BioShock Infinite Reviewed

Post by Dan @ 11:04pm 25/03/13 | 129 Comments

New games consoles may be poised to launch later this year, but one of 2013's most anticipated games is already upon us, with the launch of BioShock Infinite kicking off worldwide on March 26th. From Irrational Games, helmed by widely acclaimed Creative Director Ken Levine, comes another title aiming to push the boundaries of the first person shooter genre, and the very medium of interactive storytelling.

AusGamers' own Steve Farrelly was treated to pre-release access to the PC version of the game, served up on a high-performance rig, in a comfortable environment, to spend some 16 hours wandering the city of Columbia.

From the words that he managed to fit together after the experience, it would appear that he found the experience most favourable, and you can read those very words in this spoiler-free review.

bioshock infinite review irrational games 2k games ken levine

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Latest Comments

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ravn0s
Posted 11:07pm 25/3/13

wow perfect score.

glad i just pre-ordered it on GMG. i got bioshock, xcom and civ 5 with it for free.

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Pirroh
Posted 11:11pm 25/3/13

Combat is arguably the best in the single-player field
Elizabeth is one of the greatest AI characters to ever grace the interactive scene

Those are some big statements you've made....

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ravn0s
Posted 11:19pm 25/3/13

yeah i don't think this game will be s***

Eurogamer - 10/10
Destructoid – 10/10
IGN – 9.4/10
Joystiq – 5/5
OXM – 9/10
CVG – 9.1/10
RPS – no score
Digital Spy – 5/5
PC Gamer – 91/100
Godisageek – 9/10
Shopto – no score
NAG Online – 94/100
Nave360 – 8/10
Lazygamer.net – 96/100
Shacknews – no score
El33tonline – 5/5
Gamesvillage – 8.7/10
HardGame2 – 10/10

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Dazhel
Posted 11:22pm 25/3/13

lol disruptive, what a joke.
10.0! This game apparently has zero flaws? I don't believe it.

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ravn0s
Posted 11:28pm 25/3/13

eww one flaw i just read about is that you can't save manually. :(

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Johnny
Posted 11:30pm 25/3/13

It looks the same as Bioshock 1 so its very outdated look.
The gameplay was the same as Bioshock 1 so gameplay is also very outdated.
The ending sucked. The game was dragging along then they tacked on an ending irrelevant to the rest of the game.
Not as long as Bioshock 1. About half as long.
Not as much fun as Bioshock 1.

Lame 4/10

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dais
Posted 11:33pm 25/3/13

Awesome news, been looking forward to this one.

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Inept
Posted 11:33pm 25/3/13

Hahaha, laugh? cry? laugh? cry? WHICH DO I DO???

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trillion
Posted 11:42pm 25/3/13

oh no i bought a discount (almost half price) cd key and now have to wait until 27/28th for it

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Linker
Posted 11:50pm 25/3/13

Steve, how much did you like the original Bioshock? I remember it received glowing reviews too all over the place just like this one is, but I didn't really like it that much. Just something about the setting and narrative style put me off it.

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Inept
Posted 11:54pm 25/3/13

Johnny aside, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the review, you could tell he was grinning ear to ear in some kind of ecstasy with every word he wrote.

Will be getting this, never played the previous games, but hopefully this can get me on that path.

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fpot
Posted 11:55pm 25/3/13

That review is nothing but a massive pile of hyperbole with a big score at the end. After reading I know literally nothing about the game (except that it's violent and the shotgun is good). For example, in the pros it says the combat is probably the best in the single player field (an absolutely massive claim) yet there is no explanation why, or even how the combat works. Elizabeth is apparently the greatest ever character EVER yet her name is only mentioned once in the review when you talk about tears in the game world, which I also have no idea about. I am guessing she like rips holes in something and warps stuff in but why should I have to guess?

I dunno, it's just that I noticed the exact same thing in the SimCity review. It mentioned that this and that part of the game was great, but never explained why they were great or even how they worked. The same thing is happening here.

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Dan
Posted 11:56pm 25/3/13

Linker: http://www.ausgamers.com/games/bioshock/review/

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DeadlyDav0
Posted 12:13am 26/3/13

It looks the same as Bioshock 1 so its very outdated look.

Well you're wrong there so you obviously have no clue what you are talking about.

Big claims for the game. I play shooters for the gameplay, not the story or characters so i expect a lot from "Combat is arguably the best in the single-player field".

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eski
Posted 12:14am 26/3/13

Dan - did you and Steve have some sort of caged death match to determine who got to review this?

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Fasty
Posted 12:29am 26/3/13

Oops just posted a comment without logging in. Anyway, I just asked if I didn't like the original due to its self obsessed art style and ponderous gameplay, will I like this?

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Johnny
Posted 12:33am 26/3/13

I only read part of the review. What i posted was from my plathrough of the game.
I wont give any spoilers but i didnt like it. To me it looked just like bioshock 1. It played just like bioshock 1 and i think its using the same engine as you pit the two games next to each other and you can confuse BI for B1 in some parts.

Ad elizabeth is actually one of the best sidekicks in a game. Shes 100x better than any sidekick from COD or Battlefield as she actually does something good and actually helps. I do give the game credit just for Elizabeth.

I wasnt at all i pressed woth the tacked on ending.

Give it a play and you will see i am right.

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fpot
Posted 12:51am 26/3/13

So Elizabeth is a side-kick? Didn't know that either.

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fryzeegunner
Posted 05:05am 26/3/13

Just got up at 1am Victoria time to play on launch, I've played 4 hours... It's incredible. The waiting has been worth it. Cannot wait to get home from work. Just wow.

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Toxus
Posted 05:37am 26/3/13

Hah yeah this review totally didn't receive cash under the table

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Eorl
Posted 09:38am 26/3/13

Whoa is all I can really say. This game is beautiful.

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arkter
Posted 10:56am 26/3/13

I am pretty keen to give it a go - I hated the original bioshock though =\

I again find it hard to believe this is the perfect 10/10 game though...

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Nathan
Posted 11:19am 26/3/13

Quoting the review:

... this is the game videogames were made for. [snip] It’s a watershed moment for our industry, and I’d be hard pressed to tell you that anything that came before is better. More so, however, I can’t imagine that anything else, in my lifetime, will top this.

If this is the reviewer's opinion - that he can't imagine a better game - then surely a 10 is the only reasonable score to give.

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kappa
Posted 11:47am 26/3/13

Bioshock 1 was an amazing experience for me. I have no doubt Infinite will be just as special and I'm sure the AG review score is pretty spot on.

Only problem is, pc or xbox :S

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orbitor
Posted 11:53am 26/3/13

A 10 out of 10 doesn't mean the game is completely and utterly flawless. Just like a 5 star movie doesn't mean it's a movie without any flaws. It just means that in the reviewer's opinion (some people seem to forget a review is simple someone's opinion) it is an absolutely great game and at the pinnacle of the genre.

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eski
Posted 12:08pm 26/3/13

This is a hundred point scale, not a five point scale. The implication for me is that the game is perfect. Also the fact that he didnt mention any negatives.

Im going to wait a few weeks for the hype to die down before giving this a shot.

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orbitor
Posted 12:08pm 26/3/13

This is 100 point scale, not a 5 point scale. The implication for me is that the game is perfect. Also the fact that he didnt mention any negatives.

don't take subjective reviews so pedantically.

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eski
Posted 12:16pm 26/3/13

Why not? AG is the one that insists their reviewers are able to judge games on a 100 point scale. To me there's no point using that kind of granularity, it suggests a level of precision that just does not exist.

Im aware its just Steve's opinion, but at the end of the day its his job and his business and it deserves to be taken somewhat seriously. I believe there are people out there right now buying the game based on that number at the end of the review.

After all, if a 100 out of 100 doesn't mean the game is completely and utterly flawless, then what score does? 101?

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Nathan
Posted 12:18pm 26/3/13

The implication for me is that the game is perfect.

Since most people accept there is no such thing as a perfect game, then it would stand to reason that a 10 score is impossible if it means the game is perfect.

Thus, given a 10 score was given, and a perfect game is impossible, the logical inference is that 10 does not mean perfect and instead simply means, an excellent game - one that is so good it stands above all its peers.

EDIT: FWIW, I agree a 100 point scale is stupid. But that is an unrelated issue.

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eski
Posted 12:22pm 26/3/13

Then why have an upper limit on the scale at all?

The entire games industry is completely wrapped up in those silly little numbers at the end of reviews.

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d^
Posted 12:37pm 26/3/13

Amazing score, I don't know if anyone can knock Alyx off as the best sidekick character though. Keen on playing this and Steam is plastered with the massive scores on the advert. To me this will be either a cash job or an actual near perfect game.

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fryzeegunner
Posted 12:43pm 26/3/13

It's amazing absolutely amazing solid 9.5/10 only negative, no manual saves

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Tollaz0r!
Posted 01:20pm 26/3/13

I'm with fpot on this one. I read the review and I leave not knowing why the single player combat is awesome or why the tears are so good, I was provided one example, pull stuff in?

It is almost as if the review requires prerequisite reading and knowledge of the game. If that is expected, fair enough. I would think, though, a game of such magnitude and high score would warrant an in-depth review with more examples.

Which brings me to a point, Do Ausgamers want our criticisms of a review? If you guys don't just let us know and I'll say no more. I'll still read the reviews because it's Ausgamers ;D

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Dazhel
Posted 01:25pm 26/3/13

Which brings me to a point, Do Ausgamers want our criticisms of a review? If you guys don't just let us know and I'll say no more.

Put it this way, make a valid criticism and you could get labelled disruptive.

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Jim
Posted 01:44pm 26/3/13

on the contrary, valid criticism would never be labelled disruptive

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evıs
Posted 04:57pm 26/3/13

You guys crack me up still bothering to discuss anything on this forum.

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mental
Posted 05:23pm 26/3/13

I use reviews when I'm fifty/fifty on a game to see if it might be worth a look, not as something to use as a masturbation visual aide.

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maRtz
Posted 05:27pm 26/3/13

can't wait to play this, even though the original Bioshocks didn't appeal to me.

btw what did obes say? Someone can PM me.

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Khel
Posted 05:34pm 26/3/13

Have you ever tried mental? I find reviews to be quite effective as a masturbatory aid

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Gibsmith
Posted 05:50pm 26/3/13

Sceptical to say the least, heaps of reviewers gave Bioshock 1 insane scores like this and, while I enjoyed the game, I found plenty of negatives, like the half-baked engine work that was never discussed, the 'ground breaking AI' that seemed to consist of most enemies running at you with reckless abandon... Just to name two, I could go on for a while... Also, I've been reading around other reviews for this game and alot of them suffer from the same problem of saying how totally awesome everything is without giving us any compelling evidence or examples...

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Nathan
Posted 06:04pm 26/3/13

Sceptical to say the least, heaps of reviewers gave Bioshock 1 insane scores like this

Having not played it yet, I'm same as you. I think it comes to what you like in a game, I enjoyed Bioshock 1 and acknowledge it had a great "atmosphere" even if the gameplay was a bit bog standard.

I think there's probably something about reviews being done by professional reviewers, who of course play way more games than the regular joe. So I tend to think they perhaps can be wowed by particular elements (like atmosphere) that make them standout against everything else they're rushing through. While for the average gamer who plays through things at a more leisurely pace, you notice inadequacies in the engine or the AI or whatever that reviewers dont notice because they dont have the time.

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DeadlyDav0
Posted 11:33pm 26/3/13

btw what did obes say? Someone can PM me.

Me too please.

Just saw the good game review. Looks pretty f*****g good. I always liked how bioshock told much of the story through interesting audio tapes rather than cutscenes as only very rarely do i actually watch cutscenes.

Also, thought it was interesting that Bajo said he liked a perk (the power special ability things) that made enemies float in the air as sitting ducks. Im no FPS pro or anything but i play FPS for the action of hitting moving targets and s*** like that seems cheap to me. Sure, you can not use it but it surprised me that Bajo seems to enjoy shooters yet picked a pretty noob friendly perk.

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fryzeegunner
Posted 11:23pm 26/3/13

Just finished the game. I stand by ausgamers review. Then ending made it even better. Breathtaking.

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Ospi
Posted 11:43pm 26/3/13

^^ how many hours did it take you?

I am pretty much in awe of what they have achieved with this game, the environment, the atmosphere and level of detail are second to none.

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Spook
Posted 08:22am 27/3/13

i got a lot more from this review:

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/digital-life/games/new-bioshock-an-impressive-feat-20130326-2gqof.html

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Viper119
Posted 09:08am 27/3/13

Ausgamers - 10/10
Eurogamer - 10/10
Destructoid – 10/10
IGN – 9.4/10
Joystiq – 5/5
OXM – 9/10
CVG – 9.1/10
RPS – no score
Digital Spy – 5/5
PC Gamer – 91/100
Godisageek – 9/10
Shopto – no score
NAG Online – 94/100
Nave360 – 8/10
Lazygamer.net – 96/100
Shacknews – no score
El33tonline – 5/5
Gamesvillage – 8.7/10
HardGame2 – 10/10

Cor blimey! I dun better play this here game!

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Khel
Posted 10:34am 27/3/13

Also, thought it was interesting that Bajo said he liked a perk (the power special ability things) that made enemies float in the air as sitting ducks. Im no FPS pro or anything but i play FPS for the action of hitting moving targets and s*** like that seems cheap to me. Sure, you can not use it but it surprised me that Bajo seems to enjoy shooters yet picked a pretty noob friendly perk.

I've only played a few hours of it, but you can't really look at it like your typical FPS; its not COD set on a floating city. Its more about finding cool ways to mix your guns and your vigors (ie plasmids) and your skyhooking and s*** in interesting ways to get the edge over the enemies, rather than just running and gunning.

Also, I recommend playing it on at least Hard, if you play it on normal you can probably more easily fall back into a typical run and gun style of gameplay which just wont be as much fun, if you play it harder you really need to use everything in your arsenal and its more fun :)

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ravn0s
Posted 11:02am 27/3/13

a lot of people are suggesting to play it in hard mode. i think i'll do that, but first, i'm going to complete the industrial revolution puzzles to get the unlocks for the game.

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SheerObesity
Posted 11:10am 27/3/13

Hah yeah this review totally didn't receive cash under the table

This review reminds me of the ausgamer cod reviews. 9's and 10's getting thrown around indicating they are the best thing since wrestling.

We all know that codmw3 was just a map pack and it scored a 9, so should i expecting something similar with this when i play it?

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kappa
Posted 11:42am 27/3/13

Ffs its clearly a good game - http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/bioshock-infinite

Stop f*****g moaning c****#@#@

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Tollaz0r!
Posted 12:24pm 27/3/13

So I've played about 1 1/2 on Hard mode and find the enemy AI to be pretty basic. I'm pretty sure they haven't tried to flank me yet. Hopefully it gets harder.

It would be better if there wasn't soooooooo much health around in the environment, hopefully that too will decrease as the game continues. I haven't had a chance to see Elizabeth's AI shine, as it is much applauded even by poor reviews.
As for best Single player combat ever, I've yet to see it. Hopefully another hour will bring it out.

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Eorl
Posted 12:36pm 27/3/13

Yeah hard mode doesn't seem to be "hard" in the sense that enemies will think up new ways to flank you and other such difficulty inflations. Really the only difference seems to be the amount of damage the enemies do to you but I have noticed I need to combine both my guns and my plasmids in order to win a battle. I'm hoping 1999 mode is a lot harder for my second playthrough.

So far I've played about five to six hours and am currently Spoiler:
trying to find the lightning plasmid inside some history re-enactment building
which I don't believe is that far into the game. I've just been roaming around the levels because I always find a little secret or just sit in awe at the amount of details each shop gets. Overall though I have had such a great time with what I have played and heartily recommend it to any BioShock fan.

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qmass
Posted 06:27pm 27/3/13

Also, I recommend playing it on at least Hard, if you play it on normal you can probably more easily fall back into a typical run and gun style of gameplay which just wont be as much fun, if you play it harder you really need to use everything in your arsenal and its more fun :)

Agreeing with Khel makes me feel dirty but hes spot on here.

Without spoiling how it works exactly, the penalty for dying is pretty soft - the ~8 deaths I've had total somewhere between 200-500 dollars lost, which was the difference between purchasing an efficiency upgrade for a fairly central vigor early or later... at least the way I was spending cash - would be just as easy to have saved on weapon upgrades and gotten it obviously) which IMO is a nice roundabout way of rewarding you for 'skill' without an abstract bonus xp system. Unlike bioshock 1, money is much tighter and I haven't been able to buy EVERYTHING like you could with exploration. At the same time, hard is tuned so that as long as you put some thought into how you use your abilities one can play very aggressively with lots of melee executions, jumping on and off skylines (various perks give buffs for skylining making it even more attractive, besides just being fun as hell) rather than sitting behind cover popping up to shoot your gun.

The combat really is well thought out and a lot of fun if you play it like a balls out action movie instead of the usual cover shooter stuff everyone has gotten used to.

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fryzeegunner
Posted 07:43pm 27/3/13

Took me 15 hours first playthrough on hard. It gets hard dw. Now 1/2 of the way through 1999 mode, and THAT my good sir is Hard... if you run out of money or have not enough for the expensive respawns, you sir are back at the main menu.

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DeadlyDav0
Posted 09:24pm 27/3/13

Yeah, i pretty much always play shooters on the hardest difficulty. As i said, im not a FPS pro but i do prefer the challenge that comes with harder modes. I did enjoy the previous bioshock of comboing plasmids and weapons, something i thought #2 did well.

The combat really is well thought out and a lot of fun if you play it like a balls out action movie instead of the usual cover shooter stuff everyone has gotten used to.

My #1 hate - cover shooters. Made me sad when max payne 3 went with them.

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Che
Posted 10:09pm 27/3/13

So far it' a great game, i find myself wanting to slow down and check out every little story area instead of blowing past them like i usually do. There are so many ways to approach a fight, it should be great... but instead i find myself sitting behind a box picking them off fps style... why?
Because i can't get comfortable with the game controls. The options are horrible, unless i'm missing something crouch/sprint/aiming are all toggles... no press to hold. I had to google a method of changing the mouse sensitivity to something playable.. which worked once i edited a few config files. I love it for everything it does, but hate it for not allowing me to do what i want. I'm tempted to plug in an xbox controller, but the day i do that on my pc in a FPS is the day i admit PC gaming is dead.

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Viper119
Posted 10:11pm 27/3/13

The combat sounds a bit reminisce of Dishonored, with lots of cool variations available.

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fryzeegunner
Posted 11:37pm 27/3/13

Dishonored is reminisce of Bioshock, remember that, but yeh one could see the ways the have improved on bioshock 2 plasmids, seen what dishonored did and made it better.

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ctd
Posted 12:15am 28/3/13

Ok I have played about 4 hours. So far it gets 0/10 imo:
- only toggle crouch option available, would prefer hold to crouch
- every opposition is AI controlled WTF?
- no quick scope
- no scoreboard to see K:D ratio
- can't build scv's to all-in marine rush

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reload!
Posted 01:13am 28/3/13

anyone else think cumsock every time it says comstock?
just me then..

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fpot
Posted 07:48am 28/3/13

So I bought this game and the season pass (for the cool price of $53) and it better get real good real fast or POW

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Tollaz0r!
Posted 08:44am 28/3/13

After another hour of playing the difficulty has moved up a bit and I can access tears during battle pieces.

I have chuckled a couple of times at the dialog between main dude and Elizabeth, I do really like the detail in all areas.

As for Elizabeth's AI. I don't think it is the AI that is great (it seems pretty basic actually). The way she is used though is great.

Some of those scenes where you are riding a cable car are a bit meh.

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ravn0s
Posted 12:01pm 28/3/13

has anyone played the industrial revolution game? do you activate the rewards key in bioshock or do you activate it on steam? i tried it on steam and it said it had already been used.

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Eorl
Posted 12:07pm 28/3/13

has anyone played the industrial revolution game? do you activate the rewards key in bioshock or do you activate it on steam? i tried it on steam and it said it had already been used.

I activated mine in Steam. You'll find the items in-game.

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Enska
Posted 12:24pm 28/3/13

I've found Elizabeths AI to be pretty retarded at times. She never stops moving, so many times I've cracked the s**** because I'm trying to read some plaque etc and she just steps in front of your fov constantly, it's like she has f***** worms.

aside from that I'm enjoying it, I'm only playing through on medium though so it's pretty cruisy. will give 99 mode and hard a run after.

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DM
Posted 12:36pm 28/3/13

Enjoying it and can't really complain about enemy AI since it's decent and all, but nothing revolutionary. The last game to really ratchet up the difficulty with their enemies was Half-Life when it first came out and ever since then they've been about the same really. Besides that its a great looking game. Running it on ultra with sweetfx and it looks pretty incredible. Playing on hard and I think i'm about 1 1/2 - 2 hours in or so? Very fun so far.

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ravn0s
Posted 12:39pm 28/3/13

I activated mine in Steam. You'll find the items in-game.

f***, guess i'll have to contact steam then :(

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Khel
Posted 01:02pm 28/3/13

The key I got from GMG for the free copy of XCom said it had already been used when I tried to activate it too :(

And I got another key in the email, which I guess is for the pre-order stuff? But it doesn't work in steam at all

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Tollaz0r!
Posted 01:10pm 28/3/13

Yer I'm trying to find the 'best single player combat' in a game, however I keep finding myself thinking Half-Life 1&2 felt similar.

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reload!
Posted 01:16pm 28/3/13

combat is only ok. much smaller variety of vigors than I was expecting.
snapping necks and removing face with the hook is still entertaining.

imo the sound is the best part of the game.

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Enska
Posted 01:27pm 28/3/13

Yeah I agree, I've taken to just running around no scoping with the sniper because it sounds so f*****g good.

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ravn0s
Posted 01:38pm 28/3/13

The key I got from GMG for the free copy of XCom said it had already been used when I tried to activate it too

that sucks. mine isn't for any game though. it's the key you get after completing the industrial revolution puzzle game to activate your rewards in bioshock.

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ctd
Posted 11:22pm 28/3/13

Got up to the buddhist gunsmith part. Yeahhh pretty bored of it now.

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Mantorok
Posted 11:54pm 28/3/13

And I got another key in the email, which I guess is for the pre-order stuff? But it doesn't work in steam at all

You use that key on this site: http://www.finkmanufacturing.com/ Enter the key you get from playing the browser game on Steam.

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DM
Posted 12:11am 29/3/13

As much as i'm enjoying it, it could never beat the 2nd one for me. That was just too damn good that one.

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reload!
Posted 12:57am 29/3/13

lawl must be joking, dm

overall the combat was average as f*** but in the end was merely a system to deliver the story which was phenomenal. for me, no game has ever come close to producing the emotional response this had.

it was an absolutely fantastic experience.

the setting and thought provoking elements were outstanding.
elizabeth is a triumph, no doubt.

the actual 'gaming' aspects were kind of ok, I think?.

containers.
f*****g UGH. eating hotdogs out of trashcans is cool, but not really.
searching every square inch of everything for something I can press F on is s*** and gets boring after about, hmm, the lighthouse?

I was fairly bored by enemies running at me mindlessly (the AI is.. well I suspect it's there because technically they do move but, yeah.) and got especially sick of them coming from the f*****g nether in a room I had just cleared.

the gunplay is barely ok, they all seem extremely similar. except for the sweet noises they make, which is different and awesome.

the range of vigors is pathetic and 'mixing up' gameplay based on what you enjoy reaaaaallllly just comes down to what will do the job quickest so you can move on to something that is actually enjoyable.

skyhooks? f*****g awesome, but nowhere near as prevalant as made out. executions become both boring and frustrating to land.

the revive system? ummmm.. I can't believe this was even mentioned.

to call it the best single player combat is f*****g hilarious. surely you jest.

So basically, it is an incredible ride because of the emotional response delivered from A+ story, wonderful art direction and fantastic sound. gaming elements, imo, were B- at best and probably less if it wasn't worth it simply to get to the next scene.

10/10 story/attachment?
6/10 game.

without flaws? get the f*** out.

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Linker
Posted 04:06am 29/3/13

totally agree reload, i've just played a few hours tonight. it's just the same combat as bioshock 1, not without flaws at all.

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Ha
Posted 08:36am 29/3/13

you guys just don't get it, man.

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Tollaz0r!
Posted 10:24am 29/3/13

I'm with reloaded. AS a piece of art, this game is great. As a computer game it is OK.
The Art aspect easily lifts the average-good game play to give the overall game a very good score. It has flaws though, mainly in the game play department. The enemy AI has been very average throughout, the only way it is getting harder is by piling on more damage, not by attempting to out maneuver me.

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Crakaveli
Posted 04:55pm 29/3/13

Just finished this game about 10 minutes ago. Pretty damn good imo, but it's not without it's faults.

Story was excellent.

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fryzeegunner
Posted 09:05pm 29/3/13

Just finished again on 1999 mode. And..... Starting again.

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groganus
Posted 10:32pm 29/3/13

Completely ignored all reviews and previews for this game to not spoil anything and i'm incredibly glad I did.

Was fantastic, being completely in the dark along with the main character and having no idea where anything was going.

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ravn0s
Posted 10:56pm 29/3/13

i've played for 2 hours and i haven't even met elizabeth yet...

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groganus
Posted 11:07pm 29/3/13

The starting area is really easy to get lost in (in a lets go explore everything and open every container kind of way)

By far one of the coolest things in the game is the music, which they kind of explain later on

Spoiler:
there is a recording where someone is discussing how they have profited from hearing music through the tears and if they do go between time then it explains the inclusion of modern music done in 1900's style

http://www.kotaku.com.au/2013/03/here-are-all-of-bioshock-infinites-secret-musical-covers/

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ravn0s
Posted 11:47pm 29/3/13

i noticed the barbershop quartet in the starting area was singing god only knows by the beach boys.

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Enska
Posted 09:52am 30/3/13

Bit disappointed with the ending.

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DM
Posted 10:20am 30/3/13

I loved that they showed you how the weapons and tonics work by introducing them to you in carnival games where you can win money. I spent ages in that beginning area, fantastic way to start the game.

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fryzeegunner
Posted 12:03pm 30/3/13

He says... "Bit disappointed with the ending"

Good one. IT WAS THE BEST PART :D

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DM
Posted 02:02am 31/3/13

Well just finished it and while I did enjoy the ending with all that happened through the course of the game there is really only 2 things that s***ted me. Only being able to carry 2 weapons and such limited ammo capacity and those god damn Handymen. The areas with them were just total clusterf**** since you can't outrun them, if you use the skyhook lines too long they electrify them and no powers seem to effect them except maybe electric for like half a second. It's damn near impossible to kill them and i'm dreading these sections on 1999 mode. Also not something I rather enjoyed from the first 2 was that upgrading a weapon changed it's look a bit. I wound up using a Carbine and Hand cannon since they were just so damn strong. Anything else seemed to be a waste of time. Also loved Elizabeth and how she actually helps you out with ammo and such. Brilliant that.

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Enska
Posted 10:08am 31/3/13

How was it the best part? they throw a whole chunk of what the f*** is going on at you in the last 30 mins of the game and then bam.
Loved the game and the story, but the actual ending of it was a bit hastily packed into the last half hour imo.

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assag
Posted 12:25pm 31/3/13

The ending was a total mind f***. i have no idea what happened.

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groganus
Posted 12:34pm 31/3/13

This will jog your memory and piece it all together for you.

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1bat3d/a_comprehensive_analysis_of_bioshock_infinite/

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Zapo
Posted 10:51pm 31/3/13

I just finished it. I really loved it. The whole world just felt so alive the entire time and amazing. I found the gameplay probably the most enjoyable from any FPS game I've played in a long time.

The storyline really really picks up in the last 1/3 and the ending was a bit of a mind f***, but wow, deserves a second play through I think to absorb it fully.

Great game.

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fryzeegunner
Posted 11:00pm 31/3/13

yeh, just finished it the third time. All achievements unlocked, now its just time to wander around Columbia and enjoy the lore in its entirety.

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TufNuT
Posted 11:02pm 31/3/13

yeah story is awesome. also if you watch the credits to the end, after the show a video of the 2 singers i don't think this is a spoiler but meh..Spoiler:
you get control of booker again, he is in his apartment and you open the door to the babys room, then it ends..

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fryzeegunner
Posted 11:49pm 31/3/13

According to majority of theories and comments, that i've read/come across, people assume (and so do I), that at the end...

Spoiler:
In english what I got out of it was... Booker re-enters the room signifying that all the tears/doors have been reset and it has taken him back to ground zero basically... I did read a MUCH MUCH more complex explanation involving plenty of big words but the jist was that Booker has a chance to restart. And the fact that this version of bookers adventure is different is because we are making different decisions to what he would have, such as choosing the cage instead of the bird, notice when you do that lutece (girl version, and i say girl version because one could say the twins are one person just portrayed in the same world through different tears) comments saying wow I was right, for once basically meaning that all other 121 times she was wrong, therefore this time is very different and therefore the ending is what it is... I hope that makes sense.
Spoiler:
And notice that in old gameplay footage, Elizabeth still has her finger, meaning they may have very well changed the ending to what it is now... very interesting... AND SHE HAS TK POWERSSSSSSS WTF

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greazy
Posted 11:14am 01/4/13

F*** all you haters. Where is the best place to buy the game from? I just got an xbox last month. I want to be in for once.

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crazymorton
Posted 11:32am 01/4/13

The B's.............EB or JB

And it is great

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Enska
Posted 11:37am 01/4/13

I saw it for 68 bucks yesterday at Big W, best I've seen it so far.

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fpot
Posted 05:11pm 01/4/13

http://www.greenmangaming.com/s/au/en/pc/games/shooter/bioshock-infinite-anz/

$51 bucks. Get someone from the UK to buy it and it's even cheaper.

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kappa
Posted 05:58pm 01/4/13

Just finished. Great game. As usual, mind-f*****g story.

Btw f*** playing first time on hard. I had it set to hard up until Spoiler:
one of the lady comstock encounters
and I had to put it back to normal. It was bs hard and I died way too many times and it was just ruining the game for me. This is on Xbox btw, not sure if PC is any different.

And I loved the Spoiler:
God only knows sung by the quartet. I stood and watched until they flew off.

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fpot
Posted 06:04pm 01/4/13

I am playing on medium and it is wayn too easy. Looking forward to a second play-through on 1999 mode. Although I have heard there is a hard bit coming up that tends to kick people's asses even on medium so I am looking forward to seeing that.

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kappa
Posted 06:12pm 01/4/13

1999 mode would be ridiculous. Not going to bother.

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fpot
Posted 09:09pm 01/4/13

I just noticed you play on xbox. This is one game in particular where I am glad I have mouselook. Hitting small points is crucial (like that enemy where the weakpoint is the heart) and aiming and controlling yourself when on those rails would be damn hard with a controller I reckon.

The two things I dislike most about the game so far are those silly skyway sections and how random NPCs don't have any dialogue or reaction when you try to interact with them. Sort of detracts from the richness of the world I think.

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ravn0s
Posted 09:11pm 01/4/13

why is there never enough lockpicks?

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fryzeegunner
Posted 09:38pm 01/4/13

1999 mode was a blast. Soooooo good. And there are plenty of lock picks, my first playthrough I found little to none, but the second time I took time looking in every nook and cranny and I always had the maximum of 30 basically lol.

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ravn0s
Posted 10:05pm 01/4/13

i explore everywhere and hardly find any. i had to leave behind a locked safe because i didn't have enough picks. i may not be finding many because it appears that the items you find are completely random. i noticed it when my game crashed and i had to go through an area for a second time.

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fryzeegunner
Posted 10:21pm 01/4/13

All safes are random amounts of cash. so it's not a COMPLETE loss but yeh if you have the keys use them, but always keep at least 1-3 spare, because you will need them to access locked rooms that contain vox's and infusions.

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ravn0s
Posted 11:00pm 01/4/13

disregard my previous post. i ended up back tracking to that safe due to the narrative and i had enough picks to open it this time.

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Viper119
Posted 08:43am 02/4/13

Well I just finished it and I feel like I've been knocked for 6!

I saw all the hype, started it, was impressed by the graphics, world, lore and finer touches (music, art, etc). At first the combat got a bit repetitive and boring and I was a bit disappointed overall, couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. Basically for the first 1/3 of the game.

Then after the 2/3 when they started twisting the story a bit and it got a lot more interesting I was really enjoying it, then in the 3/3 it got pretty damn amazeballs, then the ending was like a gut-wrenching evisceration of my mindhole. Now I love it.

I can understand peoples criticism of the gameplay mechanic points, but that's no different to other games and it's pretty slight, overall it's top-notch category as a gaming experience, everything about it is beautiful and the story arc is incredible.

Now to read some analysis of wtf it all means!

Edit: I've just read that reddit thread on it and my mind is even more blown.. simply amazing! And awesome that such a intelligent storyline is in a triple a video game.

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greazy
Posted 10:03pm 02/4/13

Does ausgamers get any affiliation money if I use their link for ozgameshop? Xbox360 version is $54.

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eski
Posted 10:59pm 02/4/13

Just finished it. Great story, great world, tremendous sound, average to frustrating gameplay.

The way they did the usual "lets pad the s*** out of the ending by throwing in lots of combat" just annoyed me. Fighting the same boss three times in a row was also pretty lame - Spoiler:
I'm talking about Lady Comstock's ghost.

By the end I was just running past everything so I could see the rest of the story. Ugh.

I also have a theory that Spoiler:
a tear opened up in the Irrational offices that showed them the end of The Walking Dead game and they thought "F*** yeah, we'll have that". Seriously, its the second time in the last six months that I've been offed by female companion at the close of the game. Player dies, cut to black. What's with that?

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Nathan
Posted 02:12pm 06/4/13

Interesting story, let down by poor pacing - it feels like 50% of the story is dumped on you during the last hour of gameplay.

4 out of 5 for me, certainly I was driven to keep playing to see how it ends but I cant see myself going back to it. For me the combat in general, just isnt that fun.

Despite the additional vigors and various purchasable improvements, I didnt really feel a sense of progression through the game either. Towards the end you are forced to deal with multiple waves of patriots but I never really felt I had the tools to do so more easily than the start of the game, just more life to enable surviving the encounter.

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DM
Posted 02:54pm 06/4/13

I just hated those handymen with a passion. So annoying to fight. And maybe the lack of progression was that they decided to do away with the cosmetic upgrades for the weapons? Like in the previous 2 any upgrade would strap this big chunky thing to it and would really alter how it looked so to me it felt like you were getting somewhere.

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Eorl
Posted 04:04pm 06/4/13

The handymen were extremely rough on hard mode though in the end I just made them jump off the edges to their death, seemed to work.

Here are my thoughts on the ending:

Spoiler:
Obviously Elizabeth is Anna as seen by her finger being cut off when jumping through a tear as a baby. What I want to know is why did he have Anna by himself? Was his wife dead? How did she die? Why did they need Anna? Did Anna/Elizabeth gain these Time Lord abilities when she went through the first tear?

Are the twins one-and-the-same? Or are they actually seperate? It seems like they created these tears, or at least the ability to do so through quantum physics. There was a tape talking about how she "produced" Anna, which I presume was talking about how she gained Anna through the tear. That leads me to Comstock. If Comstock is you, why was he at the tear when they were going through with Anna.

I really want to know more on the bird, it seemed like it was sentient and had a moral system in place to prevent damage to Anna/Elizabeth. The end bit with the BioShock tie-in was really cool, saw a Big Daddy across in a tube, looked dead though which may have been the BioShock 2 guy? All of this confuses me more then a Moffat Doctor Who episode...

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Bah
Posted 07:09pm 06/4/13

Spoiler:
Yes his wife was dead, how .. not really relevant unless a big daddy came through a tear and drilled her, i just assumed child birth or something.
Commstock was sterile, wanted an heir.
Twins are the same person, but from different realities "an x flipped to a y" or something iirc in one of the recordings.
Commstock is you but from a different reality, he went to yours to take the child.

I thought the bird was going to turn out to be the mother, like the handymen were men.

The combat was alright, but far too often the difficulty just came from running out of ammo (especially with the ammo sink enemies), and when you died it was just "meh" because you didnt die, but like Bioshock when you used the right powers/combos it was pretty cool.

also if you watch the credits to the end,

Ugh most annoying thing ever, sit through 10 minutes of credits just in case theres a scene.. at least theres youtube, and people mentioning you missed something on a forum.

Please use spoiler tags next time in a review thread - Eorl

last edited by Eorl at 19:09:19 06/Apr/13

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fpot
Posted 07:04pm 06/4/13

You know, in a review thread where people who haven't played the game will frequent, it isn't that hard to put spoiler tags on major end-game plot points.

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Bah
Posted 07:15pm 06/4/13

Didnt realise spoiler tags had been fixed when posting from ausgamers.

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Nathan
Posted 07:24pm 06/4/13

Spoiler:
I think Booker's wife died during childbirth, resulting in him falling into a depression. He ends up with massive debts in gambling, at which point he sells Anna to repay the debt. I didnt really get why she has powers, but I've read on a forum its supposedly because of the pinky finger getting cut off and left in another reality.

I think one of the most interesting parts is the explanation I read for the death-respawn mechanic:

Spoiler:
Right at the start, you have to pick heads or tails with the "twins" which at the time I personally kind of ignored as just general 'something isnt right here' theme setting but apparently its actually quite crucial.

The weirdness with it coming up heads every time is because you are playing the 100th+ Booker attempting the quest the twins have given (since there are infinite realities).

Since there's infinite realities, when you die its like that was one reality where you failed but then another reality's Booker comes along and from the player's point of view the game just fast-forwards over all the content where the new Booker has done everything the same as the one you (the player) just killed, and now the player picks up control at the 'fork' (your respawn point) where something different will happen.

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Eorl
Posted 07:34pm 06/4/13

There are some really interesting in-depth looks at what exactly the game is about over at this NeoGaf post (fair warning, massive spoilers)

In regards to your first question Nathan;

Spoiler:
She gained the power of opening tears due to having her pinky cut off when being sold. Booker before he was Comstock tried to stop the trade due to feeling guilty on selling his only child and accidentally cut her pinky off, causing a part of her to be in another reality. This caused a paradox or some form of power given to her to allow opening of tears. Initially though she was only able to influence small surroundings but apparently grew in power after her first period where she was able to completely open entirely new time shifts.

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Viper119
Posted 08:00pm 06/4/13

Eorl, Bah, Nathan, you guys should checkout the reddit thread here: http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1bat3d/a_comprehensive_analysis_of_bioshock_infinite/

It explains all of your questions, though the neogaf post is pretty similar, the reddit one is alot shorter.

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Dazhel
Posted 02:41am 07/4/13

Whoa, got kinda trippy there at the end, sure was a great story.

Why does Ken Levine love to torture us by taking his breathtaking visuals, awesome social commentary and narrative masterpieces and locking it away behind a run of the mill FPS game? The first turning point scene where the player dabbles in a little of the ultra violence was a bit over the top too I thought.

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Nathan
Posted 08:24am 07/4/13

and locking it away behind a run of the mill FPS game?

I agree, for me at least its hard to walk away and feel satisfied with the game. Missed opportunity to be a true classic of the genre IMO.

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Mantorok
Posted 11:24am 07/4/13

The first turning point scene where the player dabbles in a little of the ultra violence was a bit over the top too I thought.

I thought that at first too, but after learning what Booker did at Wounded Knee it makes sense that's he's a horribly violent man.

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kappa
Posted 11:36am 07/4/13

Despite the additional vigors and various purchasable improvements, I didnt really feel a sense of progression through the game either. Towards the end you are forced to deal with multiple waves of patriots but I never really felt I had the tools to do so more easily than the start of the game, just more life to enable surviving the encounter.

I totally agree.

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Dazhel
Posted 12:00pm 07/4/13

Ahh yeah that makes sense Mantorok. As a narrative choice it works, but in a gameplay sense dialling it up from zero to one hundred on the violence scale felt really odd.

Did anyone else get annoyed with the shield mechanic? Not so much the fact that it encourages Halo-itis style gameplay, but more so the bloody glass cracking visuals on the screen. Combined that with any explosions/multiple direction indicators & it sometimes felt difficult to tell what the hell was going on when the action got too thick.

I shouldn't complain too much - it's still a better experience than a lot of releases out there, even being average in terms of gameplay. I took the suggestion in this thread of setting the difficulty to hard - up until I hit the wall at a certain point** ammo, salts & health were always in abundance.

** Spoiler:
lady comstock's ghost

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