Bioshock Infinite - Review Thread [UP: IGN exclusive split PC/Console review up]

The RPS review is really excellent.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/03/25/bioshock-infinite-pc-review/

These guys are definitely my favorite reviewers right now. You can tell they feel a real responsibility to make sure they aren't being adversely affected by hype or previous assumptions.

Infinite’s a triumph in terms of fantasy-architecture spectacle and bringing superb flexibility to the modern rollercoaster shooter, but in other respects it’s a small step down from the player agency and even the singular aesthetic of BioShock. Not that it necessarily needs to, as it is most certainly a high-aiming game in its own right rather than mere offspring, but I’m not convinced it will live quite as long in our collective memory as did/does its parent. It sure does make me want to use superlatives like ‘majestic’, ‘lavish’ and ‘spectacular’ over and over again, though.
 
8 from Gamekult. Mmm interesting.
I couldn't get past the first two first hours in the first one. I didn't like the look of the enemies and the shooting was a bit too old-school like Doom 3 or something.
But I like the colorful setting, the girl and the skyline stuff here. Will wait for a price drop nonetheless, can't buy a FPS full price.
 
Sesslers review is one of the best reviews I have seen in a long time.

I agree. I actually put it into my favorites folder because it was superb in how it presented everything. You can tell they spent a lot of time just crafting the review so it had a balance of talking about the story and gameplay and why both are seminal.
 
8 from Gamekult. Mmm interesting.
I couldn't get past the first two first hours in the first one. I didn't like the look of the enemies and the shooting was a bit too old-school like Doom 3 or something.
But I like the colorful setting, the girl and the skyline stuff here. Will wait for a price drop nonetheless, can't buy a FPS full price.

I feel pretty much exactly the same, except all the 10s and the amazing story are really making me consider it. I'm a sucker for hype and good stories...
 
Gaming journalists find new ways for me to despise what they do with each new game they review. They literally sound like fucking art critics at this point.

THE HYPERBOLE.

you realise that you are not the main character in any real sense. She is. She always has been. She always will be. It's her journey. You're just along for the ride. Still: what a ride.

And it’s given us a city in the sky that reflects upon the one beneath the waves.

But for everything it has to say, for all the questions it asks —many of which have no easy answers

as proof of exactly what a videogame can mean to a person

Are these guys trying to win Pulitzer prizes or something? Why can't reviews just be two paragraphs long, give us a jist of the game, without acting dramatic about it?
 
So how many of these reviews mention that the mouse acceleration and broken mouse controls from the first two games still persist in numero 3 despite a 100 million dollar budget?

I think I know the answer already...

The RPS review was decent but self indulgently verbose at several points
You have to always look at who wrote the article if you want to get good use out of RPS, a few of them (like alec meer) will generally shit out 3 pages of creative writing exercise with less usefull information than a better writer could condense into one pargraph.
I've seen articles from him where he managed to not say a single useful or meaningful thing about the game.
You'll read it all and still have no idea of how it plays, how polished it is, what might put you off or what you might enjoy or what the mechanics are.
 
After all the talk of troubled development it is nice to hear this game getting so much praise. Can't wait to dig into it tomorrow.
 
THE HYPERBOLE.









Are these guys trying to win Pulitzer prizes or something? Why can't reviews just be two paragraphs long, give us a jist of the game, without acting dramatic about it?

It's like they are on drugs or something :lol

I mean I like Eurogamer for example, but whenever a big game comes out every website turns crazy - they are way better at reviewing "smaller" games
 
It's like they are on drugs or something :lol

I mean I like Eurogamer for example, but whenever a big game comes out every website turns crazy - they are way better at reviewing "smaller" games

I'm ready to go back to this. It's better than having to read that stuff:

gamepro_ratings.png
 
Goddammit Sessler, that review was immaculate. My backlog is too big I don't need to be buying a new $60 dollar game. . . goddammit.

My backlog is so big I am just now getting around to playing the origional Bioshock and I have the game and season pass preordered.
 
I like the NYT review:

To be fair, in a less ambitious game — and a less fully realized one — these absurd fictions wouldn’t be so objectionable. BioShock Infinite is confirmation that in the hands of the right creators, video games are the most sophisticated form of not just interactive entertainment, but of multimedia storytelling as well.
 
THE HYPERBOLE.

(DEAR GOD)

Are these guys trying to win Pulitzer prizes or something? Why can't reviews just be two paragraphs long, give us a jist of the game, without acting dramatic about it?

tumblr_me8kmdwWrv1qh2d04o1_400.gif


This is why my negativity is well-founded. Reviews that include this kind of writing are very hard to take seriously; They've gone beyond giving me their opinion and have progressed to POETICALLY FELLATING THE GAME.
Can you guys make your prose a little less purple and focus on rationale about what works well and why, please? God almighty.
 
One of the games has no imitator of substance within the gaming landscape and the other is so different they have to tell people to forget gaming conventions they are used to.

Cookie cutter indeed.

Eh, GTA will be another GTA, and The Last of Us seems like a slower paced Uncharted with zombies. :P
 
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_me8kmdwWrv1qh2d04o1_400.gif[/ig]

This is why my negativity is well-founded. Reviews that include this kind of writing are very hard to take seriously; They've gone beyond giving me their opinion and have progressed to POETICALLY FELLATING THE GAME.
Can you guys make your prose a little less purple and focus on rationale about what works well and why, please? God almighty.[/QUOTE]

Let's just choose to ignore some of that then. It doesn't stop the widespread praise from being true.

I'm glad it's reviewing well and I'm a total hater of the first 2 games.
 
My backlog is so big I am just now getting around to playing the origional Bioshock and I have the game and season pass preordered.

It hurts but I think I'm going to hold off, just can't justify dropping $60 bucks on the game when I got games piling up in my backlog. If only I didn't already own Bioshock 1 and X-Com that GMG deal would have been irresistible.
 
So how many of these reviews mention that the mouse acceleration and broken mouse controls from the first two games still persist in numero 3 despite a 100 million dollar budget?

I think I know the answer already...


You have to always look at who wrote the article if you want to get good use out of RPS, a few of them (like alec meer) will generally shit out 3 pages of creative writing exercise with less usefull information than a better writer could condense into one pargraph.
I've seen articles from him where he managed to not say a single useful or meaningful thing about the game.
You'll read it all and still have no idea of how it plays, how polished it is, what might put you off or what you might enjoy or what the mechanics are.

Agreed, though I at least skim Alec's articles when they come up. Walker's shit I completely ignore.
 
reviews of high profile video games are now merely used as ways for reviewers to show how intelligent and good at words they are

Obviously it works.. look at all the "Sessler is a genius!" posts or "the reviews made me buy this game!" posts.
 
Obviously it works.. look at all the "Sessler is a genius!" posts or "the reviews made me buy this game!" posts.

Yeah I have to question whether people actually know what the hell they're reading. They come off as people seeing big words and being impressed just because they're big words, and somehow that translates into "well now I HAVE to buy this! Did you see all of those words he used? That means it's really good".
 
To be honest all these reviews are analyzing the game on a very superficial manner in gameplay and story. While some dp try to do more it becomes filled with hyperboles, and often can't be taken seriously.
 
Yeah I have to question whether people actually know what the hell they're reading. They come off as people seeing big words and being impressed just because they're big words, and somehow that translates into "well now I HAVE to buy this! Did you see all of those words he used? That means it's really good".

The majority don't. That's why the business still works the way it does.

I don't see the problem with a game that's clearly aspiring to be art being treated as such.

The only things that I'd wanna know about a game like this are whether or not the shooting/combat is good enough to have to see now and whether or not there's any replay-ability to justify the price tag. Otherwise, it's another $20 in 2 months title. Art can wait. So can all the big adjectives.
 
Top Bottom