Kevin Shields
Member
I just made a Bioshock 2 thread and I didn't want to do another, but after finishing the main game I couldn't help it. Now I did redbox Infinite on release day, but I rushed through it and played it on Easy, so this playthrough really felt like the first time I really gave the game a chance. I got to listen to all the audio tapes and really take in the experience.
Now what I mean by last three hours are after the Lady Comstock fights which were admittedly not my favorite parts of the game. However once you make your way to the Comstock House, the game made me play straight through and not even go to the bathroom cause I was so into it. I'll explain why those last three hours were the among the best I've ever played...
Gameplay
Bioshock Infinite gets shit on a lot for its supposed mediocre to bad gameplay. The first time I played it through (on easy) I thought it was fine, but nothing special. However, playing on Hard, I really appreciated the gameplay even though it needed some tweaks here and there. A major one being I really wish they could have integrated a weapon wheel and given some alternate ammo.
The last three hours were exquisite though because you had all your vigors and Undertow and Return to Sender were my favorites. It came to an absolute gameplay peak when you were making your assault on the "Hand of Comstock". It was like the convoy chase in Uncharted 2 except you were midair and I was boarding the enemies small airships Undertowing their ass overboard, using my shield and then collecting their rockets and bullets and taking down some heavy hitters. Then lining up some killer shots with my upgraded Carbine rifle. Then hopping back on the hooks and dropping on another airship while setting a whole group on fire. Now I thought the game had good gameplay all the way through but it really took it up a notch toward the end of the game. They really should have let you upgrade your vigors more fully earlier in the game. They should have also made return to sender as maybe your 6th vigor instead of your last one.
The Three sections of the Comstock ship to end the game seemed tedious my first time through because of all the waves of enemies. However, this time when I actually knew how to do combos and really play around with my vigors, I had a blast. When it started to really wear on me, the game gave a new mechanic. Control the freaking songbird and make President Washingtons your bitches!!!
Moving through the creepy Comstock house with a mixture of stealth and blowing away zombie things was a great change. Then there were some fun encounters when saving Elizabeth from the siphon machine, and then the whole sequence with the Comstock air chase that I felt was exquisite. The updated graphics on the remastered version probably helped with my opinion. As far as spectacle, locales, and gunplay/vigor play, I thought it was downright awesome. My gamer side that could give two shits about story was thrilled. Now onto the story...
Story
Straight off let me say, that any multi universe time traveling story is going to have some inconsistencies, cause well time traveling is kind of that way ya know?
With that said, I followed the game's logic well and felt that the puzzle pieces fit for the most part and I thought even if it was over ambitious at times (the man and lighthouse comment was a bit much), it mostly worked. I thought the art, images, music, presentation and style were spot on and I was glued to the tv for the end.
To the specifics, the story for me really took off again once you enter the Comstock house. The sequence of seeing Elizabeth being tortured, brainwashed and made into a monster and you being too late, completely helpless was downright brilliant. I wanted to kill Comstock so bad. It showed us that anyone can turn into a monster if the conditions are right, and seeing tears slowly telling you how you never came and you contributed to Elizabeth's insanity was brilliantly told. It was like the mini Christmas Carol for Booker inside of the larger Christmas Carol of the whole game if that makes sense. For me the Comstock house was the storytelling peak of the game. The audio tapes and tears and gameplay mixed very nicely to tell of how this girl that you love could become a mini Comstock (or a mini you with different choices in life).
Now fast forward to the ending sequence. The circle has been broken and we have broken the cycle of Booker getting his butt kicked by songbird. We have rescued Elizabeth back and nothing can stop us, not even big bird daddy. Then things get loopy. We take fan service tour through Rapture, we see the lighthouses of millions of choices and timelines (The omniscience of God would sort of look like those lighthouses, loved the image!), then we are told how our Booker sold his daughter who is now Elizabeth and cut off the poor girls finger in a tragic world hopping mission. At this time your mind is kind of numb from all the information going on, but it really had to be at the end cause it would have been even more messy if they explained it in bits and pieces. Elizabeth really held the ending together for me because it was her fate that was being blown this way and that and I felt for her.
The themes came together well for me.
How one small decision (being baptized or not) can lead to things we can't even imagine.
What redeems us from our sins (nicely foreshadowed by how our Booker can't get over Wounded Knee)?
How does a god like character act morally with time and free will? This was my favorite theme and even if this was nothing new, I likes thinking about it in a video game which was cool.
Many more themes that were both human and the type that freshman philosophy majors argue about in their dorm.
All in all the last three hours from a story perspective left me hooked and pretty satisfied by the end. Mixed with the gameplay I thought the ending was great and put a fat exclamation on a fantastic game.
I want to end with one question
After Elizabeth and Booker kill Comstock and leave Columbia, why does she feel compelled to stop all Comstocks? Her and Booker could have went to Paris and lived life in peace... There will always be evil timelines and people, is Elizabeth gonna end all of them? It was a nice question of God's responsibility, but if God is omniscient, he knows all infinite timelines, but those timelines aren't real. Elizabeth's infinite timelines were all real so is she just morally obligated to change all the worse timelines she can?
Ok that's it I'm done.
Now what I mean by last three hours are after the Lady Comstock fights which were admittedly not my favorite parts of the game. However once you make your way to the Comstock House, the game made me play straight through and not even go to the bathroom cause I was so into it. I'll explain why those last three hours were the among the best I've ever played...
Gameplay
Bioshock Infinite gets shit on a lot for its supposed mediocre to bad gameplay. The first time I played it through (on easy) I thought it was fine, but nothing special. However, playing on Hard, I really appreciated the gameplay even though it needed some tweaks here and there. A major one being I really wish they could have integrated a weapon wheel and given some alternate ammo.
The last three hours were exquisite though because you had all your vigors and Undertow and Return to Sender were my favorites. It came to an absolute gameplay peak when you were making your assault on the "Hand of Comstock". It was like the convoy chase in Uncharted 2 except you were midair and I was boarding the enemies small airships Undertowing their ass overboard, using my shield and then collecting their rockets and bullets and taking down some heavy hitters. Then lining up some killer shots with my upgraded Carbine rifle. Then hopping back on the hooks and dropping on another airship while setting a whole group on fire. Now I thought the game had good gameplay all the way through but it really took it up a notch toward the end of the game. They really should have let you upgrade your vigors more fully earlier in the game. They should have also made return to sender as maybe your 6th vigor instead of your last one.
The Three sections of the Comstock ship to end the game seemed tedious my first time through because of all the waves of enemies. However, this time when I actually knew how to do combos and really play around with my vigors, I had a blast. When it started to really wear on me, the game gave a new mechanic. Control the freaking songbird and make President Washingtons your bitches!!!
Moving through the creepy Comstock house with a mixture of stealth and blowing away zombie things was a great change. Then there were some fun encounters when saving Elizabeth from the siphon machine, and then the whole sequence with the Comstock air chase that I felt was exquisite. The updated graphics on the remastered version probably helped with my opinion. As far as spectacle, locales, and gunplay/vigor play, I thought it was downright awesome. My gamer side that could give two shits about story was thrilled. Now onto the story...
Story
Straight off let me say, that any multi universe time traveling story is going to have some inconsistencies, cause well time traveling is kind of that way ya know?
With that said, I followed the game's logic well and felt that the puzzle pieces fit for the most part and I thought even if it was over ambitious at times (the man and lighthouse comment was a bit much), it mostly worked. I thought the art, images, music, presentation and style were spot on and I was glued to the tv for the end.
To the specifics, the story for me really took off again once you enter the Comstock house. The sequence of seeing Elizabeth being tortured, brainwashed and made into a monster and you being too late, completely helpless was downright brilliant. I wanted to kill Comstock so bad. It showed us that anyone can turn into a monster if the conditions are right, and seeing tears slowly telling you how you never came and you contributed to Elizabeth's insanity was brilliantly told. It was like the mini Christmas Carol for Booker inside of the larger Christmas Carol of the whole game if that makes sense. For me the Comstock house was the storytelling peak of the game. The audio tapes and tears and gameplay mixed very nicely to tell of how this girl that you love could become a mini Comstock (or a mini you with different choices in life).
Now fast forward to the ending sequence. The circle has been broken and we have broken the cycle of Booker getting his butt kicked by songbird. We have rescued Elizabeth back and nothing can stop us, not even big bird daddy. Then things get loopy. We take fan service tour through Rapture, we see the lighthouses of millions of choices and timelines (The omniscience of God would sort of look like those lighthouses, loved the image!), then we are told how our Booker sold his daughter who is now Elizabeth and cut off the poor girls finger in a tragic world hopping mission. At this time your mind is kind of numb from all the information going on, but it really had to be at the end cause it would have been even more messy if they explained it in bits and pieces. Elizabeth really held the ending together for me because it was her fate that was being blown this way and that and I felt for her.
The themes came together well for me.
How one small decision (being baptized or not) can lead to things we can't even imagine.
What redeems us from our sins (nicely foreshadowed by how our Booker can't get over Wounded Knee)?
How does a god like character act morally with time and free will? This was my favorite theme and even if this was nothing new, I likes thinking about it in a video game which was cool.
Many more themes that were both human and the type that freshman philosophy majors argue about in their dorm.
All in all the last three hours from a story perspective left me hooked and pretty satisfied by the end. Mixed with the gameplay I thought the ending was great and put a fat exclamation on a fantastic game.
I want to end with one question
After Elizabeth and Booker kill Comstock and leave Columbia, why does she feel compelled to stop all Comstocks? Her and Booker could have went to Paris and lived life in peace... There will always be evil timelines and people, is Elizabeth gonna end all of them? It was a nice question of God's responsibility, but if God is omniscient, he knows all infinite timelines, but those timelines aren't real. Elizabeth's infinite timelines were all real so is she just morally obligated to change all the worse timelines she can?
Ok that's it I'm done.
