"BioShock Infinite" Soaring to New Heights

    I can say without a doubt that this is my favourite game in the BioShock series, despite its flaws and quirks BioShock Infinite towers above the competition like the city of Columbia. I mean I accidentally figured out a major twist to this game years ago and the ending of this game still managed to shock and flabbergast me. I mean what else can I say but that this game is so close to perfecting the BioShock formula and reached heights that may never be touched by the series again.

    Before I start tooting my horn and showering this game with as much praise as possible I think I should get the flaws out of the way, because frankly they're very minor and just baffling to me. Take for example the fact that you cannot save this game, a feature that was present in both BioShock 1 and BioShock 2. I really don't get why this feature was not present in the first game, it was very convenient and just felt like a one step forward two step backwards feature. While I understand wanting to encourage autosaving, it makes no sense to not give the option to players who grew so accustomed to it in the first place, as I felt compelled to finish areas lest I lose my progress. Speaking of previous features being removed why were subtitles removed for audio logs? As someone who loves discovering new lore I thought my game was broken when they lacked any subtitles and it really baffled me because of how random it felt.

    Those aren't the only bizarre changes though, as why can players only hold up to 2 weapons at once? Luckily they remedied this in the DLC, but even then its a jank method where the player only has two weapons readily accessible. Its changes like these that boggle my brain considering the fact that this was one of the features I really enjoyed from the first. Also why is there gear to equip if players cannot even view how they change Booker? It was such a miniscule part of the game players oftentimes just forget because its not even referenced in game by either Booker or Elizabeth. Finally, my biggest complaint is the lack of a map. I really don't get the exclusion of this feature, considering the fact that it didn't have to be a mini map that broke immersion. Previous games had this feature and its mysteriously removed from the new game, which just feels like its discouraging players from thinking about things to much like what area they are in.

    However, other than those major nitpicks, I think my only real major complaint is with how the DLC Burial at Sea ends, with what I feel like is a very disappointing ending with some very questionable character decisions all for the sake of connecting Rapture to Columbia very arbitrarily. Like, why is Sally so important? I don't know if I missed anything but I still don't understand why she's so critical to both Booker and Elizabeth. While I think it was cool that they tried drawing more parallels between Rapture and Columbia(which were mildly flimsy in the base game) I felt that it tried way too hard especially with the ending.

    Although, that is basically my only complaint story wise, as everything else really blew me away. I thought this idea of alternate dimensions and time traveling were concepts that were tackled by the game pretty well, as I wasn't really confused at any point by anything discussed and introduced. I did have to take a step back once I finally pieced everything together in my mind as the big twist made me start to think back on my journey and how everything started to make sense. Moreover, while I think it had less cool and zany characters compared to both BioShock 1 and BioShock 2 the characters introduced were still interesting enough to leave me grasping for more lore through voxophones.

    Combined with a gorgeous setting above the skies and a tried and true combat system and there isn't much to complain about this game. I guess there could be more freedom and variety with the movement and combat systems, though personally I thought they started to show glimpses of that with the stealth system in Burial At Sea. I do think that this is easily the best effort yet put forward in the series and feel as if there's not too much to refine other than expanding the original horizons of the game and attempting to become more ambitious with the capabilities of the game.

Final Score: 90/100

    Overall, BioShock Infinite is a refined rendition of the original game that takes advantages of some more modern features lacking in the original games. While there are some minor flaws, the atmosphere, environment and story make it so that players can easily look past them while playing the game. Ultimately, if I had to choose one game for people to play in the series I would definitely recommend BioShock Infinite due to the strong story that and combat system that tops anything else Irrational Games has released. 

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