Remember that breath taking moment when you stepped into the Bathysphere and arose into the aura of the underwater city of Rapture? Well, brace yourselves to have that feeling come to you once again when you ascend into the clouds and gaze upon the floating city of Columbia. All the while listening to an inspired piano tune that fixates your brain in "awe" mode.
Bioshock Infinite's opening moments are nothing short of spectacular. Certainly not "highly mediocre" in any way, shape or form. You are welcomed into the city by way of a truly spiritual and calming mood that paints the picture that Columbia is a Godly place that any Christian, like myself can seek refuge... It is later on that the image of Eden in the skies is torn away by racism, narcissistic sense of superiority, and that the people seem to be transfixed upon the mere man that they worship.
Bioshock Infinite is certainly not afraid to hit the points that were common practice in their times. It is July 1912, the Titanic has only been at the bottom for a few months, and The Great War is coming... The overall design of Columbia screams Americana during the early 1900s. It is a time where nearly everything was made with pride and with artistic fortitude. You see this in nearly everything!
Columbia is a surreal world that begs to be explored and plundered. Like the first Bioshock, the environment tells a story everywhere that you go, and one that you will not soon forget. Playing this game on the PC is a tremendous blessing, and it shows with how much care went into making it show. Options are plentiful for your FOV, DX11 options, etc. The difference between it and the Console versions are as clear as a bell. On top of the smoother frame rate, you get higher resolution textures, and added detail that the old hardware simply cannot handle. Do not worry about having the best PC on the market.
I am simply running with a 460m GTX with all high settings and getting 45-50+ FPS. That is largely thanks to how optimized the game is. If you have the ability to play this game on a PC, then THAT should be your entry point!
I am not going to get into spoiler areas, since that is not what I do. I will mention one thing. The Songbird. Your first encounter with him is something that you will not forget. He is big, powerful, and pissed!
Now, I am nowhere near to the ending of the game. And people are making this ridiculous claim of it being in the tear of Mass Effect 3... Let me say this: You have ZERO IDEA as to what the context of that ending is! You have not experienced the events that have lead up to that moment, nor have you the knowledge as to what it really means. Stop pretending to know what you're talking about.
/End rant.
After only a few hours with the game. Bioshock infinite is in line to receive a legendary rating from me. One that I have only given to the first game in the series. My favorite game of all time? That has yet to be seen.
Stick around for my full review and Video Review sometime next week.
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Edited by Fn Nick: 3/31/2013 7:48:09 AMHmm. I can't help but get the feeling that this game is half as great as it aims to be. As much as it does have a GotY stamp on the label in the back of my mind, the game feels like it can be anywhere between a 2.5-8/10 depending on which angle you are looking at it. The only reason why I say I can imagine it being GotY is because it probably is going to be the only game this year that drops a jaw or two... My biggest complaint is that the game is only half as engaging as the first Bioshock. The first game was better written, and was a little more rewarding. IMO. On top of that, the combat system took a massive dive. Only 2 guns? Really? On top of that 80% of the weapon and Vigor upgrades, as well as the weapons and vigors themselves, are absolutely worthless on modes that offer any "challenge" at all. The game is good, but it isn't great and the massive amount of linearity compared to even Bioshock 2 is embarrassing at this point in the franchise. The only sandbox area you get is Downtown Emporia, and that's only because the game forces you to explore everywhere because of the Siren. I also find it unfortunate that majority of the games relevance is explained in the last 15 minutes of the game. Sure, the ride there was a bit fun and interesting, but it's like 95% of the game was a striptease only to have a 20-man-orgy at the end. I'm still at odds with the game. Maybe with time I can enjoy the game and form an exact opinion on it. I did love the Lutece's though. If only the antagonists were as interesting. And that's another thing. Comstock, the Handymen, and the Songbird were absent from the game far too much to have a real impact on me. Sure we saw statues of Comstock everywhere, and all of the citizens said his name every two seconds, but I feel that Andrew Ryan was paraded more all throughout Bioshock 1, and Big Daddies were around every corner. Just a few more things I noticed while playing the game.