Would you care to name a few? The only one that I really liked was Red Dead Redemption narrative..but even that game had a narrative that felt too stretched and prolonged in the mexico section just to bloat the game.
Well Red Dead Redemption has a solid (by game standard) narrative, but in terms of writing, the Grand Theft Auto series is known for its high quality satire and parodies, with individual scenes being quite hilarious and on point. That's not to say I think GTA games have great overall plots, but that the individual writing can provide some pretty dark and concise commentary on the modern American dream.
I have to view game stories in the full light, because so many of them are terrible. Like I've said many times before, I only hold like 5 to maybe 10 games at BEST in high regard (as in, a good story even compared to other mediums like tv or books or movies), so I probably view game stories from a very different perspective.
My perspective is "well, what DOESN'T suck about the story?" Since most games have terrible stories, I usually pick up elements I enjoy as representative for what I'd like in a game that is the total package story-wise. Games like Grim Fandango and Planescape Torment are two of the few games ever made that are great total packages from a writing/narrative perspective. The other games I enjoy tend to be interpretive affairs, with limited writing and more visual direction.
Bioshock Infinite is closer to Grim Fandango in terms of overall story execution, but it's not quite at that height. I feel since the draw was in the world design and atmosphere, exploring the entire world might make the narrative far more engrossing. But that's just me...
Yeah I quite enjoyed the combat in Infinite. If we're comparing it to your usual modern shooter campaign, I think it's superior to a laughable extent. I'd easily take it over most of your modern military shooters, for instance. I actually felt that way about Mass Effect 3's combat relative to your typical TPS combat, despite the huge problems I have with that series as a whole; let's just say that Gears of War or Uncharted # whatever vs Mass Effect 3 combat is an easy decision for me.
And as the guys at Irrational apparently have three separate significant bits of DLC in the works, I wouldn't mind one of those being centered around the combat, preferably with some Skyline action.
Yeah, I agree. It's not that I don't understand some of the criticisms on the surface level, as individual systems on their own tend not to go too far in Bioshock Infinite... there is a considerable level of room for added depth, in other words. But this is definitely a game where the sum total must be added up and evaluated, I think, because the systems work in conjunction to add a level of variety and flexibility that definitely surpass the majority of FPS today. Enemies react palpably to your shots, guns are appropriately weighty and can be upgraded (and thus your strategy will differ from game to game) and vigors add a level of customization to your approach to battle which elevates it. The vigors are much more effective than Plasmids, for example, as every one of them can be used as traps which work hella well.
When you combine the basic gunplay mechanics with the 'battle enhancers', like the way Elizabeth can open up various strategic tears (Patriots/Decoys/Rockets/Turrets/Cover/Med Kits/Various Weapons) and the way you can utilize skyrails to your advantage (or disadvantage, depending on the enemy) formulate a complete picture that is really quite engaging by genre standards.
There is definitely room for improvements, particularly with enemy variety and with the level of creativity regarding the weapons themselves, but I feel they were effective at what they set out to do.
When people said they didn't feel Bioshock Infinite should be a shooter I understand the sentiment but I genuinely would not have enjoyed it as much if it wasn't.
Yeah one dissapointing thing was the hugely missed opportunity to use Elizabeth's powers and vigors for puzzles which could open up for a more metroidvania esque design.
Man that would have been so rad. My biggest disappointment with Infinite was when I found out how limited the skyrails are in terms of their utilization for exploration. It was a really missed opportunity
