Thematically, Infinite is similarly scattershot. Infinite offers you choices several times during the game, but they seem to have no significance whatsoever. But dressing up bog-standard FPS conventions as something brave and innovative is the definition of pretentious. Could it be any less imaginative? There's nothing wrong with the tears functionally. Infinite's interpretation? Gun turrets, medkit stations, and cover. Think what you could do with such a power! You could kick an enemy into a land filled with dinosaurs, or drop a spaceship onto an opponent's head.
#BIOSHOCK INFINITE VIGORS MENU WINDOWS#
These are windows into parallel universes which can be opened by DeWitt's companion Elizabeth. This, coupled with the fact that Infinite is a strictly linear experience that nevertheless offers the player side-quests, appear to be the lingering ghosts of a larger game.Īt least the skyrails are still fun to play with, which is more than can be said for the Tears. The skyrails, great arches of suspended metal which are ostensibly used to travel between islands, and looked so impressive in early footage of the game, are more often than not limited to tiny closed loops that bear little resemblance to their initial presentation. How precisely do they work? Why do so few of Colombia's inhabitants use them when they are so readily available? And how come they haven't resulted in the same downfall of society that BioShock's Plasmids caused? Infinite's Vigors seem to exist for one reason - BioShock had them.Īs the game progresses, more such inconsistencies reveal themselves. But they lack the same grounding within the world. They're Infinite's equivalent of BioShock's Plasmids. At this funfair the player is introduced to Vigors, rehabilitative tonics that imbue the drinker with magical powers. It's also here where the seams of Infinite become visible for the first time. In return, DeWitt reveals his own ugly side in explosively violent fashion.
It isn't long however before Colombia reveals its ugly side, at a fairground where onlookers throw baseballs at a mixed-race couple. It's sweet to the point of being saccharine, a peaceful and devout candyland for American exceptionalism. Instead, attractive, smartly dressed couples chat idly on park benches, while a barbershop-quartet sings arrangements of modern tunes standing atop a flying gondola. Colombia is devoid of the grim horror that ravaged Rapture. There's magic in Columbia's initial reveal, its gently bobbing buildings framed against a backdrop of brilliant blue sky. Whereas the first game's protagonist crashed down from the sky and descended into Rapture, Booker DeWitt, ascends from the ocean into Zachary Comstock's floating utopia.
Nevertheless, Infinite still has the capacity to wow, certainly at the beginning, presenting us with a clever inversion of the original BioShock's introduction. What we see when we play Infinite is a glimpse of a much larger and more cohesive game that was ultimately chopped up, thinned out and stapled back together in order to ship a product. Like the City of Colombia itself, Infinite is a drifting archipelago of ideas held together by the flimsiest of connections. This scene, which originally took place in an entirely different context, is one of the most noticeable changes in BioShock's release version.īut the central problem with BioShock Infinite is that it so rarely does come together. When it all comes together, the skyrails, Vigors and tears all make for some colourful and dynamic combat. How many other FPS' do you know that attempt to tackle themes ranging from religion to the physics of spacetime, that addresses topics such as racism and the oppression of the working classes? I also still believe that, as an FPS, it's a fun one. In terms of its ambition, BioShock Infinite is a shooter that's second to none. I can understand where I was coming from.
#BIOSHOCK INFINITE VIGORS MENU PC#
Yet as I am about to take an extended break from both gaming and writing in anticipation of the birth of my daughter, I felt a strong urge to revisit this particular landmark in my life, as a form of taking stock, I guess.Īfter playing Infinite through a second time, I dug out my original review of the game (written for Custom PC Magazine) and was surprised to find myself describe it as "the pinnacle of what the mainstream FPS can offer." Three years down the line, I couldn't feel further from that assertion. I recall enjoying it at the time, but haven't thought about it much since that initial playthrough due to the tsunami of games that have demanded my attention since. BioShock Infinite was one of the very first games I covered professionally. It's a peculiar sensation, looking back at another version of yourself and thinking "really?".
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