BioShock: Infinite

[Maria Caliban]

How odd that there isn't a topic on this one already.

 

I finished the game last week and enjoyed it. Has anyone else played? Did you think it was a worthy successor to BioShock and BioShock 2?

 

I liked the lack of body horror in this one.

[Tale]

My computer won't run it and I'm not sure if I'm ready to betray the tradition and get it for console.

[Maria Caliban]

Why won't your computer run it? Graphics?

[Tale]

I'm still on XP.

[Bokishi]

Can we talk spoilers in here

[Fighter]

Anyone tried the 1999 mode yet? How does it compare to Hard?

[Bokishi]

I'm 20% through it and its same as hard except there's barely any money around and it costs too much to respawn, might as well just reload checkpoint when you die. That's also what bugs me, this is not true 1999 mode because there are no quick saves!

[Nonek]

Nice solid game, the whirling about on the skyrails was exciting but to be honest I really disliked the message/morality of the ending, and the entire premise truth told. The quite obvious twist I saw from virtually the beginning, and I disliked the lack of choice.

[Bokishi]

I liked the ending a lot

[Nonek]

I'd rather go out fighting than surrendering to the supposed inevitable, I find such pre-destination distasteful if not morally repugnant. Only a personal opinion however.

[Zoraptor]

Yep. I would have killed the Force in Kotor 2 and pulled down the Wall in MotB for exactly those reasons, had they been options. 

[Maria Caliban]

I'm still on XP.

 

May I ask why?

 

 

Can we talk spoilers in here

Go for it.

Edited April 6, 2013 by Maria Caliban

[Maria Caliban]

Nice solid game, the whirling about on the skyrails was exciting but to be honest I really disliked the message/morality of the ending, and the entire premise truth told. The quite obvious twist I saw from virtually the beginning, and I disliked the lack of choice.

 

 

I found it strange that a modern game would take such a hard line on predestination. I don't think it's 'morally repugnant' as you do, but I'd have liked it fleshed out a bit more. As it is, the last 15 minutes of the game suddenly introduces a new plot point and tells you that the only way to be 'good' is to kill yourself.

 

 

It reminded me of the last part of ME 3, though it didn't even give you three options. 

Edited April 6, 2013 by Maria Caliban

[AGX-17]

Nice solid game, the whirling about on the skyrails was exciting but to be honest I really disliked the message/morality of the ending, and the entire premise truth told. The quite obvious twist I saw from virtually the beginning, and I disliked the lack of choice.

It's hard to qualify the ending as having a "message," it's not like Art Student Hitler's going to play it, jump into his time machine and kill himself to prevent Genocidal Dictator Hitler from becoming a reality after playing it (obviously there are infinite parallel worlds where Hitler can play Bioshock Infinite.)

I'd rather go out fighting than surrendering to the supposed inevitable, I find such pre-destination distasteful if not morally repugnant. Only a personal opinion however.

There's no clear message about "predestination," in fact, one of the fundamental concepts of Quantum Mechanics is that there is no certainty. But regardless, you're right in that Robert (the Lutece who wants to set things "right," and actually qualifies as a Quantum physicist because he recognizes the fundamental uncertainties of the subatomic world which are the focus of the field,) could have chosen simpler avenues to go about doing it. But then we wouldn't have a video game about a guy who fights a guy who is actually the guy from the future has to let the daughter he sold to himself from a half dozen different universes drown him to prevent him from becoming the guy who he sold her to.

In the end, it's really just standard video game railroading. After all, it's an FPS, not an RPG.

Edited April 6, 2013 by AGX-17

[Tale]

 

 

I'm still on XP.

 

May I ask why?

 

 

Didn't want to spend money on an operating system that had no tangible benefits until now. And at this point, I pretty much have to buy a whole new PC to go with it. So there's that.

[AGX-17]

 

 

 

 

I'm still on XP.

 

May I ask why?

 

 

Didn't want to spend money on an operating system that had no tangible benefits until now. And at this point, I pretty much have to buy a whole new PC to go with it. So there's that.

 

 

But the tangible benefit since about 2006-07 has been being able to play new games on a PC. Edited April 6, 2013 by AGX-17

[Zoraptor]

Uh what? XP has DirectX 9.
 

I found it strange that a modern game would take such a hard line on predestination .. It reminded me of the last part of ME 3, though it didn't even give you three options.

It isn't very surprising, given what happened with Bioshock (1). "A Man Chooses, A Slave Obeys" and all the metacommentary about railroading in gaming and the last few levels were every bit as much 'you must obey the voice in your head' as it was when it was Fontlas saying your command phrase.

Edited April 6, 2013 by Zoraptor

[Nonek]

Perhaps you're spot on the money with your assessment AGX, i'm spoiled by the choice that the rpg genre offers, and have a dislike for the more cinematic experiences offered by developers such as Irrational and Bioware. I prefer being posed the questions than told the answers, the former speaks of interactivity and inquisitiveness, while the latter to my mind is more preaching and pontificating. Still a good game mind, and to even raise such subjects in its chosen field of delivery is rather rare.

Edited April 6, 2013 by Nonek

[Tale]

But the tangible benefit since about 2006-07 has been being able to play new games on a PC.

Most PC games still supported XP. Aside from Just Cause 2, there really weren't any must haves until about late last year.

[Tigranes]

I had the interesting experience of guiding a complete nongamer, i.e. as far away from games as you can get, through an hour of BI on xbox. Well, she had trouble moving and looking around at the same time so we only got as far as the Fair in Columbia, but I thought:

 

(1) If you're going to have a really long intro before anything happens, then your opening plot better be really interesting. There is no opening plot up to that point.

(2) Columbia looks pretty, though textures are washed out in a way that even the nongamer could tell.

[mrmud]

Anyone tried the 1999 mode yet? How does it compare to Hard?

I beat it on 1999 but I don't know how it compares since It was my first run.

I don't know if I would recomend it as there are some sections that became a bit frustrating for me to get past (section with the handyman before Daisy & Fink for example. I don't know how many times I had to watch that undertow vigor animation due to reloading).

 

Other than that I think it is an incredible game, probably the best in several years. The story has so many layers to it that once you finish you will spend hours if not days just thinking about it all.

[mrmud]

I had the interesting experience of guiding a complete nongamer, i.e. as far away from games as you can get, through an hour of BI on xbox. Well, she had trouble moving and looking around at the same time so we only got as far as the Fair in Columbia, but I thought:

 

(1) If you're going to have a really long intro before anything happens, then your opening plot better be really interesting. There is no opening plot up to that point.

(2) Columbia looks pretty, though textures are washed out in a way that even the nongamer could tell.

Thats a pretty interesting conclusion you have there that seems to be very much at odds with everything that I think as well as what I have heard from others.

If anything I almost felt some kind of sensory overload in the start, I had to explore everything and I felt it was incredible. In stark contrast to that comes the hyper violence as soon as the fair sequence ends. This, not the slow start and world building, is what seems to put most non gamers off the game.

[Fighter]

I really liked the whole ending sequence, the visuals and just the atmosphere. I also like that they went for a long ending sequence and not just end in one cutscene. Not however a fan of

having everything basically undone and erased from existence.

 

 

I'm also impressed that the entire game is basically an escort mission and yet it works so well. The companion AI is not really revolutionary but the choices they've made basically remove any annoyance.  Elizabeth doesn't get shot at so it's not a chore to defend her and I'm pretty sure she sometimes teleports right behind you... pretty sure but not 100%... which is saying it's done well and doesn't break you out of the experience.

Edited April 6, 2013 by Fighter

[mrmud]

I wouldn't say its an escort mission because Elizabeth is never actually involved in the fight and can't die.

[AGX-17]

I had the interesting experience of guiding a complete nongamer, i.e. as far away from games as you can get, through an hour of BI on xbox. Well, she had trouble moving and looking around at the same time so we only got as far as the Fair in Columbia, but I thought:

 

(1) If you're going to have a really long intro before anything happens, then your opening plot better be really interesting. There is no opening plot up to that point.

(2) Columbia looks pretty, though textures are washed out in a way that even the nongamer could tell.

Well there's your problem (in bold.)

I really liked the whole ending sequence, the visuals and just the atmosphere. I also like that they went for a long ending sequence and not just end in one cutscene. Not however a fan of

having everything basically undone and erased from existence.

 

 

I'm also impressed that the entire game is basically an escort mission and yet it works so well. The companion AI is not really revolutionary but the choices they've made basically remove any annoyance.  Elizabeth doesn't get shot at so it's not a chore to defend her and I'm pretty sure she sometimes teleports right behind you... pretty sure but not 100%... which is saying it's done well and doesn't break you out of the experience.

It's not an escort mission, though. Elizabeth is invincible and is constantly teleporting around so as not to be in your way (and often leading the way ahead of you, which was almost certainly intentional,) and constantly keeps you supplied with whatever you need at the moment. Low on health? Health kit! Low on salts? Salts bottle! Low on ammo? Ammo for your low-ammo weapon! She even "summons" useful geography and allies from other universes on command!

 

The defining aspect of an escort mission is that the player must protect a vulnerable, underpowered/useless NPC from point A to point B. Elizabeth is closer to an RPG companion/party member than the subject of an escort mission. The mission can't even fail because as long as she's around she revives the player/Booker from death/near death.

Edited April 6, 2013 by AGX-17