[CowboyYojimbo]

Bioshock Infinite releases tomorrow! Who else is ridiculously pumped for some grade A writing and exploration?

Originally conceived as a floating symbol of American ideals at a time when the United States was emerging as a world power, Columbia is dispatched to distant shores with great fanfare by a captivated public. What begins as a brand new endeavor of hope turns drastically wrong as the city soon disappears into the clouds to whereabouts unknown.
Ex-Pinkerton Agent, Booker Dewitt, is sent to retrieve Elizabeth from the city in the sky, Columbia, who has the ability to open "tears" in the universe to alternate realities. He will be against the mighty ruler, Comstock, the monstrosity and Elizabeth guardian The Songbird, the citizens and himself. All in the middle of a civil war in a city that views the founding mothers in a godly context. The pair may escape from a city that is literally falling from the sky.

City in the Sky Trailer.
http://youtu.be/AbcBN9SIRqY

Launch Trailer
http://youtu.be/8f3XJePYPpo

No.02 (Fan)
http://youtu.be/8Wq5KHPYWWY

The title has been receiving 9s and perfect 10s across the board
Polygon Review: http://www.polygon.c...k-infinite/2779

Like the first game I can't wait to explore every nook of the city and uncover its deep and terrible history.

This post has been edited by CowboyYojimbo: 25 March 2013 - 06:14 PM

[Jakovasaurus]

I just caught Adam Sessler's review (I've always respected him as a video game review journalist). Bioshock Infinite looks like a release day purchase for me. I'm very pumped for this game.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=jchIi-vR_js

[Aptorian]

I was very excited about this game for a long time but in the last couple of months my enthusiasm cooled down a bit. All this talk of delays, internal problems, walk outs, content having to be cut, etc. made me worried this was a broken game.

Turns out everything they promised is coming to fruition. So god damn excited about this.

[CowboyYojimbo]

Aptorius, on 25 March 2013 - 06:52 PM, said:

I was very excited about this game for a long time but in the last couple of months my enthusiasm cooled down a bit. All this talk of delays, internal problems, walk outs, content having to be cut, etc. made me worried this was a broken game.

Turns out everything they promised is coming to fruition. So god damn excited about this.

Anything cut is because Ken Levine wanted it cut. He never cuts anything because its too difficult (like Elizabeth and the Big Daddy), this is why some people quit. The delays and hard years of labour look like they definitely paid off.

Jakovasaurus, on 25 March 2013 - 06:15 PM, said:

I just caught Adam Sessler's review (I've always respected him as a video game review journalist). Bioshock Infinite looks like a release day purchase for me. I'm very pumped for this game.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=jchIi-vR_js

More high praise! Thanks for the link. I just listened to it once I saw he was putting up new footage.

[CowboyYojimbo]

Impressions so far

If you loved Bioshock, you will love this. I am absolutely enthralled.

The opening is moody and unsettling. An opening quote instantly gives a hint at how much of the story boils under the surface. Like the first game, you will want to walk (not run) through the world and truly immerse yourself as if you were there, looking at everything in the world as a piece of the whole. There is so much detail, and hints at the secrets in the plot.
The beautiful summer day visual of the city conflicts with all the little eerie and unnerving touches. Right from the start you know something is wrong and despite your character not just being a cipher this time, you really get in to the shoes of Booker, sharing in his confusion and struggle to follow his mission while trying to get a grip on just what the hell is going on.
Columbia is gorgeous and full of detail and history. Buildings dock and depart, stores are open, vendors line the streets, and kids play - running around. The Founder religion infests every inch of the city though. I got my first taste of being an outsider, as my own decision stemming from me not being a racist, led to the summer day bleeding in to violence. And it was not shy. Good people may find the game harder as this is no place for some men. The awfulness in the city is hidden away in corners. Just take a look.
More eerie touches descend, as anachronistic songs play.
Combat is extremely well done. I really love the original score. Something that is so far used very sparingly.
The game seems large as I have given my day off to it, and have only just met Elizabeth. The whole "chapter" around her introduction is masterfully done.

Not since Bioshock have I been able to immerse myself in a world like this. It's everything you loved plus all sorts of new. I'm really surprised with how plot is being given to me, especially since I can not formulate a theory and I usually find myself quite good at that. There is no doubt this tale will be remembered, and I know I have only just begun.

[Seiko]

I finished it.

What a gorgeously crafted, emotional journey of mindfuckery. I was left staring at my screen for minutes after beating it, never experienced that from a video game before. Few gripes here and there, but nothing major. Will definitely go down as one of my favourite games ever.

This post has been edited by Seiko: 28 March 2013 - 09:54 PM

[CowboyYojimbo]

Seiko, on 28 March 2013 - 09:52 PM, said:

I finished it.

What a gorgeously crafted, emotional journey of mindfuckery. I was left staring at my screen for minutes after beating it, never experienced that from a video game before. Few gripes here and there, but nothing major. Will definitely go down as one of my favourite games ever.

Glad to hear that Seiko! I've heard the final hours are incredible.
I have just arrived at Shanty Town. Should be able to put in some serious time tomorrow.

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

I'm not reading any of your posts because I don't want spoilers. I've started this game and it's good. My biggest complaint is that graphically it looks a little dated, in some ways worse than the original bioshock. There's also many differences between what was originally promised about the game and the final product. At this point pleased I bought it though.

[CowboyYojimbo]

It is finished.
That finale and ending was absolutely amazing. I just sat there in awe, and now it haunts me. One of the best games of all time.

[Defiance]

I have not read a single post in this thread because I want nothing spoiled for me. The only thing I knew about this game going in was that there was a city in the sky rather than one underwater, and there's some girl dressed up in blue. Basically, I only saw the original trailer a year or two ago (whenever it was first released), and read/watched nothing about the game. I don't do that often, but generally it's quite rewarding to go into a game with no idea what to expect.

Not sure how far am I in yet. I just got through the Wilkes temple. Taking my time to really enjoy the atmosphere, though. I gotta say, this was one of my favorite game openings of all time. The introduction to Rapture was fantastic, but this...the music, the visuals, all of it was beautiful and haunting at the same time.

No idea what to expect from the plot at this point. Still trying to piece together what's going on.

Spoiler

Really great setup. Is this the same lighthouse from Bioshock that leads to Rapture? Anyway, wandering up that lighthouse, I was sure that it was the people in Columbia who were trying to get me there. But no, it turns out someone wants me to go there to kidnap a girl (the big priest overseer's daughter, the "lamb" it seems). Mysterious notes, letters carved onto the back of my hand, no idea what's going on.

I knew something was off about the whole Utopian society, but I didn't expect anything like that (the guy and the black girl he'd slept with). I wonder what would have happened if I'd tried to throw the ball at her rather than at that asshat raffle guy? I'm guessing things would have played out the same. The atmosphere leading up to the raffle was fantastic, with all the games and carnival stuff.

Seeing the shrine to Wilkes Booth was very interesting. I'm wondering if these priests/worshipers are radicals, or if they represent the majority of Columbia.

So far religion and the White Man's Burden seem like they'll be the major themes of the game, but hell I'm just getting started, I'm sure there will be all sorts of stuff I could never imagine.

Anyway, just wanted to share my thoughts. Not really trying to guess where things are going because I'm just enjoying the ride.

[Cause]

Im just curious Im enjoying the game but a 90 on metacrtiic? Anyone else think the average reviewer seems just a little to enthused with this game?

[Traveller]

CowboyYojimbo, on 31 March 2013 - 08:03 PM, said:

It is finished.
That finale and ending was absolutely amazing. I just sat there in awe, and now it haunts me. One of the best games of all time.

It sounds good, but you're finished after four days?

[MTS]

An utter douchenozzle who I'm rather generously referring to as my friend at the moment just spoiled the fucking ending for me, and I just finished Memorial Gardens. When I wonder aloud where the story is going from here you're not supposed to fucking answer the question you assclown, it was clearly rhetorical.

[Defiance]

That man is not your friend. People who spoil any sort of entertainment material have a nice, burning corner of hell reserved just for their ilk.

And god damn, I'm enjoying this game so much. While I enjoyed the first Bioshock, I've never loved it the way many people seem to. Part of it may have been the fact that it came out when I was 15, and was more concerned with beating the game rather than enjoying the experience. I've replayed the game twice since then, and while I absolutely love the atmosphere I was never a big fan of the gameplay. It felt extremely repetitive and killing Big Daddies got old very quickly. Also, the fact that Jack never talks (well, once in the initial cutscene, but that hardly counts) always bothered me. As awesome as Rapture was, it's hard for me to get immersed in a character when they have absolutely no dialogue or emotions. I know that some people love this since it allows you to project yourself into the character (you are the main character), but it's never worked for me. If I want to be the character, I'm going to play an RPG where I can actually pick the dialogue, rather than being a mute running around in a relatively linear game.

But yes, this game is great. I'm taking the time to explore every nook and cranny, read all of the signs, and just soak in the environment. It's beautiful. I also like the fact that (small spoiler, as long as you've played at least a few hours of the game you can read)

Spoiler

Columbia is a city falling into anarchy/decay. It's a nice counter to Rapture, which was already in ruin when you arrived.

[Seiko]

The Audio in this game is superb. The voice acting, and especially the songs. The studio credits was a nice touch.

[CowboyYojimbo]

Defiance, on 02 April 2013 - 02:28 AM, said:

I have not read a single post in this thread because I want nothing spoiled for me. The only thing I knew about this game going in was that there was a city in the sky rather than one underwater, and there's some girl dressed up in blue. Basically, I only saw the original trailer a year or two ago (whenever it was first released), and read/watched nothing about the game. I don't do that often, but generally it's quite rewarding to go into a game with no idea what to expect.

Not sure how far am I in yet. I just got through the Wilkes temple. Taking my time to really enjoy the atmosphere, though. I gotta say, this was one of my favorite game openings of all time. The introduction to Rapture was fantastic, but this...the music, the visuals, all of it was beautiful and haunting at the same time.

No idea what to expect from the plot at this point. Still trying to piece together what's going on.

Spoiler

Really great setup. Is this the same lighthouse from Bioshock that leads to Rapture? Anyway, wandering up that lighthouse, I was sure that it was the people in Columbia who were trying to get me there. But no, it turns out someone wants me to go there to kidnap a girl (the big priest overseer's daughter, the "lamb" it seems). Mysterious notes, letters carved onto the back of my hand, no idea what's going on.

I knew something was off about the whole Utopian society, but I didn't expect anything like that (the guy and the black girl he'd slept with). I wonder what would have happened if I'd tried to throw the ball at her rather than at that asshat raffle guy? I'm guessing things would have played out the same. The atmosphere leading up to the raffle was fantastic, with all the games and carnival stuff.

Seeing the shrine to Wilkes Booth was very interesting. I'm wondering if these priests/worshipers are radicals, or if they represent the majority of Columbia.

So far religion and the White Man's Burden seem like they'll be the major themes of the game, but hell I'm just getting started, I'm sure there will be all sorts of stuff I could never imagine.

Anyway, just wanted to share my thoughts. Not really trying to guess where things are going because I'm just enjoying the ride.

How's it going? Glad your enjoying it.

Traveller, on 03 April 2013 - 09:38 AM, said:

CowboyYojimbo, on 31 March 2013 - 08:03 PM, said:

It is finished.
That finale and ending was absolutely amazing. I just sat there in awe, and now it haunts me. One of the best games of all time.

It sounds good, but you're finished after four days?

Don't worry, it's lengthy. At least if you really take the game in. Took me five really, was on call and got no work so I had nothing but time for it. It pretty much dominated my days.

MTS, on 03 April 2013 - 02:21 PM, said:

An utter douchenozzle who I'm rather generously referring to as my friend at the moment just spoiled the fucking ending for me, and I just finished Memorial Gardens. When I wonder aloud where the story is going from here you're not supposed to fucking answer the question you assclown, it was clearly rhetorical.

What exactly did he tell you? So much happens that what he told you could be minor or flat out wrong.

This post has been edited by CowboyYojimbo: 05 April 2013 - 01:00 AM

[MTS]

CowboyYojimbo, on 05 April 2013 - 12:54 AM, said:

Defiance, on 02 April 2013 - 02:28 AM, said:

I have not read a single post in this thread because I want nothing spoiled for me. The only thing I knew about this game going in was that there was a city in the sky rather than one underwater, and there's some girl dressed up in blue. Basically, I only saw the original trailer a year or two ago (whenever it was first released), and read/watched nothing about the game. I don't do that often, but generally it's quite rewarding to go into a game with no idea what to expect.

Not sure how far am I in yet. I just got through the Wilkes temple. Taking my time to really enjoy the atmosphere, though. I gotta say, this was one of my favorite game openings of all time. The introduction to Rapture was fantastic, but this...the music, the visuals, all of it was beautiful and haunting at the same time.

No idea what to expect from the plot at this point. Still trying to piece together what's going on.

Spoiler

Really great setup. Is this the same lighthouse from Bioshock that leads to Rapture? Anyway, wandering up that lighthouse, I was sure that it was the people in Columbia who were trying to get me there. But no, it turns out someone wants me to go there to kidnap a girl (the big priest overseer's daughter, the "lamb" it seems). Mysterious notes, letters carved onto the back of my hand, no idea what's going on.

I knew something was off about the whole Utopian society, but I didn't expect anything like that (the guy and the black girl he'd slept with). I wonder what would have happened if I'd tried to throw the ball at her rather than at that asshat raffle guy? I'm guessing things would have played out the same. The atmosphere leading up to the raffle was fantastic, with all the games and carnival stuff.

Seeing the shrine to Wilkes Booth was very interesting. I'm wondering if these priests/worshipers are radicals, or if they represent the majority of Columbia.

So far religion and the White Man's Burden seem like they'll be the major themes of the game, but hell I'm just getting started, I'm sure there will be all sorts of stuff I could never imagine.

Anyway, just wanted to share my thoughts. Not really trying to guess where things are going because I'm just enjoying the ride.

How's it going? Glad your enjoying it.

Traveller, on 03 April 2013 - 09:38 AM, said:

CowboyYojimbo, on 31 March 2013 - 08:03 PM, said:

It is finished.
That finale and ending was absolutely amazing. I just sat there in awe, and now it haunts me. One of the best games of all time.

It sounds good, but you're finished after four days?

Don't worry, it's lengthy. At least if you really take the game in. Took me five really, was on call and got no work so I had nothing but time for it. It pretty much dominated my days.

MTS, on 03 April 2013 - 02:21 PM, said:

An utter douchenozzle who I'm rather generously referring to as my friend at the moment just spoiled the fucking ending for me, and I just finished Memorial Gardens. When I wonder aloud where the story is going from here you're not supposed to fucking answer the question you assclown, it was clearly rhetorical.

What exactly did he tell you? So much happens that what he told you could be minor or flat out wrong.

Spoiler

He told me that Elizabeth is your daughter and that you are both Booker DeWitt and Comstock.

This post has been edited by MTS: 05 April 2013 - 03:26 AM

[Defiance]

Beat it an hour or two ago.

I'm still digesting everything. I think this is one of my favorite video game endings ever. So good, and I did not see it coming in the slightest. I had a number of crazy theories, but I didn't connect the dots (and a lot of it was certainly there to connect!).

This said, the game wasn't perfect. It would have been nice to have some more choices in terms of combat. Such as

Spoiler

during the Vox rebellion, it would have been cool if you could have used stealth to slip past all of the fighting, or even donned a Vox uniform in order to fight at their side.

I thought the parts where the game really shined was where there was no combat at all. For example:

Spoiler

The awesome beginning, the unforgettable meeting with Elizabeth, the ending.

I felt that there were too many times when the combat was at odds with everything else. While it was certainly enjoyable, I just felt that there was too much of it; I would have much rather spent more time interacting with the citizens of Columbia, getting into the city's past, and so on.

Also, something that I absolutely love: the song.

Spoiler

"Will the Circle Be Unbroken" greets you as you first enter Columbia. It's beautiful and makes for an awesome opening, but I didn't find myself paying too much attention to the words. When the song played after the credits (and sung by the voice actors! That was great!) I actually listened to the lyrics and was surprised at just how well they fit the entire story (obviously, with Columbia taking the place of heaven/the sky).

This post has been edited by Defiance: 11 April 2013 - 06:49 PM

[CowboyYojimbo]

I agree. The best parts of these games are all outside of combat.

Spoiler

Moments like singing to the child in the basement bar. Though The Hand of the Prophet battle was fantastic. I was hoping to see a bit more of Columbia, like an agriculture sector or under the city where all the works are. I liked the Emporia-ish area the old trailers showed where The Vox were moving people out of there homes and were not immediately hostile to you.

The song choices are fantastic.

Spoiler

It's the same when hearing the lyrics "God only knows what I'd be without you" during the credits. Chill inducing.

[Jakovasaurus]

Just finished!

H-O-L-Y . . S-H-I-T !!! What a mind fuck! The game is, itself, one big easter egg! Play this and have your head 'slpoded!