Bioshock Infinite Review

It's infinite...

Irrational Games is now closing. Aww. Still though, 2K is going to make the Bioshock games, but I just hope that it doesn't end up like Gears of War; another great series of games that got screwed over because it was sold to another company. Anyway, moving onto the review.

Bioshock is one of my favorite game series', just gonna say that. They all feature creative enemies, characters and so on, whilst telling an amazing story along with it. This game is no exception to the great story feature. You are Booker Dewitt, in search of a girl named Elizabeth (you have to escort her to Paris) to pay off your debt. Yet, you are the false shepherd, and thus are wanted by police, robots, giant robots, police, patriots, police, and so on, all lead by the prophet. Did I mention there was police? Anyway, so yeah. Currently, Elizabeth has knocked me out, despite me being fine with her THROWING BOOKS AT ME, crying, whining, and frequently running away.

Despite her faults, however, Elizabeth is one of the rare few un-tough companions who aren't useless. She's handy in combat, puts up with most (but not all) of Booker's murder, denies to join the prophet who may be her dad (idk yet, no spoilers in the comments), and so on. She can also toss Booker useful items such as money, ammo, health, and pick locks. Finally, don't worry about protecting her, she can defend herself in combat.

Enemies are my favorite part about the creativity of Bioshock Infinite. From small enemies to the gigantic handymen, there are many, and each one being unique. Beginning with the handyman, he's a heavy hitter and a bullet sponge. But (on difficulties higher than easy... obviously), he's possibly too much of a bullet sponge, and due to his fast speed he's a pain in the neck. Their speed is fast, and if you're unprepared then it's scary, with their heavy attacks instantly destroying shields. Attacking them can be a slog if the level design is small, due to them being able to run around and leap huge distances, but generally they're a fun challenge and reward you with good loot.

Firemen and police next. Firemen can throw fire at you, and are a step up from police (being a little bit stronger). They're fun to battle. Police are the most common (and weak) enemies in the game, either having pistols/machine guns to shoot you with, or coming straight at you with batons. Common, and no challenge, basically being a reliable loot source.

Motorized patriots are next. They're pretty common, but not that much, with a large crank gun. They fire at you and do reasonable damage, with decent-sized health. Once you shoot them a bit their head comes off, freakishly, signalling that they're low health. That's fine, I guess, but why not have it for stronger enemies like the handyman? Like, the heart glass cracking or something?

As for the Boys of Silence... *shudder*

For those that care... graphics and sound time. Graphics are artsy and awesome, with a sorta steam-punk atmosphere. Sound is great too, with amazing voice acting from characters such as Elizabeth or the Prophet. But hey, that also counts for the enemies like the handyman. There has been no audio spikes, along with fitting music and HD sound effects.

What really dissapointed me, though, was the weapons. In Bioshock 1 + 2 you can carry how many weapons you want, but in Infinite you can only carry two. That's a shame, because I had to drop my sniper rifle to pick up a hand cannon. The weapons are okay-ish, but I really wanted more than pistol, shotgun, sniper, machine gun, etc with slightly modified clones. Aside from your sky-hook, nothing is really memorable. Come on, Irrational Games! You can do better than that! Heh, what I liked though was the press ^ to get an arrow where to go. It doesn't work so well on skylines, but it definatley is handy when you don't know where to go on ground.

Moving on. Level design is great. When you're fighting a handyman, the world is handy. When you move through buildings, they feel like they would actually be a building in real life instead of something cheesy and boring. Not to say it's dull, oh no, there are some ideal places, like the building when you first encounter the Prophet, that stand out from the rest.

Bioshock Infinite may not be as good as the other games, but it's definatley a great game that's worth your time.

Fun: 9.5. There's various things to keep you entertained, and none fail.
Chracters: 8. Most stand out, but there are some useless NPCs that do nothing. Most add to the dramatic amount in a scene, but some don't.
Controls: 8. Good, but definatley take some time to get used to.
Story: 9. Amazing.
Graphics and Sound: 9.5. Artistic, with amazing voice acting.
Writing: 9. Awesome writing, especially for Elizabeth.

OVERALL RATING: 9/10, aka 4.5 stars.