OK time for a game review and I've opted to go for the newly released Bioshock game: Bioshock Infinite, which is the 3rd game in the series, and so far it has gained much critical acclaim for its graphics, presentation, gameplay and above story. But what do I think of it???? Well you can read on and find out....
Right to start with just a bit of the plot (and don't worry it is only just a bit) as it really is quite convoluted, but the game is set in 1912, and its main protagonist, Brooker (voiced by Troy Baker) is hired by the Lutece twins to find a girl, and on return they tell Brooker "give us the girl and wipe away the debt". Broker travels to a floating city in the clouds called Columbia, where the girl is believed to be found. In the city Broker goes unnoticed by the public until notices he has the initials "AD" branded on his hand, which is the sign of a false prophet that could bring the end to the city of Columbia, which is run by the main anatognist of the story, Comstock (voiced by Kiff VandenHeuvel). After this Brooker is forced to fight his way to the tower where the girl, Elizabeth (voiced by Courtnee Draper) is held captive. Elizabeth is an intelligent (not to mention hot!) and creative girl, who has an uncanny ability to rip open tears that are located all over the city, which can lead into other dimensions. Brooker escapes with Elizabeth from the tower, however they are attacked by a large robotic bird, called Songbird, who is both Elizabeth's friend and warden. Brooker and Elizabeth manage to eventually elude Songbird, and Brooker tells to Elizabeth that they could take a trip to Paris, a city that Elizabeth has always wanted to see. However once they manage to steal an airship, Brooker plots in a course to take them to New York, in order to return her to the Lutece twins, but Elizabeth angily knocks him out. But their airship is soon captured by a gang leader of the Vox Populi, Daisy Fitzroy (voiced by Kimberley Brooks) who says they will return control of the airship to them, only if they find a shipment of weapons from the slums of Columbia. Elizabeth reluctantly agrees to go with Brooker to find the weapons, which takes them on a dangerous journey into the city, where there are some terrible truths that lie ahead...
It has to be said that while Bioshock Infinite has garnered a great deal of critical acclaim on it release, I happened to think the praise has been a bit overhyped, and while it is a pretty good game, I would hardly describe it as a masterpiece. The main problem with Bioshock Infinite for me is that the plot is just a bit too complex to follow, and by the end you are left well and truly baffled by it all. The characters however are really well drawn out, and Brooker, who starts off pretty much as a mercenary looking to "wipe away his debt" by finding Elizbaeth, soon turns around into a more sympathetic character, as the story progresses, he becomes more her protector than her bounty hunter. Elizabeth is also a good character, as a bright, intelligent (and yes hot) girl, who longs to escape from her prison tower and from Columbia to find life away from the city in the clouds, and her ability to open dimensional tears in the fabric of city plays a crucial part as the game progresses.
Gameplay wise, Bioshock Infinite does have alot going for it, as its combat system is pretty simplistic, and as before its very similiar, and there a big variety of weapons, such as pistols, machine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles, carbine rifles, and miniguns. And in a similar fashion, the game features vigors, which are the same as the plasmids from the first two games, in which Brooker gains special powers, such as telekinesis, electric shocks, fire, and animal control (such as a flock of crows). And throughout the game, Brooker can access upgrades for his weapons and vigors from different vending machines, as for his weapons you can increase the firepower and ammo capacity, and the vigors you can increase the intensity of the attacks. In a new feature of the game, Brooker also can use a grapple hook, which he uses to jump onto skyrails all around the city, on which he can also dismount onto a chosen area. Elizabeth in addition to her ability to manipulate dimensional tears around the city, can also use lockpicks to break into different areas in Columbia, and during combat she also helps Brooker by locating, ammo and salts (which helps charge up Brooker's vigor energy) when is supply is running out.
In terms of the graphics the game looks visually stunning, as the huge environment of Columbia is very impressive, and the character models, while not exactly realistic, do look really good. Voice acting wise the game is also top notch, and the two main characters, Brooker and Elizabeth, voiced by Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper are both excellent, as they drive most of the story and have the most dialogue throughout. And its also refreshing to see in the game there isn't an overt reliance on bad language, and there are no f-words to be found (call me old fashioned but I quite like that! ;-)). The soundtrack is also very good, and features some old fashioned tracks to fit in with the period setting from artists such as Duke Ellington, Charles Kaye & his orchestra, Billy Murray, Eddie Cantor, and some classical tracks from Chopin and Wagner, and the original soundtrack is also excellent.
However as I said the game while on the whole its pretty good (pretty prettay good as Larry David might say!) it does have a few flaws. The main one for me is the plot, which I already mentioned is very complex, and takes quite a few twists and turns, and by the end you are left more confused that anything else. I was actually quite disappointed in the ending (which I won't give away don't worry!) especially as I had read on Gamespot's review website it was amazing, but it left me underwhelmed. Gameplay wise there are also one or two niggles, such as Brooker's ability to only hold two weapons at one time, as in the previous games you could hold a variety of weapons at once. But here you are only given the option to hold two guns at once, so rather than allowing to store a third weapon, you need to drop one to pick up another in its place if you want to change over, which is annoying. I also thought some of the vigors aren't so great, such as the flock of crows and the bucking Bronco, both of which are limited in their ability or appeal in usage.
The game also introduces a rather uncomfortable aspect of racism, which also gained some controversy in the press, and there is a scene near the start of the game where Brooker is forced to choose between hitting a black man and a white woman with a rock, who are tied up and brought out infront of a crowd, or the crowd leader. But I guess it is just a reflection on the racial attitudes of the period, however this did raise some controversy with right wing groups in America as they felt it was "anti-white", and this isn't the first time racial attitudes in gaming has arisen and most likely not the last. And as games grow more sophisticated in terms of storytelling and real life themes, there will always be some groups out there that will take offence or umbrage at these themes, and it just shows how far we've come from the simplistic days of Pac Man, Manic Miner and Space Invaders.
So that its for my review of Bioshock Infinite, which is an entertaining first person shooter, which brings much to enjoy to the gaming table, but for me its not quite the masterpeice its been hyped to be, but I guess it all boils down to personal preference. However it does have some fine gameplay, terrific graphics and voice acting, and if you liked the previous Bioshock games, then you will find plenty to enjoy here as well.
And on that note (or chord) I will leave it just there.
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