Developed
by: Irrational Games/ 2K Marin
Published
by: 2K Games
Available
on: Xbox360, Playstation 3, PC (Xbox360 reviewed)
“Bring us the girl,
and wipe away the debt.” With that promise – or maybe a threat – former Pinkerton
agent Booker DeWitt is dispatched to the floating city of Columbia, a serene,
all-American utopia ruled over by the Prophet, one Zachary Comstock. However, it
quickly becomes apparent that retrieving the mysterious Elizabeth will be more
complicated than Booker anticipates; Columbia is a powder-keg of racial and
ideological tensions, and there is the small matter of the Songbird, Elizabeth’s
mechanical guardian with a thirty foot wingspan…
‘Infinite’ is the third game in the ‘Bioshock’ franchise,
and as the above summary may suggest, it is a little different from the average
‘Halo’ game. The first game received innumerable plaudits for its plot, ethos
and atmosphere; while the gameplay was perfectly good, it is a game better
remembered for the city of Rapture that served as the setting, and an
astonishing, deconstructive twist in the last hour or so of the game. Not many
first person shooters set themselves up as examinations of Objectivist
philosophy, and fewer still would have the skill and intellect to achieve it
(the sequel approached Rapture from a Collectivist point of view; broadly
speaking, the exact opposite).
Much the same is probably true of ‘Infinite’, although it is
not really a sequel, more a successor. While the gameplay is really rather
good, the main draw here is the plot and the world. In this instance, the
driving force behind the plot is religion, for the most part, although it can
perhaps be more accurately described as an ode to the notion that extremism is
bad (actually, all three games essentially boil down to this). That said, as
the game progresses it begins to take in some extremely bizarre and
thought-provoking concepts; it is a narrative that could be pictured alongside
a jar of Marmite in a dictionary in terms of audience response – I loved it,
for the record – but what is absolutely unquestionable is what it will keep you
talking about it for a long time afterwards.
In a marked difference from previous instalments in the
franchise, the stories success is in large part due to the protagonists. In previous
games, the player characters have been voiceless, somewhat akin to someone like
Gordon Freeman of ‘Half-Life’ fame. Booker DeWitt though is a fully articulate,
thinking individual with a dark past and, just maybe, a good heart underneath
it all. Although that last bit is very much open to interpretation. However,
even more important, arguably the actual central character, is the girl in
question; Elizabeth, heir to the throne of Columbia and possessed of the
ability to rip holes in reality. For the vast majority of the game, this
functions as a handy way of keeping your health and ammunition topped up during
shoot-outs, although many set pieces also feature tears which allow something
more exotic, such as summoning friendly gun turrets. She’s a fascinating,
loveable character, and the relationship between the two of them is the heart
and soul of the game, in stark contrast to previous games which were really
more about the setting than the actual characters.
In terms of gameplay, ‘Infinite’ feels much more robust than
the previous instalments, although the core features are broadly the same. Once
again, you have a choice between shooting people with a variety of guns –
although you can now only carry a chosen two at a time, rather than shove
rocket launchers, crossbows and machine guns in your pockets – or you can abuse
them with the Vigors, which replace Plasmids. Essentially, these are magic
powers. They might allow you to push people around, possess them, set fire to
them, or fire murderous crows out of your fingertips to tear them to shreds. Some
are more useful than others, all are fun to use, although they don’t seem to be
integrated into the game world quite as well as Plasmids were. There was a
clear explanation for the existence of Plasmids, which was admittedly nonsense,
but while one can be inferred for Vigors, nothing is actually stated, leaving
them feeling a little like they’re around because it’s a Bioshock game than
because there’s a strict need for them. That little nitpick aside though, the
combat is excellent. This is a good thing, as there are roughly four people in
the entire game who don’t try and kill you on sight. If you don’t like
shooting, even the quality writing may not be enough to sway you on this
particular game.
It isn’t all good; there’s a lengthy section mid-game which
has you going back and forth over Columbia looking for first a person, then
said person’s belongings. It’s one of the worst examples of fetch-and-carry
gameplay I’ve seen in a while, and while it is dressed up in an important part
of the plot and backstory, it’s still a little lazy. The final half hour or so,
while thought provoking and (in my humble opinion) rather brilliant, it can be
seen as perhaps a bit too much of a shock; much of it is built up, but not all
of it, especially since much of the background is learned through audio
recordings that you can find lying around the levels. Atmosphere is split more
by location than in previous games; Rapture was a haunted house turned up to
eleven; while Columbia is revealed to be a deeply scary place, it’s much more
on the nose. And…that’s basically it. Really, the only other issue is the plot,
and that’s an obviously subjective thing. I loved it, but I know others who
thought it pretentious nonsense.
So. Tight gameplay, thrilling action, an enthralling,
intelligent story, and an endearing partnership at the heart of it all. If you’re
looking for evidence of games as art, this is an excellent place to start.
Highly recommended.
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