BioShock Infinite

BioShock Infinite is a first person shooter video game developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K Games for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on March 26, 2013. It is a standalone prequel to the first BioShock game. The game was rereleased on September 13, 2016 for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 as part of BioShock: The Collection, and the Nintendo Switch on May 29, 2020.

Plot
A disgraced Pinkerton soldier named Booker DeWitt is sent to Columbia to receive a young woman named Elizabeth - who is capable of using Tears to see into alternate worlds - after facing crippling debts racked up from excessive gambling. Branded by the people of Columbia as "The False Shepard", Booker's quest is frequently roadblocked by the city's police forces, a rebel militia known as the Vox Populi, and Elizabeth's warden, a giant robotic bird creature known as "Songbird". Columbia is ruled by one Zachary Hale Comstock, a powerful cult of personality revered by the city's inhabitants as "The Prophet" thanks to his ties to Christianity and The Founding Fathers of the USA, and serves as the game's antagonist.

The game takes place in 1912 with several steam punk elements mixed in. Lore and back story also draw inspiration from real life historical events, most notably The Battle of Wounded Knee, as part of Booker's character arc; the trauma from which led him to gamble. Columbia came to be a giant floating war ship after the city seceded from the United States (frequently addressed as "The Sodom Below"), and disappeared into the clouds.

Why It Infinitely Rocks

 * 1) The game nails its atmosphere and setting wonderfully; thanks to the minor details like the attire, architecture, dialect, technology and political presence, one would have an easy time believing the game is set in 1912.
 * 2) The game lends itself well to subsequent playthroughs as the game leaves subtle details and clues that foreshadow major plot elements that would have been grossed over by players on their first run. The overarching narrative is still highly engaging, though.
 * 3) The story is also complimented by great characters too, with Booker and Elizabeth being the best examples due to the chemistry and interactions between them. Booker's backstory alone makes him interesting as does his stern but occasionally sarcastic quips about the city, while Elizabeth is charming because of her child-like wonder, and expressive animations.
 * 4) * Then there's the Lutece twins, who provide cryptic clues to the next objective, and provide some of the most entertaining moments throughout the adventure with their humor.
 * 5) Visually, the game is beautiful; the distinct art style with bright colors make the world pop, even in areas that look drab and ugly. There is also enough visual diversity to keep the world fresh; no two areas look identical.
 * 6) Top notch voice acting from the entire cast, with special mentions going to Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper, which play the two leads. Given the dynamic between Booker and Elizabeth, these two actors have a lot of chemistry.
 * 7) Elizabeth is incredibly useful as a gameplay aid; she will often toss you useful provisions where you start running low. Also, unlike most other AI companions, Elizabeth can look after herself in combat, and you don't need to protect her. Also, her lock picking skills can help you access secret areas. She can also use Tears to summon allies, supplies, and environmental hazards to aid Booker during a gunfight.
 * 8) There are many collectables to find; Voxophones from side characters that add to the game's lore, Kinetoscopes that show events prior the game's plot, and Infusions that allow Booker to upgrade his attributes.
 * 9) Combat can get rather tense at times, especially when the Heavy Hitters are involved. You may find yourself scrambling for cover when things get rough, but even then, enemies will try to rush you to keep you on your toes. The Handymen in particular serve as pseudo-boss fights.
 * 10) Gear can be picked up at various points that can aid Booker by giving him combat buffs like invulnerability from eating snacks, increased movement speed under certain circumstances, or reduced shield regen time. There are more than plenty of these to find, and can be swapped in and out to suit the fight.
 * 11) Great soundtrack which features a great deal of contemporary music rearranged to fit the 1912 zeitgeist. The most stand out being The Beast of America which was used in the trailers.
 * 12) For fans of the first 2 games, you even get to visit Rapture towards the end, albeit very briefly.
 * 13) Performing execution moves and landing headshots feels very satisfying thanks to their veracity and the audio feedback.
 * 14) The extra hard "1999 mode" is unlockable by completing the game once, or by inputting - of all things - the Konami code! The difficulty harkens back to old school shooters somewhat, and is great for those who want an extra challenge.
 * 15) The DLC Burial at Sea bridges the events of this game with the original by taking place in Rapture right before everything started to go to hell.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) In many areas the game takes a step backwards in terms of gameplay and features from BioShock and BioShock 2.
 * 2) * Unlike the previous games, you can no longer manually save anywhere on Columbia and have to rely on a checkpoint system for saving.
 * 3) * Another awful change from previous games is that you can now only carry two weapons like in the Call of Duty series.
 * 4) * Columbia is much more linear than Rapture is in the previous games.
 * 5) * There are no maps for any of the areas you're in. The maps in the previous games were laid out in a somewhat confusing manner in the menu, but that's no excuse for not including them at all in this game.
 * 6) Some of the achievements/trophies are difficult to get.
 * 7) * "Heartbreaker", which involves killing a Handyman by only shooting (and hitting) him in the heart. However, it's easier by exploiting a bug.
 * 8) * "Auld Lang Syne", where you have to complete 1999 Mode.
 * 9) * "Scavenger Hunt". To get this one, you must not purchase anything from a Dollar Bill vending machine while playing the game on 1999 Mode. Easy when it comes to ammo. Hard when it comes to health and salts.
 * 10) * None of these hold a candle to "Blue Ribbon Champ", where you must complete every single Blue Ribbon Challenge in the Clash in the Clouds DLC. Not only is there no indication of which challenges you completed other than the ribbon display on each level portrait, you'll never be able to go back and redo a wave if you ever screwed up without starting the entire level all over again. It doesn't help that most of the challenges can be ruined by your enemies rather than you, such as when you must kill each enemy with a certain weapon/vigor/order, only to have it ruined when one guy falls off the map. Challenges are also rendered as failed if Booker is killed and they haven't already been completed, even if Booker's death doesn't actually violate the condition of the challenge.
 * 11) Certain sections of the game, like the gateway to Comstock House, tend to suffer from frame rate drops. The same thing happens when stuff starts exploding.
 * 12) Long loading times on the original console versions. The PS3 version also has screen tearing that is not present on the Xbox 360 version.
 * 13) You cannot trust Elizabeth to restock your supplies all the time, since she sometimes won't give you the stuff you need when it really matters. This becomes a problem when you need ammunition but you're pinned down by enemies.
 * 14) * Also, a prompt will flash on screen when she does have something for you, but it may disappear almost immediately which is kind of annoying, especially if she was about to toss you a medical kit.
 * 15) For first-time players, the story can feel a bit haphazard and confusing due to alternate universes being a prominent plot device.
 * 16) This game received the least amount of attention when the trilogy was remastered for 8th gen consoles, as it was simply a port of the PC version with few improvements.
 * 17) The chapter load is almost completely useless since it doesn't track collectibles and overwrites your current progress.
 * 18) The game gets too hard near the end, even on normal difficulty.
 * 19) * The Good Time Club "interview". Three waves of heavily armed enemies and absolutely terrible cover.
 * 20) * The Siren boss fight, which is recycled two more times after the first initial fight with her. Her undead minions spawn almost infinitely (yet almost none of them drop ammo) and she can drop your shields and a large chunk of health every time she gets near you. She also leaves you absolutely nothing when you win. Not to mention that the two game-breaking Gears are useless - Winter Shield can't be activated due to the lack of Sky Lines or Sky Hooks, and the soldiers keep respawning without any food due to you having already used it. It helps to remember that she needs a body to resurrect, so Devil's Kiss can vaporize her goons, but that's still a lot of goons to kill. It should also be noted that while this does work, it isn't foolproof and you will catch her reviving piles of ash occasionally. An alternate method is to use Undertow to move the bodies somewhere she can't get to them.
 * 21) * In the final level, you have to defend the Hand of the Prophet airship against several waves of Vox Populi and Motorized Patriots while trying to take down their airships. The fact that it's the closest thing to an actual escort mission in the game makes it annoying to many players. While you're given the ability to order the Songbird around and fight wave after wave of Vox Populi, the Songbird has a long recharge time and the stage is large enough that a single enemy might be off somewhere that you overlooked, chipping away the ship's health while you deal with Motorized Patriots with whatever weapons you still have ammo for. What's even worse is that unlike all of the game's other set piece battles, this is the ONLY one where you don't have access to vending machines, so any money you stockpiled up to that point is essentially useless. You're forced to scavenge weapons and ammo from whatever you can find on them or from what enemies drop.
 * 22) Despite the game being in the BioShock series, it uses little of the biopunk gameplay aesthetic (via its varieties of mutated enemies) other than the vigors and a couple of enemies (Zealot of the Lady and Fireman) being somewhat mutated with these genetically modified tonics.
 * 23) Missed Opportunities:
 * 24) * Overall
 * 25) ** Despite being introduced as a major threat early on, Songbird is absent for vast swathes of the game, only to show up at the end as a weapon to fight the Vox, while having very little direct bearing on the plot.
 * 26) ** The Vox Populi as a whole. Daisy Fitzroy is little more than a bloodthirsty monster who's a relatively small obstacle story-wise (at least outside of Burial at Sea: Episode 2, and even then her scene is little more than a cameo), and the previews promised more glimpses at the Vox Populi. Instead, we get a palette swap of the Columbian forces.
 * 27) ** Despite being the driving motivation for both Booker and Elizabeth in both parts of Burial at Sea, Sally is never given any characterization and (especially in Burial at Sea: Episode 2) there's very little reason for players to actually care about her.
 * 28) ** Saltonstall is the crazed politician from the 2010 gameplay preview. He's almost completely absent from the final game, with him "appearing" as a scalp Booker finds nailed to a board by the Vox.
 * 29) ** In a strange way, the game has too many good ideas. The idea of a class war in a whacked-out flying American Utopia takes a back seat to all the quantum shenanigans and interesting characters like Daisy Fitzroy and Jeremiah Fink are constantly pushed to the side of the narrative.
 * 30) ** A great deal of the main game could count towards this, actually. There are several reality jumps wherein situations you've caused or even affected are completely unrelated to each other, so the plot turns less into Booker and Elizabeth completing tasks to work their way forward and more of them conveniently stumbling upon the correct rift that furthers them along. The most glaring time this happens is the very first, wherein Booker must deliver a shipment of weapons to the Vox Populi, but after using one of Elizabeth's rifts with the intent to do so, this goal is completely abandoned since the new reality the pair steps into just doesn't need it anymore. It's almost on the level of Deus ex Machina since it implies that nothing Booker and Elizabeth do matters when they can just wander forward and find a new rift if they get stuck at any point.
 * 31) * Burial at Sea: Episode 2
 * 32) ** It promised us the chance to play as Elizabeth, but rather than the Elizabeth of the main game, a quantum powered Physical God who can shuffle reality around her and so provide interesting unique gameplay, we have an Elizabeth brought down to normal with some stealth options but nothing very different from Booker or Jack.
 * 33) ** Followed on from the reveal that Booker was actually a Comstock, leaving players with questions about how he could still have existed after the ending of Infinite seemingly wiped out all possible Comstock timelines. It is never explored in the second episode, nor does it explain how Columbia is also still around.
 * 34) Burial at Sea: Episode 2 requires Elizabeth to be suicidally loyal to Fontaine to work at all, which she claims not to be. If she stopped at any point and considered any other option, which she was outright offered numerous times by powerful people capable of actually fulfilling those offers, the plot would've changed drastically.

Reception
BioShock Infinite received critical acclaim upon release, with reviewers particularly praising the story, setting and visual art design. Aggregating review website Metacritic summarized critical consensus as "universal acclaim", with the game netting score of 93–94/100 across its released platforms. BioShock Infinite was the third-highest rated video game of 2013 across all platforms on the site, behind Grand Theft Auto V and The Last of Us. Consensus among several critics was that BioShock Infinite was one of the best games of the seventh generation era of video game consoles, with IGN's Ryan McCaffery praising the game as "a brilliant shooter that nudges the entire genre forward with innovations in both storytelling and gameplay." Joe Juba of Game Informer stated that Infinite was among the best games he had ever played, while PlayStation Universe's Adam Dolge called it "one of the best first-person shooters ever made." Identifying it as a "masterpiece that will be discussed for years to come", Joel Gregory of PlayStation Official Magazine concluded that Infinite was the latest game to join the hallowed ranks of Half-Life, Deus Ex and BioShock as "the apotheosis of the narrative-driven shooter."

Many critics favorably compared BioShock Infinite to the original BioShock, with some even believing that Infinite had surpassed it. Entertainment Weekly 's Darren Franich stated that "if BioShock was The Godfather, then BioShock Infinite is Apocalypse Now", with Adam Kovic of Machinima.com calling them "two similar-yet-separate games that can co-exist and remain equal in quality."

Wide acclaim was directed to the story, with several critics calling it among the best in video gaming. The story's exploration of mature themes was well received, with Time 's Jared Newman praising its ability to prompt commentary and critiques from players as the game's true value. Several critics, including Adam Sessler of Rev3Games, also praised BioShock Infinite 's storytelling, noting that its ability to finesse player agency and interaction resulted in a narrative that could only work in a game. The story's twist ending was mostly praised, with several critics predicting that it would provoke debate, and that it would leave a deep impression on players, prompting them to replay the game. It was also generally agreed that Infinite 's ending was an improvement over the original BioShock 's, with Gregory explaining that, unlike its predecessor, Infinite never lost momentum after revealing its twist. Some critics who overall praised the ending did concede that it suffered from plot holes and leaps in logic, with Edge calling it "a finality that doesn't make sense within the universe the game has created." Several articles have since been released attempting to explain the game's ending.

Elizabeth's role in the gameplay and narrative received wide praise. Her implementation as an AI partner for the player-controlled Booker was described by Sullivan to be "downright ingenious", and was stated by some critics to be the main aspect that separated Infinite from its predecessors. Special praise was given not only to Elizabeth's ability to take care of herself in combat, but also for actively assisting the player by finding ammo and health, and opening Tears. Critics also acknowledged Elizabeth as not just a combat partner, but a companion that invoked an emotional response from the player. Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell felt that the game "creates a familial bond" between Elizabeth and the player, with Sullivan stating that she felt like "a friend." McCaffrey explained that Elizabeth's presence in the game provided motivation and emotional depth, something he believed the original BioShock lacked. Edge called Elizabeth "a technical triumph, the most human-seeming AI companion since Half-Life 2 's Alyx Vance", with Sullivan stating that her "behavior makes you forget she's a video game character." Several critics also praised Elizabeth's relationship and interactions with Booker, believing that they formed the core of the game's story. Mikel Reparaz of Official Xbox Magazine explained that "the evolving interplay between Elizabeth and Booker is the heart and soul of what makes BioShock Infinite such an involving, memorable experience."

In contrast, the gameplay was criticized by some as monotonous and repetitive, with VideoGamer.com 's Steven Burns explaining the game's lack of real sense of escalation in either abilities or enemies made combat very tiresome and grating. Some also noted that Infinite had regressed into a simple shooter compared to the role-playing System Shock games, with Newman stating that "combat feels too constrained as a result." There were also complaints that the middle portion of the game was padded by gameplay flaws. Critics expressed disappointment that the game limited the player to only two weapons, with Reparaz feeling that this, along with the lack of outlandish upgrades, made Infinite 's "less inventive" combat "not quite up to BioShock 's high standards." Criticism was also directed at the combat's "meager" death penalty, with complaints that this resulted in a less challenging game.

Sales
In its first week of release, BioShock Infinite was the best-selling game on Steam's digital Top 10 PC Charts. In the United States, BioShock Infinite was the top-selling console game for March 2013, with more than 878,000 units sold; these figures do not include digital sales such as through Steam. Take-Two Interactive reported that the game had shipped 3.7 million copies to retail by their May 2013 financial report, and surpassed 4 million in late July. According to Take-Two Interactive, the game has sold more than 6 million copies as of May 2014, and 11 million a year later.

During the first week of sales in the United Kingdom, BioShock Infinite debuted as the number one selling PC game, and the best-selling game on all available formats, topping the UK PC Retail Sales and the UK All Formats video games charts. In the game's opening week in the UK, its Xbox 360 version ranked No. 1, PlayStation 3 version ranked No. 2, and the PC version ranked No. 9 in the UK Individual Formats video games charts, due to 64 percent of its sales being on the Xbox 360, 31 percent on the PlayStation 3, and 5 percent on PC. As of April 2, 2013, it is currently the second biggest launch of 2013 in the UK after Tomb Raider, and is the biggest UK game launch in the BioShock franchise's history with approximately 9000 more sales than BioShock 2. During the game's second week in the UK, despite a 75 percent drop in sales, BioShock Infinite maintained its lead in the UK All Formats charts. In its third week, Infinite became the first 2013 game to top the UK charts for three weeks in a row.

Awards
BioShock Infinite was nominated for or won multiple awards during its pre-release period. It was nominated for Most Anticipated Game at the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards, though it did not win. Infinite was on display for the general video game audience at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 (E3 2011), where it was heavily awarded, winning over 85 editorial awards, 39 of which were Game of Show. Most notably at E3 2011, the game won all four nominations it received from the Game Critics Awards for Best of Show, Best Original Game, Best PC Game, and Best Action/Adventure Game. For the second and third consecutive times, Infinite was again nominated for Most Anticipated Game by the Spike Video Game Awards in 2011 and 2012. The game also received two consecutive Golden Joystick Award nominations for One to Watch in 2011 and 2012.

BioShock Infinite received numerous year-end awards and nominations after its release in 2013. It won the Game of the Year award from 42 publications, including the Associated Press, CNN, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Entertainment Weekly, Forbes, and Games. The game also won Best Shooter of the Year awards from several publications, including The Escapist, Game Informer, GameTrailers, Hardcore Gamer, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, and PlayStation Universe.

Trivia

 * The game has a huge amount of cut content when compared to previous entries, with much of it being shown on pre-release material (via trailers or screenshots).

Tips (1999 mode)
BioShock Infinite has an unlockable extra hard difficulty called "1999 mode", which removes gameplay aids like auto-aim, reduces ammo availability, kills you faster, and enacts harsher penalties for dying. Here are some tips to help you get through the mode should you feel up to the challenge:
 * Check every container you can find! You will need every scrap of resources you can get your hands on, since ammo isn't as plentiful.
 * Don't waste your cash on weapon and vigor upgrades you don't need; you lose $100 every time you die, so save that cash for weapons and vigors you use most often.
 * Try to get the "Urgent Care" gear as soon as possible. This will reduce shield regen time by half, which you cannot pass up since your shield takes longer to regenerate on this difficulty level.
 * "Blood to Salt" has a 40% chance to refill Salts when you kill an enemy, so definitely use it when fighting large groups of enemies.
 * On the other hand, "Winter Shield" is useful in places with Sky Rails and Freight Hooks, as this gear gives you temporary immunity to all damage when you come off of one.
 * Use "Possession" on machines to have them draw fire away from you, and deal damage to enemies. Also, try to get the "Possession for Less" upgrade early to avoid using more Salts than you need to. This way, you'll have plenty of Salts left for other vigors you could be using.
 * Be aggressive. Move around, mix firearms and vigors, and use the environment to your advantage. Staying still on this difficulty is a death sentence, especially later on when even low ranking soldiers can rip through your shield and health in a matter of seconds.
 * Gear pickups are randomised each time you reload a checkpoint, so use this to get a piece of gear you really want.