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BioShock: Infinite Review
Hey everyone,
I just finished playing through BioShock Infinite and I enjoyed it so much I decided to write a quick review for anyone who may be interested. Please note that I played BioShock 1 when it was originally released but did not play BioShock 2 because it seemed more like a BioShock 1.5 than a truly second game. Also you don't need to play BioShock 1 or 2 in order to understand the story of BioShock Infinite, but they do reference them in a couple of parts, so it is recommend to play them.
So first off are the visuals. The game is graphically beautiful and keeps to the slight cartoony look and feel of the other BioShocks. The architecture and landscapes are amazing and really suck you into the game. The charter models and costumes are absolutely brilliant. The look of your enemies is constantly changing, depending on what section you are in, so it always feels like you are engaging different enemies throughout the game. With that being said the textures on the grass and plants are horrible. It really looks like they forgot all about the foliage and decided to throw it in last minute. You are mostly in urban environments so you don't get to see to many plants but it is still noticeable.
The gameplay is just like the first one and is very engaging. It seems like the game was really designed to be played on a mouse and keyboard but I did have to move a few keys around because they were in odd places. The fighting involves using firearms, melee attacks and Vigors (powers) to dispatch your enemies. There are plenty of guns to choose from and you can only equip two at any given time which means you are constantly looking for the right weapon for the job and it keeps you on your toes. You can use money to buy weapon upgrades (more damage, less recoil, larger magazine etc.) which really makes a difference. Although when a weapon was upgraded in the original game the gun would visually change in some way or another, but in BioShock Infinite the guns never visually change which was really depressing. You also have plenty of Vigors (which can be upgraded as well) to choose from which can make killing enemies much easier and just makes combat fun and interesting. The problem I ran into though was that at times there were just to many Vigors to choose from and I would end up dispatching my foes by shooting them because I just didn't want to fiddle with choosing a bunch of Vigors.
The AI in the game was superb. Enemies typically fight smart and use cover to avoid damage. They will also advance and try and flank you if they are strong in numbers. There are also many types of enemies that fight in different ways so you are forced to keep your head on a swivel in combat. The ally AI is probably some of the best I have seen in a game. Your female companion never gets in the way and never feels like a burden. She is invincible in combat and is always throwing you more ammo or health packs which really makes a difference. She can also pull things into the battlefield to help you get the drop on your enemies, weather it be turrets or more cover for protection.
The story was absolutely amazing and is exactly what I expected from a BioShock game. It constantly sucked you in and made you want play more just to figure out the story. The voice acting was done very well and you really felt connected to your character and your companion. It was really confusing at parts so you really have to pay attention and have no distractions while playing. I played on the Normal difficulty which is the second out of three difficulties and it took me about 12-13 hours to beat, so it is a nice length. There is no multiplayer but that was expected.
All in all I would give it a 8.5-9/10. I honestly went into the game not expecting very much because I am not a big fan of sequels, but the game really turned around my point of view. I think this game is a must have for everyone, weather or not you played the original ones. With that being said, since it is strictly single player it isn't a must have right away. It will always be there and it might be better to buy on sale for the ones who are on the fence about purchasing the game.
I hope you enjoyed this quick review and found it helpful, let me know if you have any questions.
-JackALope
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