Review: Bioshock Infinite

This is mostly going to be a review of the game design elements of Bioshock Infinite since I dare not say anything about the story lest I say too much.  The vast majority of game play is the same as it was in the first two Bioshock games.  You have an array of guns to choose from to shoot your way through a vast array of enemies, you have essentially magic powers to help as well, you can rummage through desks, barrels, crates, and trash cans looking for money, ammo, delicious cake and pineapple and other foods to help you heal.  The game feels more linear than the other Bioshock games, but I think that's mostly because you can't revisit areas after they are finished in this one or because only one area had multiple paths to get to your destination.

There are four distinct differences they have made this time around: Elizabeth's resupply, tears, two weapon limits, and the skyline.  About a third of the way into the game, you'll be joined by Elizabeth, quite possibly the best AI companion I have ever played with.  She never annoyed me, she never made combat more difficult, and she restocks your ammo, health, and salts when you are low (the harder the difficulty, the less frequently she'll restock you).  This is both a total blessing when you find yourself overwhelmed, but it also makes the game significantly easier.  I found myself taking much larger risks and doing stupider things because I knew as long as I could get away and hide for a few seconds, Elizabeth would patch me up.  If you want some actually challenging combat, I would recommend you play on Hard for this game.

Another thing Elizabeth brings with her is the ability to open up tears between dimensions.  Essentially, there are pre-determined things you can bring into the world to help you in combat.  So when you enter a new area, you might see a potential medkit crate up ahead, a potential gun turret up above, and a potential freight hook to swing from.  All you have to do is point at it and tell Elizabeth to open the tear.  Only one tear can be opened at once, but this gives combats a very interesting set of strategic choices for how you want to do battle.  Masterfully controlling the battle field is an incredibly powerful tool to use against your enemies.  Perhaps you'll bring in an ally to distract the enemy or use that freight hook to get away when you start getting overwhelmed.

In previous Bioshock games (and most FPSes), you get an arsenal of weaponry that grows as the game progresses.  You'll get to switch to any weapon you've collected up to that point whenever you want.  In Bioshock Infinite, you have a two gun limit.  Those two guns can be any you find, but if you have the machine gun and the carbine rifle stumble upon a shotgun, you have to choose which one to leave behind.  Much like the tears, this makes combat much more about strategic choices and choosing the weapons that best suit your style.  Maybe you love to be in the middle of the action, so you take the shotgun, but you want a good backup weapon if the enemies are too far away, so you take the rifle.  Most weapons are available all over the place, so switching to a different set happens fairly frequently.

The last new element (and the first weapon you get in the game) is the Skyhook.  This little device lets you (very brutally) kill people who get up in your face and it also lets you latch on to skylines and the aforementioned freight hooks.  You can use these to escape battle or use them  as part of your battle strategy.  They don't appear in every combat area, but when they are there, it's pretty darn fun to leap out of the way of a mob of guys and then swoop down and knock one out by leaping at them.  Just keep in mind that most enemies have Skyhooks as well, so they can follow you if you are just trying to get away.  Of course, if you're like me, you'll use that knowledge to set up an ambush for when they follow you.

Even with all these changes, the game play of Bioshock Infinite feels very similar to the original two games.  You're still running from one area to another, dispatching troops of enemies to make your way from point A to point B so that you can achieve your goal.  And then right when you think you have achieved that goal, the story tosses you for a loop, which is really why you play a Bioshock game anyway...