Bioshock Infinte

So the Steam Summer Sale (thanks Steam!) gave me the opportunity to do something I've really wanted to do since March - play Bioshock Infinite.

Long story short, I wasn't able to bring my Playstation with me when I moved to Sydney, and my laptop was shitty, which made me hesitant to shell out $80 on a game that might not have even worked. Now I have a new computer and the game was cheap, so I figured "why not?"

And I'm really glad that I did.

The year is 1912 and you are Booker DeWitt, an ex-Pinkerton detective who is sent to find a girl called Elizabeth in exchange for the eradication of an unnamed debt.

The mood is set fairly quickly when a dull, grey, rainy environment is quickly swapped out for a brightly-coloured flying city.

Look at it. LOOK AT IT.

While the flying city, called Columbia, may seem ideal on the surface, things aren't exactly as they seem. While searching for Elizabeth, Booker gets caught up in a revolution that sees the entire city tear itself apart.

The main forces in this revolution are Zachary Comstock, the Christian extremist, founder and overlord of Columbia, and  Daisy Fitzroy, the leader of the revolutionary Vox Populi. However, these are far from the only characters that matter in the game - the world is filled with interesting NPCs with enthralling stories to tell.

The two primary protagonists, Booker and Elizabeth, are engaging and likable. Booker bucks the trend of silent protagonists and has loads of personality beyond an occasional multiple choice flavour text. He's bitter, jaded, and is constantly at war with himself because of his mysterious past crimes.

A mysterious past where he wound up with octopus hands.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, is far from a passive distressed damsel. The first thing she does when she meets you is throw things and threaten to hit you with a heavy book. While she does have a certain amount of naivety, she also has a sardonic edge, which makes her all the more enjoyable to interact with. She's also amazingly expressive, frowning and glaring at Booker in certain points, and reacting appropriately to her surroundings and the narrative.

Quantum mechanics'd in the face!

The gameplay is fun and not overly challenging when I played it on normal. I did "die" infrequently, but the game compensates by throwing the player right back in the action with minimal penalties. There's a sky rail you can zip around on and subsequently jump off and kick people in the face, and there is a great enough variety of guns to make challenges interesting. There is also a series of supernatural abilities called "vigors" which give the player the ability to shoot fire, lightning and a range of other abilities.

For the most part, I was fairly uncreative and stuck with variations on guns and powers, one of which calls a murder of crows to gouge out the eyes of enemies. Good, family fun.

Giant robot George Washington is rated PG. Until he shoots you.

The environment is just beautiful. Even when the environment is supposed to be dark and grimy, it's distinct and colourful. The character design is also superb, ditching the super-realistic look in favour of a more styalised model.

Bioshock Infinite's narrative is great, giving the player enough baring on the story, but not making it feel like things are only happening when you're around to do them. There are some confusing bit that start popping up about 3/4 of the way through, but it's really a minor gripe.

This picture has no real baring on the previous paragraph.

The ending is also something spectacular to behold and left me sitting dumbly at my screen for several minutes, occasionally saying "what?!"

Bioshock Infinite is like a better version of Dishonored, having compelling characters, an enthralling setting, and enjoyable combat.

Plus, giant robot parrot monsters, you guys!

Four stars.

I really gotta get me a 100m-tall statue.