Read Mixed User Reviews for BioShock Infinite on PC

Orctownorc

Apr 6, 2013

7

Bioshoke Infinite is a good game. It is also overated, over-hyped and someone less than the coming-of-the-Messiah it pretends to be. Infinite has wonderful ambience and atmosphere. The city of Columbia was built with passion and care. The art STYLING is brilliant. Likewise the main characters are sublime. Certain set-pieces are BRILLIANT. Yet finally this game does not stand up as aBioshoke Infinite is a good game. It is also overated, over-hyped and someone less than the coming-of-the-Messiah it pretends to be. Infinite has wonderful ambience and atmosphere. The city of Columbia was built with passion and care. The art STYLING is brilliant. Likewise the main characters are sublime. Certain set-pieces are BRILLIANT. Yet finally this game does not stand up as a product that is worth $60. It is far too short and the shooting/exploring elements are far too limited, a kind of theatrical filler between the numerous set-pieces of this scenic railroad. Good though it is, this is a game to wait for. Wait till the hype blows over and get it when it hits its true value of around $20. The combat is fun but not challenging. Enemy AI is weak. The game is also far too linear and NARROW in terms of both player progress and narrative. The game finally exposes its true weaknesses, after many great moments when the plot falls to pieces at the end with one of the most head-scratching (in a negative sense) and RIDICULOUS conclusions you will ever see in a game. The ending is not deep. It is not a philosphical marvel. It's an incoherent mess that will have you wondering what the team at Irrational Games have been smoking for the last FIVE YEARS. While the anti-American Exceptionism is fairly amusing is is also over-played. Doesn't Ken Levine understand the word subtlety? Bioware Infinite is definitely a game to be enjoyed when the price comes down. I understand the desire of users to praose any game to the heavens. It happened also with Skyrim, which simply was also not very good. Keep waiting boys and girls, a true 10/10 game will get made eventually. Enough dudes are working at it.… Expand

GuardianLight

Mar 31, 2013

7

This is a story-driven game with good gameplay mechanics. It makes the active choice to repeatedly deny you any story-related choices in the game, making it more like a film with breaks of first-person shooting. Which leaves me conflicted because ultimately a story-driven game without choice needs to have AAA level story to be compelling and lead to a satisfying conclusion. That's whereThis is a story-driven game with good gameplay mechanics. It makes the active choice to repeatedly deny you any story-related choices in the game, making it more like a film with breaks of first-person shooting. Which leaves me conflicted because ultimately a story-driven game without choice needs to have AAA level story to be compelling and lead to a satisfying conclusion. That's where the major flaw lies in this otherwise well-polished and enjoyable action game. The story fails to deliver the satisfactory climax, or even a satisfactory epilogue. Instead, it goes out with a whimper, like a failed film-student project. Still, the beginning is a well grounded start to what could have been game of the year, with characters that start off believable and interesting. Too bad it steers off course and never reaches full promise. Merely a "good" game when all is said and done.… Expand

Captiosus

Mar 28, 2013

6

I can't help but wonder: If we took the Bioshock name off the title, would it still be receiving such praise? Frankly, most of the elements that were unique to BioShock have been utterly stripped from this title. There's still plasmids (Vigors) and a steampunk setting but that is where the similarities cease. The hacking elements are gone, lockpicking is taken away from the player andI can't help but wonder: If we took the Bioshock name off the title, would it still be receiving such praise? Frankly, most of the elements that were unique to BioShock have been utterly stripped from this title. There's still plasmids (Vigors) and a steampunk setting but that is where the similarities cease. The hacking elements are gone, lockpicking is taken away from the player and given to an AI, the research camera is removed, and paying attention to health has been replaced with the all-too-generic "regenerating health" mechanic. BioShock's "Big Daddies" are replaced with "Handymen" who are seen far too infrequently, and "Motorized Patriots" which are overused. The vast majority of the enemy AI are merely footsolders who are easy to defeat (and completely stupid) even on the hardest setting. The shooting mechanics have never been particularly strong in the BioShock franchise but BioShock Infinite strips it down further, allowing players to carry only two weapons at any given time like any other stock FPS title. In addition, the vigor powers themselves are lackluster and chances are you'll go through the entire game running with Possession (the hacking "replacement") and Bucking Bronco or Murder of Crows (the two Vigors which have the most effect on enemy mobs loss of control and stun+damage, respectively). We get Vigor powers like "Shock Jockey" (the name should tell you what it does) and the game points out how we can use it to power up devices but then we only get one particular device to use it on and little reason to use it again. So this leaves us with the story which seems to be getting the most praise. However, the story itself is a series of walking cliches and tropes about multiverse theory and time-space manipulation and, frankly, has been addressed better elsewhere in countless science fiction novels, movies, TV shows, and even comic books. When the game explains the concepts of "constants and variables" in the multiverse it feels more like they're attempting to justify why the game took such a hard 90 degree turn away from previous gameplay demos in order to proffer this metaphysical theme. Where, for example, is the Elizabeth AI we were shown where she fought along side of us? Gone and replaced with a cowering AI that gets in the way and offers little help but tossing us items from time to time. Where, for example, were the critical moments in the game shown during gameplay demos of E3's past? Gone and replaced with overly cerebral tropes about quantum mechanics and multiple realities. Where, for example, are all the examples of how the sky-rail plays a critical role in the game? Just gone, entirely. Don't get me wrong, the story is heads and shoulders better than MOST games these days and the attention to detail is second to none. For those reasons alone the game should be experienced at least once. It's just the story isn't nearly as new OR earth shattering as many claim it to be and, if I didn't care about spoilers, I could point out how Infinite almost perfectly parallels the story of Walter and Peter Bishop from the TV show Fringe. While the story is better than most it really doesn't make the shortcomings of the gameplay easier to bear. Finally, for a game which was designed exclusively for single player, the game is very short, clocking in at a total of 14 hours on the hard difficulty setting with most of the collectibles obtained. Given the fact that many elements were chopped out of the gameplay videos, I can't help but wonder how much is sitting on the cutting room floor, or if key parts were stripped in order to push out fast DLC. There's no reason this game shouldn't have been AT LEAST 20 hours in length, especially given how linear it is designed. All in all, it's a decent game but painfully average in terms of gameplay and only barely above average in terms of story. Levine spent so much time on the metaphysical that it feels like he and the development team forgot that it was all of the elements, combined, that made BioShock so distinct and enjoyable. It's worth playing at least once to soak in all the wonder but, sadly, you won't really be going back to play it again since nothing (except difficulty) changes between play throughs.… Expand

UncleJose

Mar 26, 2013

5

Bioshock Infinite is the definition of mediocre. The combat is weak, the story is complete nonsense, the characters have no personality, the graphics are poor up close, the choices don't impact anything or anyone, it is the most linear game i have played in a long while and it feels more like a shooting gallery at times and the magic or whatever its called is not needed. It just tries toBioshock Infinite is the definition of mediocre. The combat is weak, the story is complete nonsense, the characters have no personality, the graphics are poor up close, the choices don't impact anything or anyone, it is the most linear game i have played in a long while and it feels more like a shooting gallery at times and the magic or whatever its called is not needed. It just tries to copy Call of Duty to much with its gameplay and fails miserably. The ending is the worst thing about the game because it retcons System Shock 1&2 and BioShock 1&2 and is just stupid. The world however looks nice and it is very detailed, only if you look at it from far away. I'm getting the idea that a lot of these "Reviewers" have finished the game. Plus the game is more of a "You should feel bad if you are a white person" kind of game.

Tl;dr Just buy any CoD4 or Half life 2 its basically the same but with more re-playability, strategy, creativity and mod-ability, better writing, better characters, memorable guns and Multilayer. On a side note, Hi "Irrational Games" marketers.… Expand

Twobles

Mar 26, 2013

6

Well I can start by saying. It is a very unique and artistic setting. The visuals are great. To be quite honest it isn't as good as the game deserves. I found it too be a run and gun. The enemies were not that exciting and the game itself was very easy. Gameplay hours ran me about 6 hours in total. In terms of gameplay itself the only unique thing about it was the skyline which was fun toWell I can start by saying. It is a very unique and artistic setting. The visuals are great. To be quite honest it isn't as good as the game deserves. I found it too be a run and gun. The enemies were not that exciting and the game itself was very easy. Gameplay hours ran me about 6 hours in total. In terms of gameplay itself the only unique thing about it was the skyline which was fun to use. The rest of the game itself just didn't feel that great. Looking out in the distance and looking at the view and the world that they created was awesome. One thing to expect is repetitive gameplay. You will find all the missions to be the same. You will be running from map to map running and gunning. There were no unique quests. Even after finishing I felt as if it was extremely liner and have no desire to return to this game. The only thing this game has for it was its super awesome voice acting and its stunning visuals. The skyline added a very unique system but it was a bit disappointing. All in all I gotta rate this game a 6.5/10. Due to the weird plot twists, uninteresting enemies, repetitive gameplay. If this game would improve its maps. Making everything more like its original. This game would easily make my top of the list. It all came down to its average gameplay and linear story. The game was incredibly easy. I toned it up to hard and still found my self sprinting through the game.… Expand

djflash5455

Mar 30, 2013

5

OK. Personally I can't see what the massive review scores are for. The graphics are really average. Shocking textures covered up with massive amounts of HDR & Bloom. It's just a corridor shooter, holding your hand wherever you go. This is not a groundbreaking 96% game like it's currently rated on metacritic. It's not a patch on Far Cry 3 in terms of visuals and immersion. I don't give aOK. Personally I can't see what the massive review scores are for. The graphics are really average. Shocking textures covered up with massive amounts of HDR & Bloom. It's just a corridor shooter, holding your hand wherever you go. This is not a groundbreaking 96% game like it's currently rated on metacritic. It's not a patch on Far Cry 3 in terms of visuals and immersion. I don't give a sh*t about Booker at all. The fact you seem to be this wanted man, that no one seems to recognise, until you have walked past them opened a specific door then they are like 'oh that's probably our dude'. You're the only person in the whole world who carries a gun except the Police, no one seems to bat an eyelid you're wielding a shotgun with a hole in your hand. Maybe I had too high expectations.… Expand

mr_godot

Mar 26, 2013

5

What is bad about the game:

1. The weapon ironsights forces you into toggle mode. You cannot switch it to "on hold" mode, which is incredibly aggravating. The same is true for sprint and crouch. Where is the customization? It's a crime this feature was left out of the PC port. 2. Forced to edit .ini files. The mouse aiming is atrocious on default. It wasn't until I read that mouseWhat is bad about the game:

1. The weapon ironsights forces you into toggle mode. You cannot switch it to "on hold" mode, which is incredibly aggravating. The same is true for sprint and crouch. Where is the customization? It's a crime this feature was left out of the PC port.

2. Forced to edit .ini files. The mouse aiming is atrocious on default. It wasn't until I read that mouse smoothing and auto-aim was enabled by default that I was able to fix this problem. Again, there are no settings in game to toggle these. You have to dig around in .ini file to turn them off manually. 3. You can only carry 2 guns. The hell? Who thought this was a good idea? In both prior incarnations of the game you had the freedom to choose any gun available for the situation. Now you are pigeon holed. Decreasing the amount of choice in a game is simply bad design.

4. Bloom and DOF covers up incredibly low poly-count models, extreme polygon warping in many animations due to poor skeletal/mesh weighting (contorted necks and arms are the most obvious areas), and low quality textures even on the highest setting. Don't look too close at anything our you'll be sorely disappointed.

5. Main character talks to himself... a lot. I wouldn't mind too much if he actually had something interesting to say, but the self-monologuing of stupid quips gets old fast.

6. No player choice. The game is completely linear and "on-rails." This is not the direction AAA games should be going. As a gamer I want more freedom, not more restriction. What's even more insulting is the developer try's to trick the gamer into thinking he has choice by giving him binary: pick A (evil act) or pick B (good act). However, no matter what you pick (I've tested each so far) results in the exact same resulting cut-scene and outcome. What is good about the game:

1. The detail of Elizabeth (you're sidekick) is incredible. The artists did an absolutely fantastic job on bringing this character life. The animations are gorgeous, the voice acting is superb, and the interaction in combat feels good. If there's one reason to play this game, its to experience this character truly come to life throughout the story. Bravo.

2. The level artists also did a fantastic job. The vistas in the game are simply breath-taking, just don't look too closely at anything and the visage holds up.

3. Fascinating story. Not the best, but worth a look. I personally feel the developers tried too hard to be controversial here, by blatantly throwing racism and gender inequality in your face at every chance they can get. However, there are some nice subtitles that are spread throughout the game which was a pleasant surprise.

Conclusion:

Worth playing. It's definitely not game of the year (Tomb Raider has locked up tight imo), but if you don't mind paying for an interactive movie, and overlooking the inherent console restrictions, this is worth picking up. Even though flying through the city on rails at high speeds is quite fun the first few times, there's really not much else in terms on innovation to the FPS genre.

Hope this was helpful,

5/10… Expand

kaen

Mar 26, 2013

5

I don't really get the hype here. It plays like a low budged clone of Dishonored. The story is ok (I'm half way thru), the setting is nice (althou repeats the Rapture), but the gameplay is meh. AI sucks, guns suck, vigor is optional and also sucks. The actual gameplay seems to be a filler between important scenes. The mehest game this year. Maybe this game will mesmerise me in the secondI don't really get the hype here. It plays like a low budged clone of Dishonored. The story is ok (I'm half way thru), the setting is nice (althou repeats the Rapture), but the gameplay is meh. AI sucks, guns suck, vigor is optional and also sucks. The actual gameplay seems to be a filler between important scenes. The mehest game this year. Maybe this game will mesmerise me in the second half, but for now... meh.… Expand

UncleEd

Feb 14, 2021

5

I loved the first Bioshock, liked the second one, could not stand Infinite. Gameplay was never Bioshock’s selling point, but this one really boils it down to moving from one area to the next and killing lackluster enemies with low AI. Gameplay is repetitive, weapons are uninteresting. Vigors feel out of place and you don’t really need to bother with them given the game’s ridiculously easyI loved the first Bioshock, liked the second one, could not stand Infinite. Gameplay was never Bioshock’s selling point, but this one really boils it down to moving from one area to the next and killing lackluster enemies with low AI. Gameplay is repetitive, weapons are uninteresting. Vigors feel out of place and you don’t really need to bother with them given the game’s ridiculously easy difficulty. There is almost zero punishment for death. And the looting… Instead of enjoying the beautiful graphics, the game expects you to walk to every corner in every area in order to loot cash from garbage bins and drawers. I did not have patience to finish the game, so maybe it was the story that made many critics regard this as GOTY for 2013. I cannot comment on the story, but in terms of gameplay, BioShock Inifinite is a tedious game.

4.5/10… Expand

Animus_V0x

Jun 15, 2022

5

I liked the game at the beginning but the more the story advanced the more i was confused and the game-play became messy. I had huge expectations for this game and was kinda disappointed when i played it, 5 years after it's release.

GamersNational

Jun 19, 2013

7

While I overall enjoyed my experience playing Bioshock Infinite, it is highly overrated by critics and as such has blinded the gaming community. The graphics have been praised for their great and fresh look, but in fact the graphics are quite mediocre. Elizabeth's backstory and personality could have been fleshed out a bit more as well. One thing I can absolutely say is that A.I. isWhile I overall enjoyed my experience playing Bioshock Infinite, it is highly overrated by critics and as such has blinded the gaming community. The graphics have been praised for their great and fresh look, but in fact the graphics are quite mediocre. Elizabeth's backstory and personality could have been fleshed out a bit more as well. One thing I can absolutely say is that A.I. is great in this game and the atmosphere (setting) is great in this latest installment, maybe surpassing the originals. Bioshock Infinite is a good game, but is not perfect. Not great, even. It is highly overrated.… Expand

MikefromAngus

May 6, 2013

7

I found this game, sometimes amazing and sometimes just an average shooter. The difficultly level seemed not to be stable. I played the game at "hard" setting and found it a challenge, but every entertaining until I fought the "bosses" eg. lady Comstock and all of the sudden it became impossible to pass! and had to lower the level to "normal". Graphics were very well done, as were soundI found this game, sometimes amazing and sometimes just an average shooter. The difficultly level seemed not to be stable. I played the game at "hard" setting and found it a challenge, but every entertaining until I fought the "bosses" eg. lady Comstock and all of the sudden it became impossible to pass! and had to lower the level to "normal". Graphics were very well done, as were sound and the music.
Overall I found this game entertaining and interesting, but as a whole. I am giving this game a 7 out of 10.… Expand

ns0l

Aug 9, 2013

5

I thought this is gonna be different, not disappointing. But I found it so boring, stupid and ridiculous. It should be good for minors if it wasn't violent. I don't like Bioshock at all. And this one I hate. Just another piece of trash. Rising up to another world into the sky this time is a good changing, I'm bored of the sea anyway. Colors and flying buildings impressed me just for aI thought this is gonna be different, not disappointing. But I found it so boring, stupid and ridiculous. It should be good for minors if it wasn't violent. I don't like Bioshock at all. And this one I hate. Just another piece of trash. Rising up to another world into the sky this time is a good changing, I'm bored of the sea anyway. Colors and flying buildings impressed me just for a while. then I thought maybe It's a good Idea to uninstall this game and do something else. So I did, and I do not feel remorse about that.… Expand

Kazuna2112

May 20, 2013

5

Before this game came out, my older brother while hyped for the game told me it was almost too good to be true. Well now his statement is correct as I feel Bioshock Infinite, while not a bad game, really is not as good as others are saying it is. While the graphics are good and the voice acting is good, the gameplay and the story conflict with one another and both have their own faults.Before this game came out, my older brother while hyped for the game told me it was almost too good to be true. Well now his statement is correct as I feel Bioshock Infinite, while not a bad game, really is not as good as others are saying it is. While the graphics are good and the voice acting is good, the gameplay and the story conflict with one another and both have their own faults. The gameplay really isn't that good as the enemies feel like Bullet Sponges, the Melee is rather clunky and only useful for executions. The clothes system was a real downgrade from the tonic system from Bioshock as it really limited what upgrades you could use and a lot of them were not useful at all (mainly any that were used in conjunction with the skylines were worthless.) In fact there are many other things I felt were downgrades from that game but one I'd like to touch that some have not pointed out is that the weapon upgrades really feel lacking as they don't improve the gun visually and while somewhat noticeable in performance just does not feel significant whereas the first game made the upgrades feel big. The Handymen were also a downgrade not only because they had less to do with the story than the Big Daddies did but killing them was most of the time not worth the effort as they only gave you health and salts (at least that's all I ever got) and most times you could skip them, so most times its best to avoid them. There's so much that I had an issue with but for writing this review I probably couldn't fit them all in so basic point is that while not the worst gameplay I've played, I do find its very over rated. I also won't go too much into story to keep this a spoiler free review but while some characters were good (Like Elizabeth and the way she helps you in combat) I just wasn't blown away by the story. I earlier mentioned that the gameplay and the story don't compliment each other and its hard to completely go into without spoiling it but essentially the sheer amount of violence that you regularly do does not coincide with Booker's motivations and desires if hes supposed to be the guy you're rooting for. If I could I would write a lot more but with a 5000 character limit I feel I would hit the ceiling if I tried to fit all my views on the story and gameplay. While this game does have its moments, I find it really is overrated and while it wasn't a waste of time, it was disappointing.… Expand

BubbsTubbs

Jun 21, 2013

5

Is it left wing propaganda? yes. Ken Levine has admitted so. google it. Is it a great game? well, the ending is fun, cinematic, and unexpected. The rest of the game is kind of first person standard fare: pistol, machine gun, shot gun, rocket launcher, a few spells (vigors)... you have played this game before.... its just got an interesting story and is a "critique of right wingIs it left wing propaganda? yes. Ken Levine has admitted so. google it. Is it a great game? well, the ending is fun, cinematic, and unexpected. The rest of the game is kind of first person standard fare: pistol, machine gun, shot gun, rocket launcher, a few spells (vigors)... you have played this game before.... its just got an interesting story and is a "critique of right wing politics" to quote Ken Levine...… Expand

Escherichia

Jun 18, 2013

5

How does anyone think this game deserves a 10 or a 0? What was so great or so horrible to justify those scores? This game has ok graphics, great scenarios, an unnecessarily complicated storyline full of plot holes and unsurprising twists, unintersting characters, a repetitive to the point it becomes tedious combat, a poor selection of weapons, a self recharging shield and a health, saltsHow does anyone think this game deserves a 10 or a 0? What was so great or so horrible to justify those scores? This game has ok graphics, great scenarios, an unnecessarily complicated storyline full of plot holes and unsurprising twists, unintersting characters, a repetitive to the point it becomes tedious combat, a poor selection of weapons, a self recharging shield and a health, salts and ammo dispenser for a companion that, paired with a poor Ai, takes away any challenge.
Even if the word Bioshock is in its title, an average game deserves an average score people.… Expand

Expospeed

Nov 30, 2014

5

Bioshock Infinite is definitely overhyped. This game plays similarly to Call of Duty due to its linearity. My breakdown is as follows:

1. Graphics: 9/10 - simply excellent 2. Gameplay: 4/10 - plays like CoD, linear and mind-numbing 3. Story: 3/10 - initially immersive, but progression is slow with abrupt and unsatisfying ending. Also, the racial theme is overemphasized 4. Music: 8/10Bioshock Infinite is definitely overhyped. This game plays similarly to Call of Duty due to its linearity. My breakdown is as follows:

1. Graphics: 9/10 - simply excellent
2. Gameplay: 4/10 - plays like CoD, linear and mind-numbing
3. Story: 3/10 - initially immersive, but progression is slow with abrupt and unsatisfying ending. Also, the racial theme is overemphasized
4. Music: 8/10 - great

Overall, mediocre game. On a personal note, if I knew about the prominent racial theme, I would not have purchased this game.… Expand

Shupurd

Aug 9, 2013

5

When i saw Bioshock: Infinite's average score, i decided to give it try. Let's start from his graphics: in a powerful geforce 65' with hd monitor, graphics were disappointing: too sloppy for a 2013 game. About his gameplay, it's quite the same thing of its sequels, except the ambientation there's nothing different. The plot could be original but it's too difficult to understand due to theWhen i saw Bioshock: Infinite's average score, i decided to give it try. Let's start from his graphics: in a powerful geforce 65' with hd monitor, graphics were disappointing: too sloppy for a 2013 game. About his gameplay, it's quite the same thing of its sequels, except the ambientation there's nothing different. The plot could be original but it's too difficult to understand due to the fact that there isn't any explicative cutscene and you have to understand the storyline it by your own. Firefights are dull: foes are always the same except some bosses here and there and everyone wield almost the same weapon. Ii can describe this game with one single word: BOOOOORING. It can be divided in 3 phases: explore, kill, gather. You do those actions and then continue the storyline, which is linear and lifeless. I can'r really understand how this game has such an high score.… Expand

mrrgl

May 3, 2013

5

This is Bioshock only so far as it has clunky shooting mechanics, is full of moral ambiguity, and makes heavy reference to a historical period. That is the end of the resemblance. Level design is linear and frightfully dull. None of the weapons is actually satisfying to use. The story is multi-layered and imaginative, but simply falls flat in regards to making the player interested orThis is Bioshock only so far as it has clunky shooting mechanics, is full of moral ambiguity, and makes heavy reference to a historical period. That is the end of the resemblance. Level design is linear and frightfully dull. None of the weapons is actually satisfying to use. The story is multi-layered and imaginative, but simply falls flat in regards to making the player interested or invested in anything. Original Bioshock was weird, scary, and immersive; this is just weird.

Orignal Bioshock, I remember several instances where I felt motivated to plan out an assault; where and how am I going to engage these guys? This Bioshock; "there are some guys, I'm going to shoot them. If they shoot me, I will hide behind this corner here, wait until they stop shooting, then pop out and shoot them some more. Then I will loot their corpses and eat a can of beans."

Pros; a couple of interesting complex fights utilizing multiple levels and choices of which structure you'll have Elizabeth "warp" into existence. Attractive environments.

Bottom line: It is attractive and the artwork is very imaginative, but it simply isn't fun to play.… Expand

Nilaul

Apr 28, 2013

5

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game-play was all repetitive. The same enemies, just repeated, the same goddamn tactics being repeated too. Honestly its a shame that they didn't use those enemies in the art-book; perhaps it would had made it more interesting. The vigor powers basically did similar things: They lay traps (some bigger and more lasting) or attacked directly (some with a bigger range and blast). Only 3 of them did a drastically different thing. There was really no need for all them, frankly some of them where useless in the heat of a battle. I did however pretty much used them all at some point. If I was the developer I would had spent more time planning and implementing the vigors.

The only way to gain an upgrade is to pay for it and the machine. To get money you have to search through bodies, trash cans, desks etc. but wait... they tried to make you think! They include items that take can take away your health or take away something and give you something back. However I really didn't care, I was just spamming [F] all over the environment because I just wanted to get all the gold. I never ever did not take something, I always took everything because I just was not bothered. Its like the system was broken; Its like they tried to make an mechanic more interesting but ultimately failed at it. Perhaps upgrading should had happened through other means?

During the game I was careful not to kill civilians; thinking that It would have some out come later in the game, but I couldn't be more wrong; the game couldn't care less and frankly you would be better off killing them for loot.

I also think that they were too few guns for the scope and longevity of the game. Perhaps they should had also invented some of their own instead of relying on real life ones. They had the classic shotgun, the classic sniper, the machine gun etc. They should had added some fantasy to it in-order to keep it interesting. They already have quantum physics, flying cities multiple dimensions and yet they don't have a quantum gun or some weird stuff like that. After a few hours you get bored of using the same things over and over again.

After a few hours I found myself playing it just to complete it; I really wanted to know how the story ends. I didn't really find the game fun anymore; I got bored of the same mechanics, the same enemies being used.

Boss fights are just more powerful enemies (why couldn't they design something more unique for the occasion?). The only potentially good boss-fight was the bird; but Instead Elizabeth decides to kill it for you. Perhaps they should had turned Comstock into boss fight; considering Comstock is Booker and considering he has access to some impressive technology, he could had held a good fight (even though hes an old man) but that would go against him being a "holly" man.

Instead of having a final boss, the game decides to give you a defend your Zeppelin reactor (em tower defense), which for some reason Comstock thought it was a good idea to locate it on top of his ship, so that it is easy to hit by his enemies (though if I was the enemy I would probably just not even bother with going on board and just blow it up from far).

There is no true exploration, its just a singular path for most of the time. To make it more interesting they thrown in a key fetch quest (Elizabeth suddenly forgot how pick-lock an ordinary looking lock).

The game is probably one of the most repetitive games I've played lately. Its not a game that deserves a score of 9/10 or 10/10 its a game that deserves a score of 6/10, 7/10. It just that this game doesn't really bring anything new to the table, its all been done before, and whatever it does it does it in cycles and cycles. Apart from the production values, the score, and the thought evoking game ending (though the story could had been explained better) there isn't nothing really to it Its like they were trying hard to be like Hollywood but they forget to make sure the game-play remains interesting and fun though out all the adventure and not only for the first few hours.… Expand

JMDubya

Jun 15, 2013

5

Booker(protagonist) and Elizabeth(side-kick) are interesting characters. The Vigor’s are an interesting idea though severely under-powered initially. The guns are fun to use but the set pieces are tedious cover-based shooting galleries with the only challenge being that some enemies take more bullets to put down than others. Despite playing this on a PC I had to use a controller, the keyBooker(protagonist) and Elizabeth(side-kick) are interesting characters. The Vigor’s are an interesting idea though severely under-powered initially. The guns are fun to use but the set pieces are tedious cover-based shooting galleries with the only challenge being that some enemies take more bullets to put down than others. Despite playing this on a PC I had to use a controller, the key board lay-out defies logic and the mouse feels awful, no amount of tinkering with acceleration and sensitivity made the mouse a viable option. Like Tomb Raider I had to take a break when I walked into yet another room filled with waist high walls. The first hour or two are really interesting and immersive but the action is tedious. I haven’t bothered to finish the game. 5/10 for some fun in Columbia with Booker and Elizabeth.… Expand

saforce

May 7, 2013

5

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a negatively toned review because there are plenty of orgasmic reviews to sing the praises of Bioshock Infinite.

Story-- 4
"Infinite" is an appropriate descriptor considering the increasing prevalence of deus ex machina moments in games. Infinite saddles you with a sappy, labyrinthian story that relies on quantum mechanics to tie some of its nonsensical ramblings together. You are set up from the very beginning with false pretenses of the most basic mechanics of the world you're dropped into. It cheapens, if not outright destroys, the sense of victory and accomplishment expected at the conclusion of a game.

Another offender on the story train is the killjoy twist element. Every time things appear to be looking up for our depressed protagonists, some bastard writer decides it's the perfect time to throw a nasty curve their way. The ending, I'm displeased to say, contains a rapid-fire series of these as a disgusting means of attempting to tie the spaghetti mess together into a coherent narrative. While I realize that most endless stories tend to thrive on conflict, it does not, by any means, need to be so pervasive that it destroys the elation of success or outright eliminates it.

Mechanics-- 6
One gameplay mechanic that was poorly implemented, and overwhelming misrepresented in early gameplay demos, is Elizabeth's "assistance." In combat, she'll occasionally "toss" you items, such as health or ammunition when you're running low on resources. While this is useful, it is a poor attempt to cover how ludicrously limited your inventory is (that is to say, there is none, as with previous Bioshock entries). In this day and age, this is an unforgivable decision/omission.

There are difficulty levels for a reason. Some people prefer the hardcore difficulties that present a challenge in all aspects of the game, not just combat. Others, myself included, prefer to sit back and enjoy a game with plenty of frenetic action, but without the time-consuming mania of resource micromanagement.

Returning to Elizabeth's assist mechanic, outside of combat she will occasionally (read rarely) toss currency your way. I experimented a bit to see if there was any specific trigger for her behavior, but I could not consistently reproduce her behavior. I would enter an area, spy some loose currency and approach, ignore, and pass by it. She neglected to respond to this direct stimulus. However, in certain areas, where I could swear a swept the floor, she would out of nowhere miraculously produce currency. Imagine my dismay when even Booker neglected to respond in most cases, rarely offering a word of simple acknowledgment, let alone thanks. (It's the small things.)

Graphics-- 7
The visuals in Bioshock Infinite are a mixed bag. The ocean effects are quite stunning. Textures are good in two places. Elizabeth and Elizabeth. That's about it. Just about everything else appears to be orders of resolution less stunning and detailed. At one point you see Elizabeth's back with a disturbingly realistic bruise on it. It was a jarring juxtaposition given the art style. Water effects on other materials are quite nice, but in their common appearance on wood planks you find that sometimes planks intersect in unlikely ways that tug at the immersion factor.

To counter the apparent endless attention on making sure Elizabeth looks stunning at all times, she acquires a brooch that she attaches to her choker. From then on you are treated to a distracting show where the brooch follows her head movement and not the choker (her neck).

Gameplay-- 4
It's Bioshock, not your average FPS. The treasure hunting aspects is typical and consistent with other entries in the franchise. Generally boring to a fault and a failed opportunity to involve the player in the backstory of the world.

Weapons are abysmal and underpowered as always. How many shotgun blasts can your average, unarmored metro cop take? More than you'd think, and twice as many as you'd imagine. How many weapons can Booker hold? Not enough. Apparently he's never heard of slings or holsters. And with all the ammo he's carrying around (read a handful) you'd think he was storing it in his mouth.

How many rockets does it take to kill a patriot automaton? Far too many for even a sliver of realism. Granted, I did play the game on the hard difficulty, but let's stop scaling everything against the player and scale it both ways (they do more damage and so do I) that way the realism is enhanced not thrown completely out the window. Honestly, you'd never find a rocket launcher. But if you did, it would kill anything it hit in a single shot. How satisfying is it to acquire "the best weapon in the game" only to have it inflict only a spoonful more damage than the rest of your arsenal?

Conclusion-- 5 (not average)
I beat the game in 14 hours. I wasn't trying to. I was walking around lazily gazing at the scenery for most of that time. But the last several scenes are incredibly frantic. Wait for a sale.… Expand

rothco

May 13, 2013

5

Being a huge fan of Bioshock and the shock series i was very excited to get into Infinite but as i played the game it became more and more clear to me how much more linear,stock-shootery and scripted this game was.the characters in the world were either not very interessting or well fleshed out and the gunplay was boring and felt terrible.

TwistedCritic

Mar 13, 2016

7

Bioshock Infinite is great. It's story, characters and world are all breathtakingly well done. But the gameplay, in my opinion isn't my cup of tea; a bit too shooty-bang-bang... I still love it, but being restricted to 2 weapons isn't a very good design choice for a Bioshock game. I also thought that the way "Plasmids" were presented was bit cruddy. The whole gameplay aspect just doesn'tBioshock Infinite is great. It's story, characters and world are all breathtakingly well done. But the gameplay, in my opinion isn't my cup of tea; a bit too shooty-bang-bang... I still love it, but being restricted to 2 weapons isn't a very good design choice for a Bioshock game. I also thought that the way "Plasmids" were presented was bit cruddy. The whole gameplay aspect just doesn't feel like a Bioshock game. Even the world is linear, not allowing for as diverse exploration opportunities as the previous games.… Expand

dumle

Apr 13, 2013

7

Bioshock Infinite have a lot of really strong points. The graphical design in the game is absolutely amazing and the environments you are in are absolutely gorgeous. Not only that they also just oozes with the atmosphere that goes hand in hand with the Story. And the story is great and it contains a lot of interesting subjects and characters. The game also manages to tell its story throughBioshock Infinite have a lot of really strong points. The graphical design in the game is absolutely amazing and the environments you are in are absolutely gorgeous. Not only that they also just oozes with the atmosphere that goes hand in hand with the Story. And the story is great and it contains a lot of interesting subjects and characters. The game also manages to tell its story through the environment and audio logs just as in the previous games in the series.The only complaint i have regarding the story is that it lacks player interaction both in general and in interaction with characters in the game. But this game is a first person shooter and you are going to spend the majority of your time shooting stuff. The exploring is still there from the previous games but its not as fleshed out in this game since there are less stuff to find and the maps are more linear. Now the shooting is alright. Its is by no means terrible buts its not especially good either. The enemies are unvaried and feels like bullet sponges which makes the whole combat feel dull and unresponsive. The two-weapon limit is a total buzzkill and it doesnt help that the weapons in the game is nothing out of the ordinary. The vigors can be quite enjoyable but the meat of the combat is the shooting which is not that great. There are also some quite annoying boss battles in the game. Now the railways in the game are fun to use and the big open combat arenas in the game with height differences, tears, railways and turrets are where the games most enjoyable fights takes place. Sadly too few areas are like this and the combat can never really escape the fact that the basics arent all that great. it doesnt help that the combat is quite unvaried. Its not that i wish for bloody turret-sections every hour to spice things up but if you are going to make the player constantly shoot stuff the entire game (took me 11 hours on hard) then the shooting should be good enough to carry the game. And in this case the combat is not able to do that. Its hard to rate this game since the combat is average while everything else is pretty much amazing. But i do recommend this game despite its problems simple because how well they managed to pull of the everything besides the combat.… Expand

Skals

May 28, 2013

7

Everything is brilliant about this game, except for the combat. It becomes way too repetitive and turns more into a chore than a fun experience later on, as you're faced with waves of the same enemies again and again, till eventually you are allowed to walk into another room, where the same thing resumes.

KillaRiku

May 18, 2013

6

It is not a bad game at all. But it is just another FPS. It has no special things on it and the story was only average. The graphics are really awesome. And it was really funny for a long while. But for me it's just another FPS.

Castylan

Jan 4, 2014

7

Alright. Bioshock Infinite. I've only now finished this game, despite having it for a while, and I thought I'd give my impressions of it. First of all, it is undeniably overrated. Playing the last Bioshock games and moving to this one; they haven't really done anything revolutionary. Sure, it's an enjoyable game, and it mixes up the FPS genre, but it really isn't worth the perfect scoresAlright. Bioshock Infinite. I've only now finished this game, despite having it for a while, and I thought I'd give my impressions of it. First of all, it is undeniably overrated. Playing the last Bioshock games and moving to this one; they haven't really done anything revolutionary. Sure, it's an enjoyable game, and it mixes up the FPS genre, but it really isn't worth the perfect scores that are granted to it.

To start, seeing as it's a PC game, let's look at the graphics. Stunning, right? Well yeah, they're pretty good, but considering the game is linear, it isn't really cutting edge. Not to say it's ugly, but it's using the sort of water-colour pallet which can be found in other games like Dishonoured. It's nice to look at, but it isn't really the breath taking sights which appear in games such as Metro: Last Light or Crysis 3.

As for the gameplay, it's fun, and I can lose time in it, but it can feel a little bit shallow at times. Before you rage against me, examine the 'vigors' of the game. The same as plasmids in the former Bioshocks, they give you superhuman powers with which you can wreck everything. But among them, there are just a few too many similarities for my liking. Bucking Bronco, Undertow and Shock Jockey all have effects which aren't particularly unique. The first upgrade essentially stuns an enemy. The second upgrades mix things up a bit but then other similarities can be found; for example the mine effects of Shock Jockey and Devil's Kiss. Some are more interesting, like Charge or Possession, but in the end they don't act too differently to, say, shooting an enemy in another game in a weak spot and watching them recoil. Add some gunplay of which the most interesting part are the gun noises, and it failed to give any memorable weapons, or moment's that I'll remember using them.

As for the story...it's interesting? Elizabeth is a nice character, but I feel as if she's kinda there to cater to the audiences' idea of a perfect girl, or something thereabouts. Booker is one of those protagonists with a grizzled attitude, tough guy exterior blah blah blah. He had some interesting moments, but most of those seemed to be swept up in his choices. Some of the more interesting plot developments later on in the game just made me feel disconnected; I won't spoil them, but it feels as if your actions have less effect on your own environment, and that just makes me question Booker's actions all the more.

All in all, it's not a bad game by any means. Moments like moving around on the sky rail were always fun, but I just feel that it hasn't really turned out to be as good as everyone said. Gameplay is solid, graphics are nice and the story will probably leave some people in love with the characters, but I don't think it's worth full price, especially if you're buying for a console for whatever reason. Wait for a steam sale, pick it up and play through it and then you'll be able to get all the necessary references. If you're not interested in that sort of thing, then you might want to give it a miss.… Expand

Ubai

Apr 26, 2013

7

After finishing Bioshock Infinite I realized that rather than playing a game I was instead watching a movie where I had to click my mouse a lot to see what happens. When it was done I was disappointed by a poorly thought out ending, which reinforced my belief that I hadn't been playing a game.

That being said, there are quite a few good things about the game that I liked very much. JustAfter finishing Bioshock Infinite I realized that rather than playing a game I was instead watching a movie where I had to click my mouse a lot to see what happens. When it was done I was disappointed by a poorly thought out ending, which reinforced my belief that I hadn't been playing a game.

That being said, there are quite a few good things about the game that I liked very much. Just like everyone else, I think this is a visually gorgeous game, and the art is one of the reasons I gave it a seven instead of a five. I also enjoyed the music and audio design, and I loved some of the musical Easter eggs in the game. I enjoyed having enemies I could blast with no moral qualms at all. There are a lot of good things in Bioshock Infinite and if you can put up with the game's shortcomings it is probably worth doing so just to see all the neat stuff in the setting they created. Also, it's fair to say that Elizabeth is one of the better sidekicks I've seen in a game.

Sadly, the game falls short in the gameplay category to the point where I'm not sure you can call this a game. The enemies are generic for the most part (though a couple are interesting from a visual standpoint, naturally), and they took out the lock picking and hacking mini-games from the original Bioshock, so you spend most of your time looking in trashcans when you aren't shooting large numbers of cookie cutter enemies. Weapon upgrades and your "vigors" (magic zappy powers) aren't much different from previous Bioshock games. In the end, the lack of gameplay mechanics and generic shoot outs left me just wanting to be done with the game. Once the appeal of the setting started to wear off, things got pretty tedious.

The deal-breaker for me was the fact that I had no meaningful control over the character when it really mattered, because those were the times you were stuck in cut scenes, right up to the end. It's hard to explain how unsatisfying the ending is without spoilers, but I can say that the end itself made no sense at all in the context of the rules they themselves had made, as well as being kind of banal and predictable. It was a huge disappointment for me and I felt I should have stopped playing sooner rather than toughing it out to the end.

To sum up: people who love watching a story unfold and don't mind a bit of tedium may find Bioshock Infinite right up their alley. As for me, I think Bioshock Infinite might make a good movie but as a game it was a fairly average offering.… Expand

Animal210

Apr 15, 2013

7

I bought this game expecting it to be like the previous Bio Shock games and a hybrid of FPS and RPG but this game is much more of straight up FPS with a well told story attached to it. Gone is the hacking and ability to make your own choices instead we have a purely linear story which you are not encouraged to deviate from and for me these aspects are sorely missed.

Despite this thereI bought this game expecting it to be like the previous Bio Shock games and a hybrid of FPS and RPG but this game is much more of straight up FPS with a well told story attached to it. Gone is the hacking and ability to make your own choices instead we have a purely linear story which you are not encouraged to deviate from and for me these aspects are sorely missed.

Despite this there is much to like the story is well told, it is the only game I have played where having a non
playable character does not drive you nuts and the graphics look great.

The biggest downside for me is the action is often so hectic it is more less impossible to work out what is going on, enemies are thrown at you from all directions and non of the weapons/vigors seem to have any great effect against the more powerful enemies. The relentless action also makes the game very repetitive and you often feel you are playing the same section of the game over and over getting killed again and again. The constant action also stops you being able to wander and take in your surroundings which was one of the enjoyable aspects of the previous games.

This is not a bad game but I would not pay full price for it and think it has been over hyped due to the poor standard of recent releases.… Expand

Sulfie

Apr 14, 2013

7

Just finished Bioshock Infinite on Hard, and I have to say it's rather easy and fear the "1999" mode would only make the enemies into severe bullet sponges.
The combat also feels relatively sluggish, the weapons seem bland, I generally chose to stick with the shotgun sniper rifle throughout the entire game, which is the same with the vigors, I tried them all multiple times but PossessionJust finished Bioshock Infinite on Hard, and I have to say it's rather easy and fear the "1999" mode would only make the enemies into severe bullet sponges.
The combat also feels relatively sluggish, the weapons seem bland, I generally chose to stick with the shotgun sniper rifle throughout the entire game, which is the same with the vigors, I tried them all multiple times but Possession and Shock Jockey were the most useful imo.
The gears seemed more fun and you had quite a nice selection to choose from, although again once I had certain ones I never felt I had to swap them around for different encounters etc.
The story was nice although rather predictable, it's a great shame there was no real emphasis or implementation of choices, instead what we get is just an average on rails fps, there was so much hope for this game a year ago, and yet what could have been great was scrapped and this is what we get.… Expand

Ghost_JTF

Apr 15, 2013

7

A short review: The game has an amazing story, incredibly world design and some brilliant characters, however it falls flat on it's face when it comes to combat, which utilizes a dumb two weapon system clearly designed for consoles mixed with 'vigors' which basically plasmids which are supposed to enhance the combat. It is worth noting that the skyrail system adds a bit more debth but soonA short review: The game has an amazing story, incredibly world design and some brilliant characters, however it falls flat on it's face when it comes to combat, which utilizes a dumb two weapon system clearly designed for consoles mixed with 'vigors' which basically plasmids which are supposed to enhance the combat. It is worth noting that the skyrail system adds a bit more debth but soon you will just start to ignore it unless it's necessary… Expand

Brendos1er

May 7, 2013

7

Honestly, this game isn't half bad. It succeeds far more than it fails. However I just couldn't get into it. It's a good game but no where near a perfect 10 like I keep seeing all over the place. Worth checking out but don't expect anything truly inspired.

CHIGGLYBOY

May 23, 2013

6

I simply cannot understand the hype over this game. It's quite good and the combat is satisfying with good weapons and fun powers such as bucking bronco, and it looks good. However, it has a fake, lifeless feel like a deserted theme park, with as story and enemies that just did not hold my interest. Nowhere near the atmosphere of the original game. I had no idea (or desire to know) whatI simply cannot understand the hype over this game. It's quite good and the combat is satisfying with good weapons and fun powers such as bucking bronco, and it looks good. However, it has a fake, lifeless feel like a deserted theme park, with as story and enemies that just did not hold my interest. Nowhere near the atmosphere of the original game. I had no idea (or desire to know) what was going on and just followed the arrows by pressing N. Clearly it doesn't take much to impress people these days.… Expand

Bashfluff

Jun 2, 2013

6

It's fun to leap onto a skyline and grind your way down the rail, only to dismount by landing on an enemy. The atmosphere is something to be applauded when you first arrive. But as the game becomes more and more linear, as it becomes more and more apparent little thought was put into the enemy placement, as the atmosphere dissipates, and as combat becomes a large grind, one thing becomesIt's fun to leap onto a skyline and grind your way down the rail, only to dismount by landing on an enemy. The atmosphere is something to be applauded when you first arrive. But as the game becomes more and more linear, as it becomes more and more apparent little thought was put into the enemy placement, as the atmosphere dissipates, and as combat becomes a large grind, one thing becomes clear: Bioshock Infinite is not the game we were promised.

It's clear that the developers knew that you had to start your game off strong. The first hour of gameplay was exhilarating, and the narrative gripped me tight, pulling me along with the sweet expectation of a wild ride. The skyline system was limited, but fun and useful for taking out enemies, and the vigors were fun and interesting. How you GOT them was a trip as well.

But then I kept playing.

The game started to get more and more linear. Storypoint, large area full of enemies--the same enemies, for the most part--storypoint. There are few vigors, and even if you place every upgrade into increasing your capacity, you can only use a few before it's back to shooting. Elizabeth gives you ammo fairly often, and your enemies rarely have the ammunition you need, being as you can only hold two weapons out of about eight or so total, so you don't really need to search them for ammo. The upgrade system isn't compelling and it doesn't switch things up--you don't even need to search them for money. You find yourself It all starts to blend together, as you pick two weapons that you like, shoot some enemies, then move on without searching them. You find yourself wishing that you could be done playing the game so the game can take control and show you more of what you're playing for--the story.

But the story isn't that compelling after the gameplay has disengaged you. You're not as checked in as you should be. The one sensation I felt when finding the next part of the story was relief that I could check OUT because I didn't have to suffer combat anymore. It wasn't wonder or a sense of discovery. I wasn't overwhelmed by the quality of the writing. I just was tired.

When I was focused on the story, I didn't feel like this was some amazing narrative I was witnessing. It was good. I found myself calling or raising my eyebrows a few times, but it wasn't bad. Nothing was absolutely terrible. Some of it was even nice! But it seems to suffer from some awkward delivery and presentation, and sometimes things aren't really explained to you at all, or even given the depth that they need to have an impact on the player.

Games are an interactive medium. When the game suffers, no matter how good the story, the story suffers too. A better story would be worth suffering through--or at least worth watching on youtube, but the story is not good enough to handle the beating the gameplay gives it.

People say the game is amazing for the story. The gameplay is mediocre, but the story makes up for it! Most people talk about the ending and how good that is more than anything else, though. They don't seem to be overly fond of what came before, which was serviceable at best.

If there comes a point where you have to ask yourself as a player, "What am I playing for?" You're forcing yourself through something you don't enjoy just to get to an ending that's supposed to satisfy. But the ending won't satisfy as much as it could be by being attached to a better game. An interactive story is supposed to be enhanced by the immersion of the player. The gameplay and the story are supposed to compliment each other, and that's what gives game stories their power. But the gameplay here just brings it down.

But you won't get a better experience watching the cutscenes online. This, like many game stories, is robbed of their its if you just watch the cutscenes instead of going through play. And god help you if you don't like the ending.You'll feel cheated.

Do not waste 60 dollars on this. Do not waste your time. This is a decent story attached to a bad game, and you deserve better than that. I don't know who I could recommend this game too. It's linear and it's a grind, and the only thing good about it is a story that's only above average and a controversial ending that might be worth watching. But that ending isn't worth suffering through the game, and I wouldn't rob it of its power by watching it online. Skip it. Take your money to someone else who deserves it more.

Unfortunately, virtually every game deserves your money more than this.… Expand

genericreviewer

Jul 1, 2013

6

Boring and repetitive combats.

Storyline not that original, the final twist is not shocking at all -
seriously, since Usual Suspects in freaking 1995 it is NOT novelty.
Just another wannabe shocker plot that falls short.
Other than the twist attempt, déjà-vu save-her-from-her-tower story, which is very well told.
Great mise en scènes for such weak story...

Hicoga

Nov 29, 2013

7

Going into this game I expected a lot and from the very beginning I was impressed. The graphics look great and it ran smoothly on my mid-range gaming PC on High settings. The soundtrack is brilliant and fits the game perfectly and the story is well thought out and very complex. Overall a very solid game.

The place where Infinite falls short, however, is in the gameplay category. TheGoing into this game I expected a lot and from the very beginning I was impressed. The graphics look great and it ran smoothly on my mid-range gaming PC on High settings. The soundtrack is brilliant and fits the game perfectly and the story is well thought out and very complex. Overall a very solid game.

The place where Infinite falls short, however, is in the gameplay category. The game pits you up against wave after wave of the same enemies over and over again. It tries to mix it up a bit by adding in some special enemies like the Fireman or the Handyman but all they do is create an annoyance as they're not very fun to battle and take a ridiculous amount of hits to kill.

With all the work that went into the atmosphere of this game, I wish they had taken a bit more time to make it worth playing for more than a half hour at a time.… Expand

dyspeptic

May 24, 2014

7

Last Played: May 2014
PROS: + Some interesting story elements + Power combos feel rewarding + Not enough money to buy all upgrades mean prioritizing
CONS: - Frequent framerate issues on high end PC - Occasional gamebreaking tiling issues (why is this still not fixed?) - Not all story elements resolved to satisfaction REVIEW: I'll be straight up in saying that shooters aren't myLast Played: May 2014
PROS: + Some interesting story elements + Power combos feel rewarding + Not enough money to buy all upgrades mean prioritizing
CONS: - Frequent framerate issues on high end PC - Occasional gamebreaking tiling issues (why is this still not fixed?) - Not all story elements resolved to satisfaction

REVIEW: I'll be straight up in saying that shooters aren't my favorite genre, but all the hype about how good the story was intrigued me and I bought this game for what I heard was an engaging storyline with memorable protagonists. It turns out that this is partially true, in that one character (Elizabeth) is memorable, as is the gimmick of a floating city and dimension-hopping. However, the rest of the story is blah, and all ends aren't satisfactorily resolved by the ending cinimatics. Is this a relatively good story for a shooter? Absolutely. Would the story stand on it's own as a book or even a movie? Never.

But back to what I liked about the game: the power system works pretty well, in fact it is probably the best thing about this game (a megaman-like dependence on exploiting enemy weaknesses becomes important in late game or high difficulties), and the combos feel powerful, as do purchase-able upgrades. Which speaks to another positive: you cannot afford to buy all the upgrades. This means finding out what your play style is and sticking to it, which is a glimmer of integrity from the increasingly erratic 2K Games.

What sucks? Well, for starters there are FREQUENT framerate issues on a high-end PC, as well as game-breaking occasions where enemies, floors, walls, etc. are unsee-able because their skins don't show up. Is the air shooting you? It will go away with a restart, but if the autosave was in an inconvenient spot, you still have to play it over, aside from the obvious downside of completely breaking your momentum. I also have gripes about the story. The first 80% of the game explains nothing-which is fine, if you are playing a mystery game. Why doesn't this work here? Because the objectives you spent all that time pursuing no longer exist when you hop a reality. You end up with a Lord-of-the-Rings style question at the end: why didn't we just fly to Mt Doom (or the final Bioshock bad-guy fight, as the case may be) and skip the big nothing in the middle? Furthermore, only one characters motives are explained (Booker's, don't expect ever to find out what is going on with the twins) and many loose ends remain.

SUMMARY: Was this game good? Well, the last 20% had satisfying gameplay and there were moments of greatness... I'd say it is worth playing if you can get it on sale for $15 or less. Don't expect story greatness, or even bug-free gaming, though.… Expand

zero298

Jan 25, 2014

7

Game is great. However, it is far from perfect; at least on PC. There are a few notable things that nearly all PC games have that this game simply lacks with no explanation other than it being a port. The graphics are good, but feel like they are targeted towards consoles again since they don't take advantage of many aspects of the Unreal engine that are almost laughably easy to implementGame is great. However, it is far from perfect; at least on PC. There are a few notable things that nearly all PC games have that this game simply lacks with no explanation other than it being a port. The graphics are good, but feel like they are targeted towards consoles again since they don't take advantage of many aspects of the Unreal engine that are almost laughably easy to implement even to the most amateur of UDK newbie such as reflections). The art content is very nice.

The game design is where the game feels lackluster in comparison to its predecessors. The level design and agency of the game feel extremely stifled. There are a few "decisions" here and there that make no difference, all customization items are strewn about randomly meaning that the map and enemy design go unaffected by them in the long run. The characters and bad guys also feel silly. I really wish that there was at least some sort of open worldedness and a way to explore in more ways.

Another problem that I have is why on earth can you not have multiple saves, let alone being able to save where you want. Bioshock 1 and 2 had this why does Infinite not. I just started another game to let my friend play and had to lose all my previous progress. It is uncalled for. There are other things such as the Vigor wheel obviously being geared towards controller use and weapon limiting but the save problems are the worst. I know this is a minor gripe but this should have been addressed.… Expand

Jarcon

Apr 14, 2013

7

Definitely not score 10 game. I finished it about 2 weeks ago and I do not remember anything special about it apart from the ending. To those ignorants who do not get the ending: some of in-game objects and phenomenons are based on quantum theories started by Einstein long time ago (read or google it, multiverse etc). With this knowledge, game is getting much more interesting. However itDefinitely not score 10 game. I finished it about 2 weeks ago and I do not remember anything special about it apart from the ending. To those ignorants who do not get the ending: some of in-game objects and phenomenons are based on quantum theories started by Einstein long time ago (read or google it, multiverse etc). With this knowledge, game is getting much more interesting. However it is not as good as Bioshock 1 and 2, it is step back in every aspect. Still a good game.… Expand

VanDerGame

Apr 8, 2013

7

I will start with writing that I had really hard time getting into the game. I did not like previous installments of Bioshock and I could hardly stand the view of the city in the clouds with tons of glowing graphics with outdated textures. This game resembles Dishonored and The Darkness, but IMHO is not as good as they are. While playing I was waiting for the game to finish and if it wasI will start with writing that I had really hard time getting into the game. I did not like previous installments of Bioshock and I could hardly stand the view of the city in the clouds with tons of glowing graphics with outdated textures. This game resembles Dishonored and The Darkness, but IMHO is not as good as they are. While playing I was waiting for the game to finish and if it was not for the story I would not get to the end. I used a trainer to get infinite amount of money and salts because collecting them was really boring. The idea of objects appearing from other worlds through tears is quite interesting though. Another plus is that the game runs smoothly and I could see no errors.
I will definitely not call it a masterpiece, but if you like weird shooters perhaps this one is for you.… Expand

johndoe0

Apr 22, 2013

7

When i first get in the game it was just amazing, the lighting hides really well all the low quality/stylized asset and made them belivable. Even if the corridor roller coaster feeling of modern first person shooters was there i was enjoying the ride. Suddenly a police man approached me and i brutally murdered him! I'm not new to violence, but in that instant the victim was the niceWhen i first get in the game it was just amazing, the lighting hides really well all the low quality/stylized asset and made them belivable. Even if the corridor roller coaster feeling of modern first person shooters was there i was enjoying the ride. Suddenly a police man approached me and i brutally murdered him! I'm not new to violence, but in that instant the victim was the nice feeling i had few seconds before. It was like they were trying to set for something bigger than a fps, but then the game revolted against them! From there you get a nice looking fps with 2 good features: power and roller coasters. All the storytelling is exposed by set pieces and audiolog. On audiolog i need to state my opinion clearly: they are the lamest means of them all! Who in the fictional world leaves scattered audiologs in cronological order for you to find? It's the worst deus ex machina incarnation! And everybody praise that! I'd prefer even texts, dialogs or nothing at all! They are out of context and cheap, please scrap them next time. Anyway the game is a mediocre fps, just the graphics save it. The ending makes no sense. I just hope this is the end of a era!… Expand

nightshark

May 10, 2013

7

Bioshock Infinite is an above average game, but it is not worth the 94 metascore it has received. When I saw this score, along with it's (at the time) 8.9 metascore, I figured I would be in for an amazing game experience. Instead, I received a pretty game with a nice story, with gameplay tacked on.

What Bioshock Infinite does extremely well, is that it is an absolutely beautifullyBioshock Infinite is an above average game, but it is not worth the 94 metascore it has received. When I saw this score, along with it's (at the time) 8.9 metascore, I figured I would be in for an amazing game experience. Instead, I received a pretty game with a nice story, with gameplay tacked on.

What Bioshock Infinite does extremely well, is that it is an absolutely beautifully rendered world with a great story-line. I was simply amazed with the graphics and experienced no slow-downs at max settings on my HD7970 it is very well optimized, whereas most games are not. Elizabeth is a character you really can fall in love with during your adventure with her.

I picked the "Hard" difficulty to play the game with, as I'm somewhat seasoned in FPS games and love a good challenge. What Bioshock Infinite defines as "hard" however, is not actually something challenging. You just die a bit more than you would on the other game modes, with 0 set-backs/punishments for failure. Death can actually be a rewarding experience as you come back to life with more ammo and your health reset, in basically the same location with all enemies you killed still dead. The difficulty setting itself is almost entirely irrelevant.

Gameplay seemed somewhat similar to a borefest I played recently (again, overly praised) called "Borderlands 2". You get a couple of guns at a time, your character can melee and you get "special moves" such as the ability to possess people, throw grenades or uppercut them across the room. Interesting abilities but not anything that radically change the game. Once you find Elizabeth in the game, she also has the ability to open "tears" of your choice, which can give you access to med-packs, extra ammo, an automated turret, etc... which introduces extra tactics into the game. Which are ultimately negated by the fact that you CAN NOT FAIL at this game (again, my gripe with difficulty).

When I see "94 out of 100", I expect an amazing gameplay experience. Instead what I got, was amazing graphics and story with gameplay tacked on. If that's what you look for in your gaming, go with Bioshock.… Expand

chero666

May 14, 2013

7

-------tldr: "Underwhelming"-------

As someone who played through System Shock 1, System Shock 2, Bioshock, and Bioshock 2 (enjoying each one, flaws and all), I was prepared for another interesting step in the "Shock" series (as advertised to me by every reviewer I've seen) but what I got instead was something closer to "disappointment." Everyone tried to tell me that the combat is-------tldr: "Underwhelming"-------

As someone who played through System Shock 1, System Shock 2, Bioshock, and Bioshock 2 (enjoying each one, flaws and all), I was prepared for another interesting step in the "Shock" series (as advertised to me by every reviewer I've seen) but what I got instead was something closer to "disappointment." Everyone tried to tell me that the combat is great... it's not. I personally don't enjoy seeing a series that once gave you freedom of choice as far as character building through either various upgrades & Plasmids/Psychic-Powers (each power is versatile and each weapon has 3 different types of ammunition) just boiled down to "see guy... shoot him with 1 of your 2 gunz. Want cool? Use special power that feels almost like the previous power you were using earlier, except with different graphix." Not to mention that the meaningful fights against mutated humans, many which still hold enough humanity in them to almost make each encounter seem tragic, have been replace by drooling, raving Racists that have no regard for their personal well-being while throwing logic to the curb and suicide run themselves towards your Regenerating-Shielded self. The enemies, with no logic behind it, are just regular humans that can absorb multiple bullets to the face in any difficulty that's higher than "Normal." (The mutated creatures got away with that in SS2/BS1-2 because there was still a in-game Leveling System through the Cyber-Modules/Camera that increase your abilities). The story also left the worst taste in my mouth. What started with a very interesting look at both racism and American "super-Jingoism," is quickly forgotten about. midway through the game, opting out for an episode of Sliders/Doctor Who. They've squandered the city they created, the side-characters they've introduced, the compelling themes at the beginning of the game, and what could've been a great look on the effects of both racism and the consequences of the "Revolution" that has been going on, and rendered them all moot by the last half of the game. I'm still not 100% sure what can be considered "Art" in video games, but in my honest opinion, this isn't it. Nothing is being said. Nothing is learned. Nothing is gained. 7/10 for still being kind of fun most of the time, but failing to meet up with the expectations given to me and having less meaningful content than its predecessors … Expand

Oconsystems

Apr 14, 2013

6

With all the fuss the game has recieved i had to give it ago i would say i am about half way throught the game and its just average the story has you back tracking through levels the female counter part give you ammo ect all the time making the game too easy feel like the dev's where being lazy how ever the visuals are good and sound is great but everythink else just average.

2ndfloor

Apr 7, 2013

7

The city is beautiful! The graphics and people in the streets are fantastic. Being taken back to what life in 1912 may have been like is great, and I love the idea of a city in the air!! However, I have a lot of complaints about this one and:

Ken Levine at one point said he wanted people to play this game "their own way" and then be able to tell their friends "this is how I beat thatThe city is beautiful! The graphics and people in the streets are fantastic. Being taken back to what life in 1912 may have been like is great, and I love the idea of a city in the air!! However, I have a lot of complaints about this one and:

Ken Levine at one point said he wanted people to play this game "their own way" and then be able to tell their friends "this is how I beat that part". It was going to be about how we the players played it uniquely ourselves. But that is a joke in Bioshock Infinite. It is completely linear and very minimal sense of your own play style, nothing like Far Cry 2 anyway. The skyline is appealing, but and maybe this is what Ken Levine meant by choose your own style, but to me it didn't add enough to my choice of how to beat the game.
Far Cry 2/3 can run on consoles, I don't understand why then we are still getting linear games like Bioshock Infinite, where all 3 platforms can handle more. Imagine an open-world Columbia, where you can truly play as you want and complete the game your own way like Far Cry 2/3. Add Infinite to the list of linear, check-point-only-save games that are all so similar these days. What a bore for gaming.

I found Bioshock 1 and 2 blew me away with how incredible and magical they were, especially the first one. That was a game!! Music, setting, combat, visuals, hacking, EVERYTHING.

Infinite is good visually but it's not as good or fun of a game I think overall, not nearly as that of Bioshock 1 or 2. Over-rated and I hate that they connected Rapture to the story. Not what I thought it was going to be. Disappointing.… Expand

Alexvoip

Apr 27, 2013

7

When I saw the trailer for this game I thought it was going to be great. Then it got delayed, Which I have no problem with. When you start up the game its looks stunning! Then gets darker once you progress into the game which also is a good feature to bring the game more alive. The guns, once you found the guns you really like you stick with them. Which made the gameplay really boring nearWhen I saw the trailer for this game I thought it was going to be great. Then it got delayed, Which I have no problem with. When you start up the game its looks stunning! Then gets darker once you progress into the game which also is a good feature to bring the game more alive. The guns, once you found the guns you really like you stick with them. Which made the gameplay really boring near the end sequence say like the Carbine and the Sniper Rifle they worked well together which means you stick with them. Bioshock should of had more guns I do have to say. Next the vigor's, they almost felt like you didn't actually need them and more of like they were just there for show and tell. Plus once you found the right vigor for your style you stick with them which is the same with guns. The plot was really good and a bit confusing at the end. In conclusion I give this game an 7.… Expand

AhmedAlnoor

Jun 30, 2013

7

This very well could be the best game story in video games history.. i loved it, but 90% of the reason i play games is for the gameplay NOT the story... the game play, gun handling and combat mechanics are absolutely doll in my opinion.. in the previous bioshock game the combat was fine but nothing special, and i really expected a good combat from Infinite but unfortunately it did NOTThis very well could be the best game story in video games history.. i loved it, but 90% of the reason i play games is for the gameplay NOT the story... the game play, gun handling and combat mechanics are absolutely doll in my opinion.. in the previous bioshock game the combat was fine but nothing special, and i really expected a good combat from Infinite but unfortunately it did NOT deliver.
CONCLUSION:
------
Aesthetically +
Story and plot +
World design and lore +
Lovely Companion (Elizabeth) +
Average and doll combat -
2 weapons carry restriction -
Dumped down game mechanics -
------
for me its a 7 out of 10...
happy gaming… Expand

Minigun

Apr 1, 2013

7

Worst disappointment in years. But still, not that bad. Graphics: very nice, although I've seen better. Sounds: fine, but not top of the line. Soundtrack: annoying. The music was great, but it's just that when there is zero original music and you already have all the soundtrack's classical songs on CD, you don't want to hear them in a game like this. It destroys the atmosphere and gets oldWorst disappointment in years. But still, not that bad. Graphics: very nice, although I've seen better. Sounds: fine, but not top of the line. Soundtrack: annoying. The music was great, but it's just that when there is zero original music and you already have all the soundtrack's classical songs on CD, you don't want to hear them in a game like this. It destroys the atmosphere and gets old really fast. It's fine to use a popular song a couple of times in a game, but not all the time. For those who want to buy the soundtrack... how about just buying the original records? Controls: mediocre for a PC game, but nothing seriously wrong. Plot: a mixed bag. I felt like the writing was both imaginative and lazy at the same time kind of goes with the general idea of the game... I was disappointed in the end, however. You know the feeling you get when a story ends in "...but it was all just a dream" that's almost the feeling I got from the ending. Then there is the action: mediocre at best. Boring enemies, mostly boring firefights, generic shooting most of the time. Hide behind crates while loading your shields, shoot waves of brainless enemies pretty much just running towards you and throw in a couple of spells (vigors) if you have mana (salt). Sound original? Not really. How about a cyborg (handyman) every now and then so that it kills you instantly after you respawn, because you happen to respawn at its feet. Sound like fun? Not really. I played on hard difficulty level, and most of the game was quite easy, but suddenly there were scenes where you died a few times in a row, which did not feel that well balanced as a gaming experience. Years after finishing them, I'm still thinking of how great games Bioshock 1 and 2 were, how smooth and fun the action was, how good and crazy the characters and story was. I just finished Bioshock Infinite an hour ago, and I can't really think of any interactive scenes worth remembering. If you are new to the series, definitely go for the previous two rather than this. If you are a Bioshock fan, try this one out but ready yourself for disappointment.… Expand

The_Announcer

Apr 8, 2013

7

Bioshock Infinite is a good game. Not great. Just a good game. It is also over-hyped, with many giving it a 10/10 or calling it "Genre Defining" even one I've seen called it "Next to perfect". Those are wrong.

What's Good: 1/ It's Bioshock (Yay!) 2/ Fun gameplay (Use of guns and Vigors) 3/ Reasonable graphics 4/ Good set-peices 5/ Good characters 6/ Love the Skyline What's Bad:Bioshock Infinite is a good game. Not great. Just a good game. It is also over-hyped, with many giving it a 10/10 or calling it "Genre Defining" even one I've seen called it "Next to perfect". Those are wrong.

What's Good:
1/ It's Bioshock (Yay!)
2/ Fun gameplay (Use of guns and Vigors)
3/ Reasonable graphics
4/ Good set-peices
5/ Good characters
6/ Love the Skyline

What's Bad:
1/ Reasonable graphics that don't really change from max settings to min. (resource whore as well...)
2/ Can only carry two weapons at a time
3/ Most of the Vigors are useless and lack a feeling of power
4/ A couple of Vigors are overpowered
5/ Easy. Even easier than the first Bioshock
6/ The new gear system doesn't make sense
7/ Huge info dump at the end
8/ Red tears are never explained, what are they? What do they do? We may never know.

But the worst thing wrong with this game is the ending.
1/ It's nothing compared to the ending of the first (Unfair comparison, I know)
2/The ending is predictable (No really, I guessed at most of the ending within the first hour)
3/ Poorly thought-out ending (It ignores the base rules of time travel, ignores its own logic and is just ridiculous)

In short. It's a good game but because of the poor ending it is not the "Genre Defining" game we all wanted. Get Bioshock Infinite but give it time to drop in price, it's not long until the Steam Summer sale.… Expand

BillyHale

Mar 30, 2013

5

This is not what we have been shown for the past 2 years. Irrational tightly controlled images and videos of this game, only releasing 2 supposed "game play" demos over the past 2 years. But, the game that was released is not the game in those demos. I understand that games change during development time, but Irrational continued to accept awards based on these amazing demos, and theThis is not what we have been shown for the past 2 years. Irrational tightly controlled images and videos of this game, only releasing 2 supposed "game play" demos over the past 2 years. But, the game that was released is not the game in those demos. I understand that games change during development time, but Irrational continued to accept awards based on these amazing demos, and the back of the box even says "Winner of over 80 awards." Those awards were given based on the 2 "game play" demos, which have absolutely nothing to do with the game that was eventually sold to us. I'm not talking about aesthetic changes or scenery; I'm talking about severe game omissions, which were SHOWN to be in the game. Not hinted, not suggested, SHOWN. Example: In the demo, which was supposedly "game play" Elizabeth is shown creating a storm which Booker interacts with to fry a huge group of enemies. In the actual game, Elizabeth flips you coins and gives you ammo and you tell her to materialize stationary objects. That is a glaring omission, yet Irrational continued to accept the awards and use the awarded status to sell this game to us. Elizabeth was SHOWN to seriously affect your experience, and when the game comes out, she flips you coins. Unbelievable. The game that was released is still a good game, but it's not at all what was SHOWN to us for the past 2 years. This is the biggest bait and switch in gaming history.… Expand

soulburner

Apr 11, 2013

6

Most overrated game ever. As a shooter it has badly balanced gameplay (f.e. I've completed game on medium (2nd of 3) difficulty level using only one magic type (fireball), but the game gives us lots of them). The scenario is not THAT good. Yeah, the ending is quite interesting, but other story is quite ordinary.

Riflenator1234

Apr 4, 2013

5

Bioshock Infinite is a solid game, but nothing more. First off, it has literally no innovation whatsoever. second of all, the graphics of this game, while pretty, are really under par and this is obvious when you take the time to simply observe the rose bushes at the beginning of the game. Another issue is the combat, the combat is only fun on hard difficulty, but even then there are a fewBioshock Infinite is a solid game, but nothing more. First off, it has literally no innovation whatsoever. second of all, the graphics of this game, while pretty, are really under par and this is obvious when you take the time to simply observe the rose bushes at the beginning of the game. Another issue is the combat, the combat is only fun on hard difficulty, but even then there are a few issues with it. While playing I occasionally noticed that an enemy was having too much fun on the skylines to try and kill me. I also can't stand that when you die you simply lose money, it takes away all the punishment of dying. The game feels as though it was once filled to the brim with interesting content and was actually good, but it seems as though Irrational's long development cycle resulted in them removing all experimental content from the game. This is very obvious if you look back at the demos released over the last two years. The only truly unique part of this game is the story. The game has a unique and interesting story that kept me playing the game when it was at its worse points. (One of these points being when you must fight an enemy that has too much health and can kill you very quickly no matter how tactical you are. The worst part of this is that every time the enemy kills you it gains back a significant portion of its health, making it almost impossible to kill. Keep in mind this was played on hard difficulty so the same may not apply to easy or normal difficulty.) The story, while not as good as the first Bioshock, is not a simple, run of the mill story you find that only fill in the "reasons for this and that" spot. The story is of movie quality, the movie of course being something like Looper, which takes an age old idea and puts its own unique spin on it. I personally don't mind this, although I do value a good story VERY highly. In other words, this type of story may not be for you. As I said, this game is solid. I would recommend you devote your time to more interesting games, such as Dishonored and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, instead of playing a generally general title such as Bioshock Infinite.… Expand

Steinhammer

Apr 4, 2013

6

BI is ultimately mutton dressed as lamb basically a completely generic shooter in dressed up to look special with amazing graphics, and a plot that is initially intriguing, but ultimately lazy and clichéd.
Pluses: The graphics, especially the lighting effects, really are excellent on a good spec pc, and the game runs very smoothly.
Minuses: completely generic shooter game play.BI is ultimately mutton dressed as lamb basically a completely generic shooter in dressed up to look special with amazing graphics, and a plot that is initially intriguing, but ultimately lazy and clichéd.
Pluses: The graphics, especially the lighting effects, really are excellent on a good spec pc, and the game runs very smoothly.
Minuses: completely generic shooter game play. unbelievable and clichéd plot which involves amnesia, time travel and mistaken identity (the writers clearly don't know the difference between complex and complicated).… Expand

TitaniumDragon

May 2, 2014

7

Bioshock Infinite is a decent game which suffers from pacing and gameplay issues. The story is decent enough, but a let down compared to the first game, and not nearly as clever in its commentary about the world or video games. The best part of the game is your sidekick, Elizabeth, who is a sidekick done right and uses a very clever mechanic to make herself useful and meaningful, but theBioshock Infinite is a decent game which suffers from pacing and gameplay issues. The story is decent enough, but a let down compared to the first game, and not nearly as clever in its commentary about the world or video games. The best part of the game is your sidekick, Elizabeth, who is a sidekick done right and uses a very clever mechanic to make herself useful and meaningful, but the game itself failed to make itself dynamic enough for her to be used to her full potential.

The story of the original Bioshock is what really made the game special. Unfortunately, this game's story is not up to the level of the first game's story; you don't feel the same drive onward, and, unfortunately, because of the first game's twist, it is more obvious that there is going to be a twist in this one, which somewhat bothered me as I saw the twist coming from the very start of the game.
Unlike in the previous games, in Bioshock Infinite, your character, Booker DeWitt, has both a name and a personality. Booker speaks up throughout the game, talking to the various NPCs, and especially to his sidekick, Elizabeth.
The best and worst part of the game is the various transitions between realities; not only do you draw things between worlds, but you actually travel between worlds at various points in the game, to realities where things played out differently, including (eventually) a reality wherein Booker died after coming to the city.
The problem, ultimately, is that the game never really delivers on the story; it is alright, but it isn't spectacular, and the world-skipping, while a neat idea, never really ends up having the punch that it should, as well as making it so that what we did earlier didn't really matter in that particular world (or maybe it did - who knows?). The whole "dead in one world, alive in another" thing is never really properly explored or followed up on, even though it was built up in significance, and the end result is that while it advanced the plot it really failed to make the game awesome.

The ultimate weakness of this game lies in its gameplay. Bioshock Infinite is every bit the sequel to the previous Bioshock games, and this isn't a good thing - the gameplay is very similar to what it was in previous games, and while the enemy variety is a bit better in this game, there's nothing quite as exciting as some of the Big Daddy fights were in the first game. The Handymen are alright replacements for them, and make for reasonable enough fights, and your first fight against the various new types of enemies is neat enough, but as with the previous games, the lack of real bosses hurts the game a bit.
The normal soldiers who are running around in most of the game are not terribly difficult or interesting enemies to fight, and while some of the battlefields are very interesting and dynamic and make good use of Elizabeth's powers, many of the fights are the opposite - very static things where you just hide behind cover and shoot the enemies, gradually grinding your way through the group without changing what you had summoned into the fight with Elizabeth at all. Elizabeth's powers are really neat, but without a reason to run around during the fight (something some of the special enemies provided at times, especially the handymen, as well as some of the more interesting environmental setups) they often didn't end up very interesting as they just were a piece of whatever I summoned in at the start to help me, rather than something I brought in mid-fight to swing things in my favor.
The actual weapons in the game were very standard for a FPS, with the usual assortment of weapons, and unfortunately the upgrades system really encouraged you to try and stick to as few weapons as possible so that you could make the most use out of your upgrades - this is one of the major flaws of upgrade systems, in that they actually frequently reduce the variety of gameplay by encouraging you to not use a variety of weapons. Some of the weapons were also vastly better than others, and by the end of the game you pretty much had your pick of which weapon to use most of the time, rather than giving you a scavenging feel.
The vigors are supposed to help mix things up from the usual FPS point of view, and it is nice to have weird weapons in a game, but ultimately I only ended up using a small number of the vigors - really, the only good ones were the ones which temporarily incapacitated foes, including the one that gave me a free ally for a bit, and as a result I pretty much only used three vigors through most of the game. They also didn't fit into the world at all thematically.
All in all, the gameplay didn't really match the ambiance the story seemed to be trying to create, and the gameplay was too slow for the game itself - the game would have been better if it had avoided making you run around looking for change all the time.… Expand

SSH83

Apr 3, 2013

7

10 for originality. 8 for story. 7 for interesting tear and vigor. 5 for overall combat fun. The combat is fun the first few times. Though as game goes on, the combat design got lazy. Bigger enemies start to become plain invincible to most of your abilities, which means gameplay actually devolve into shoot-n-run-to-cover just like COD. 4 for over-hyped Elizabeth which is actually10 for originality. 8 for story. 7 for interesting tear and vigor. 5 for overall combat fun. The combat is fun the first few times. Though as game goes on, the combat design got lazy. Bigger enemies start to become plain invincible to most of your abilities, which means gameplay actually devolve into shoot-n-run-to-cover just like COD. 4 for over-hyped Elizabeth which is actually just scripted banter and cutscenes, and close to zero interactivity. I felt more connected to Bioware characters.… Expand

emacinnes

Apr 7, 2013

5

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Bioshock Infinite, building off the largely successful BioShock, and the repetitive Bioshock 2, failed to recapture the sense of wonder, interesting game play and engaging storyline of the original. Firmly placed in the "trying too hard" category, Bioshock Inifinte plays out like a mad mix of Fringe, Deadwood and Looper, except not anywhere near as balanced or well thought out as any of those. Then it was steeped in so much unrelatable Americana that it, for me, caused a disconnect between the the story and the player. The worst part, and that sounds overly dramatic, because it implies it was bad, when merely average is the result, is the combat, which, while technically well implemented, got so boring and uninteresting that I placed the game back down to Easy difficulty to just "get through it quicker", to see if it was going to go anywhere worthwhile, and it didn't, with easy-to-guess time travel results at the end, partly because a twist is expected and therefore everything is taken with a pinch of salt early on, partly because the story devolves so quickly, with such a strong desire to confuse, that it really only leaves one option left to explain it, and partly because the gameplay itself provided insufficient distraction from the story to allow the twist to remain more hidden.

Tehcnically, it's all well implemented, generally fine graphics, player controls are responsive and clear, good animations, nice textures, generally good aesthetics, stable with no crashing, with only one standout occasion of blatantly recycling a location for four fights, which was disappointing.… Expand

GameZoneXtreme

Apr 20, 2013

7

I hate to do this to one of my favorite franchises around, but i must. This is not an awful game by far, it just doesn't meet with Bioshock 1 standards. Graphically not better than the first. Story not even close to the first. Gameplay... hmmm not better than the first but not terrible. Overall just a fun game and ok story line, nothing great. I'm a bit disappointed

BoTheMastaOfAll

Aug 21, 2013

6

Alright all you fanboys and Inception worshipers I'm about to school you hard in why this game is completely 100% basically ok and nothing more. I think I'll rip on the combat first.

In Bioshock 1 you could carry all your guns at once. Ammo would still be tough to come by for certain guns, but that was ok because you could carry your gun until you found or bought ammo for it. This isAlright all you fanboys and Inception worshipers I'm about to school you hard in why this game is completely 100% basically ok and nothing more. I think I'll rip on the combat first.

In Bioshock 1 you could carry all your guns at once. Ammo would still be tough to come by for certain guns, but that was ok because you could carry your gun until you found or bought ammo for it. This is why it made sense to upgrade weapons you weren't currently using. The upgrade system in B1 made sense because you always had access to the guns you upgraded. The upgrade system in this game is completely stupid because of the 2 weapon limit. I want to use the guns I spent money on upgrading, not be forced to discard them because I can't find ammo. The game also has several variations of the same gun for some reason. Why are there 3 different machine guns when clearly the original machine gun is the best one? These only serve to water down the chances of finding a the machine gun variant I upgraded. This still would have been ok if it were possible to upgrade all weapons in the game to full by about the 1/2 way mark, but you only have enough cash to upgrade a few guns by end game. If you hit a stretch in the game where you can't use your upgraded guns, too bad sucker! You wasted money, and you have to use sh*t tier weapons now.
Despite this combat has a good feel to it... until you rescue Elizabeth. Don't get me wrong, she is the ideal escort mission, but right then is when the game starts to go from swashbuckling adventure fun to typcial brown/grey modern shooter. There's even health regen. Imagine that.

Right when you go to the poor district of the city is when the game finally says "screw it, I'm a modern shooter, sort of" and goes complete corridor shooter. You still have magic, but it's not as well developed as I expected it to be from Bioshock 1. B1 had obvious issues with plasmids but I expected them to be rectified, not worsened. You never see the sun for the rest of the game btw. Everything is brown/grey, and color schemes like this for several hours really kills the mood of any game.

Time for the story. It feels like all the writers were in the middle of writing a story set in a world about Nazi Germany (Everyone is basically Nazis. Hell, they're even all blonde and blue eyed) mixed with the French Revolution when some nutter ran in saying "Hey everyone guess what! I just discovered this great game called Half Life 2! LETS RIP IT OFF!". And so they did. They even have the Gman, except there's two of them, and they're British.
The game sets up a compelling and organic world about revolution, racism, and showing the folly of violent uprisings. Or at least, it sets itself up to tell this story really nicely. Before it can get to that part, it decides to interject alternate reality scifi nonsense that obviously tries too hard to be deep. The worst part is though, is that the game expects me to be surprised at its plot twists. Imagine watching a gamer who says he's the best in the world, but then you watch him turn on god mode. That is what alternate realities are to stories; They are the story teller's equivalent of god mode. They declared open season on their own story and said to their audience "I can do anything now!". Because of this, I was able to predict every single plot twist. I knew that because the game devs activated god mode, they would try to pull the weirdest sh*t they could get away with, which was anything. None of it surprised me. It was as if a magician gave me the schematic to a trick, then expected me to be surprised even though he gave me the tools to predict the ending.

Speaking of the ending, it totally sucks. It's some completely forced surreal ending ala Mass Effect 3 or Inception. It makes no sense, but it has to make no sense, because the game set itself up early on to have the ending make no sense. For lack of a better phrase, during the last 30 min of the game, the story goes up its own ass.

On a side note, something I find really hilarious though is that all the reviewers who say that this story wrapped itself up in a nice neat bow, also called Halo's storyline convoluted.

This isn't bringing into question the complete lack of relation to B1. There is one part where they make a nod to Rapture, but Andrew Ryan isn't here. I expected Ryan to interject to want you to kill Comstock because he's totally screwing up Columbia, but that didn't happen. I expected Elizabeth to relate to the Jewish doctor from B1, but that didn't happen. There are no ties to Bioshock 1, other than a glimpse of Rapture, but that's it. That scene basically served as a reminder to say "Remember, this is Bioshock". None of the B1 characters were even involved at all.

Here's what I recommend: The ME3 remedy. Play the game until it starts to get really weird. Then stop and pretend that it ended in a sensible, satisfying way that makes sense for you and coincides with the world setup.… Expand

Rockman9

May 17, 2013

7

BIOSHOCK INFINITE gives you far fetched plot, so so gameplay, good art style combined with some unbelievably bad textures.
Overall, just a mediocre game with stunning art style. A must buy but absolutely overrated.

feistin

May 15, 2013

7

The game looks absolutely beautiful but it just is repeating itself from earlier Bioshock games. And it ain't half as intriguing or exciting in my book. I had hoped the developer would have come up with some new concepts but it is rather lacking in innovation in comparison to the first one. Where is big daddy..?! Competent game but not a GOTY. Kinda like Diablo 3 from last year.

Shigawire

Apr 23, 2013

7

I love Bioshock 1, System Shock 2. Bioshock Infinite has an incredible atmosphere, but then again, that's all it's got going for it. The game is absolutely playable. But it is a completely generic first person shooter. All problems in the game are solved in 1 way. Brawns, not brains.. Shoot with guns, take cover, use a tonic, take cover, jump on a "skyline" (gimmick to move from place toI love Bioshock 1, System Shock 2. Bioshock Infinite has an incredible atmosphere, but then again, that's all it's got going for it. The game is absolutely playable. But it is a completely generic first person shooter. All problems in the game are solved in 1 way. Brawns, not brains.. Shoot with guns, take cover, use a tonic, take cover, jump on a "skyline" (gimmick to move from place to place) etc.

I'm not sure what Ken Levine meant with the "1999 mode" because there is NONE of the depth of System Shock 2 in this game. In this, I am disappointed in Ken Levine. He started some of the most seminal works in gaming, including the Thief games, System Shock 2, and Bioshock. Now Bioshock 1 was already a "step back" from System Shock 2. But having read about the "1999 mode" I naively assumed this game would move the opposite direction away from dumbing down the gameplay. But really, 1999 mode is just a difficulty setting, that's all it is.

If you haven't played or been exposed to as many classics as I have, then I'm sure this will live up to the hype for you. But know that something 'better' has been made in the past, by the same man.

7/10 some incredible atmospheres, sceneries, great art direction as always.. but... Gameplay is king. And it is this game's weak spot unfortunately.
Gameplay>Story>Art>Tech>… Expand

Scrove

Aug 8, 2013

6

The game was stylish and had a decent story (but the ending was filled with holes), other than that, it was a very average game. Overly repetitive, dull upgrades, extremely linear, the environment wasn't interactive, and a terrible final boss fight.

KingMob4313

Aug 23, 2013

6

Incredible presentation, an interesting commentary on a the nature of US politics and American exceptionalism with gorgeous visuals, tight voice acting and an compelling plot...

...That is completely ruined by actually PLAYING the game. Having gameplay that hasn't improved much since the days of System Shock 2 is simply not acceptable nearly 15 years later. The combat is boring,Incredible presentation, an interesting commentary on a the nature of US politics and American exceptionalism with gorgeous visuals, tight voice acting and an compelling plot...

...That is completely ruined by actually PLAYING the game. Having gameplay that hasn't improved much since the days of System Shock 2 is simply not acceptable nearly 15 years later. The combat is boring, clumsy and mind numbingly easy. This lack of responsiveness and the horrific violence in the game makes it more seem one step up from a quicktime event style execution game. It also feels more like filler in an already brief game. It is inferior to the previous two Bioshock in the manner of it being a game.

If the game wasn't so stellar in every other way, it wouldn't be much higher than a 4 and you'd be better served catching the highlights on youtube.… Expand

ProgramThis

Apr 10, 2013

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I usually keep silent, but I can't with this. I'm a game love and a programmer, so I always appreciate the gameplay and also the game construction. Graphics and story aside. I would barely call this a "modern" game in a time when player personal experience is key.

First play, I was easily able to get through the came on difficult level. There was such scene control for User Interface that it was more like playing a movie than a game. Modern games should be more than just a game you play once. I've heard the halflife argument and I'm a huge fan of Halflife, but this is what halflife had this doesn't: Replay-abililty! Even when Halflife was done, I would replay "fight" sequences on halflife over and over, trying different tactics. I think the game creators of bioshock INF. knew this, which is why the game seems for force you onward, not giving you a chance to replay your favorite fight sequence, because you won't have one.

I also played the game through twice, chose all different options in the game, and it had no effect on gameplay. Terrible choice to put the game in a racially charged environment, asking the player to make a racial choice, then that choice has no effect. In a world that publicly pelts interracial couples, which side you are on makes a difference. It's insulting to have the game start with such a powerful personal choice that makes no difference! Take this as a foreshadow for the whole game whether you make careful choices or sleep you way through, the game give no greater reward. So don't bother searching you soul here, just click a choice, forget it and move onward.

This is also reflective of the 'quantum' concept as well. They use the premise that all realities exist and therefor changing one reality can have no effect because in another reality it will happen, which is why no matter what you do doesn't stop the main character. And what was the game designers solution: change reality. What? Stopping baptism in one life doesn't stop it in another, as so stated by the game itself!

They set up the potential that they could create a game with choices that made a difference on gameplay, yet in the end, all players end in the same place, which would feed to their quantum concept that you can't change the outcome because all outcomes exist. It almost feels like the story writers and game designers weren't working together. Like the maps and characters were make here, and the story somewhere else, so when they were put together, the story is vast and wide, and the gameplay narrow.

They created a beautiful world with a super-charged environment, and all they had to do was create a few alter-characters that would talk to you if you made this choice or that, and that little effort would have made the game worth playing again, and choices worth making. Instead, they chose a homogenized experience in a polarized world.

It's like a mediocre high budget film. You'll love it for the effects, find holes in the story, and in the end best waiting until you have a slow weekend and it comes out on video to see. Ultimately, I recommend that people wait till the cost comes down, and then play it once, have fun, and expect to not want to play it again.… Expand

Scorpion_AZ

Apr 11, 2013

5

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Well, the game is graphically amazing with interesting game play and it starts out with an intriguing story. Unfortunately, the game has the same ending as any Bioshock game, with the hero undermined by one he saves. It is not like you saw it coming as the story is dreadfully full of holes and it felt like the developers of the game just didn't know how to finish the story, so the reached back in the Bioshock box and said 'that will do pig, that will do.'

The story line is also hampered by the too few guns in inventory, too few vigors (magic powers) to choose from in the UI, and way too little money to upgrade everything. You get to the end of the game and about 20% of your guns are upgraded, and forget about upgrading your vigors as there is hardly any coin for that. Maybe the plan is to give the 'Season Pass' some teeth to enhance your character further don't know don't care. I doubt I will get the pass, simply because the character is 'dead' at the end.

So if you are looking for a game with great graphics, an immersive world, a B in plot, a C- in congruent story logic, with a F- crappie ending, invest your $60 patriots into this beast.

By the way, who at 2K Games has a fantasy for experimentation on demonic children with an embitterment toward organized religion? Three games now with the same basic theme. Did we scrape the creativity bucket clean with Bioshock, or did someone have a nasty childhood growing up?… Expand

Sir_applepie

Apr 27, 2013

6

Why do people find this game so great? it does not deserve the 9.5/10 score it has. Pretty graphics (even tho graphics doesn't make a game), The game. Is short, you do the same thing over and over again, still a descent game. Once again, I have no idea why people love this game so much. It has one of the highest score on metacritics.

aufkr

Nov 28, 2013

7

It's linear, the combat is repetitive and the small amount of choices you're allowed to make have absolutely no impact on the overall storyline. Overall though, its a pretty entertaining game to play, with well written characters and a well designed world. It's not really worth a second playthrough though.

SittinginBasket

Jul 27, 2013

6

A disappointing game, although that is somewhat expected. I've come to expect the content and gameplay concepts of pre-release gameplay demos and trailers to not be present in the game.

To start off, the story is above average. The storytelling is below average. The concepts behind the story are intriguing, and also link back to the previous games. The depth of the story through theA disappointing game, although that is somewhat expected. I've come to expect the content and gameplay concepts of pre-release gameplay demos and trailers to not be present in the game.

To start off, the story is above average. The storytelling is below average. The concepts behind the story are intriguing, and also link back to the previous games. The depth of the story through the game's backstory, which is often shown through audio logs, or "voxophones", lets you piece together the story, and helps with the eventual "epiphany" at the end of the game, as if the game was some sort of mystery/corridor shooter where you get thrown information, and while you are trying to figure this out, the game continues to tease you with the fact that there is going to be some sort of twist at a later part of the story. However, the fact is that you cannot figure it out until the twist, and the fact that you expect the twist for the majority of the game. Unlike the previous games and also many other works of fiction, the content of the twist itself may be a complete surprise, but the existence of the twist is completely expected, so instead of truly being surprised by the twist because it's so unexpected that you had never even thought of there being a twist, or that the twist was what it was, you simply think "Oh, so that's the twist.". Other works of fiction have genuinely surprising twists in both aspects of a twist that I have mentioned, for example in the first Bioshock. The twist(s) in that game come as a complete surprise, and are much more well done.

In terms of the story through characters, the characters themselves have a decent degree of depth to them, but every character in the game simply seems flat and uninteresting. Even Elizabeth, a companion that you spend time with throughout much of the game, seems completely uninteresting. I found that I barely gave a damn about her until the closing parts of the game. There simply is not enough character development and interaction. Elizabeth speaks occasionally throughout the entire game, and the conversations between Elizabeth and Booker are simply short and meaningless. Their attitudes towards each other seem quite static at times, and even when they seem to suddenly change, they immediately change back and you are left asking yourself "What the hell was all that about?". This is essentially the same with all major characters as well, they are simply 2D characters that do the things they do simply because, and they stay the same way. Elizabeth essentially felt like some sort of AI pet who just follows me around and serves as an extension of my will. If Booker was given the power of opening tears, picking locks, and randomly finding ammunition, health, and salts in the middle of nowhere and Elizabeth simply followed me around, it would have been the exact same experience. With literally every single other character in the game, whether it be a major character or not, there simply is not actual interaction except for a few lines of scripted events and dialogue here and there. Whatever miniscule amount of interaction you have with those characters seems to have no repercussions, and whatever it is that you do, you'll simply not give a damn and forget about it. The E3 gameplay demo for Bioshock Infinite had more character development that the actual game (excluding the ending and twist).

Now the gameplay is nothing shabby, but it really isn't anything amazing either. Based off of the early E3 gameplay demos and gameplay details, the gameplay had such great potential. However, the actual result was essentially the opposite of what was shown and expected. Levels were "massive", but closed and segregated. A level was essentially divided into tiny little section. You can only ever choose to be extremely aggressive and militant, as hostile attention will always be drawn to you no matter what you do. The skylines are mostly pointless decoration that is limited to what is essentially a total area of 20 meters cubed that you can completely play without other than a few parts of the game where you simply must use them to reach point B from point A. Most of them also do not make any sense in an actual logical manner, as if they were placed there just so Booker can swing around and fight on them if he wants, and not because the city planners thought it would be of actual use, which it seemed to have been in the early parts of the game. Miniscule gameplay elements like the gate-lifting, stealing, powering machines with the shock jockey, and so on are introduced in the beginning and then completely forgotten, never to be seen again. And the only vigor that enemies use are the Devil's Kiss by the firemen and the shock jockey by a single mid-game boss. Oh, and vigors are useless.

I could go on, but the character limit won't let me. However, I definitely believe that Bioshock infinite is simply a highly overrated game that is just disappointingly mediocre.… Expand

Rigel86

Aug 30, 2013

6

What so many people see in this game? I'm so disappointed based on all this hype I bought it,expected something fantastic, played for some hours, and... stopped. For me, that's a boring game, average,
Yes, devs lost time and energy working on it and i respect their work. But these critics with scores of average 96... There must be something wrong with me, I guess...

Lanky14

Oct 15, 2014

7

I quit this game about halfway through. It was boring. It was just a first person shooter with some right-click flare.

The above was a mistake. The story really took off at roughly 30 minutes of gameplay after where I quit. This game is no gameplay masterpiece. Some of the guns are satisfying, some are frustrating. Stealing stuff from every drawer in sight is always somehowI quit this game about halfway through. It was boring. It was just a first person shooter with some right-click flare.

The above was a mistake. The story really took off at roughly 30 minutes of gameplay after where I quit.

This game is no gameplay masterpiece. Some of the guns are satisfying, some are frustrating. Stealing stuff from every drawer in sight is always somehow entertaining. Zipping around on tram lines is also fairly fun. The real win for this game, though, is the story. I would recommend this game to anyone who likes a good story and is happy shooting anything that moves in the dull moments.… Expand

Kevin-V

Apr 28, 2013

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Re-skin of Bioshock 1. The story is OK, I wanted to complete it to know the story, i was really interested. And since I was spoiled about the end by the THOUSANDS of spoilers around the internet, it just got me more interested in the story. So I decided to give it another try. Got up to the part where Elizabeth kills Daisy Fitzroy. Story is average till now. I REALLY want to know the whole story, but I'd rather watch a 'Bioshock Infinite The Movie' then grind through the God-awful gameplay. Skylines are an attempt to try and give you a break from the awful combat. The re-named Vigors are just plain ol' copies of powers from various games, including Bioshock 1,2 and Dishonored. Elizabeth was interesting, and at least kept me interested enough to keep playing. Gameplay: 4/10. Graphics: 9/10. Story: 7/10.Enemy design and AI: 2/10. Originality: 3/10. Protagonist 1/10. overall: 6/10.

I'd advise anyone to play infinite if they don't have any other game to play and have played EVERY SINGLE game in their collection. If they are bored and have nothing to do. you over-hyped users who gave false reviews and made me lose my 60 bucks.… Expand

bjaz

Jan 10, 2015

6

The main story was good
But the expansion(Burial at sea) leaves me at disappointing side,It could't complete well with the main story
I can't give high rating for good graphics,musics
I felt that the game could be better if it was tps instead of fps

lucasla

Jan 3, 2014

6

This game sucks because it tries to be an intelligent game, but only in the history, in the gameplay, is just a generic linear and repetitive shooter, where you never have to think or use your brain. I mean, Portal 2, Braid, Half-Life, are examples of intelligent games because the history in these games is good and intelligent, and the gameplay too, you need to think in these games toThis game sucks because it tries to be an intelligent game, but only in the history, in the gameplay, is just a generic linear and repetitive shooter, where you never have to think or use your brain. I mean, Portal 2, Braid, Half-Life, are examples of intelligent games because the history in these games is good and intelligent, and the gameplay too, you need to think in these games to advance, they have puzzles.

Bioshock Infinite is a stupid game disguised as a intelligent game, because when gives the control to the player, it treats the player like a dumb person that dont need to worry with anything beyond shoot the enemies. The scenarios are linear, the game have no puzzles, and you have even a button that draws an arrow on your feet pointing to the right direction for you to follow (as if it was necessary, the game is linear!).

Elizabeth is nothing special too, is just a character with fixed interactions with the scenarios, that help you in combat just like Elika in Prince of Persia (2008) and Alex Vance in Half-Life 2, but is not better than anyone of them.

My 6 score is because the art of the game is great, and combat is cool too, but nothing so special.… Expand

laggypancakes

May 1, 2013

6

The game is a decent shooter but it's honestly pretty over hyped.

Some talking points: Story- Honestly it started out fine but by the end the twists and illogical plot points became overwhelming. Without spoiling anything it completely invalidates the entire journey up to that point (even bioshock 1+2) as trivial and unnecessary. It was a pretty huge disappointment in my eyes.The game is a decent shooter but it's honestly pretty over hyped.

Some talking points:

Story- Honestly it started out fine but by the end the twists and illogical plot points became overwhelming. Without spoiling anything it completely invalidates the entire journey up to that point (even bioshock 1+2) as trivial and unnecessary. It was a pretty huge disappointment in my eyes.

Graphics: I've seen others complain about this and they definitely have a point. The bloom, fog, and light shaft effects are fairly shoddy looking throughout the game (noticeable right off the bat when you start in the rowboat). The actual art style itself is pretty damn good though I have to give them that... very steampunk and classic bioshock.

Gameplay- Overall it was decent but came up lacking in a few areas. The gun selections didn't seem to matter in the slightest- there weren't many upgrades available and you could pretty much faceroll through most of the game on the standard difficulty with any of them. For instance (despite trying different weapons) I found that none of them truly mattered and ended up melee-stomping 95% of my enemies to break the monotony.

There was little to no benefit in saving ammo, exploring, or being tactical. Elizabeth constantly refills you on salts (mana), health, ammo, money, and points out useful objects.

There wasn't a whole lot of variation to the enemies and a lot of models were simply reused later on (under a different banner with slightly different skins). They also added an upgradable shield mechanism (like in Halo) which seemed entirely unnecessary and made the game easier than it needed to be.

I did enjoy the gear upgrades (though they made my melee almost unstoppable) and the vigors were pretty decent. I would have liked the vigors more if they had more upgrades available and were actually necessary for survival instead of just there for fun if you wanted them.

Overall it's a decent game.… Expand

JackBaronLIX

Aug 20, 2013

6

As far as VERY linear shooting games go, this is a good one. However, I found the combat to be the biggest problem. Its repetitive and.. well... repetitive. The story is fairly well done but I guessed a big part of it half way through the game.
Great Visuals, uninteresting characters, although I enjoyed the twins.
I was really expecting something extraordinary but in the end, I was aAs far as VERY linear shooting games go, this is a good one. However, I found the combat to be the biggest problem. Its repetitive and.. well... repetitive. The story is fairly well done but I guessed a big part of it half way through the game.
Great Visuals, uninteresting characters, although I enjoyed the twins.
I was really expecting something extraordinary but in the end, I was a bit disappointed. Very over rated. Removed it as soon as I was finished and plan on not getting any DLC.… Expand

GenericGamer286

Jul 7, 2013

6

More I played this game, more I scratched my head wondering what the hell are those critic reviewers talking about? Where are those revolutionary GOTY elements everybody is talking about? Is it after yet another corridor-shooting level full of dumb opponents? GOTY? More like FOTY (Fraud Of The Year). I had countless hours discussing with my friends who liked this game, but mostly becauseMore I played this game, more I scratched my head wondering what the hell are those critic reviewers talking about? Where are those revolutionary GOTY elements everybody is talking about? Is it after yet another corridor-shooting level full of dumb opponents? GOTY? More like FOTY (Fraud Of The Year). I had countless hours discussing with my friends who liked this game, but mostly because of Meta score... And thats the only thing they can say about it, really. "Did you saw the scores it got. Did you saw what the people say. Lol, you are so stupid". *sigh* Maybe I should score this game at least 7, but I cant. I m giving it the score by the amount of fun I got from it, which is even lower than 6, but at least interesting story ending mad my torture-to-stay-awake worth while... Dont you people understand? Because of Irrational's legacy (mostly because of System Shock games) I had great expectations. We have enough Call of Duty and their clones. Is this really what people wants from games these days? Such a shame.… Expand

Dweebo

Aug 29, 2013

5

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Bioshock Infinite, loved by many and quoted to be a "smart game for smart gamers". Honestly, it is nothing more than a better than average shooter. First off the graphics looked great, colorful and beautiful. the only problem with the graphics is that its "too colorful and beautiful". yea i know it sounds weird but let me get this down. Bioshock 1 graphics looks good to this day, but those graphics FIT the tone it was setting for. it looked dark and scary. It fits the tone of what its trying to achieve. when infinite does the dark settings it doesnt fit. its trying to be too many things at once, and doesnt set the mood right. now the combat is atrocious. its the same shooter we've all seen "shoot him" and then continue. It tries to change it up with elizabeth passing things to you and the portal things and vigors. but its core is what we all know the shoot him and win. and dont think I forgot about vigors. vigors have NO use in this world. It is just there because its bioshock. they are simply there for carnivals. in bioshock they went through scientific breakthroughs and were able to do things that the government wouldnt allow and it made sense why it was in rapture. vigors are there for no reason! and they generally overlap and do the same thing. the experimentation has been reduced stupidly. along with exploration, its a straight line! just shoot the people in your path and move forward. sound familiar? (COD). and now the story has a good simple premise, take the girl while avoiding the bad man. it gets terrible when it tries to be complex (im not going to go into much depth here). and the ending was a FAILURE! im not mad because the protagonist died. there are some good endings where the main character dies (red dead redemption). but its whole "paradox" thing is completely convoluted. elizabeth drowns booker and that fixes everything. WRONG, if booker dies he would still be in another parallel universe! but they cover this up by "somethings are just constant". which COMPLETELY contradicts the parallel universe theory. the most thing that baffles me is that people say "its for smart gamers". no, system shock was for smart gamers, bioshock 1 was for reletively smart gamers. because in THOSE it didnt treat you like a complete idiot. when you first go to the light house you get a card that shows you the pattern to ring the bells. so you ring the bells and the door opens.............................riveting. THERE WAS NO REASON FOR THIS! there is no excuse to why this is here. let me break this down. System shock: many doors required a code which you had to find, many doors led to ammo and nanites. but you even had to find the code to continue the story, you had to remember them. Bioshock: there were fewer doors that required a code, but you still had to find audio diaries, listen to them, remember the code, and enter it manually. Infinite: only one place where you use a code. in that scene you press X to investigate a table, find the code at the end of the cutscene and elizabeth then enters the code for you and you just sit and watch. smart right?infinite would be slightly better than mediocore. It had A TOOOON of potential but completely failed and could have done way better. it is way overrated.… Expand

RdVortex

Dec 8, 2013

7

Great atmosphere and rather interesting story however the story only gets interesting at the really end, before that it's OK though. Game has one major flaw though: you cannot save on your own. At worst I played for over half an hour to reach the next checkpoint even though I had wanted to quit a long time ago.

GameHyena

Jan 3, 2014

7

Bioshock: Infinite is a fill in game for the original 2 Bioshock games (Fan food if you will) though that doesn't make it a bad game at all. Despite its obvious irrelevance to the series, the games story is rather interesting, although at times the voice acting can go from very good to very bad in just a few short moments what really makes this game shine is that it places you into a worldBioshock: Infinite is a fill in game for the original 2 Bioshock games (Fan food if you will) though that doesn't make it a bad game at all. Despite its obvious irrelevance to the series, the games story is rather interesting, although at times the voice acting can go from very good to very bad in just a few short moments what really makes this game shine is that it places you into a world that feels very alive. Although this is not a strength in a game like Bioshock, where you play an aggressor the entire time. Having no abilities to interact with the citizens of Columbia is a major downfall, from the star of this game you most certainly do not feel like a hero. Game feel and story aside the combat can be bland and sometimes frustrating, though the sky hook is interesting it also can place you into enemy fire with ease as you will find someone flanking you without even being aware of where they came from. This aside the combat feels rewarding even after taking down the same copy pasted enemies dozens of time each encounter still felt rewarding. With beautiful graphics and wonderful visuals and for those of you dense enough to not guess the ending, a great story though despite being filled to the overflowing brim with plot holes is captivating and interesting. However the only reason I cannot give this game a better score is that it has simply no business being a "Bioshock" game. With only a slight amount of references to the Bioshock series that not only feel forced but feel completely out of place, being a game that takes place before the creation of Andrew Ryan's Rapture there is very little in this game that justifies itself as being called Bioshock. The only reason "Bioshock Infinite" was named as such was to make money off of a franchise that was guaranteed to make sales. Even if you are a giant Bioshock fan this games ending will keep you happy as this "filler episode" of a game has no relevance in the long run of the series. However if you have never played a Bioshock game, great news this isn't really a Bioshock game anyway.… Expand

ClMick

Nov 29, 2014

7

It's a good game. One of the best looking games graphically that I've played recently. Not because of quadrupple rendering or massive AA though, but because of the art style and level design.

The gameplay is moderately fun: if you consider this an FPS, there are better games in that genre available. The much critically acclaimed story wasn't exactly as good as I expected either. ButIt's a good game. One of the best looking games graphically that I've played recently. Not because of quadrupple rendering or massive AA though, but because of the art style and level design.

The gameplay is moderately fun: if you consider this an FPS, there are better games in that genre available. The much critically acclaimed story wasn't exactly as good as I expected either.

But the total package of the style, gameplay and story make it well worth playing. Just don't go in expecting an RPG the likes of Fallout or a fun shooter like, let's say Borderlands.… Expand

KingOfThBigOnes

Oct 8, 2014

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. i REALLY wanted to like this game. like a LOT. i played through about half of the first bioshock when it came out for 360 with a friend of mine and had a blast doing it. i had heard some really good things about this game and was expecting a very fun time and when it started, i was having a blast. and then i got about 2 hours into the game and found myself, all of a sudden, totally bored. the combat didn't feel satisfying, the vigors felt either cheap and a little bit like cheating or totally useless. the game did make me laugh out loud constantly, especially the whole Founders thing, and the conversations you hear as you walk around (there's a particularly hilarious bit about an artist that you hear from a man getting his shoes shined in the beginning of the game), and the characters themselves: it was all very well-done as far as world-building and story are concerned. but the majority of the game is spent in combat, and really, isn't the combat supposed to be the driving force behind the game? great combat can support a terrible world but a great world cannot support terrible combat, though that's completely just my opinion. anyways, after 2 hours, i quit the game. i just couldn't get into it. about a week later, i decided to try again, and this time to try and really PLAY with the different vigors and weapons and the skyrail. it was actually pretty fun, for a little while. the vigors are fun to use, the weapons are a little underwhelming but they get the job done, and the skyrail was wild fun the first few times i used it.

here's the problem though: there was just too much wrong with the game's combat for me to really enjoy what was done right with it. sprint being mapped to a thumbstick button and not being toggle-able (or is it toggle-able? i honestly could not tell because it was done so terribly) was a huge mistake, as was mapping iron sights to the other thumbstick button. sprinting from cover to cover was a disaster every time. by the way, lets talk about cover in this game for a moment: it is almost completely useless about 50 percent of the time. the moment you get behind cover you will then realize that there is an enemy right next to you on the OTHER side of the cover. you can't know where these enemies are (because the game makers decided for some reason that this game didn't need any sort of map for players?) until you're hit, and even once youre hit, it's almost impossible sometimes to figure out where the hell that shot came from. the "arenas" you move through (that's the best term i can come up with for them) are a chore, and instead of saying, "ALRIGHT LETS TEAR EM UP!!" every time you see enemies, you find yourself saying, "goddammit i wish there was a way to skip this crap". amazingly enough, the game did fulfill my wish several times: i died and then was resurrected on the OTHER side of whatever enemies i had been fighting, ready to move on to the next portion. i can't say that i didn't welcome it sometimes, but at the same time i still felt a little, well, cheated.

the biggest problem for me with Infinite was that i simply stopped having fun after a certain point. and it wasn't because of the weird controls, clonky levels, endless waves of boring enemies or the fact that i just didn't really CARE what happened to dewitt and elizabeth.. it was all of these things together that just wore down my patience. by the time i had gotten to the final battle, SPOILER: which is a terrible tower defense stage that goes on forever, i had simply lost interest in playing. after i lost the fight twice, i quit and went to go watch the ending scene on youtube. i have NEVER been so tired of playing a game that i wanted to actually just skip the last fight altogether. i mean, even in the stages leading up to the fight, i consistently had a feeling of, "okay, i'll just keep going cuz this HAS to end soon". that is not how you should feel when playing any game, and beyond that, nothing in an action game should EVER feel like a chore, which is what Infinite unfortunately felt like all the time.

as far as the story, it was on par with your average big-budget action movie. not amazing, not terrible, but definitely enjoyable. unfortunately it seemed like the deeper you went into the world, through voxophones, etc, the less interesting it became. at the end of the day, the whole thing felt like it was organized around the twist at the end, which is sad because neither DeWitt nor Elizabeth are the most interesting characters in the game - the most interesting one was Columbia itself. i give this game a 6/10 for the fact that it is fun and engaging for the first few hours of play. however, once the initial wow wears off, there's really not that much more to it. it just turns into a poor shooter with an average story and an incredible world that's feels only half-realized. i' d say wait for a good steam sale if you're interested.… Expand

Cell1e

Dec 26, 2013

5

Meh, I didn't like this game as much as I hoped I would. The story was really confusing and I didn't like ending. I'm one of the people who couldn't wait to finish this game and I am very glad it was a short one, only 15 hours.
I did enjoy the help from Elizabeth, she was sweet and I began to get quite fond of her but every other character in the story had limited appeal. It wasn't a gameMeh, I didn't like this game as much as I hoped I would. The story was really confusing and I didn't like ending. I'm one of the people who couldn't wait to finish this game and I am very glad it was a short one, only 15 hours.
I did enjoy the help from Elizabeth, she was sweet and I began to get quite fond of her but every other character in the story had limited appeal. It wasn't a game I felt immersed or invested in. Lots of copy and pasted people too. Lazy. Not sure why the big hype but my husband said he loved it so there you go, different strokes for different folks.… Expand

HerrJoebob

Apr 21, 2013

5

Utterly gorgeous, but way too glitchy. First the controls were defaulted to XBox 360 and mouse/keyboard simply didn't work (I just spun in place). Once I google'd that problem down I ended up hitting another glitch in the carnival games entirely unable to continue this is only a few minutes in to the game, so I'm calling the rest of it as not worth trying.

dovacreep

Apr 18, 2013

5

logically i would put 9 out of 10 for this masterpiece, but all in all, i am in too much disappointment i'm a fan of the series. It began when I played the Bioshock2, following the first, and waiting years for sequel.
So, i have waited for almost a month to buy this gem, held myself from reading spoilers from internet.
Basically i'm astonished and amazed by the design of the levels, sologically i would put 9 out of 10 for this masterpiece, but all in all, i am in too much disappointment i'm a fan of the series. It began when I played the Bioshock2, following the first, and waiting years for sequel.
So, i have waited for almost a month to buy this gem, held myself from reading spoilers from internet.
Basically i'm astonished and amazed by the design of the levels, so much details. yet the atmosphere is somewhat bland. At first. i was expecting some kind of dark atmosphere, horror and mysterious city of Columbia a remedy of the first and the 2nd Bioshck, or some sort, but there isn't. Maybe, the story will develop there, so I thought. But following the story, there was no horror. no eerie feeling after bloodshed, while corpses piling up, but it was no new sight in games.

the gameplay, is somewhat linear, no revolution from the previous game. It's awesome though, the blast explosion, effect, the game engine works out wonderful. It expect us to experiment with variety of powers and guns. but encounters are predictable and filled with "meh, them again?" situation. walking through new levels, then suddenly music changes. enemies show up from nowhere. but none of the encounters really memorable nor exciting, not even the bossfight. The so called Vigors are scattered around the city, and stores, but none of the enemies using it, the AI have been given the variety of guns, but they only overwhelming when surrounding you. i'm expecting to fight the Songbird, but what just play the whistler and he will be your pet, i was like, "just damn".

the characters besides Elizabeth are not really memorable either, NPCs are copypasted here and there. Fitzroy really doesn't have strong appearance. NPC design models are good.not great. citizens are scripted to walk in predicted path, bump 'em and nothing happen. Elizabeth partially useful, yes she's pretty, i wont say stupid, but often blocking path in a narrow hallway.

the overall philosophy of the story is clever, complex, but morbid. the game is antagonizing an ultranationalist-racist-religious zealot character comstock. I dont feel sympathy to the antagonists, but not really empathy to Booker either. from the first playthrough, the game filled with insult, and not the kind of insult that funny to follow. then comes the use of physics references, e.g quantum mechanics. basically it's fine, most games using it. but the ending is on half part logical, and distressing as a whole. I already thought that elizabeth is Booker's daughter, the time she demonstrate the ability of tearing the energy barrier between harmonic universe. what if booker fall for her before the siphon destroyed? Booker will be, "Holy i almost f***d my own daughter". The game itself doesnt really describe the social connection between the two. In bioshock 2 eleanor called Atlas "big daddy" as Dad, and it describe the connection. but Bioshock infinite didn't. In the process of the play through we are expected to be attached emotionally to the game, to the story and atmosphere, to elizabeth, but in the end she drowned me so she could save some other billions universe i don't give a okay that's rich, but not satisfactory why games these days always wanted the player to kill himself? really? why?? as a religious and a physics major, the overall concept story in this game is a real troll. worse is, there was no alternate ending. I'd rather vouch for farcry 3 for "not killing my gilrfriend" moments.

overall, design is complex and uniqueness 8 points. combat 6. story 7. moral lesson -1.… Expand

Ways

Feb 3, 2014

6

Not bad. Decent graphics, good voice acting, boring but solid FPS combat. Worth it for the eye candy perhaps, but I won't be playing it again.

This could have been something special: setting is very impressive and stylish with lots of attention to detail, and the developers were obviously trying to say something intelligent. Instead - the usual move forwards and kill, repeat, repeat.Not bad. Decent graphics, good voice acting, boring but solid FPS combat. Worth it for the eye candy perhaps, but I won't be playing it again.

This could have been something special: setting is very impressive and stylish with lots of attention to detail, and the developers were obviously trying to say something intelligent. Instead - the usual move forwards and kill, repeat, repeat. Why? Because a guy who I hear speaking sometimes is evil.

There's more to it than that, but if you want to find out what happens at the end you need to rack up an enormous bodycount first. The other Bioshocks and System Shock had puzzles and exploring; Infinite is just about shooting everything and then finding the exit to the next area.

Cool characters that might become Booker's allies manage to find bizarre ways of becoming his enemy so they can be added to the death toll. The sheer amount of meaningless killing (Booker pulls the trigger and Elizabeth throws him more ammo) makes situations like Booker stopping to tell Elizabeth that stealing from a tomb is wrong ("Think about what you're doing!"), unintentionally hilarious.

The moral of the story? Gunning down hundreds of people is fine as long as they are evil, but racism is very very very bad.… Expand

Sergeant_MarkIV

May 2, 2013

5

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The start of the game was a blast. The visuals and the art are really awesome and it does a great job on introducing the player into the world of the game.

But after one hour playing, all the colorful illusion starts to fall apart. At the beginning, I got extremely excited with the non-regenerative health bar thinking that I would need to look after my health and keep always exploring that epic city looking for health items, but a dozen battles later, somebody throws me a bucket of cold water when I am forced to pick a power-up that gives me a Halo-ish regenerative shield.
The gunplay is terrible. All guns fells weak, looks bad, have wimpy sounds, and can't kill unless you hit the head. Enemies are very static. You can hit them in the leg, in the arm, from behind, it doesn't matters. They will never react differently to your attacks. They look like motionless robots.

There are cool melee executions, but the system to perform them is broken. I think it has a 3/4 chance of failing at it and killing the enemy with a regular melee attack. This is extremely frustrating.
And, I can't forget to mention the extremely boring, unmemorable, and uninspired soundtrack.

The game has some very good points. Very good visuals, Elizabeth is an excellent companion, good narrative, but I think these points are not enough to justify the aforementioned problems, and are not enough for saving this game from falling into the "generic shooter" category.… Expand

BrosefStalin

Jul 1, 2013

6

There are plenty of things this game did right, and plenty that it did wrong. The plot twists and story were interesting and kept me wondering what was to come in the next sequence of the game. The setting was great and very original, at least to my knowledge. But the story is its most worth feature and is what makes the game shine to most people.

Taking a look at the characters made meThere are plenty of things this game did right, and plenty that it did wrong. The plot twists and story were interesting and kept me wondering what was to come in the next sequence of the game. The setting was great and very original, at least to my knowledge. But the story is its most worth feature and is what makes the game shine to most people.

Taking a look at the characters made me frown a little bit, seeing as Elizabeth is the only redeeming character in the entire game. Most of the others had very bland dialogue and boring backgrounds that had no influence to the plot what-so-ever. The only thing that made some of the characters stories interesting were there relations with Elizabeth.

Some of the poorly done things in Bioshock Infinite include the game play above anything else. While I enjoyed the game I felt bored from time to time. The vigors were a good attempt at keeping things interesting but I felt little use for them. There are too few enemies in this game, and the special enemies only make rare appearances. The majority of enemy encounters in this game include armed men carrying Rifle's and Shotguns, making nearly every fighting sequence a long distance 'duck and cover' battle. For its time, the gameplay is very stale and needs some serious improvement.

All in all I enjoyed the game for its practical elements like the story. It just lacked in so many other things and I feel if these things could be improved upon, Bioshock Infinite would be a much better game.… Expand

jesterx7769

Apr 16, 2013

6

Summary: Game is an enjoyable play through, a must play for heavy gamers, but that does not mean it is without holes.

Pros: -Stock graphics. While other games may be better on high end systems and modded out Bioshocks stock graphics are good and enjoyable wit a different art style -Detailed game world. There are details everywhere that immerse you in the game, if you stop by peopleSummary: Game is an enjoyable play through, a must play for heavy gamers, but that does not mean it is without holes.

Pros:
-Stock graphics. While other games may be better on high end systems and modded out Bioshocks stock graphics are good and enjoyable wit a different art style
-Detailed game world. There are details everywhere that immerse you in the game, if you stop by people they have conversations, if you stop by a table your companion will look at the items instead of staring off. The way the story builds throughout in minor pieces is good.

Cons
-Guns. You can only carry 2 guns at a time which is a big problem to me. I dont have a problem with only 2 but there is no way to switch out. you just have to randomly pick up guns as you go. While you can use the carry load excuse it doesnt help when you can carrpy as much as ammo as you want (up to a max) the variety in weapons also isnt great and you will just use the OP sniper most of time as the enemies just sit back.
-Not many battles. There are maybe only 10 real shooting scenes in the game. and when you have the last one you don't even know its the last and isn't special at all.… Expand

Bigbry

Apr 14, 2013

5

This is my first Bioshock experience and I am underwhealmed. The graphics are nice but sloppy in places. The game itself is muddled and way too easy. There are reviewers stating this is a revolutionary FPS experience. That blows my mind!! The two games I previously completed Far Cry 3 and Borderlands 2 were both far superior to this in gameplay and complexity. I did like the quantumThis is my first Bioshock experience and I am underwhealmed. The graphics are nice but sloppy in places. The game itself is muddled and way too easy. There are reviewers stating this is a revolutionary FPS experience. That blows my mind!! The two games I previously completed Far Cry 3 and Borderlands 2 were both far superior to this in gameplay and complexity. I did like the quantum physics aspect to the plot but they don't explain enough. And like I said the game world and environments are decent. Overall just an average shooter.… Expand

matty_o

Apr 30, 2013

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. From all the hype since the sneak-peek at this game in 2010, I was really expecting a masterpiece. Instead, we are presented with a game that seems to get less fun the more you play it and in all honestly, I eventually found myself playing the game as much as possible, just to get it over and done with. The graphics are fantastic, the city architecture is outstanding, but Bioshock Infinite's shortfalls are quite unappealing. Firstly, the patriot/religious theme goes from interesting to overused within the first 2 hours of the game. Secondly, the railing system is underused. You can only rail at designated locations which adds to the already extremely linear plot and does not even allow you to explore the wonderful city as freely as what you would like. This means that all the effort into the landscape and buildings is just backdrop instead of allowing it to be a reality that you can move around however you like. Thirdly, the plot of the story starts off a little shaky, but by the end of the game I had no idea what the hell was going on, and due to the ridiculous story-line and constant change in Elizabeth's behaviour, I couldn't have cared less. You would also expect your game-long sidekick to be of some use, but she never once assists with enemies at all. She has got to be the most useless side-kick of any game, only offering you extra supplies at random intervals which you need to actually take a break from shooting, look towards her, catch the supplies and then carry on. While enemies are allowed to continue taking free hits. Finishing the game gives more relief than awe. The enemies AI, although not terrible, isn't great either. The game is completely linear apart from 'optional quests' which allow you to find codes that decrypt certain messages written on walls to allow you into a secret room. The weapons are boring and not too many. The magic powers, although fun at the start, become useless later on in the game and only 3 are actually effective later on. You can collect lockpicks to unlock secret areas, however later on in the game, there are so few secret areas that you will probably finish the game with 20+ lockpicks. Did I saw wtf is up with the ending?? I really expected more from this game. Or in this sense, less.… Expand

SergioEngles86

Apr 19, 2013

6

BioShock Infinite looks nice, and that's about it... its is extremely over-hyped and no where close to earning a 10/10 rating. This game is a 7/10 at best and here's why.

First off lets start with the obvious false advertising, you may have seen the awesome looking TV commercial and thought to yourself, hey this game looks cool... well too bad that the TV commercialBioShock Infinite looks nice, and that's about it... its is extremely over-hyped and no where close to earning a 10/10 rating. This game is a 7/10 at best and here's why.

First off lets start with the obvious false advertising, you may have seen the awesome looking TV commercial and thought to yourself, hey this game looks cool... well too bad that the TV commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbRUTSeafcc is of content that is not found anywhere in the actual game.

Secondly there is a 2 weapon carry limit, this normally wouldn't be a problem but the ammo clip sizes are extremely small even when fully upgraded. To offset this the developers decided to put ammo-vending machines every 10 feet in the game levels so you never have to go far or out of your way... kinda lame.

Thirdly is almost all of the vigor's found in the game are copy and paste versions of each other with the exception of two of them. There is little need to switch between any more than 2 vigor's for the entire course of the game since they virtually and literally all do the exact same thing and have the exact same secondary function.

Fourthly there are literally no side quests and or puzzles in this game. There will be a few instances where you find a key and need to back track 3/4 of a level to unlock a treasure chest, but that is pretty much the extent of your side questing in BioShock Infinite. There are also a few doors to hidden loot that wont open with out you hitting an object with the assigned vigor power. The lack of puzzle solving and side quests makes this experience feel very underwhelming.

Fifthly there are no major boss fights in this game, none, zero... some people will argue that you do infact participate in one boss battle mid way through the game, but I digress. At no point in this game are you faced with an "OMG I have to fight that?" moment.

Sixth is the fact that there is no multiplayer or co-op aspect to this game at all. There isn't even a section in the main menu for solo play skill challenges or time attack type modes, all you get is a story mode, that's it no other bells or whistles.

The average gamer will spend anywhere from 9-12 hours on normal setting. While the game may look fantastic, it is a very short ride with not a lot of replay value. The lack of any puzzles, side quests, boss battles, exploration, etc. makes this game feel very hollow and empty.

I cannot justify giving this game a 10/10, this is the current flavour of the month as far as gaming goes, BioShock Infinite does not break any new ground as far as FPS games go, it just looks nice. If vanity is all you care about then yes I guess you could look past all the other glaring issues with this game and blindly give it a 10/10.… Expand

NoBody134

Apr 1, 2013

7

This game is highly overrated in my opinion for a few reasons only
The combat system is boring, you barely have enough salts to use even your weakest spells more than 8 times.
that and the fact that you are capable of taking with you only two weapons at every given time makes the combat in this game very weak. the storyline is awesome and the characters in this game have really likableThis game is highly overrated in my opinion for a few reasons only
The combat system is boring, you barely have enough salts to use even your weakest spells more than 8 times.
that and the fact that you are capable of taking with you only two weapons at every given time makes the combat in this game very weak.
the storyline is awesome and the characters in this game have really likable personalities overall, except for booker, he was extremely generic and unappealing.
Columbia is huge, however it's boring.
there are some very awesome enemies in this game, but they are very repetitive and they have crapton of health, and i found this to be very irritating.
All in All, this game is solid, however it has a lot of drawback.… Expand

Micketto

Apr 16, 2013

5

I don't get it.
So many 10's... "sets a new bar"..."amazing graphics"... "incredible storytelling"... huh ?
Maybe it's because I finished Far Cry 3 the day before, or just exited Battlefield 3 before I installed this game, but the graphics and gameplay leave so much to be desired. The rail system was great... I just wish I had to use them more. Except for a couple times they areI don't get it.
So many 10's... "sets a new bar"..."amazing graphics"... "incredible storytelling"... huh ?

Maybe it's because I finished Far Cry 3 the day before, or just exited Battlefield 3 before I installed this game, but the graphics and gameplay leave so much to be desired.
The rail system was great... I just wish I had to use them more. Except for a couple times they are pretty much optional. Same for Vigors. I hardly used them the whole game, except for when they were first introduced and you were told to try them. Tears could have been a bit more involved, and optional... what's wrong with letting us choose to use them sometimes, even if it meant setting us back a bit..

Half of the game was "run and gun", with low ammo weapons... other half was cut scenes or long distance hikes to go back to where you just came from. Fights were not hard considering you revive in the exact location of the fight, and your enemies were not revived much. It's just a matter of constantly shooting, no matter how many deaths it takes you to beat them.

I was finally fighting the best battle of them all, on the airship, and then went to the longest cut scene of any game in history (with a couple of "Press 'E' thrown in to make me think I was actually controlling something, lol) only to find out that was the end of the game.

By no means am I discounting other opinions, but I just don't see what everyone else is seeing.

Short game, easy battles (thanks to instant revive in exact spot you died), mediocre cartoon graphics.
But the music was great I sat in the first temple listening to the gospel choir for a long time), and Elizabeth was a great help in the game. Very clever AI with her. Sadly no "Citra" situation with her (but then we find out why).

I overpaid at $40.... this more of a $15 game, at best.

I had started Bioshock 1 previously, but if this is "Bioshock" I will pass on the rest and wait for Far Cry 4.… Expand

keeling2008

Apr 21, 2013

5

Personally, I don't see what all the critical acclaim is about. I'm an avid Bioshock fan and I thought the first one was fantastic. Second one was nowhere near as good but had some great moments and it was great for fans wanting more from the Bioshock universe. However, for all the rich storyline details and a wealth of subject matter that makes you think about the gritty details, I feelPersonally, I don't see what all the critical acclaim is about. I'm an avid Bioshock fan and I thought the first one was fantastic. Second one was nowhere near as good but had some great moments and it was great for fans wanting more from the Bioshock universe. However, for all the rich storyline details and a wealth of subject matter that makes you think about the gritty details, I feel Infinite has failed to live up to expectations in more than one area.

I am not going to mention spoilers as the story is the strong point within a very linear product. Not that replay ability has ever bothered me, but there is zero chance of returning to this game once completed and that's not just because of the story and how it unfolds, this is due to the filler sections that are a chore to play through first time round. This, in my honest opinion makes this game worth less than the full retail price.

Secondly, the graphics are standard. As a member has already mentioned they have filled the game with lighting, bloom and post processing trickery that tries to hide the graphical short comings. I am playing on a top spec PC and I am pisappointed when comparing Infinite to other games on offer.

Lastly, the final nail in the coffin for me was the combat. I felt like I was back in 2007 with the only upgraded features worth mentioning being the combination of vigors and better weapon physics.

Having just finished Dead Space 3 (an evolution for a series although many disagree), MoH War fighter (how that got 35% from PCGamer UK is beyond me) and Max Payne 3, Infinite was a game I felt I had to complete just so I could uninstall. The other games I have mentioned were a blast from start to finish and I didn't want them to end. It is hard to put my finger on what it is about Infinite I really don't like and maybe LIKE is the wrong choice of words... It's not that it is a bad game; it has all the attention and care we have come to expect from Levine and his team. But Infinite, with all its potential to be a gaming masterpiece, played it too safe for me and stuck by a formula that worked in 2007 to 2010 but today, is a storyline the only thing that pushes games forward? I personally think it a game needs to be a more balanced product that offers a good story line and good gameplay mechanics A game featuring these should be labelled as potential masterpieces.… Expand

shin0bi272

Apr 14, 2013

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Overall I liked the game. It was a good attempt at making a bioshock game that was sandbox. It failed in that attempt but it was an attempt.

Graphics are so-so and the engine (modified unreal3 engine) is definitely showing its age. Its got Nvidia physx but the only physx parts are some water effects, your companion's dress and some flags... almost nothing is destroyable (which is where physx really shines), and while playing at 19x12 res on the highest graphical settings this cartoonish looking dx9 game gets somewhere in the neighborhood of 35-45 fps on my Nvidia 670. It really has no reason to get that low of a frame rate since its not rendering very much and what it is rendering is average quality at best. I played all the way through crysis 3 (a dx11 title) on the same settings and dont remember having my frame rate parked in the 30's very often... maybe once or twice. What Im getting at here is for being delayed over a year I was expecting way more than the 2009 wolfenstin remake set in a floating city with a companion thrown in to hit you in the face with stuff you need almost when you need it then steal money from you when you die. Graphics and concept 2 out of 10.

Gameplay is good except for one problem I had with the controls. I use mouse 2 to move forward and I found my character would stick going forward or not move at all if I searched a corpse and hit move forward either immediately before searching (search on the fly) or immediately after searching (search then fly). Which is a true pain in the ass when you're under fire.

I do like the mechanic of her saving you from dying or you walking through a "celestial" door to revive but I fail to see why this should cost me money. The irony here is if you walk up to a vending machine and walk away half the time she will go hey need some cash? and fling money at you. So wait you took money from me to save me just to give it back to me later? Are you some kind of co-dependent or something? overly attached girlfriend is that you?

Then you have the dialogue between the two main characters. I know its set in the early 1900's but your character treats her like 90% of the game then at the end he gets all attached and defensive of her. He was originally going to "rescue" her to bring her to NYC to sell her to pay off a gambling debt! Now he wants to be all buddy buddy with her in the end? Dubya Tee Eff?!

I was playing on the hardest difficulty and while most of the game was still pretty easy I always find it funny when on the hardest diff you pick up a weapon from a guy you just barely managed to kill because his weapon almost killed you in 1 hit, and you shoot his clone with it and it takes an entire mag or more to put the guy down. I'll never understand that idea, and will always question why they dont just send more guys for you to fight on the higher difficulty levels. I guess its just laziness on the coder's part.

Overall though the gameplay isnt horrible for a mostly rail shooter... They have all these achievements that are the only reason it doesnt feel so much like its on rails all the time. But they hardly make it worth the 9 overall score that everyone is giving it. There are very few side quests and they dont yield anything major so you scrounge around for a while finding a code book just to get a power up phial that doesnt do much when 3 hits kills you all the time. The vigors are more of a novelty than a tool and I only used them for a shield and to make a frenemy once in a while. I rarely changed clothing and the item screen was a hassle.

Story wise though I do have to take issue with the one spot where they find a guitar and booker sits down to play it and they do a duet of "will the circle be unbroken" and take out the word God just to be PC about it. The entire game we're hearing God and prophet etc etc... and you choose to mutilate a song that says it? Really? THAT'S your big political stance? A 30 sec blurb of a song played in a back room of a basement?... That is where you had to make a stand? ooook. Also I dont know if I got a different game than everyone else but I didnt get the scene from the commercial where Elizabeth is on the horse about to be hanged and you jump in and save her. Anyone else?

Lastly the end just made no sense to me. I get the multiverse concept but how, if originally Booker sells his daughter to Comstock, is Booker also Comstock? And if you find out that Elizabeth is your daughter all grown up at the end then killing you then wont solve anything. Plus she would cease to exist if you killed Booker/Comstock when he was a baby like they had planned to and the floating city would destroy the world since we wouldnt be there to stop it with her special powers. Which means none of the game would actually happen. I almost literally got a headache trying to figure out what they were doing. I feel weird about this game. The end wasnt cathartic at all it was just weird.… Expand

MercutioGeek

Apr 18, 2013

6

Just about the most damning comment I can make is that Bioshock 2 was better. First, I'll admit that I don't like first person shooters, Call of Modern Warfare just doesn't interest me. I did however love the first Bioshock because in that case the mechanic didn't define the game, yes it used the first person perspective and ostensibly you did shoot things but it wasn't a FPS, instead itJust about the most damning comment I can make is that Bioshock 2 was better. First, I'll admit that I don't like first person shooters, Call of Modern Warfare just doesn't interest me. I did however love the first Bioshock because in that case the mechanic didn't define the game, yes it used the first person perspective and ostensibly you did shoot things but it wasn't a FPS, instead it was more of an Action Adventure a-la Tomb Raider or Uncharted. But Bioshock Infinite feels like the stripped out the everything that didn't work with the FPS genre and turned it in to a very poor FPS. Gone is the hacking minigame that even though it was incongruous with the FPS gameplay was still fun and served as a way to break up the action in the game. Look up 'story arc' and you will see that it is meant to dip at times between various peaks to give the user a breather. In contrast Bioshock Infinite feels like it quickly ramps up to 10 and stays there. One of the most compelling parts of the first Bioshock was the story and the reason it was so effective is that it was both deep and subtle. Bioshock Infinite feels like it is trying for depth but it has completely discarded subtlety and just beats you over the head with head with it. This is a city filled with religious zealots and racists and that's bad m'kay.… Expand

Nortavlag

Apr 20, 2013

6

I think this game represents the bare minimum to be a member of the Shock series. With each iteration of the series after SS2, the formula gets watered down more and more. I was able to immerse myself in Bioshock 1 & 2, despite the simplified mechanics, because the world had flow & made some sense. Infinite just felt disjointed to me & felt more like an amusement park than a somewhatI think this game represents the bare minimum to be a member of the Shock series. With each iteration of the series after SS2, the formula gets watered down more and more. I was able to immerse myself in Bioshock 1 & 2, despite the simplified mechanics, because the world had flow & made some sense. Infinite just felt disjointed to me & felt more like an amusement park than a somewhat functioning city or space ship as in previous games. The character customization is severely lacking as well.

It was entertaining & had a decent story, but it felt hollow. I found myself only really having fun with the game in the last 30 minutes of play.… Expand

franissavio

May 1, 2013

5

I wonder how come not even 1 critic either give negative or mixed review for BioShock Infinite?! Did the producers of this game persuaded Metacritic to show only positive reviews??
Whatever, for me it's just an average game!

Hellmood

Apr 22, 2013

6

I'll try to keep this short.
Bioshock Infinite is not a bad game by today's standards and definitely does quite a few things right, including, but not necessarily limited to:
- a unique, fresh setting - a female comrade that isn't just there to provide eye candy - an above-average story - unproblematic, technical realization However, this game is not nearly as good as people andI'll try to keep this short.
Bioshock Infinite is not a bad game by today's standards and definitely does quite a few things right, including, but not necessarily limited to:
- a unique, fresh setting
- a female comrade that isn't just there to provide eye candy
- an above-average story
- unproblematic, technical realization

However, this game is not nearly as good as people and magazines make it out to be.
- the gameplay itself is very generic, linear, simple and watered-down when comparing it to its predecessors.
- the politic implications and themes are handled VERY superficially and just boil down to two simple messages: Racism is bad, religious fanaticism is bad

All in all, the game is okay, but nothing groundbreaking. Time travel and alternate universes does not make the story complex or deep automatically and this game also really doesn't have a true intellectual merit, like some people make it out to have. Also, it suffers very heavily from the extremely bland gameplay, which a game should be mainly judged on.… Expand

Featured

BioShock Infinite

Review this game

Awards & Rankings

Essential Links

Critic Reviews

1	#1 Best PC Game of 2013
3	#3 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
8	#8 Most Shared PC Game of 2013