Support NeoGAF

[HP_Wuvcraft]

Eh, some stuff is fleshed out in audio logs IIRC. Handy Men are basically people that were sick and going to die, who have been placed into life support suits by Fink (and forced to work for him or something like that).

Song Bird is literally just a flying Big Daddy. They got the idea through a tear to rapture.

Vigors are literally just plasmids (but Fink changed them up a bit), and they also discovered them from a tear to rapture.

I definitely agree that there are characters and plot threads that end up fairly worthless once everything is said and done. I still enjoyed it a lot though—replaying it on PC made me enjoy it more.

Here's how I felt about it:

Overall story = Great
Act 1 Plot = Great
Act 2 Plot = Shitty
Act 3 Plot = Good

 

[Bronx-Man]

My biggest problem with B:I is just how dumbed-down the gameplay feels compared to BioShock. The gunplay is weak, you can't plan any any traps for Handymen like the Big Daddies, vigors and the sky-hook might as be pointless, and the "game" itself is just walking to different spots and playing horde mode for 10-12 hours. GAF wants to talk about the No Man's Sky dude lied about the game? How about we talk about Ken Levine and how you can't do the half the shit seen in the E3 demo?

And then we got the story. A couple of depictions of racism, xenophobia, class warfare that mostly exists to have Elizabeth going "Booker, people are MEAN to each other?!" and Booker going "Yeah but who gives a fuck, let's move on". Top that off with one of the worst uses of "both sides are bad" storytelling I've ever seen in a video game and an ending that throws all of the shit from earlier away to focus on some quantum physics shit that not even Levine understood.

It's gorgeous as hell and has a great cover of God Only Knows but it's one of the most disappointing games I played last gen. Shame considering how much I loved BioShock.

And yeah yeah, the game can get fucked for everything involved Daisy/the Vox Populi.

 

[Fury451]

And yeah yeah, the game can get fucked for everything involved Daisy/the Vox Populi.

They throw a Hail Mary of epic proportions in the DLC with a retcon of that the painted Daisy in a positive light.

Let's forget how that doesn't at all match the characterization of her throughout the entire game though; it only retcons one specific action of hers to make her less monstrous, because she needs to do that so Elizabeth can become her true self of "determinism" I guess. Regardless of what they try to spin it as the Vox came across as just as bad, if not worse in many ways than the already cartoonishly awful people of Columbia.

I get that they're going for the whole history repeats, violence begets violence, cycles and all of that stuff, it's pretty blatant in its themes about it; but I'm not really sure what the point to be made is, because it seems like it's trying to make one, but if you break it all down it comes across as a very nihilistic story.

 

[InsaneTiger]

My biggest problem with B:I is just how dumbed-down the gameplay feels compared to BioShock. The gunplay is weak, you can't plan any any traps for Handymen like the Big Daddies, vigors and the sky-hook might as be pointless, and the "game" itself is just walking to different spots and playing horde mode for 10-12 hours. GAF wants to talk about the No Man's Sky dude lied about the game? How about we talk about Ken Levine and how you can't do the half the shit seen in the E3 demo?

And then we got the story. A couple of depictions of racism, xenophobia, class warfare that mostly exists to have Elizabeth going "Booker, people are MEAN to each other?!" and Booker going "Yeah but who gives a fuck, let's move on". Top that off with one of the worst uses of "both sides are bad" storytelling I've ever seen in a video game and an ending that throws all of the shit from earlier away to focus on some quantum physics shit that not even Levine understood.

It's gorgeous as hell and has a great cover of God Only Knows but it's one of the most disappointing games I played last gen. Shame considering how much I loved BioShock.

And yeah yeah, the game can get fucked for everything involved Daisy/the Vox Populi.

This.

Also, I think this guy does a pretty good of summing up Infinite.

https://youtu.be/GJ2cSKBFBDQ

 

[100%TrophyMaster]

The opening of the game is exceptionally well done. I really enjoyed the story up to the point where you

Spoiler

start traveling through alternative realities

. Just seemed to fall apart after that. Last 1/3rd of the game didn't have the same impact as the first few hours.
Overall I enjoyed the game--I really feel like they missed a pretty big opportunity to have multiplayer like BS2. Can you imagine all the craziness of people flying around on the skylines? Would have been amazing.

 

[QuantumSquid]

This.

Also, I think this guy does a pretty good of summing up Infinite.

https://youtu.be/GJ2cSKBFBDQ

That's a good video. I think this guy goes a pretty good job too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdNhwb7iuI4

The opening of the game is exceptionally well done. I really enjoyed the story up to the point where you

Spoiler

start traveling through alternative realities

. Just seemed to fall apart after that. Last 1/3rd of the game didn't have the same impact as the first few hours.
Overall I enjoyed the game--I really feel like they missed a pretty big opportunity to have multiplayer like BS2. Can you imagine all the craziness of people flying around on the skylines? Would have been amazing.

I believe Infinite was supposed to have multiplayer until it got scrapped due to development hell stuff.

 

[TyrantII]

I feel Matthewmatosis critique on the game sums up my feelings for it rather well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdNhwb7iuI4

Yup, and that's why the story was pretentious nonsense.

It didn't even follow its own rules.

 

[rackham]

The soundtrack and graphics carried that game further than it should have gone. I hated the Lady Comstock parts and the beginning with the rock and interracial couple ended up being lame as fuck when nothing comes from it.

 

[Horseticuffs]

Since the Collection came out I've been replaying the series, and it ALL really holds up. Bioshock 1 was better than I recalled. Maybe I just paid better attention this time. I haven't played 2 ever, but certainly will. After spending so much time in Rapture I needed a break and moved on to other games. Forza. Gears 4. A few others.

Now I'm going through Infinite. I'll say this; Infinite touched me like no other game I'd played at the time. As a father in particular, and as a human in general, I really related to Booker. Who hasn't done things they regret in their lives?

Now, replaying it, I'm appreciating it along the exact same lines. I'm very much into the Parallel Universe angle. The city, atmosphere, and characters are all intensely memorable for me.

I'm just totally in love with the game. It's plain that it is quite controversial, and I'm okay with that. Personally it is in my top three games of all time.

 

[Fahzgoolin]

It's just a bad game. Couldn't stand it.

 

[ZAMtendo]

Thank you for making me understand why I wasn't a big fan of the game. It's full of plotholes and insignificant story. I thought maybe I missed something but maybe not...

 

[sertopico]

Game was unfinished probably due to lack of time (the early gameplay footage showed a lot of great sections which did not appear in the final game), that's why it looks so inconsistent sometimes, storywise and gameplaywise.
I think the concept of a city made out of many distinct floating islands sums up pretty well the state of the final release, many good ideas but a quite perceivable missing thread which unifies them all.

In any case I enjoyed playing it, some moments were amazing anyway.

 

[Dalibor68]

I agree. BioShock 1 and 2 felt "deep"(not so much compared to SS2 tho, I know) and the gameplay had a bit of this immersion-sim vibe. Infinite just felt hollow all around and was dumbed down to a 08/15 shooter. Plasmids in 1 and 2 were awesome, interesting and useful, in Infinite I barely used Vigors at all.

 

[Barrow Roll]

They actually did have a reason. Like most of the more nuanced story points it was hidden in the collectable tapes and emergent gameplay in side rooms.

Jeremiah Fink basically stole them from Rapture through the tears, along with much of the technology that made him the titan of Columbia. Likewise, his brother stole music from the ages through tears and reappropriated them for the period.

It actually one of the side story points that I thought was well done, and tied in well with the mutliverse jumping

Infinite definitely explained the "how" of Vigors, but fails to explain the "why." Bioshock does this by presenting a city where the shackles of morality have been lifted from science, everyone is trying to improve themselves and ultimately the fall of Rapture is linked closely with Adam, Plasmids, and splicing. Bioshock Infinite never presents any convincing reasons for why Vigors exist in Columbia, nor do we ever see any civilians using Vigors, and if I recall correctly we get a grand total of 1 enemy type that uses Vigors. Vigors are just sort of there, awkwardly transplanted from Bioshock. Perhaps that was the intention given the nature of their conception in Columbia, and if it is, I don't feel that it adds anything meaningful to the story or world of Bioshock Infinite.

 

[AllenShrz]

A bad game all around.

I blame myself for trusting the studio and buying the game at release date for full price and play it to the end, wasting my time doing so.

 

[Jombie]

If there was ever game people loved tearing apart.

 

[NaM]

System shock is the only worth playing /veryoldman

 

[Ordinaryundone]

Infinite definitely explained the "how" of Vigors, but fails to explain the "why." Bioshock does this by presenting a city where the shackles of morality have been lifted from science, everyone is trying to improve themselves and ultimately the fall of Rapture is linked closely with Adam, Plasmids, and splicing. Bioshock Infinite never presents any convincing reasons for why Vigors exist in Columbia, nor do we ever see any civilians using Vigors, and if I recall correctly we get a grand total of 1 enemy type that uses Vigors. Vigors are just sort of there, awkwardly transplanted from Bioshock. Perhaps that was the intention given the nature of their conception in Columbia, and if it is, I don't feel that it adds anything meaningful to the story or world of Bioshock Infinite.

This one is actually fairly easy to explain away when you think of Vigors in the city as being a fairly new thing. Like, maybe so new that the fair you walk in on at the beginning is actually introducing them for the first time to the people (which is why they are handing out free samples and test runs). There was no thought of how they would be implemented in civilian life yet, or what the long term ramifications were. Fink just stole an idea to make a quick buck. I imagine it was similar to back when plasmids first got introduced to Rapture; lots of people going hog wild with them before anyone realized the consequences. That's also why we do have a few Vigor users, but no Splicers yet. It was probably intentional, really, to do it this way. It means either Fink is a callous asshole who, despite knowing about the negative effects of Plasmids/Vigors decided to sell them anyway. Or it means he's an idiot who rushed these products without testing them because it was easier than doing the work himself. Both of which fit with his characterization, to contrast with Suchong/Tenenbaum, who are fully aware of the side effects and consequences of Plasmid research but pursue it for their own reasons.

But yeah, if you want straight up backstory the Vigors don't connect to Columbia because, technically, they are literally just plasmids by a different name and their backstory was explained in Bioshock. Despite the radically different settings they ARE part of the same universe and Infinite is technically a prequel (same timequel?) to Bioshock. If you wanted to get thematic you could say that Rapture invented Plasmids because their morality was unshackled by scientific pursuit, while Columbia's morals are unshackled by religious conviction and nationalism.