Bioshock: Infinite First Impressions

We had a chance to catch Bioshock: Infinite in action backstage at the 2K booth and it looks quite intriguing. The demonstration was pretty uptight… no photos, filming or even audio recording (god forbid I have some audio to reference in my notes), however it was still very exciting to see it live.

Bioshock: Infinite packs the same style of political conflict we saw in the original title. Except this time around instead of showing up after the action is pretty much over, you’re right in the middle of it. The game is set in 1912 in a fictional city of Columbia, ripped apart by a civil war.

In our demo, we followed the adventure of Booker DeWitt, a disgraced former agent of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, who is escorting a woman by the name Elizabeth. We quickly learn that Elizabeth possesses special powers; being able to manipulate “tears” in the fabric of space and time. Not only is she a central figure to the civil war conflict of Columbia, she is also being chased by Songbird, a very large, robotic bird-like creature.

The game does look very vibrant and compared to the original seems to provide a lot more roaming room with vast open environments. The action does get very intense at times, to a point where it almost felt overwhelming. It’s hard to judge from just watching a demo, so we’ll have to make our final conclusions on combat when we can get our hands on the game.

One thing that we did notice in the demo is that the gameplay is definitely fast paced. This is facilitated in part by the “rails” which intertwine around Columbia, allowing you to latch on and ride them like a roller-coaster. This definitely opens up many possibilities when it comes to combat as you are no longer confined to specific areas where you can take cover. If the action gets too heated for you, just jump on the rail and take off. But keep in mind that running away is not the answer, your enemies will follow suit and ride the rails along with you, taking the action to the skies. The rails also act as a transport system of sorts allowing you to quickly get places where you normally couldn’t by just simply walking. As an example, during the demo, DeWitt had to board a zeppelin high up in the sky in order to take it out. He hooked onto one rail, then jumped over to another, and another, and in just a matter of seconds, he soared up towards his target.

Bioshock: Infinite got my attention. I thoroughly enjoyed the original, but as a gamer who is more used to games with a steady pace, I’m interested to see how this title will accommodate my gaming style.