Bioshock Infinite and Eon Old Credos

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(Edited)

Its been seven years since the game was released and I'm still having difficulties getting over how great of a game BioShock infinite was.

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2013 was one of the most successful years for the gaming industry as it had the highest number of triple "A" releases if calculated throughout the last decade. In such annuls, major titles face hardship holding their piece in the market. And Irrational Games compared to the other major league players like Bethesda or Naughty Dog or Rockstar games didn't have such a strong fan base until Bioshock Infinite came along. In the first two months of release, it had sold almost 4 million copies worldwide. And more than 1 million online purchases. It was a god Year for Ken Levine, the creative director of the game, but for me, not so much.

When you're a teen belonging to a middle-class family living in a developing country in the year of 2013, spending 40 bucks for a mere game looks foolish. I was never a gamer, but exploring the vast simulated universe's lore was always fascinating. And if it's the first-person shooter with steampunk dystopia as its genre, nothing can beat it in its exclusiveness. I saw the trailer almost six months after the game was released, and I had to have it. I had already played Bioshock 1 and 2 the previous year and was determined to buy it in any way possible. Likewise, I started saving up from whatever little allowance I had, but it would've taken me 4-5 months. So, in came my cousin to save me.

This guy, currently studying in China, is a master at sleight of hands. Our semester break had almost ended when he gave us a surprise visit. He was never so enthusiastic about games in general, but I hyped him in hopes that he would contribute and join me in my endeavor. He did that and more. The next day, he had gone to a GameStop in a nearby mall, picked up a bunch of games, BioShock Infinite included, copied them in my PC, and then again returned them, all the while it was unbeknownst to me. This is an entirely true story, and my peers can testify on my behalf, lol. It's easy to play any game due to the courtesy of kind-hearted thieves and pirates on the internet. But I didn't have a Wi-Fi connection back then. And so, buying it for real was the only option.

Synopsis:


Bioshock Infinite is a first-person shooter that revolves around philosophy, morphed world order, and totalitarian exceptionalism as much as it is an action game. The protagonist of our story Is Booker Dewitt. A Dishonorably Discharged Ex Pinkerton agent now a Privet detective is hired by mysterious Lutece twins. His task is to go to the floating city of Columbia and rescue a girl named Elizabeth. As the game suggested at the beginning, Booker had some sort of debt towards the Luteces, and his repayment was to bring the girl to them.

The game opens with Booker riding on a boat towards a lighthouse while it's being rowed by one of the twins. As the boat docs, they leave him there, saying to not return until he gets Elizabeth. He then ventures out in the lighthouse. As he climbs the stairs leading to the top, some strange religious excerpts could be seen here and there. When he reaches the top and touches the door, the clouds above literally start flashing red lights while a strange siren-like sound could be heard like some sort of Morse code. And then the lighthouse starts flashing back. After the exchange of weird disco lights finishes, the door in front of Dewitt opens up to reveal a red chair. As he sits on it, he is engulfed by that resembles a rocket ship. A confused Booker tries to escape, but the ship takes off towards the sky, and as it penetrates the clouds, a massive floating city can be seen in front.

From there, the game progresses in a manner that is similar to Bioshock One and two.

Gameplay:


The gameplay is almost similar to the previous installments—the same weapons and abilities but with different names. Like what was previously called ADAM in the earlier games is now called Vigor. But the main difference is in the controls of the previous game were limited to set-pieces as the underwater city of Rapture had limited spaces to move around. But the city of Colombia is high up above in the sky. SO the actions, fighting, and cut scenes are more broad and dynamic.

Besides that, two more tools are a little too exciting. In games like Tomb Raider or Uncharted, zip lines and grappling hooks are very relevant plot material. This game's creative designers completely revamped that same setup and named it Skyhook.

The primary method of transportation in the fictional city of Colombia is a Rollercoaster like a train system named Skyline. Both the Skyhook and the Skyline can combinedly be used as both ziplining and grappling hook. Giving it more of that Steampunk aesthetics.

Another unique attribute of its gameplay is the AI that is used for Elizabeth. It's designed to help booker whenever he needs it. Like most similar games, food replenishes health, and similar resources do the same for the abilities. What Elizabeth does is, she can sense when Booker is out of ammo or supplies. While he is in combat, she will collect them and throw them to Booker for his use. And these simple attention to detail makes the game all the more fun. Because the main attraction of the first-person shooter is to go guns blazing. And Elizabeth adds such a depth to that.

Sceenshots:


To date, I have played this game like seven to eight times because of the fascinating story. The team at Irrational games had outdone themselves. But like every other time traveling and parallel universe plots, this one too has its little flaws. That is because technology is not specified and limited to any one mode of a power source. Only for the aesthetics value, Bioshock Franchise is heavily dependent on the Steampunk theme. And at times, it feels too much forced, making the feel characters out of depth. But Bioshock infinite kind of held it well, and until the very end, you can never guess how it's going to turn out. And the game design, along with the background music, makes it one of the best games ever to be produced.


All the ScreenShots are taken from xboxachievements.com



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