Bioshock Infinite Announced

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Like most, I was a huge fan of the 1st, and unlike many I'm wholly enjoying everything that Bioshock 2 has to offer both online and off.

I never saw this one coming, but after watching the debut trailer multiple times ... turn of the century mechanical flying cities as high in the sky as Rapture was in the deep ocean?

You can count me in son.

As much as I love Rapture, I'm glad that we're not re-treading it for a 3rd go. 2 was enough.

http://kotaku.com/5607451/bioshock-infinite-goes-beyond-the-sea--into-the-skies

[diskoboy]

I like the idea, but it's gonna be weird without the darkness...

It will be weird playing a Bioshock game in a well lit enviornment. The darkness and the dystopian atmosphere was what made the first 2 games so great.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I like the idea, but it's gonna be weird without the darkness...

It will be weird playing a Bioshock game in a well lit enviornment. The darkness and the dystopian atmosphere was what made the first 2 games so great.

Well, as long as the blinds are closed there's no reason to believe that this one can't be as dark. ;)

[Kitsune Sniper]

Actually the trailer kinda made me think that individual rooms would have closed windows, or at least shades over them. Interesting.

[heybtbm]

Pretty cool concept. I finished the 1st in a few days, but still haven't bothered to finish the 2nd. This one has me intrigued.

[exit]

I loved the first two Bioshock games and found them both equally enjoyable, so I'm really anticipating this one. It's nice to see that they took a different route and are doing something new with the series. It is kind of disjointing to hear that it will have no connection to the other games tho, so I'm guessing an appearance by a young Andrew Ryan are out of the question.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I loved the first two Bioshock games and found them both equally enjoyable, so I'm really anticipating this one. It's nice to see that they took a different route and are doing something new with the series. It is kind of disjointing to hear that it will have no connection to the other games tho, so I'm guessing an appearance by a young Andrew Ryan are out of the question.

Maybe grandpa Ryan?

[Graham Mitchell]

Bioshock is one of my favorite games of all time. Bioshock 2 is also excellent, but it did feel a bit like a retread (not that I'm complaining. The ambience and atmosphere of the underwater city will probably never get old.) However, it is nice to think about the possibilities with having Ken Levine back in the saddle, and putting the concept in a new environment. I hope they are able to create something as groundbreaking and jaw-dropping as the first game. Being exposed to that for the first time was such a trip. I'm hoping they can duplicate the experience.

[heybtbm]

Amazon just sent me an e-mail with an updated release date: January 3rd, 2013.

Amazon attaches placeholder dates to games all the time, but this is an updated date on a placeholder date. Which I've never seen happen before. The Xbox 720 will be out by then...hmmm.

[Cobra Commander]

2013? Goddamn that's a long time.

[Nesmaster]

Just picked this up, reviews are very high. Can't wait to dig in. :)

[heybtbm]

Pre-loaded on Steam and ready to go. The kids are going to bed early tonight.

How long has it been since a AAA title has been so universally lauded? Can't wait.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

About an hour in, just hit Monument Island, the game still feels a bit hand-holdy and tutorial-y.

The "lottery" scene was a surprise and a great touch.

Atmosphere is great, aesthetics spectacular. I love Troy Baker's voice over work on Booker as he comments on little things here and there.

I feel like I may have powered up a bit much too early thanks to the extra level-up vials that the season pass included, but I'm sure that'll level off soon enough.

So far so good, can't wait to meet Elizabeth!

[Daltone]

About an hour in, just hit Monument Island, the game still feels a bit hand-holdy and tutorial-y.

The "lottery" scene was a surprise and a great touch.

Atmosphere is great, aesthetics spectacular. I love Troy Baker's voice over work on Booker as he comments on little things here and there.

I feel like I may have powered up a bit much too early thanks to the extra level-up vials that the season pass included, but I'm sure that'll level off soon enough.

So far so good, can't wait to meet Elizabeth!

A bit of a strange one - would you suggest it to someone who though that Bioshock had a great atmosphere but wasn't that much fun to actually play? I like the look of the setting and the world, but the gameplay in Bioshock really bored me after a couple of hours. I'm on the fence as whether to lay my grubby paws on this now or to wait for the price drop.

[Tupin]

You know, unlike the first two games, I feel that the game wants you to go one specific way with your moral choices. Especially after the Fraternal Order of the Raven. Previous games didn't tell you how terrible you were until the ending, but this one....

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

A bit of a strange one - would you suggest it to someone who though that Bioshock had a great atmosphere but wasn't that much fun to actually play? I like the look of the setting and the world, but the gameplay in Bioshock really bored me after a couple of hours. I'm on the fence as whether to lay my grubby paws on this now or to wait for the price drop.

While I'm still VERY early into the game, it seems like this one is paced relatively differently than the original Bioshock (it's free on the PS3 disc if you want to do a side-by-side comparison).

Infinite, early on anyway, gives you long stretches of exploratory poking around and observing your environment without having to face off against waves of enemies. When enemies do arrive they're not hiding around corners like they were in Bioshock. No splicer hiding in a toilet stall door jump-scare moments that I've encountered.

There is an imposing feeling of dread surrounding the over-the-top xenophobia and racism in the imagery and situations you encounter in Columbia.

Though, the core of the play mechanics (especially the sound effects) feel distinctly Bioshock-y. I'm not sure whether or not to recommend it as "different" enough to somebody who didn't enjoy the gameplay. The gameplay is pretty similar.

Certainly worth a look or a rent if you have a PS3 or 360 and a Redbox around you.

[Trumpman]

So I finished the game yesterday, and it might be my favorite game of this generation. The world was completely engrossing, although I may have preferred the setting of Rapture a *tiny* bit more than Columbia. But the story, the story was incredible. I always felt that the story in BioShock was pretty bad after the plot twist, but here it's gripping up until the end. And that ending sequence is one of the most gorgeous and poignant parts of the whole game. I couldn't go to sleep for like four hours because the end was so crazy and wonderful.

Oh yeah, and the game looks beautiful, even on 360. Beautiful, haunting, and terrifying, especially that sequence at the beginning Frankie mentioned above. Never seen a game address the American history of racism in such a meaningful way.

Looking forward to playing through a second time (something I never do) with the knowledge you gain at the end. And to find the rest of those damn logs and kinetoscopes -- don't know how I missed so many when I thought I was being thorough.

[Nesmaster]

Finished it twice, enjoyed it more the second time on 1999 mode. I loved 1 when it came out but this... I found this to be so much better and the story didn't crumble halfway in like the first.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Holy fuck. Holy holy fuck. Holy holy fuck fuck fuck.

Just finished it and immediately went and found an infographic detailing ... everything.

What I understand now with greater clarity than I did through the duration of the game is how any and all shortcomings in the design and mechanics of the game can be completely absolved.

The sum total of the story, the end-of-journey and the revelatory knowledge that comes with it all diminish any minor quibbles with anything less-than-perfect that may occur during the "game" proper.

Fucking BRILLIANT.

So much I didn't expect and so SO much to ponder over and examine after the fact.

LOST fans take note, this is a game for the Faraday fans in the house.

[Gamereviewgod]

Infinite disappointed me. Greatly.

I adored the small touches early, and the contrasts they create. Early on, there is a store based on the honor system. Go down into the Shantytown, and a gun is pulled on you as soon as you walk in the door as a warning. I love the sequence with Elizabeth in the basement as she feeds the child. The world is incredible, with these giant gold statues that segue into a rotting underworld oppressed people. That's interactive fiction at its best.

Then it's shoot, shoot, shoot. Endless shooting. There's no need to poke around and learn about the world. There's more shooting to do. Every encounter feels the same, with no regards to pacing. It's not the violence so much as HOW MUCH violence there is. The game just dies in its own arms.

And the twist? It's the most obvious of the twists the could have chosen, the same one Spec Ops tried to pass off just last year, with the same eye rolling from me. Try this in a film and you would be laughed out of the theater; it's all so preposterous. Infinite didn't need any of these sci-fi elements. It's not brave enough to explore its message thoroughly, and instead hides behind repetitious shooting and its wildly out of place theories.

As I said in my review, "Its best moments never involve a gun."

[Daltone]

Infinite disappointed me. Greatly.

I adored the small touches early, and the contrasts they create. Early on, there is a store based on the honor system. Go down into the Shantytown, and a gun is pulled on you as soon as you walk in the door as a warning. I love the sequence with Elizabeth in the basement as she feeds the child. The world is incredible, with these giant gold statues that segue into a rotting underworld oppressed people. That's interactive fiction at its best.

Then it's shoot, shoot, shoot. Endless shooting. There's no need to poke around and learn about the world. There's more shooting to do. Every encounter feels the same, with no regards to pacing. It's not the violence so much as HOW MUCH violence there is. The game just dies in its own arms.

And the twist? It's the most obvious of the twists the could have chosen, the same one Spec Ops tried to pass off just last year, with the same eye rolling from me. Try this in a film and you would be laughed out of the theater; it's all so preposterous. Infinite didn't need any of these sci-fi elements. It's not brave enough to explore its message thoroughly, and instead hides behind repetitious shooting and its wildly out of place theories.

As I said in my review, "Its best moments never involve a gun."

How did you feel about the first / second one? Better? Worse? The same?

[misfits859]

Haven't finished yet but I'm really wondering how this got so many perfect/near perfect scores. Way too linear and just not enough variation in the gameplay. Perhaps I need to start over right now and pace myself through the game.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Haven't finished yet but I'm really wondering how this got so many perfect/near perfect scores. Way too linear and just not enough variation in the gameplay. Perhaps I need to start over right now and pace myself through the game.

Most of the perfect-scoring reviews I've read openly address the technical and design shortcomings and excuse them/pass them in the face of where the game does excel - story, concepts, A.I., characters and aesthetics.

I disagree with the notion that the game's story is predictable, especially the story beats in the final quarter of the game.

Even though I had pieced together where the story was going by that point there were several moments that took me COMPLETELY by surprise.

I do think that the shooting mechanics suffer from the game having gone back to the drawing board several times. It feels like a product that struggled to be tuned and never really became a pitch-perfect shooter.

I think Bioshock 1 was a better paced FPS and Bioshock 2 was EXTREMELY refined in the FPS mechanics of the first game.

Still, I'm with the reviewers that love the complete package. It's imperfect but I love it despite any outright flaws. The good outweighs the bad IMO.

I can't wait to play through a second time now that I know the whole of the story.

[Gamereviewgod]

How did you feel about the first / second one? Better? Worse? The same?

I loved the first one, second one was just sort of there for me.

I think the first is the strongest, but oddly makes the same mistakes if speaking generally. After killing five Big Daddies, they lost all of their luster. Why are they a threat to me anymore? I just killed two of them using a wrench. There's no fear anymore, no presence or weight to their existence.

Infinite's shooting mechanics are the most refined of the series. Great sense of impact, and less chaotic, but there's too much of it.

[Tupin]

Columbia's atmosphere was much less creepy than Rapture's. Maybe because Rapture had already collapsed and Columbia hadn't, it was getting even stronger?

I don't know.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Columbia's atmosphere was much less creepy than Rapture's. Maybe because Rapture had already collapsed and Columbia hadn't, it was getting even stronger?

I don't know.

The citizens of Rapture were ugly on the outside, the citizens of Columbia were ugly on the inside.

[Polygon]

I just bought a new video card just because of this game. Oddly enough, the new video card came with it for free!

[Robocop2]

So far it's been okay. I don't really feel like its a Bioshock game. Other than the use of the "vigors" it really doesn't have the same feel the other two entries had. Maybe its because like another poster said that Columbia wasn't in a state of degradation. Its interesting and enjoyable yes; but not the best Bioshock ever as some reviews are stating.... Maybe as I get into it more my opinion will change though.

Update:
I finished the game the other day and other than a little something later in the game (which i will not spoil) I just don't get the same feeling from it that I did with the other two games. I would recommend it as a pickup for anyone who liked the first two remotely but I stand by my statement about it feeling like the other two. It definitely shouldn't be part of the main series.