tabbymumbles
Andrew   Greater Manchester, United Kingdom (Great Britain)
 
 
Just a guy trying to get back into game again
Currently Offline
Review Showcase
28 Hours played
I came into Bioshock Infinite with high expectations. After reading so many positive reviews and seeing various incarnations of the game being showcased, I knew this game could very well be right up my street. And I wasn't disappointed one bit.

I love my games with a strong narrative element, and Infinite's storyline kept me engrossed throughout. Being intrigued by the character you play, Booker, and the mystery surrounding the girl who will 'wipe away the debt', Elizabeth. Their story had me on the edge of my seat a number of times, drawing me into their world (or worlds!) and feeling very much a part of Columbia, the city in the sky.

Booker is abrasive, sometimes hard to like, yet he grows in stature and empathy as his emotional attachment to Elizabeth grows, parallel to the player themselves. Elizabeth is a quite astounding A.I. companion, obviously taking a leaf out of Valve's book with Alyx from the Half-Life universe. I very quickly found myself empathising with her and forming an emotional attachment, which sounds weird to say of a character in a video game! But only serves to make certain events and twists in the story resonate all the stronger, with how they affect Elizabeth and, in turn, Booker and the player. Voice acting is superb, with both Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper in the lead roles providing many of the emotional hooks I found myself hanging onto.

The game mechanics themselves are magnificent, not being a heavy gamer for a number of years now, I found the interface very intuitive, uncluttered controls and found my own way to play comfortably very quickly. Your pretty standard set of FPS weapons, other than the skyhook which can be used for some pretty gruesome melee death moves, as well as a way to traverse parts of the levels on the death-defying skylines. Vigors on the other hand completely blew me away, and have to be used to be believed! I think I relied mostly on Shock Jockey, Bucking Bronco and Murder of Crows. I would describe them as sort of short-term magical powers gained from drinking select potions but that doesn't do them justice at all!

Art design is literally out of this world, and had me in awe all the way through. I just wondered around levels taking it all in, accounting for most of my 27 hours of playthrough time! Ken Levine's mind (along with the Irrational team) is a beautiful, terrifying thing, and has created a time and space I won't forget for a long, long time. A lot of this has been said many times over, and probably more eloquently than I ever could, but little touches will have you smiling to yourself like a loon, replaying to take in again, or pretty much break your heart. The use of certain songs in specific situations is wonderful, most notably a barbershop quartet version of 'God Only Knows' by the Beach Boys. I was already aware of the use of 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' by Tears for Fears from previous demo footage, yet the scene it was used in still got me very excited! Music throughout is first rate, down to the incidental pieces and period versions of modern day pop songs.

The game's structure, design, and narrative heart is literally that amazing and beautiful. And I'll definitely be hunting down the 'art of Bioshock Infinite' book to add to my bookshelf.

I wholeheartedly bought into Booker and Elizabeth's journey, and the game's ending will stay with me forever I imagine. The storyline is that good. The Lutece twins (!) are great comic relief and plant seeds of curiousity that only strengthened the grip Bioshock Infinite's climax wielded over me. It's less than a week since I finished the game but I can imagine the whole experience will resonate in my mind for a good while to come.

In case you can't tell yet, please give yourself the biggest treat you'll have, if you haven't already, and play this game.
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Comments
Caesura 1 Apr, 2013 @ 2:15pm 
I love the Portal games, funny and fun is hard not to like. I'm trying to unlock as many achievements as I'm able, hence the hours... and hours and hours... :)
Caesura 1 Apr, 2013 @ 1:13am 
Hey Andrew! I knew it was you, Thanks for the invite! I really liked your Miasmata review, very well written. :D
sighildr 28 Mar, 2013 @ 7:10pm 
MSN closes soon I think! Ha yeah, I get like that too... consequently I don't talk to many people online now lol. Hope things are going well :)
AchillesNeil 28 Mar, 2013 @ 1:25am 
Hey Andy! Thanks for the add! :D
sighildr 27 Mar, 2013 @ 8:29pm 
Hello :)