![]() Over our time together, Elizabeth's expressive performances elicited everything from sympathy to fear and even guilt. Not only does the action revert to feeling very much like BioShock 1, but it made me feel as if something was genuinely missing: emotional depth. Once she’d established herself at my side, any period of separation was noticeable. The guns may not be wholly original, and the vigors may be familiar, but in concert with the Elizabeth wildcard and the open, large-scale play spaces, Infinite offers tangible, meaningful choices in each encounter.Įlizabeth herself, in fact, plays a central role in BioShock Infinite’s story, and in the moment-to-moment experience. It’s yet another option that'll affect how the fight plays out in a big way – a layer that makes Infinite’s combat so refreshingly nimble. In firefights, that means you might have the choice to teleport in any one of a flying gun turret, a wall of cover, a powerful weapon, or a stash of medkits. To the contrary, she'll take care of you, tossing you ammo and health in the heat of battle, randomly throwing you money at idle moments, and even bending the layout of a combat area to your will using her dimensional-portal-opening abilities. Our mystery girl rarely leaves your side once she joins you a short time into the campaign, and unlike the vast majority of AI companions throughout the ages, she requires zero babysitting. Two things evolve Infinite past its predecessor, however, and the first is one of its central characters: Elizabeth. I'd put the artwork, meticulously crafted detail, and overall atmosphere of Columbia right up there with BioShock's Rapture, Half-Life 2's City 17, and Mirror’s Edge’s unnamed dystopian metropolis. If that's a criticism at all, it's a weak one BioShock's about as sound a starting point to build upon as a game could hope for, and Infinite has made the most of that. Early on, thanks to the weapons, powers, and upgrades having new names but functioning in largely the same way, it’d be fair to call Infinite an elaborate, blue-sky reskin of the first BioShock. It’s that inaugural hour – and in fact the few that follow it – that build the foundation upon which the rest of BioShock Infinite stands. ![]() ![]() All these elements give this fantastical city a sterling sense of genuine place. Simultaneously, no two of its many diverse areas ever feel alike. It's created using a vibrant color palette and a unified vision of a twisted, jingoistic take on America. Columbia has its own history and hierarchy, to a degree that most shooters – or games of any genre, for that matter – can’t even aspire. Townsfolk bustle in the plaza streets, birds flit about almost everywhere, and propaganda extols the local prophet's racist, ultra-nationalist beliefs. Irrational Games – a studio that’s made a name for itself in eschewing predictability and is known for pathological cybervillains and brutish Big Daddies who earned our sympathy in their staunch protection of Little Sisters – somehow makes a city built on the clouds seem plausible. Infinite comes through as a true, worthy follow-up to BioShock, one of the most-renowned shooters of this generation. Even when it does occasionally miss, another hit follows so quickly that the stumble almost feels like a setup to increase the effect. ![]() A story twist most people won't see coming. New and thrilling ways of traveling and changing the world around you. A cast of fully fleshed-out, memorable characters who deliver real emotional impact. A stunning original world of retro-sci-fi technology and gorgeous scenery. BioShock Infinite aims so damn high – fittingly, since its alternate-reality 1912 city of Columbia literally floats atop clouds – that it’s a wonder it successfully hits any of its lofty goals at all.
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