After countless
debates in the industry concerning whether or not video games can be considered
art, Bioshock: Infinite has come
along to silence them. An accomplishment in story telling and the crafting of a
world so imaginative in terms of originality and intrigue, it should rest
proudly amongst any collection of games (along with the original Bioshock) as the ending to a series of
pointless arguments. Not many games can be considered as such, but this one can
hold its head up high and know it’s definitively so.
A rather grand
departure from Rapture, Columbia is beautiful, sunny and filled with racist albeit, happy people. Rapture was a special place too but it was a deserted
wasteland at the bottom of the sea, littered with as many ideals as bodies. A
complete shift in atmosphere, Infinite trades dark, lonely and claustrophobic for an effulgent and spacious place with a creepy sense of community. The
micro-interactions you encounter with the hundreds of lively people walking
around and chatting about Columbia are mind blowing when recalling the hours spent
alone in the corridors of Andrew Ryan’s sunken utopia.
There’s a moment
for everyone with a pulse. Maybe it’s when the wind pushes a lonely beach
umbrella across the sand or even one as obvious as when the doors open,
exposing a sprawling and floating city landscape. Regardless of how or when, it
will come and when it does, it will devastate you. After all, Columbia is
lighter than air.
A man with a debt
is barely a man at all. Desperate for the opportunity to escape his burden,
Booker Dewitt takes a less than favorable job, his deal: “Bring us the girl,
wipe away the debt”. Before he knows it, he’s on a boat in the middle of the
ocean. A lighthouse stands cloaked in solace, a storm rages above. The darken
clouds scream and weep at his arrival. Atop a chair awaits, whisking him above
the angry effervescence to the gleam of perfect blue skies and sunshine.
A somber yet
delightful patter of keys roll over, a tune of emptiness plays as he floats
down upon the city of Columbia, a place that itself is made of more empty
spaces than concrete or brick. A burgh gliding all around the world, a shining
example of American exceptionalism, powered by the word and will of demagogue
Zachary Hale Comstock. His title of “Prophet”
is a dangerous one, every time his visions come true his following grows in
size and belief. Subsequently, they perceive Comstock’s prejudice as yet
another prophecy.
As Jeremiah Fink
tells us in relation to all this “prophecy business”, belief is a commodity. It’s
apparent just how popular a product it is to the people of Columbia when it’s
plastered on every wall, hanging from every ledge and shouted from the voice of
every citizen standing at street’s corner. Comstock knows he won’t be around
forever the same way he knows belief isn’t cheap, so he’s planting seeds that
will influence them to follow another. “The seed of the Prophet shall sit the
throne and drown in flame, the mountains of man.”
Elizabeth like any
Disney princess is beautiful, clever and highly capable. Years spent locked away
from a city that desperately needed her haven’t been wasted. She prides herself
on knowing a great bit from all she’s read. Among those piles of books and the
heaps of knowledge she ascertained, she’s read enough about lock picking to
pick any door in Columbia. Coupled with her ability to create tears into
reality, which allow Booker to select a tactical option on the battlefield,
whether it be an automated turret or a weapon or a med kit, she is an
incendiary addition to your already stunning arsenal.
As for your
arsenal, it’s very punchy. Every vigor is colorful and brimming with power. Every weapon is finely tuned and accurate, all
while delivering that explosive punch. The
weapons aren’t overly original, mostly following the familiar tropes of
shotgun, rifle, machine gun and RPG, but it was clear the intention was that
originality be left to the vigors. The guns are the constants and the vigors
are the variables. Coupling variables can be awfully fun, whether it be the
lifting powers of bucking bronco and devil’s kiss exploding them mid-air or
activating return to sender’s shield and going to town against some founders
with undertow, blasting them off many ledges or knocking them down with the
sole intent of purchasing more time to re-activate your shield, the combat is
pure and fun though hardly the selling point of Bioshock: Infinite.
Anyone who came
expecting a revolution to First Person shooters will be greatly disappointed
and while grinding against sky-rails, firing upon deserving enemies can be seen
as revolutionary, the true revolution of Bioshock:
Infinite is it’s story. Nothing here feels like game filler, if you lose a
character or the figurative ground you were standing on crumbles, it feels earned.
The only derailment that occurs is whenever Booker detaches from a sky-rail,
hanging over his destination.
Stunning visuals,
an excellent cast of characters and an intensely arresting concept are the
recipe for most great pieces of art and Infinite is no different. Not every
video game is art, the same way not every movie or book is; the only difference
is that in this medium, the occurrence of art is a lot less common. Which makes
Infinite a welcome sight. Floating just out of the reach of perfection, Bioshock: Infinite tells a grand and
masterful tale with greater consistency than the original. Columbia may seem
far away to most but to any true gamer, a charter will always remain a permanent
fixture inside their heart.