I wrote a review of the game. You may read it below, its basically spoiler free.
During my first playthrough of Bioshock Infinite I was already planning how my review would be about how I felt the first Bioshock was better. As I kept playing I enjoyed Infinite more and more for what it was and stopped worrying what it wasn't. I still feel the original is slightly better but that won't be the focus of this review, instead I will focus on why Infinite is the best game released so far this year.
Lets get some of the obvious stuff out of the way, the shooting in Infinite isn't the best shooting you are going to find in a FPS. This game follows the Bioshock DNA so if that game didn't do it for you odds are this one won't either. That said the shooting is a bit more frantic in Infinite than it was in Bioshock. The action moves at a far quicker pace with lots more enemies on screen than before. Weapon variety is upped a bit and you can still upgrade them but never is the focus of the game the guns. The shooting works well enough it simply won't to be an aspect anyone points to and says "man I loved the shooting in Infinite". One switch up to this game is the removal of the weapon wheel for the Halo two weapon switch. At first I hated the idea but as the game went on it was basically not even a factor, it actually makes you more aware of what weapons you need for each situation.
The reason this game works so well are the vigor powers and all the other new aspects they throw into the gameplay to create a shooter that plays like no game before it. At first it feels like the vigors aren't that powerful or not that interesting but as the game progresses and you delve deeper into the entire magic system the possibilities that open up crush what is possible in the first Bioshock. Vigor combos allow you to combine two different attacks to create all sorts of side effects. One vigor lets you levitate enemies in air well if you shoot them with electricity it chains to all the floating enemies. Hit an enemy with a murder of crows and that will stun them but put the crows on fire with your fire spell and now they fly around burning everyone. Or possess an enemy then hit him with electricity making him an electrified ally stunning enemies. I don't want to spoil some of the later vigors but they can completely change the way you approach all combat situations.
Then there are the much advertised sky rails where you can ride rails in the sky like a rollercoaster. You will hear others speak about how these moments where under used (they were) or that they don't impact the gameplay much, well only if you don't want it to. Bioshock Infinite is all about choices, you can play like a boring shooter if you want or go nuts with powers. You can stay on the ground all the time or decide to fly around like a wizard spiderman. At first the sky rail seems a bit disorienting making you wonder if this can ever be used effectively, oh yes it can. In the largest battles you will normally have skyrails running in a closed loop which take you to all sorts of higher or lower ground areas that all have some combat related item to help out. But the skyrails aren't all about getting from one place to another, if you want you can use it to rain down rockets from above or quickly get away from some enemy explosion. The freedom provided in it's quick movement totally changes the dynamic of a fight where the skyrails are present but again they aren't the norm which is a shame.
To further add to the combat you have your partner Elizabeth who can summon objects f right into a battle. Sometimes you can spawn cover from thin air or better yet a giant gun turret that is on your side. The biggest gun battles have many spawn sites for you to choose from but you may only have one open at a time so switching to what you need is key. I cannot tell you how thrilling it is to be in the middle of a battle where you are running low on health so you jump on a skyrail race up to a point where Elizabeth can summon in health, you get the health just as five rockets are headed your way but you summon cover right in front of you to prevent damage. Elizabeth also can throw you health, salts or ammo at any moment, usually when you need it most. When everything comes together it is simply magical, the situations you will find yourself getting out of are so insane, I could not wait to see what the game had in store next.
There is one more element which seems rather overlooked that can vastly change the way you approach combat and those are the gears, basically clothing that gives you certain powers. These range wildly from giving you health when you perform a melee kill to giving you a 30% damage bonus when on skyrails. When you combine these gears in ways that compliment each other you can potentially create an absolute power house. You can have all sorts of skyrail enhancements which can make you a semi invincible, fire ball of death from above. You can go the all melee route which when combined with a certain vigor can basically break the game because it is so powerful. Yes breaking the game can be a negative and they probably should look into patching it but just the fact that this game gives you that much freedom to adjust the strengths of your character shows how much depth there is to the gameplay. I kind of love how what gears you acquire are totally random, play the game any number of times and you never know what gears you will get and when, kind of adds to the chaos of it all (and ties in nicely with the story).
So as you can tell I loved the combat, I could not wait to start a new playthrough the second I finished it the first time. Most of my early complaints about how the first Bioshock let you set up traps and how the combat felt more intimate in the first melted away as I started to understand the deeper layers of the combat in Infinite. Yet combat is but one aspect of this game, the level design and pacing is also hugely important. I would say it is similar to the original in both aspects, especially in game length as this game is very meaty. Infinite draws you into its world in the sky in expect fashion, instantly making you want to see more. As you go further into this society you begin to see the horrors that take place. Now it's not HORROR like the first game, this is more social horrors which can be just as effective. The overall atmosphere created for this game is top notch, some games just make you Ohh and Ahh at how pretty something is and others make you feel a part of the world, this is definitely the latter. There is incredible level of detail in every new area you encounter, never does it feel like a cut and paste job.
I would say this game is more Bioshock 2 than Bioshock 1 in design as its not a Metroid like grid that you can sort of go back and forth through. This game is more linear than the original but has much larger and interconnected areas than Bioshock 2, so it strikes a balance between the two. Which is great as it eliminates backtracking but keeps the element of exploration. Where it lacks is in the moment to moment encounters which never feel as well thought out as in the original. I felt like there was less enemy variety in this game which is exchanged for many more enemies on screen. These enemies are bullet sponges and don't react to specific body shots except the head shot. You will not find any enemy as interesting as the Big Daddy, this games version of the Big Daddy is a simple big brute that always charges as you. There is also a huge lack of boss battles and the one that this game sort of has is far more annoying than good.
If there is one area that I can point to and say this game needs work on is right here with its enemy design and battle scenarios. The best battles are the most chaotic ones when all elements of the combat are present but even then it feels like the devs simply throw in a bunch of enemies so you can have fun. And fun I did have but man I would so want a little more variety in the design of these combat moments. There is this giant bird that you have probably seen from the trailers, think of all the great boss battle or amazing chase scenarios you can create with a monster like that; I am sad to say nothing comes of it. It is that missing element of surprise or out of the box thinking that holds back this game from really being an all out masterpiece. Oh and it doesn't help that there are practically no puzzles or any meaningful exploration to be had. You would think with all these powers one can make some really cool puzzles, nope. Maybe I am asking too much, for a FPS to be more than just a FPS, I don't know.
Ok now it is time to delve into the much talked about story. My review is not here to sell that the story makes the game, to me there is plenty of gameplay reasons that makes this game worthy of praise but I will say that this story does help make the overall experience a very memorable one. The best compliment I can give is to say it has a story that makes you want to talk about it with other people that have finished the game. I do not say that often about any game as most games I forget what happened in the story the second I turn off the power. It is my favorite kind of story, heavy sci-fi but still character driven. All the characters are memorable and fleshed out. Elizabeth is amazing, like a Disney Princess thrown into this horrible nightmarish world with a trained killer as her guide. The twists and turns keep you wanting to see what is next and the final payoff is so good I would say even if you don't want to play the game watch someone play it.
Graphically the game is showing the age of the current gen systems. It looks amazing don't get me wrong, I just don't think there is anything in there that really made me go wow like the first one did. The music is exceptional, early contender for soundtrack of the year. The original score amplifies every emotion you are supposed to feel in every scene. The licensed music is used in such interesting ways, tying in perfectly into the story. There are some great famous songs in there but they might not sound like what you are used to, just genius.
Those looking for replay value or content just know that there is nothing but an unlockable hard mode. The game is extremely meaty taking a good 15 hours to finish. If you are like me you are going to want to do it all over again. I played the game using the PS Move almost exclusively. Outside some button layout issues the move functionality works great. To me it freed up the controls a bit which allowed me to do certain actions easier than normal. If you never liked motion controls for FPSs this game won't change your mind but if you are like me and prefer IR aiming far more than twin sticks then this game is perfect for it.
Bioshock Infinite does so much right it is one of those games you can hold up to judge others. The story, music, gameplay, atmosphere all come together and work as one to create one incredible gaming experience. While we do have many more of those kinds of games lately, to the point where people are complaining about how games are too overproduced now; I feel the gameplay of Infinite is so dynamic that it holds its own even when striped down of other elements. I don't think this game will leave the impact the first did but it is clearly one of the best games to come out in recent time.
