Review

BioShock Infinite Review

  • First Released Mar 25, 2013
    released
  • X360

BioShock Infinite is a stupendous game, portraying a beautiful and broken city that will absorb your every waking thought.

What drives a man of God to wash away the sins of his past, only to blacken his heart with a multitude more? How far can a freedom fighter be pushed before virtue and righteousness are replaced by a lust for vengeance? What does a privileged society do when the foundation of its prosperity is shaken? BioShock Infinite dares to explore these heady themes and many more, giving you glimpses at just how the seemingly smallest of decisions can forever alter our realities, and our hearts. As an agent provocateur in the fantastical floating city of Columbia, your actions bring turmoil and strife to an ostensibly idyllic landscape. It's immensely fun to stir up trouble, and even more engaging to see how boldly BioShock Infinite portrays a society torn asunder. You'll be haunted by this thematically devastating adventure, and indeed, its phenomenal final minutes, which are bound to be discussed and dissected for some time to come.

It starts with a lighthouse. As former private investigator Booker DeWitt, you enter this lighthouse knowing that you have been hired to retrieve "the girl"--but who this girl is, and who hired Booker, remain a mystery, if not to Booker, than at least to you. At the top of that lighthouse is a chair, and once strapped into it, Booker is fired into the stratosphere, toward the city in the sky called Columbia. And what a fitting name for this hyper-American domain of 1912, which incorporates the classical architecture of the 1893 Columbian Exposition. The red, white, and blue Columbian flag flies from spires across the city, and statuaries and bas-relief panels immediately evoke the sense of old America.

Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.
This video has an invalid file format.
00:00:00
Sorry, but you can't access this content!
Please enter your date of birth to view this video

By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Now Playing: Video Review - BioShock Infinite

The buildings of that 1893 exposition were part of an area known as The White City, and here, too, Columbia lives up to the name of its inspiration--not just in the whiteness of its buildings, but in the whiteness of its racial structure. At a key early moment, you confront the festering illness corrupting this porcelain-white culture, where anyone whose skin is not the ideal color is ostracized and enslaved. You also confront one of BioShock Infinite's many core mysteries: What is the nature of the brand on Booker's hand? In Columbia, the brand is a mark of the false shepherd, this culture's version of the Christian Antichrist and the 666 that marks him. Identified as a prophesied fiend, Booker has no choice but to run.

Then shall the lame man leap as a hart.
Then shall the lame man leap as a hart.

Columbia is a tremendous place to be, the all-American dream-turned-nightmare crossed with steampunk sensibilities. Nationalist propaganda is mixed with airships and mechanical combatants, and the moving picture machines you occasionally use elaborate on the history of Columbia, which seceded from an America that just wasn't American enough. The leader of this city is Father Comstock, a self-proclaimed prophet and religious zealot whose likeness and influence pervade the game. What Andrew Ryan was to Rapture, Comstock is to Columbia; he is a frightfully well-meaning man who believes so strongly in his own damaged philosophies that you can only fear him. His worshipers are just as fearsome in their blind willingness to follow their leader, even when the costs are high. In BioShock Infinite, religious and political fervor intertwine, much as they do in real life, and these similarities could fill you with dread and unease.

You eventually find "the girl." She is the supernaturally talented Elizabeth, locked in a floating tower and protected by a monstrous clockwork creature called Songbird. Your first confrontation with Songbird is one of many eye-opening scenes, and Elizabeth's relationship with her protector is a complicated one. So is her relationship with Booker, for that matter, though he is key to Elizabeth's escape from her solitary life, and to the city of her dreams: Paris.

And so the two go on the run, alternately exploring Columbia's private nooks and allying with a resistance force called the Vox Populi, not out of politics, but out of necessity. Columbia isn't as hushed and mysterious as Rapture, but exploring it is no less tense. You are a witness to (and a participant in) an imploding social order, and as the story darkens, so too do the places you investigate. Sunny blue skies and perfect manmade beaches give way to burning streets and ghostly memorials. When the narrative has you questioning the nature of reality, the surreality of the environments reflects your confusion. So, too, does the soundscape metamorphose. The concordant harmonies of a hymn of praise take a sour and ominous turn as the more disturbing qualities of Columbia's unerring faith emerge.

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

Your confusion is appeased by audio recordings you discover called voxophones, which serve as personal diaries to past events. There are clues here to the nature of Elizabeth's gift: her ability to open tears in spacetime and peer into…the future? The past? Other dimensions? Voxophones also elaborate on Columbia's most important citizens, such as Comstock's troubled, martyred wife, whose story illuminates the desperate lengths to which her husband stooped to ensure that his message might be heard in perpetuum. They even provide a few touches of humor, as do other atmospheric audio audio details; alternate versions of well-known tunes could have you grinning once you pick your jaw up off the floor.

BioShock Infinite is a first-person shooter, but you aren't armed just with machine guns, pistols, shotguns, and the like; you also have vigors. Vigors, like the original BioShock's plasmids, are seemingly magical powers that you can fling at your enemies. Thus, you can weaken your enemies by zapping them with a bolt of electricity or by charging into them at impossible speed. Try distracting them with a murder of crows before gunning them down with your carbine, or flinging them over the edge of a walkway with a shock wave and watching them plummet to their deaths. You may even combine these powers, perhaps setting a foe on fire and then charging into him for an explosive finish.

While many of your foes are of the gun-wielding human variety, the most notable of them have thematic ties to the world they inhabit. Plodding George Washington automatons threaten you with their chainguns, and the best way to bring them down is to aim at the gears that protrude from their backs. The way Columbian flags are draped behind these grotesqueries makes them look like dead-eyed angels of death, a perfect metaphor for the city's faith-driven nationalism. Surprisingly agile mechanical heavies may not be such obvious metaphors, but are more subtle reminders of the the men bound by these skeletons of metal and the factory owner unmoved by his slaves' pleas for a better life. You often face these enemies in outdoor arenas that have you on the move in ways the first two BioShock games never required.

Such battlegrounds are given life by the Skyline railway system that winds through and around them. With the press of a button, you can latch onto a rail with an implement that functions as both a melee weapon and a Skyline hook. Enemies come at you from above and below, and sometimes even from airships that float into range, forcing you to grind the rails to get to higher ground, make a quick escape, or close the distance between you and a pesky sniper. You can leap from a rail and onto one of Comstock's faithful, skewering him before leaping back onto the Skyline and landing on the deck of an airship crowded with soldiers. It's rewarding to fling fire and blast enemies with shotguns as you zip about the hovering platforms, as if you are a vicious circus acrobat performing a murderous trapeze act.

Elizabeth is usually at your side throughout such acrobatics, staying out of combat proper while offering you support. She occasionally tosses a health pack your way, or some salts, which power your vigors in the way EVE powered BioShock's plasmids. As far as AI companions go, she's a fine one, rarely getting in the way, running ahead to indicate the proper direction, and unlocking doors and safes with the lockpicks you find scattered about. Things can still go a bit awry: Elizabeth might not make it into an elevator with you, for instance, leaving you to have a scripted, one-sided conversation. But such discrepancies are rare, and little touches, such as how Elizabeth exhibits curiosity in the world around her, tend to overshadow them.

Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword.
Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword.

Elizabeth has one other important role to play: by accessing tears in spacetime, she can pull helpful objects into the battlefield, such as hovering security turrets, boxes of health packs, ledges with hooks to leap onto, and so forth. Such objects appear in the environment as if covered with television static, and you bring them into being by holding a button. This system is a contrived handling of one of the game's important narrative conceits, an intriguing element awkwardly translated into gameplay. Yet these tears also give battles an extra sense of unpredictability, or provide important defensive elements when you most need them. That isn't to say that BioShock Infinite is punishing: when you die, Elizabeth revives you, remaining enemies gain a little health back, and you lose a little coin from your pocket.

The combat does exhibit a wonderful sense of growth, however. You find various clothing items that grant you additional passive buffs, such as turning enemies you leap on into human torches. You spend the coins you pilfer from corpses and cash registers on vigor and weapon upgrades, though you ultimately must pick and choose the direction you prefer, since you can't afford every possibility. Should you run out of ammo and use a weapon you haven't upgraded, the difference is notable: suddenly you're facing a challenge you may not have expected. The final combat sequence gets frustrating should you be pushed into using weaker weaponry; it's the only battle in which BioShock Infinite's stellar gameplay doesn't come together. Fortunately, the astounding narrative payoff is more than a proper reward for triumphing over this visually remarkable assault.

Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry.
Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry.

BioShock Infinite's combat is more freewheeling and fun than in the other games in the series, but its world is no less intriguing to explore. Secret codes yearn to be broken, and exquisitely crafted gardens and museums cry out for greater scrutiny. This is a game just as much about "place" as it is about "play," and audiovisual touches invoke nostalgia for the original BioShock in effective ways. There's that telltale mechanical tinkling of the vending machines that sell ammo and upgrades. There's the lure of loot, inspiring you to plunder every trash can and every lifeless body. Then there are the old-timey videos introducing each vigor, the sound scratching as if played on an ancient phonograph. Each element draws you further into Columbia--this place so unlike any other you've seen in games that you can't tear yourself away. And a place that so horrifyingly mirrors parts of our own reality that you could never call BioShock Infinite escapist entertainment.

BioShock Infinite could make you feel uncomfortable. If you adhere to religious faith, or celebrate American idealism, this game may invite introspection or even anger. BioShock Infinite isn't afraid to magnify the way religious and racial extremism inform our culture and change lives. It isn't afraid to depict a less-than-holy trinity diseased by power, deception, and manipulation. As the story circles back on itself, you're left wondering whether redemption cleanses us of our atrocities, or simply invites us to commit greater ones. Once the finale comes, you will want to play again, watching each event and image through the lens of information you can never un-know. BioShock Infinite is more than just a quality game: it's an important one.

Back To Top

The Good

  • Columbia is an amazing place to be and explore
  • Depicts uncomfortable, relevant themes in an effective way
  • Vigors and skyline rails make for fluid, exciting action
  • Upgrades make you feel increasingly powerful
  • Mind-blowing ending that you won't soon forget

The Bad

  • Occasional quirks and contrivances disrupt the immersion

About the Author

Kevin VanOrd is a lifelong RPG lover and violin player. When he isn't busy building PCs and composing symphonies, he watches American Dad reruns with his fat cat, Ollie.

Other Takes on BioShock Infinite

The original BioShock is one of Tom's favorite games ever. He will most likely love any game that tells a fascinating story and uses the mechanics to build on those themes.
Read Review
2402 Comments  RefreshSorted By 
GameSpot has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to toxic conduct in comments. Any abusive, racist, sexist, threatening, bullying, vulgar, and otherwise objectionable behavior will result in moderation and/or account termination. Please keep your discussion civil.

Avatar image for MohammadSubhan1
MohammadSubhan1

63

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 9

User Lists: 0

My most favourite game, the greatest I've played.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Dredcrumb9
Dredcrumb9

69

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 4

User Lists: 0

Edited By Dredcrumb9

Why does this game have 'X' hit markers? The blood spray, bullet wound effects, and enemy hit reactions are perfect in this game. Seeing a giant 'X' pop up every time I hit an enemy, makes the game feel cheap and less immersing. It's just un-necessary, unless we are playing on easy mode.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for jjleshko90
jjleshko90

28

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 5

@Dredcrumb9 I never even noticed it. It's pretty standard in FPS games. Try playing CS:GO.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for darknight20
darknight20

32

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 3

User Lists: 0

Edited By darknight20

I am fan of the BioShock and BioShock 2, Before this game release I actually had high hope that BioShock Infinite will be just as good as previous BioShock game if not better. After playing this game I was disappointed by the game-play of BioShock Infinite. As much as I want this game to be earn 9 or higher, sadly to say this game didn't earn such a high score as game critic had rated. Sure the story is great, good character development, and excellent graphic but a combat system that actually regress to more generic shooting game which made it far more linear than previous game, no alternate shot or ammo, no hacking, even a handful of weapons is nearly duplicate of the same weapon with different skin and color on it.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for drekula2
drekula2

3349

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 4

User Lists: 0

@darknight20

To be fair, I think almost all shooters (even the great ones) at this point are starting to become generic. I prefer the linear design as the labyrinthine design of the original was headache inducing. And I don't really miss hacking.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for moc5
moc5

51

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 13

User Lists: 0

@darknight20 You are as truthful as you are perfectly right. I was going to speak up until I read that you said exactly what my analysis was as well.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Recockulous
Recockulous

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Recockulous

I think its crazy how much hatred there is for the Bureau with so much love for this game. Especially considering some of the creators of this game made that one. I understand the shooting aspect in the bureau requires more strategy as instead of just hopping from rail to rail shooting you have to strategically position yourself and others to get through battles. People hated the story in The Bureau while loving the story for BioShock. I played both and didn't get more sucked into one versus the other. People have slammed the bureau for poor graphics and audio. Not only did the sound offer a realistic feel I'm not sure what people were hoping for in terms of sound. Sound came through your speakers based on position meaning left, or right ear or both if faced properly. The graphics were spot on giving it an old school feel. I guess since it wasn't a floating world with bright colors it wasn't as cool? I'm not saying one is better then the other I just think this game got a lot more love for the mindless shooting with essentially zero strategy where as the bureau was loathed for asking people to use strategy to get through enemy waves. I have heard many bad things about the bureaus AI where I wasn't blown away with BioShocks AI either in fact all I had to do to kill them was jump to the rail and back on to them setting them ablaze then back to the rail and rinse and repeat.


Upvote • 
Avatar image for MauiLastLight
MauiLastLight

36

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

I like everything about this game. I haven't play hundreds of video games, I might be wrong here; but, I think this game it has the most complex storyline that I have ever seen. The metaphysics in this game are a mindfuck and a challenge.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for carnivalshow
carnivalshow

115

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 5

User Lists: 0

Buy borderlands 2 if you want to play a shooter this games bad .

Upvote • 
Avatar image for carnivalshow
carnivalshow

115

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 5

User Lists: 0

I never beat this game and i wont its that bad .

Upvote • 
Avatar image for MenaceSG
MenaceSG

48

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 5

User Lists: 0

Edited By MenaceSG

I'm sorry but the comments referring to the negativity of this game are just stupid. The ending could have been explained a bit more and not had so much thrown at me in the last couple minutes. However, once I was able to fully grasp everything in the story (it was 6 in the morning so I was barely alive at that point) the ending was so creative and unique, it allowed me to gain a sense of what really happened in the Infinite universe, making it well worth trekking through the halls of Columbia a hundred times over. This is a game that requires you to understand and think about its ending, much like Inception did for movies. It had its faults, but overall, this is the type of game that I wish i could see on the market more often. Grand storytelling, beautiful soundtracks, great stories, colourful environments. The "creativity" that average and unintelligent gamers want nowadays is the unimaginative FPS shooters where everything is handed to you on a silver platter and you simply are told what to think and what to believe. The stupid CoD series is nothing amazing and yet it gets so much praise heaped upon it every year it comes out. The multiplayer aspects get more repetitive and aim for younger audiences who can't do well in the shooter genre. So they bring out crap *cough* Target Finder *cough* to make it easier for them to do things. It's about time that we had a smart, inventive, and imaginative game come out. You all can hate on this as much as you want. I've loved the Bioshock series since I first stepped out of the Bathysphere into the gloomy halls of Rapture. I'd rather see this beloved series continue on to new heights of imagination and glory instead of watching the money sucking thieves at Infinity Ward and Treyarch dominate the market with their disastrous shams of games.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for colt_a
colt_a

147

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 5

User Lists: 0

I love how all the haters try to cling to 'intellectual superiority'. I know people that are definitely smarter than anyone posting here. I'd bet all the money in my life on it.

They like the game and its ending too. You can not like something. But trying to say its because you are smarter than everyone else shows what you really are, a very average and mediocre person who thinks too highly of themselves. Its sad that people can't just disagree for difference of opinion anymore.

You like it or you don't. Just because you're a minority in disliking it doesn't mean anything other than you don't like games that most people like. Which isn't a crime by any means.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Gasakon
Gasakon

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Gasakon

Ken Levine did an awesome fucking job. Game of the year in my opinion, no room for GTA nor Watch Dogs or even Metro Last Light

Upvote • 
Avatar image for cpfast
cpfast

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 4

User Lists: 0

Edited By cpfast

@Gasakon how much do you regret saying this now that last light is out??

hehe, just kiding, loved last light though, one of my favourites of all time and, in my opinion, better than this one in every aspect.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Ezio_2009
Ezio_2009

36

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@Gasakon Or The Last Of Us

Upvote • 
Avatar image for d33pak001
d33pak001

75

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 4

User Lists: 0

@Gasakon Well said but you havent seen GTA V

Upvote • 
Avatar image for mourtos1
mourtos1

30

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By mourtos1

"In the garden we are growing... make changes they'll be flowing... if ya wanna be amazing... see the flowers we are raising." No sequel will ever compare to the original Bioshock!

Upvote • 
Avatar image for thermalmotion
thermalmotion

250

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 39

User Lists: 0

@mourtos1 Dude, I don't say this lightly but; Infinite was EVEN BETTER.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Ezio_2009
Ezio_2009

36

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Ezio_2009

@mourtos1 Play this sequel.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for insanem0nk
insanem0nk

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 3

User Lists: 0

anyone willing to sell their free XCOM code that came with the Bioshock Inf preorder?

Upvote • 
Avatar image for kennythomas26
kennythomas26

1385

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 94

User Lists: 0

Edited By kennythomas26

@insanem0nk I never got a code for that and I pre-ordered the songbird edition that came with some in-game items and avatar stuff.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Viperr234
Viperr234

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Viperr234

I don't understand all the praise for this game. Poorly designed first-person-shooter with useless spells called vigors that are made redundant by overpowered guns you are constantly being fed ammo for. Not only that but there are automated sentries littered throughout the game you can activate to play the game for you. The plot is just a build-up to an epic twist and it is essentially a 10 hour escort mission with a typical damsel running in front of your gun and whining.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for SKaREO
SKaREO

3161

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 0

@Viperr234 It's designed for the simplton. The average intelligence. They call it average because it is shared by the most people. The majority are very average, and a game as average as this screams out to them.

2 • 
Avatar image for MenaceSG
MenaceSG

48

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 5

User Lists: 0

@SKaREO @Viperr234 I think you're referring to Call of Duty.

5 • 
Avatar image for nooruddin4
nooruddin4

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By nooruddin4

Honestly, I can't understand why so many are rating this game so negatively and being so spiteful about some aspects of the game.
The gameplay itself was admittedly a bit un-challenging (action wise) after getting the hang of it (which you will do quickly of you're a more than the average gamer), and the plot will require a stretch in the imagination, but that's exactly what you should have expected when you bought the game. Bioshock I and II pretty much shared, with Infinite, the easiness gameplay-wise. This is from a person who enjoyed System Shock II's complexity (and trust me, in terms of gameplay, not many games rival SS2). After SS2, RPG FPSs can never be as challenging. But that's not what this game is about. This game did what so many games, especially FPSs, failed to do, and that's have such an engaging/detailed/emotional plot to it.
And my freakin' god what a gorgeous story I played through, and what an incredible experience it was. If you are not the type to really get into the plot, or enjoy a well thought-out narrative, then you probably are part of the negative-rating crew, because that beats the whole point of this game. The plot wasn't as messily planned as some people here suggest, those people probably didn't understand it fully. The way in which the writers try and justify, through fiction, the plausibility of the multiverse theory, and give an idea as to how the space time continuum can be used, was a joy to behold. That's what made me feel like the ending was not a mess, but had a structure behind it, in which physics as we understand it, was mended beautifully to make the plot have some sense in it. An absolute joy to behold.
Finally, the growing emotional connection I felt toward Elizabeth as the game went on was another aspect of the game that left me in absolute awe. Honestly, I understand how this gamespot review was written, because the plot really is what makes this game, and it makes it one of the best experiences I've ever been through in gaming. For a new game, in an era where plot is regularly discarded for better graphics and fighting mechanisms, this really has an eternal place in my heart for the absolute mindfuck it gave me at the end.
I just hope some people went through what I did, because it was rewarding and beautiful.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for cubrman
cubrman

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

@nooruddin4 calling a person incapable of understanding a well-thought-out plot is the best argument in a conversation. Way to go dude!

I dunno, mb for someone really freaked out about multiverse idea this "narrative" is indeed carrying some value. But still I am sure as hell they presented it in an imbecilic way, mb cuz they wanted to create black hype about it's confusing ending or cuz they are just lazy talentless idiots. In any case, if a crappy story has an interesting concept it does not make it interesting. At the same time a simple and well-known story when told in a proper way can be AMAZING, watch Slumdog Millionaire.

Final thing about "emotional connection with Liz". It did grew in me too dude, and I was frickin pleased to see the ending where I happen to be her frickin father. Now how much weed does one need to smoke to create a story that builds some feeling over like 30 hours to frickin' toss it in a tray like this in the end?

Upvote • 
Avatar image for nooruddin4
nooruddin4

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By nooruddin4

@cubrman @nooruddin4 I never meant to attack anyone on the understanding part, honestly. I was just saying, if you don't really understand the plot, calling it horrible or miswritten is a bit off the mark because you're not reviewing it with full knowledge. That's basically all I tried to get across, and I apologize if it seemed like an attack. I was just intrigued that a plot in a video game could be this thought provoking you know? Personally, it was awe inspiring. And I found the plot, even as a story, very entertaining and emotionally driven, aside from the things that can be learned morally. I understand your point, but I don't think I agree that the story was even done poorly.
And lastly, SPOILER the end right after the credits kinda gives the idea that Anna is back in his care after the universe kind of fixed itself with the whole Lutes tinkering, leaving Booker to never really realize what hell he went through to just reunite with his daughter.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for lguitrguy
lguitrguy

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

"Stupendous"? Are you sure you didn't mean stupid? This game has outdated graphics, boring gameplay, a skyline that is frustrating to use, powers that nobody cares about, terrible fighting, a dismal atmosphere, vending machines that sell the same items throughout the game, nothing really new to find, a rediculous storyline and this game takes only a few hours to play through. What am I missing here? I keep hearing about "how they got it right". Got what right? I see a very plain and simple graphic environment with very little atmosphere except for the corny old-time music in the background. I've played games that have atmospheres that either creep you out or make you want to explore the world. This is definitely NOT one of those. I purchase almost every new game that comes out and this was just plain awful! I like that a game gives you it's money's worth. How can I justify spending $59 for just a few hours of gameplay? I really think that these people are paid to do these reviews. There is NO WAY that an outdated game like this can get a 9.0. This is a 4.0 at best.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for kennythomas26
kennythomas26

1385

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 94

User Lists: 0

@lguitrguy The game took more than a few hours to play-through man and in my mind it was the best game I have played this year and might have been the only one that was really good and was not broken it was well worth it for me.


The skyline was not frustrating to use man, I will admit it was a bit of a pain for minute or 2, but it got real easy to use after that and I did explore the environment, but I was more interested in the story then exploring.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Viperr234
Viperr234

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Viperr234

@lguitrguy Glad to know there are some sane gamers still out there. That see through the bs hype of this game.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for cubrman
cubrman

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

Got my post wiped out just now. Ok mb I was a little too rough. Let's try it with smoothed edges :).


Whew, thank God there are still sane gamers out there. I might not be so enraged as NascB about this game, but I definitely would be about critics reviewing this mediocrity and giving it high mars. One very well done character cannot save a flawed Quake clone. NOTHING new in mechanics, RETARDED AI, DEAD levels (wake up people! Battlefield 2 BC with Destruction 1.0 was released like ages ago, didn't you notice it?) and skylanes can't save them.


I finished the game, because the character of Elizabeth is really well done. It is by far the best AI companion I have ever seen in a game. But still I was playing to see a worthy ending. Had they made the ending at least decent, they could deserve 8.5, maybe even 9 if they were genius. But whom was I fooling? Good story in AAA game? Now? No way! It is impossible! Look at Crysis 2 at is amazing beginning and how shabby an ending it had! In Crysis 3 they didn't even bother to think the story! Look at Far Cry 3 with it's story deteriorating over time! Look at what happened to a soap opera "Assassin's Creed"!


But the ending in Bioshock 3 outperformed them all. Inconsistent, overconfused and absolutely inaccessible for a sane human being's mind. I know good stories, I understood this one as I read the explanations and researched the topic as I love stories and stories in videogames especially. And my opinion is that it was clearly the lack of thought and lack of any desire to make anything worthy that led them to this miserable novelette. This is especially painfull, because the game was made by Bioshock 1 creators, where they managed to make quite a nice, clean and consistent story, proving that they can think straight at times. But those times are gone and I urge u people please NEVER BUY BIOSHOCK 4! This game was their last chance to return the fame of B1, after disastrous B2, and they failed. We MUST tell them that they are a failure we MUST show it, otherwise we will be swarmed with mediocre AAA-graphics games with mediocre-at-best stories and pacman-era mechanics!


All the recent AAA games are disappointment and disgrace to the history of gaming. And in the Bioshock's case it is a disaster with a jewel hidden among rugs. But as I said, one character cannot save a shabby game, without any new mechanics and overconfused story. So my score is 6.5 only for the character of Elizabeth. It would have been 5 otherwise.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for NascB
NascB

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 4

User Lists: 0

Edited By NascB

GAME IS DONE BY ABSOLUTE ILITERACY OF ANY LOGIC OR DESIRE, IT IS NOT BY DIFFERENCE FROM WHAT WE KNOW, BUT BY HATING FOR NOT KNOWING ENOUGH SUCH DISASTER EVOLVED. VALVE OUTDID THEMSELVES WITH THIS LATEST OF FIASCOS, AN ABSOLUT INSULT TO INTELLIGENCE, AND BEING SINCERE I AM I ADD, ONLY FEW COLORS AND A BIG EYES WILL BE REMEMBERED... SO MUCH DEVELOPMENT SO LITTLE VALUE. AND ADVICE, NOONE NEED ANOTHER ALTERNATE REALITY FULL OF POO...OOP BUT EVERYONE NEED TANGIBLE IDEAS OF IMPROVING THE ONE WE HAVE IDIOTS

Upvote • 
Avatar image for thorn3000
thorn3000

334

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 378

User Lists: 0

Edited By thorn3000

perhaps some *spoilers*...ok finished, and damn be me, but I did not like the ending at all, mass effect 3 ending was way better (good there are no dislike on GS), did not like bioshock 1, bioshock 2 was ok due to better combat, Infinity was awesome up until you teleported to a certain city, that moment was horrible and everything afterwards as well

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Bellum_Sacrum
Bellum_Sacrum

37

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@thorn3000 You, Sir are the voice of truth. Didn't expect any of it from a "publisher approved" review site and its sheepish community.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for limluigi
limluigi

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

This is a great game. The art, music and story is really superb. Gameplay is similar as previous bioshock titles, with an two major improvements, namely Elizabeth and Skylines. Ending was great, Awesome game

Upvote • 
Avatar image for PowerDingALing
PowerDingALing

43

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 1

User Lists: 0

Edited By PowerDingALing

Two words for this game: BORING and OVERRATED. This is one of the most boring games I've ever played! VideoGamer's review is much better and accurate than Gamespot's (http://www.videogamer.com/reviews/bioshock_infinite_review.html).

Upvote • 
Avatar image for The_Godfather_
The_Godfather_

331

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 26

User Lists: 0

Edited By The_Godfather_

@PowerDingALing than go and play that shitty CoD series over and over, and don't insult this sublime game..

2 • 
Avatar image for Jolly_Loki
Jolly_Loki

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@PowerDingALing The accurate review you presented gave one of the most boring game you've ever played an 8. What does that tell you?

3 • 
Avatar image for Bellum_Sacrum
Bellum_Sacrum

37

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@Jolly_Loki @PowerDingALing You appear oblivious to the fact that an 8 is a bad number. Popular games never get any lower than 7 if they are crap. 8 goes to popular games that are decent but not special in any way. Review scores are always false for popular games, but you wouldn't know that, being new to games and all.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Kryptonbornson
Kryptonbornson

96

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 12

User Lists: 0

Edited By Kryptonbornson

@Bellum_Sacrum @Jolly_Loki @PowerDingALing Seeing as how scoring a game lower than 8.5 can hurt it's sales, I wonder why they just don't be honest with all games. 6 or or 3 stars should be the rating for an average game, not 8 or 4 stars.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Aleksander99
Aleksander99

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Aleksander99

For a truly unbiased review on Bioshock Infinite, visit Another Games:

http://www.anothergames.com/reviews/bioshock-infinite

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Kingplayer1080
Kingplayer1080

50

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By Kingplayer1080

@Aleksander99 I don't see how the baptism is so horrible or stupid in a theocratic society. All the other "ideas" that is being criticized are petty and trivial at best and certainly don't make this review very credible or unbiased for that matter.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Jolly_Loki
Jolly_Loki

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

@Aleksander99 That's a horrible review. Honestly.

5 • 
Avatar image for titus30075
titus30075

40

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 0

This would topple Final Fantasy 7 as my favorite game (since 1998) if it were 10 to 15 hours longer.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for gogencoler
gogencoler

27

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: -1

Edited By gogencoler

The ending was grand nontheless, but what was missing for me is that the last battle was mediocre at best and your protagonist didn't make a difference at all.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for andressaravia
andressaravia

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 0

Edited By andressaravia

Not in the same league as the previous Bioshock games, not by far, nor the gameplay, nor the story. Far less interesting and solid as the story goes.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for USAPATRIOT21
USAPATRIOT21

25

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By USAPATRIOT21

I urge anybody interested in this game to skip playing it and just watch a youtube video of the ending. This is the only reason to play through, so you can see the twist. P.S. The ending isn't that great.

Upvote • 
Avatar image for clockworkengine
clockworkengine

567

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

Edited By clockworkengine

@USAPATRIOT21

I agree.

SPOILER BELOW

<SPOILER>

It's just another "guess who" ending, just like the first Bioshock game.

</SPOILER>

SPOILER ABOVE

Hardly a noteworthy ending, considering how many games before it have thrown similar twists, including the first Bioshock game. I can't believe so few people have been critical of the ending in this regard. The game itself is a lot of fun to play, with fast action and variety of weapons and strategies, but the ending is as big and cheap a letdown as LOST's ending was. People are far too quick to toss around words like 'visionary', etc...

Upvote • 
Avatar image for Rooten
Rooten

291

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 173

User Lists: 0

@clockworkengine @USAPATRIOT21 yeah the game was awesome but I think thats why DLC are coming, it will continue after the ending, I hope...

Upvote •