Ever since Bioshock Infinite was announced with a teaser trailer almost two years ago, fans have been awaiting the return of the Bioshock series rather feverishly. Unlike the previous two games in the series, Infinite takes you out of the deep blue sea and into the skyward city of Columbia, and it looks absolutely awesome.
You play Booker DeWitt, a former agent with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency who is hired to bring in a young woman by the name of Elizabeth. She holds a great deal of importance to the citizens of Columbia who are on the brink of civil war over her. She holds a superb array of telepathy powers which she demonstrates to Booker at one point, awkwardly opening up a portal that shows events that will happen decades from now, moving the timeline forward from 1912 to 1983. But it’s a brief display as more trouble awaits.
Along with facing hooligans throughout the city who want Elizabeth for themselves, Booker also runs into the Songbird, a gigantic winged metal creature that serves as the watchguard over Elizabeth. The emotionally intelligent creature keeps a close eye on its captor, and Elizabeth would rather die than be in its captivity – something that Booker tries desperately to avoid. Unfortunately, the battle is far greater than he realizes.
Upon glimpsing on the gameplay from Bioshock Infinite, you can see why it’s so highly anticipated. The game introduces most of the same mechanics as the original Bioshock game including plenty of first person shooting action and the return of plasmids and tonics. These buffs act just as they would in previous games by giving you a number of powers, and if that weren’t enough, Infinite introduces a new mode of transportation known as the Skyline.
These sky rails are interconnected across the city and at any given point you can use a rail rider to glide along these modes of transit, getting around in a hurry and even leaving a hand free to engage in battle against enemies. We’ve seen some of these rides in action and they introduce a visceral new part of the game. Just don’t mistime those jumps of you fall into the empty abyss below!
Like previous Bioshock games, Irrational Games is making sure that Infinite is loaded with style but also a great deal of substance as far as the story is concerned. You feel an emotional connection with Elizabeth over the course of the game, particularly when you first run into the Songbird who opts to kill you before she pleads otherwise.
More importantly, you feel the ambience around the city itself, including banners featuring a political opponent named Comstock and the plight of the refugees trying to kill you. Granted, that won’t stop you from pulling out your weapon and doing some damage, but you can definitely see the style come pouring through this game just as it did in the original Bioshock.
Even though the footage we saw was from an earlier build of the game, Bioshock Infinite is a dazzler. Everything is jaw-dropping as you cruise through the expansive city. Outstanding character models (you can see the emotion pouring down Elizabeth’s face as she’s carried away by the Songbird) and a sharp frame rate keep things engaging, even when you’re rolling around the city at high speeds on the Skyline. The action is also non-stop with a variety of weapons to choose from and some rather explosive effects, particularly when you try to bring down a pirate frigate from way up high. Watching it go down in flames is a big highlight.
Ken Levine and his team at Irrational are putting a painstaking amount of work into both the presentation and the gameplay so that it will not only meet the Bioshock style, but possibly exceed it with this amazing new world. We won’t have to wait too long into 2013 for its arrival as the team is trying to shoot for a first quarter release. Let’s see what unfolds in the world of Columbia…
