This
computer-controlled female co-star is convincing enough that she becomes one of
the more normal creations in BioShock Infinite. This colourful first-person
shooter allows you to summon fire and lighting from your fingertips, all the
while unleash rockets and revolver rounds as you fight your way through the
floating city of Columbia. She is the one constant presence in the game and one
that you actually find yourself bonding with as the game unfolds.
Before
you actually meet her, the game is about her, and once she’s by your side you
will never want to let her go. She is the daughter of Zachery Comstock, a
self-proclaimed prophet who has created a paradise in the clouds to carry his
followers away from “the Sodem below” – being the United States of America.
You
play Booker DeWitt, a former soldier and ‘detective’ with a troubled past, and
have been sent to this new Eden to retrieve her and take her to New York.
Elizabeth has been kept in a tower for almost her entire life, reading books and trying to understand a strange
power she has to open ‘tears’ in the fabric of reality (read ‘portals to
another dimension’). It’s an interesting situation and one that leaves her with
a sense of wonder in everything around you as soon as she is set free. You
share in this, as she dances with strangers on the beach or brings fruit to
scared children all the while pushing the adventure forwards.
Probably
the most important thing for me to say is that she never, ever, gets in your
way. It does slowly become apparent that she’s being teleported around the
environment based on your actions but, in part due to her ‘tear’ ability, this
is completely dismissed and does not give off the scent of artificiality.
The
most astounding thing for me was the way the game makes you miss her, even for
the few moments she disappears off screen. Her interesting conversations, her
helpful way of collecting items and he ability to pick locks makes her completely
indispensable. Elizabeth never feels like a damsel in distress and does give
you the feeling that you need to protect her. You’re won’t fall in love with
her but you’ll like her in a familial way. You won’t take her for granted
either – she will always feel like she’s needed and in those brief moments when
she’s not on screen it seems like something is missing.
The
city of Columbia is less strange by video game standards but in no way less
brilliant – especially considering the love we all have for Rapture. As
impossible settings go, Columbia handles the affair and the intrigue just as
well as the underwater metropolis. I was quite surprised, and probably a bit
naive, when I hadn’t thought that the buildings would float around me as I made
my way across the city. It truly is a spectacular vista to look at.
During
the whole campaign I found myself lost looking at views, studying structures
and listening to barbershop quartets. Mechanical horses clank along the cobbled
streets, propaganda posters line the streets and hummingbirds pollenate
flowers. This is a colourful and bright take on 1912 Americana and follows the
Rapunzel of the Sky rather than the dingy damp location of the sea.
The
game has a story that should be taken as a whole and doesn’t need padding,
party tricks or gentle winds to push it along. It is fulfilling and rewarding
and never really takes it’s foot of the gas except during the few moments when
you have the opportunity to wander around with the population.
BioShock
has always worked with the basic pattern of clearing areas and then picking
through the leftovers for money, upgrades and ‘voxophones’ (the new audio
diaries). Less attention has been given to this area of the game and makes sure
that it feels like BioShock even though the location is so vastly different. The
one thing that did surprise me is that the direction is so pronounced and yet
this doesn’t take away from the experience in any way. There is no save/load
system due to regular autosaves and not a lot of sections that have detours or
alternative routes. Columbia doesn’t lack in size it is just far more focused
than Rapture before it. The city is going through a crisis as opposed to one
where you already missed it and when wandering populated areas it is refreshing
to see the streets clear as violence kicks off.
Voxophone’s
explain the undersides of the story and give rise to details about the
characters including their motives, background and beliefs. You will get to
understand why Comstock believes that Elizabeth should be his successor and why
he wants to destroy the world below.
The
main game can be finished in 12-14 hours on the regular difficulty dependant on
your exploration time and finishing this unlocks the exceptionally difficult
1999 Mode. This mode brings with it tougher enemies, removes navigational aid
and generally ups-the-ante. When you usually die outside of 1999 Mode you
respawn but lose some money and enemies regain some health. In 1999 Mode it’s
easy to lose your entire wallet and in doing so have to restart from the last
autosave.
As I
touch on earlier BioShock infinite has made refinements to the combat rules but
some of these don’t seem to make much difference and in certain aspects I found
that it took away from the style I already loved. While Rapture has plasmids,
Infinite has vigors. These magical attacks work in a similar way to projectile
weapons and do damage but have an ‘area of effect’ style to them. These can
also be updated at vending machines for money. Both the vigors and the weapons
you carry have however been limited to two-at-a-time carrying capacity.
The
pace of combat is still frantic though and the enemies are devilishly accurate
- even from afar. There are the typical basic types of security guards and
soldiers as well as ‘heavy-enemies’ like the Patriots. These motorised killing
machines have the resemblance of the likes of Jefferson and Washington but in
the end are steel bullet cushions. On the other hand the gorilla-like Handyman,
rushes you in seconds and deals massive amounts of damage at close range.
It’s
important to remember that mobility is key; standing still should and will get
you killed. The original BioShock was a close-range shooter within tight
environments but Infinite has large horizons and bigger ‘combat zones’. The
addition of the skylines as well means you have chances to escape and get the
jump on the enemies around you – these really fill the fights with adrenaline
and all out action.
Probably
the best thing about Infinite is it’s ‘punch a second’ final hours. The story
intertwines as expect and you could find yourself arguing about how things work
for weeks after you’ve finished. This is a game that you will want to play
again just to be able to test the source data against itself.
Most
of all you'll be amazed that Elizabeth works so well. She darts off ahead of
you, predicting your route, and really becomes a creation to enjoy. By the end
of the game you’ll realise that she is the main character in this adventure and
that she always was. You’ll be just as pleased to have had the change to take
the journey with her.
If I
scored games this would be my first perfect mark!
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