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Bioshock Infinite (2 Viewers)

DaveF

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How's Bioshick Infinte on the Xbox 360?I'm about ready to buy, but the review at IGN was a little tiny bit down on the consoles. Tell the game is good and console is fun, and I'm there :)
 

mattCR

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I've been playing on the PS3.. it's very different. I'm undecided because I can't really figure it out. I like storyline games, but this one seems very convoluted.. it is beautiful though. (I have not played any of the prior Bioshock games). But graphically, on the PS3 it's one of the better looking games I've seen
 

DaveF

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Cool.

Bioshock is great, and a favorite. Bioshock 2 is good, in a more of the same way. And it's probably time I left the radioactive wastelands of Fallout 3 :)
 

DaveF

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(I was too busy playing to comment, except for a blurb in the other thread)I played the intro, got past the Fireman. I like it. It's a tough comparison, because the original is brilliant. Stylistically, it's a neat change from enclosed underwater to wide open sky. And thematically it moves from mocking Ayn-Randian, atheistic individualism to now taking on organized religion and (it seems) nationalism.
 

DaveF

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Reactions:Violent. It feels more violent than Bioshock, which is saying something. It might be because of the up close and personal nature of the violence. And I've not played a big swath of modern FPS (missed Quake 3 through Mass Effect 3).It's bright and gorgeous but still an Xbox 360 game. This is as colorful and bright, as Fallout is monochrome and dark. The vistas and breathtaking in the beginning...but it's still obviously the limit of is hardware. It's not that big a leap over games from a few years ago. NPCs look and move more naturally, but are still plastic.UI is clean. I played Portal 2 back to back with Bioshock 2, which are opposites in UI 'chrome'. Portal has no user data on screen, except the portal gun. Bioshock two has you wrapped in a deep-sea helmet, giving you tunnel vision, with all the health, gun, tonic indicators on top of that. It felt claustrophobic in comparison.BI continues its open-sky theme into the UI, at least into the beginning. The UI is minimal, takes up no room to speak of, and is great so far. Finally, the "I'm lost" help is brilliant. Now that its been done, you wonder why it hasn't been the standard for the past 20 years.
 

Don Giro

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I bought it for my PS3 on Saturday, and got a few hours in yesterday.

I only played the first Bioshock for an hour or so (I WILL get back to it one of these days), and I must say, I really love the slow build-up with this game. It's much better if you haven't read any of the reviews so far and just dive in, because right from the start, there's a great feeling of "where am I? Where am I going? What am I supposed to do...and what am I doing here?" And that's BEFORE you get to the "pretty" stuff. I'd LOVE to define the moment that let me know I was in for a great time, but I don't want to give ANYTHING away. Some pne PM me so I can talk about it! :)

The game is gorgeous. I'm one of those players that likes to check out every nook and cranny I encounter, and that really helped with the slow build-up. It was a good hour before I even had a weapon in my hands. I was blown away when I was finally confronted with what Columbia was really all about. I love all the kinetoscopes you find on the way that show "silent films" depicting the history of the surroundings. I'm willing to bet that the story in the first game is better (but I have yet to discover what's really going on there), but it's a great ride so far.

The first game is included as a bonus feature, too!
 

mattCR

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The kinetiscopes, etc. are awesome. I do wonder about the bonus feature.. I say this because I rented "Bioshock Infinite" first (Redbox) before buying, and low and behold the Bioshock 1 install stuck. Weird. Talk about a cheap way to get a game if you just want Bioshock1.
 

Jeff Cooper

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mattCR said:
The kinetiscopes, etc. are awesome. I do wonder about the bonus feature.. I say this because I rented "Bioshock Infinite" first (Redbox) before buying, and low and behold the Bioshock 1 install stuck. Weird. Talk about a cheap way to get a game if you just want Bioshock1.
I do believe that you still have to have the disc in the console to play the original, even though the install is still there.
 

Dave Upton

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I'm really enjoying it so far. The overall feel of the game is very enjoyable, especially the way it mocks organized religion without being too overtly opinionated. The extra touches like the kinetoscopes and lore scattered around the world makes for a much more engaging experience.
 

DaveF

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How do you get Bioshock 1 from Infinite? It's just installed automatically? I'll look for that next time I play. I've gotten to the skylines. Wow! It's going to take some more play to get the hang of them, particularly the dismount. But this is a new and exciting experience from the first two.I also like that they've streamlined the experience and made improvements to the controls. Searching items used to give an option to take any of the three items found, in addition to the take all choice. That extra moment to decide what to take slowed the game done a little. The design choice to have only Take All streamlines the game for me, removing a frivolous decision that hade to be made hundreds of times throughout the game.As I mentioned, the UI is significantly paired down, which goes with the feel of being in a wide open, sky city.So far, the maps are more linear, and the guide to next checkpoint is making it go faster. In Bioshock, I was chronically bringing up the map, searching for the next location, scanning for unexplored rooms. The more complex layout added to the deep feel of the game, but it slowed it down. Again, I'm moving faster there, not getting pulled out of the experience as much.With that, Bioshocks maps were quite twisty at times, taking me through rooms multiple times, with lots of circular loops up and down stairs. Infinite, so far, is more linear. This, I like too.I'm not far enough along to say for sure, but the acquisition of Vigors is may be better done than that of Plasmids. Those were purchased with Adam, which came in bigger chunks, less frequently. Vigors seem to get upgrades purchased with Silver, as with health and salts. Silver comes on a near constant flow of small quantities, which might reduce the anxiety in upgrading Vigors that I had in spending my rare Adam for Plasmids. But, well see. The Voxphones and Kinetoscopes are essentially identical to their predecessors in Bioshock, and remain an effective way to tell the story. Vending machines are toned down. Circus of Values and Ammo Bandito were quite the raucous pair; the new machines are pretty unobtrusive.The one oddity, is the Vigors. The acquisition of plasmids was more visceral; Vigors are like drinking some whiskey. And in getting a Plasmid, the explanation felt a little more integrated into the story mechanics. Now it's just a piece that pops up from nowhere to explain the Vigor' use. I haven't figured out how to set which two Vigors get toggled by my Left shoulder button. I need to check the manual for that. I'm hoping the switching of Vigors is overall better than Plasmids; I had control problems with that on the original, always finding myself switching to the wrong Plasmid accidentally. This game is going very well so far. The more I play, the more I like it. I expect the original will remain the best of the three for me. It really hit the mark on story, design, and originality. But I think that others will equally find Infinite preferable, with its bright skyline views over dark sub-oceanic rooms and take on religiosity instead of capitalism.
 

DavidMiller

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This is definitely my favorite game of the last year or more. It is nice to have a great storyline even if it is a little morbid. The graphics are excellent and it has just the right amount of creepy soundtrack. I agree with the control improvements allow the game to move along. I beat the game on normal in about 21 hours. Started through on 1999 mode now. I'm not looking forward to the last couple battles.

I give it a 10 of 10. My only complaint would be that it is just a tad rail driven would love it to be just a little more open. Given they did Bioshock but not Bioshock 2 and have been working on it since the first one I would have love to have more building to move through.
 

Morgan Jolley

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Bioshock 1 is only included in the PS3 version of the game. When you pop the game in, you'll see an option to install it from the XMB.

I started playing Infinite last night and so far my reaction is mixed. It's definitely good but I feel like it's a little off somehow, like maybe they spent too much time developing the world and not enough time developing the mechanics. Honestly, I just wish they'd abandon the shooting and make it more of a first person adventure with some chase/action sequences. The gunfights get in the way of just enjoying the game.

Also, I read a spoiler on how the game ends and now there is a big mystery surrounding an event from the first game that's being discussed online. I won't spoil it but if you're adventurous, look it up. It's pretty interesting! I remember Ken Levine saying that they did something big with Infinite that hasn't been done before and I'm wondering if that was it. If that thing WAS what he's referring to, then it makes me think people will start playing through Bioshock 1 and Infinite while paying close attention to every last detail.
 

Don Giro

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I'm one of those that prefers exploration over shooting for the most part (Skyrim has the best of both worlds for me: lotsa shooting, yes, but a gigantic world for me to explore without killing something every 15 seconds). As I said earlier, I played Bioshock Infinite for a good hour before anyone came at me with a weapon, and it beautifully set the mood, so much to the point that I said to myself "Maybe there's just not that much shooting in this game at all," I'd probably be fine with that. But it IS a First Person Shooter after all; I'm just glad that it's got a good story to follow, and it's set in a world that is unlike most of the other FPS games I've played. The world it's set in is wildly inventive and beautifully realized without the bleakness or sci-fi/fantasy settings of most other games of this genre, and that makes for a better game.

I mentioned before that I only got about an hour into the first Bioshock a year or so ago before abandoning it (temporarily) to play Arkham City, Uncharted 3, and lotsa Skyrim (which I need to get back to...it's probably my favorite game of all time). Plus, thanks to specials on Steam, I'm also knee-deep in Torchlight 2 (it's on sale NOW for $10 on Steam), Cities XL, and Titan Quest. I really love the atmosphere of the first Bioshock, especially all tha art deco and advertising. I'm not deep enough into the story to realize what Rapture is all about, but the weirdness of the "things" attacking me takes me out of the game a little. I plan to get back to in when I finish Infinite...

My biggest complaint so far is that the NPCs walking around and sittlng on benches are useless for the most part; there's no interaction whatsoever other than the occasional snippet of "dialogue" that kind of fits the atmosphere.
 

DaveF

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On the whole, I don't like the lack of manual save. It's nice to not think about saving, it's not good to have to choose to play 30 min longer and later than I want to reach the next savepoint, or lose 15+ min of gameplay to quit when I want.I also don't like not being ale to save before a big event, to be able to replay and take it in more thoroughly. In gameplay, I reached Monument Island. Exiting that location was quite the movie experience. I would have liked more involvement, but it was a nicely crafted event.
 

Morgan Jolley

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I'm starting to dislike the violence and shooting of the game more and more, which is what I've also seen posted on game websites.

Also, if you want to relive certain moments, there is a 3.5 hour playthrough of the story moments of the game uploaded on YouTube. That's an option, I guess?
 

DaveF

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Morgan Jolley said:
Bioshock 1 is only included in the PS3 version of the game. When you pop the game in, you'll see an option to install it from the XMB.1
That's unfortunate, as I have a 360. Any idea why they give the original for free on PS3 but not Xbox?
DavidMiller said:
This is definitely my favorite game of the last year or more. It is nice to have a great storyline even if it is a little morbid. The graphics are excellent and it has just the right amount of creepy soundtrack. I agree with the control improvements allow the game to move along. I beat the game on normal in about 21 hours. Started through on 1999 mode now. I'm not looking forward to the last couple battles.

I give it a 10 of 10. My only complaint would be that it is just a tad rail driven would love it to be just a little more open. Given they did Bioshock but not Bioshock 2 and have been working on it since the first one I would have love to have more building to move through.
I'm perhaps halfway through. I don't regret paying full price for it so far (I don't think I've paid full price for a game since 1984... Well maybe since then, but the last several years, I've been borrowing more than buying :)
Morgan Jolley said:
I'm starting to dislike the violence and shooting of the game more and more, which is what I've also seen posted on game websites.

Also, if you want to relive certain moments, there is a 3.5 hour playthrough of the story moments of the game uploaded on YouTube. That's an option, I guess?
Today I played the first section with 'tears', and then the first section involving action and overhead rails. (I'd say more, but I can't find the "spoilers' button on the new interface)

Because the action is sparse, I've not had time to get used to the system. I also don't have a good feeling for the behavior of the different weapons, which makes it difficult to know which two I should carry. Likewise, I'm only starting to get a feel for how the Vigors behave.

Now tears are introduced: the first battle with them was more frustrating than awesome. Tears are activated with the B button, which is also how you activate everything else. So as I'm trying to get a Tear to be available, I'm instead getting all the weapons lying around popping up to be swapped out, while enemies are shooting the heck out of me. And I can't get the right Tear to activate. By the end of the fight, it started to make some sense to me. And because there's no user game save, I could choose to replay the battle to enjoy it more having learned some gameplay lessons.

The next fight, involving the Rails, had me zooming around as on a roller coaster, completely confused as to what I was supposed to do. It's beginning to sink in that the battles are spread out, allow for varying tactics, and when there are weapons in specific locations it's probably for a reason. I need to learn to find a hiding place, and scope out the fight to understand it. This is not a game where I can wade in to a mass of enemies and come out unscathed.

Some of this would be easier if I were playing keyboard and mouse (the one true way for a FPS), but I'm a console gamer these days, so I'll compensate.

None of this is to say that I dislike the game. I had some learning pangs and frustrations as the game complexities emerge. Fortunately, death is a forgiving process. Money, health and salts are reasonably available. (I'm not sure how I feel about lock picks yet.)

The section with Slate was fascinating. The next plot turn at the airship was intriguing and I'm looking forward to what comes next.

If the game is as short as everyone says, I could see re-playing it.
 

Morgan Jolley

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Bioshock 1 is free for PS3 for two reasons: Sony paid for the exclusive and it's included on the BD-ROM disc, which wouldn't fit on a 360 DVD. Sony pushed this last year or the year before as a big "exclusive to PS3" thing and touted it as being a benefit of Bluray.

I read a good critique on the game that focused on why the gameplay fails compared to how Bioshock 1's gameplay succeeded. In almost every way, the themes of Bioshock 1 were used for gameplay (why you use guns, why most enemies don't use guns, the Big Daddies being the only special enemies, the reason for the plasmids, etc.) and it made sense. For Infinite, the gameplay parts (varied special enemies, everyone is shooting, the game becomes ultraviolent in a split second, the vigors, etc.) have no relation to the themes of the game (religion and patriotism, etc.). I'm starting to think that Bioshock Infinite is this generation's Metal Gear Solid 2. The first one was so good that early and immediate reviews for the sequel are phenomenal, when in actuality it's a disappointing sequel and changes things up for the worse, but nobody will realize that until a few months after release. Another example I read was that it's like Godfather 3; very good but disappointing considering its pedigree.
 

Aaron Silverman

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IIRC, Bioshock 1 was a PC/ XBox exclusive for a long time before the PS3 version was released. Payback! :)

I also think the original PS3 edition included some content that had been DLC on the PC and XBox, but those are hazy days. . .
 

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