You won’t find better: “Bioshock: Infinite”

Once in a blue moon, I come across a game that moves me emotionally, engages me physically and astounds me viscerally, but almost never at the same time. To my surprise (and great delight) Bioshock: Infinite has achieved just this, and reminded me why I fell in love with Bioshock [2007], but also felt quite indifferent to Bioshock 2 [2010]. The change in title appropriately signals a departure from the first two installments. The adventure now takes place in Columbia, a paradisiacal city above the clouds, and a veritable rocket ship away from Andrew Ryan’s objectivist dystopia at the bottom of the sea.

You are Booker DeWitt; a down on his luck veteran of the American-Indian Ghost Dance War, tasked with retrieving a girl in order to settle his alcohol fueled gambling debts.  Your first glimpse of the city is met with a pre-recorded ‘hallelujah’. You are then lowered into a temple adorned with stained glass depicting a bearded figure, Zachary Hale Comstock, a prophet in the style of Joseph Smith, and de facto leader of Columbia. Themes of religious zealotry, portrayed early on by the citizens of Columbia, are quickly complimented by undertones of xenophobia glimpsed through video tapes and overheard in conversations taking place in the absolutely stunning Columbian environment (thanks to ultra-high resolution textures on the PC version). 

Subtly disguised tutorials in the first hour ease you into comfort with combat controls before launching you into rapidly-paced and immensely satisfying combat situations, made all the more exciting with the welcome return of ‘vigors’ (plasmids in Bioshock); devastating or utilitarian abilities that breathe life and color into combat, and give the player a feeling of superhuman capabilities. Fights are punctuated with peaceful interludes that permit the player to gawk at the resplendent sights of Columbia, and appreciate quirky and anachronistic musical cameos that enhance the mood. In addition, ‘voxaphones’ are scattered across the environment to engage your ears while you scavenge for precious resources and clues.

What takes Bioshock: Infinite from an FPS/RPG that impressed me in terms of the environment and action into an emotionally moving story, is the introduction of your companion, Elizabeth. Far from the ‘damsel in distress’ character, Elizabeth relies on Booker as much as he relies on her. The dynamic introduced with Elizabeth essentially represents the last additional combat element in the game, but marks the beginning of an even more compelling story as together they face fanatical and vibrant personalities bent on their destruction. Her moods are palpable, even when they aren’t represented in her stride, area specific banter or nuanced postures and facial expressions.

While the game boasts a very hard setting (1999 mode), it is easily accessible to any type of player, and makes generous use of auto-aim in the lower settings. Navigation controls and abilities are intuitively designed. I played the game on my mechanical keyboard and 360 controller; both felt natural in combat. Even the opening menu demonstrates the minute attention to detail put into this game, as each selection navigates you to another part of a city alleyway while ‘After You’ve Gone’ faintly echoes in the distance. If you are to purchase one title this season, this has to be it, full stop.