Bioshock Infinite Playthrough

Channel:

proa007

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Published on March 29, 2022 11:00:10 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHr3qy3rfc4

Game:

Bioshock Infinite (2013)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 5:04:41

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2013, PS3, X360, PC. Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars

Bioshock Infinite follows many other franchises in that tradition of making the third game arguably the best in the series. In an unusual twist, the developers go backward rather than to the future with its story. Rather than the 1970’s or 1980’s in Rapture (or what’s left of it), we head back to 1912 Columbia, which is a city set in the sky. Like Rapture, it has been created as a kind of rebellion against the United States and its direction. And like the first two games, a philosophy is put front-and-center here. This time, it’s American Exceptionalism mixed with Christian fundamentalism. And given this is set in the early 20th Century, much of what would come such as the end of Jim Crow has not happened yet. This is a very much a white city and it has created a dark undercurrent our protagonist, Booker DeWitt, finds himself in as he tries to save Elizabeth, a young woman with unusual powers who has been trained to be the future by Father Comstock, a prophet who has a few unexpected ties to the main character.

Many of the usual bells and whistles present in the first two games have returned in slightly different forms, which is nice to see, but it does feel more like an extension. Plasmids, audio diaries, vending machines and more are all here, but more circa 1910’s.

One place where the game does evolve is its treatment of the main character. Booker is not a cipher. He has plenty of dialogue and converses with Elizabeth and others throughout the narrative. This is a welcome respite and it helps the developers gave him a tortured background. Those familiar with past games will likely see where the narrative between him and Elizabeth is going, but there are some nice twists to keep it from being too predictable.

The single-player quest is linear throughout with more emphasis on guns than on puzzles or salts, which can make the action feel a bit mechanical at times. The point A-to-B nature also leads to a few too many fetch quests that seem out of the way. There are side quests the gamer can complete along the way, but they don’t bring much to the table.

The art design, as always, is first-rate with a nice mix of old Americana and a style that’s a little hokey in a way. As if telling us everything is a bit fake beneath the surface. The characters are more well-defined and expressive, as well.

The only major fault, really, is the final hour of the single-player campaign feels like the game has run out of gas. The action climax doesn’t feel like one. Perhaps that’s by design. The game had to end at some point and whatever happens with Columbia and Comstock is almost secondary to what happens to Elizabeth and Booker. The final revelation, which ties everything together, ranks among the best endings in gaming. For a game delving on the past and past sins (particularly with Booker) it delivers quite a punch.

0:00 Prologue
6:50 Arrival at Columbia
15:04 False Shepherd
21:57 Comstock Center Rooftops
34:14 Monument Island Gateway
42:34 Monument Tower
53:13 Battleship Bay
1:04:12 Soldier's Field
1:16:00 Hall of Heroes
1:38:10 Return to Hall of Heroes Plaza
1:49:42 Finkton Docks
2:00:32 Find the Gunsmith
2:06:55 Good Time Club
2:16:37 Through the Tear
2:29:08 The Bull House Impound
2:33:23 The Bull Yard
2:44:11 Confronting Daisy
2:53:52 Emporia
3:13:42 Downtown Emporia
3:24:47 Lady Comstock
3:29:20 Three Truths
3:50:17 Comstock House
3:55:47 To the Warden's House
4:03:45 Rescue Elizabeth
4:16:18 Boarding The Hand of the Prophet
4:25:27 The Hand of the Prophet
4:36:30 Confront Comstock
4:41:40 Battle with the Vox Fleet
4:49:42 Learning the Truth

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