m still churning over in my head, combining things from the first game and dealing with the concept of choice and various twists I won’t get into, suffice to say I never would’ve expected a game to end this way and I’m glad it did.  Such a tricky ending helps raise games as an art form.  Despite some of my complaints about certain changes in the game play, it’s still a must play.  It’s great to have storytellers as ambitious as Ken Levine in gaming, especially as the next generation of consoles is coming.  I can’t wait to see what his follow up will be.

Grade: B+