Infinite
-Ben
It's April, for those who haven't noticed (?). Only the fourth month of the year. But this is not just any old time of the year. This is the time of (sometimes cruel) pranks on the first day of the month, quickly followed by us celebrating Jesus Christ's undead rising by having a bunny hop around and hide plastic eggs (again, ?). So, with all of this being said, I guess this is the month of discovery; you "discover" that the unlikely, terrible happening that just occurred is actually just a joke, as well as "discovering" that the grave is empty and "discovering" the hidden plastic eggs. But, friends, this is not an easter post, nor is it any kind of sermon. I just want to tell you about what I found this month and no, it isn't some anthropomorphic bunny; I'd like to tell you about a little old game called BioShock Infinite.
Recently, I posted a review of the much anticipated fourth installment in the Gears of War series, Judgment. For those of you who didn't get a chance to read it, I'll sum in up: the game completely SUCKED. Following all the negativity that I put into that review (of which the game DEFINITELY deserved), I began looking for a game that I was for sure going to give a good review for. Not that I'm biased or anything, but it's more in the light of confidence in the developers behind it. So I decided, why not look to my developer hero: Ken Levine, head of Irrational Games. BioShock Infinite was highly anticpated and with good reason. The original BioShock won multiple game of the year awards and was (and still is) an incredible example of how video games are just as much art as any other medium. So Infinite had a lot to live up to, to put it simply. But it didn't live up to the original.
It surpassed it completely.
Infinite follows a former Pinkerton agent named Booker DeWitt, as he journeys to the floating city of Columbia in order to rescue a girl named Elizabeth. Awh, how noble! Don't get your hopes up...DeWitt has a stake in this; if he can bring back the girl, then a mysterious debt of his will be "wiped away." And this isn't the only thing that's shrouded in darkness about our protagonist. In fact, from the very beginning when you step into Booker's shoes, you hardly know anything about him. That's not a bad thing, though. As you progress through the game, you begin to learn more about who you are in a very unique way: by just being him. Hearing him talk and interact with the people of Columbia (and especially Elizabeth), I learned more about DeWitt than what any prologue could've told me.
Recently, I posted a review of the much anticipated fourth installment in the Gears of War series, Judgment. For those of you who didn't get a chance to read it, I'll sum in up: the game completely SUCKED. Following all the negativity that I put into that review (of which the game DEFINITELY deserved), I began looking for a game that I was for sure going to give a good review for. Not that I'm biased or anything, but it's more in the light of confidence in the developers behind it. So I decided, why not look to my developer hero: Ken Levine, head of Irrational Games. BioShock Infinite was highly anticpated and with good reason. The original BioShock won multiple game of the year awards and was (and still is) an incredible example of how video games are just as much art as any other medium. So Infinite had a lot to live up to, to put it simply. But it didn't live up to the original.
It surpassed it completely.
Infinite follows a former Pinkerton agent named Booker DeWitt, as he journeys to the floating city of Columbia in order to rescue a girl named Elizabeth. Awh, how noble! Don't get your hopes up...DeWitt has a stake in this; if he can bring back the girl, then a mysterious debt of his will be "wiped away." And this isn't the only thing that's shrouded in darkness about our protagonist. In fact, from the very beginning when you step into Booker's shoes, you hardly know anything about him. That's not a bad thing, though. As you progress through the game, you begin to learn more about who you are in a very unique way: by just being him. Hearing him talk and interact with the people of Columbia (and especially Elizabeth), I learned more about DeWitt than what any prologue could've told me.
Like I said earlier, I wasn't really sure why I was rescuing Elizabeth or what debt Booker was in, but as the game progressed, more and more clues and hints of information were leaked to me. There wasn't a single moment where I wanted to stop playing the game; I HAD to know what was going on in this city. And despite being a floating city in the sky, Columbia faintly resembled Rapture (the underwater utopia from the original game). You had a rogue city in some spectacular location, with a leader's name plastered over almost every wall, and you had that nagging feeling that not everything was what it seemed. The two places were similar but definitely not the same. I assure you, this is not BioShock with some new wallpaper.
Whenever I look at a video game, what really can make it or break it for me is the characters and voice acting. This is an aspect where Infinite triumphs over any other game I've ever played. Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper really were astonishing as Booker and Elizabeth, respectively, though I must give extra props to Baker. The intensity and emotion that he gave DeWitt without making him ridiculous or wimpy was just perfect. The characters themselves were complex, intricate, and fascinating. The connection and care that I (as Booker) developed with Elizabeth rivals that of Master Chief and Cortana (Halo) or Lee Everett and Clementine (The Walking Dead).
Whenever I look at a video game, what really can make it or break it for me is the characters and voice acting. This is an aspect where Infinite triumphs over any other game I've ever played. Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper really were astonishing as Booker and Elizabeth, respectively, though I must give extra props to Baker. The intensity and emotion that he gave DeWitt without making him ridiculous or wimpy was just perfect. The characters themselves were complex, intricate, and fascinating. The connection and care that I (as Booker) developed with Elizabeth rivals that of Master Chief and Cortana (Halo) or Lee Everett and Clementine (The Walking Dead).
And don't start to feel like a loser when you start to fall for Elizabeth a bit. Quite frankly, she's COMPLETELY AWESOME. You remember all those times in Halo when you'd get excited and spray bullets all over the place, then run out of ammo and have to go scouting for more? Or worse, having to pick up an alien weapon? Never fear, Elizabeth is here! Whenever
Booker runs low on ammo, health, money, or salt (basically, mana) at the click of a button, she throws you some more in the midst of the fight and you're not taken out of the action.
Which takes me to the combat, which I don't address that often in a game just because I'm more of a story-oriented player. But how can I praise Infinite without bringing up all of it's star players? This was the most fun I ever had in a video game, combat-wise. The sky rails that you use to fly around the city or area added a factor of exhiliartion, one that most people would feel while riding a roller coaster at Disney World. You could jump from the sky rails to slam on top of an enemy then, if they weren't dead after that, finish them off by cutting through them with your skyhook. You think Skyrim has cool kill cams? Or Gears has awesome finishing moves? Pick up Infinite and cut through some tools with that skyhook.
Which takes me to the combat, which I don't address that often in a game just because I'm more of a story-oriented player. But how can I praise Infinite without bringing up all of it's star players? This was the most fun I ever had in a video game, combat-wise. The sky rails that you use to fly around the city or area added a factor of exhiliartion, one that most people would feel while riding a roller coaster at Disney World. You could jump from the sky rails to slam on top of an enemy then, if they weren't dead after that, finish them off by cutting through them with your skyhook. You think Skyrim has cool kill cams? Or Gears has awesome finishing moves? Pick up Infinite and cut through some tools with that skyhook.
The vigors that you used were pretty cool as well. I did notice that I tended to favor only one or two of them throughout the entire game. Some of them, I used when the game told me to try it out and never initiated it again. But this isn't a negative thing; I don't believe it was Irrational's intention to have you use EVERY single one of them. I think they were encouraging different styles of play; I just happened to have the style that loved turning bad guys friendly, then sending them flying with my Bucking Bronco vigor.
You might have noticed that I didn't really touch on the story all that much; at least, not as much as I usually do. Want to know why? It's just too complex. So many factors come into play, especially towards the end of the game. Besides, if I start talking about some of the specifics, I'll get excited about how exceptional it was and spoil it for you. We don't like spoilers. Needless to say: not everything is as it seems...[evil laughter].
You might have noticed that I didn't really touch on the story all that much; at least, not as much as I usually do. Want to know why? It's just too complex. So many factors come into play, especially towards the end of the game. Besides, if I start talking about some of the specifics, I'll get excited about how exceptional it was and spoil it for you. We don't like spoilers. Needless to say: not everything is as it seems...[evil laughter].
Short answer: EVERYTHING about the game is great. Great story, great gameplay, great length, great value. "Awh, but Mr. Ben, $60 is just way too much for a video game." I'll tell you what, I would've payed $100 to play this one. Ken Levine, you have astounded me once more. I know it's just now April, but this one is taking Game of the Year!