BioShock Infinite - Xbox 360

I am a big fan of both BioShock 1 and 2 and Infinite is a remarkable new entry into the series. The graphics are incredibly clear and the environment is so very different from the original duet, set in a lofty Quantum Mechanics driven city in the skies against the original Libertarian underwater refuge. The enemies as well as the weapons are original and distinctive in many regards, from the mechanical Patriot robot warriors and "Handymen" to the variety of magical tonic driven powers reminiscent, while not mere repetition, of the original games. One of the most defining features of this game is that it is not simply combat driven as most games are today; the story and the atmosphere equally play into the motivations for playing it. The society of Columbia is a brilliant work of alternative historical fiction, grounded as it is in real social issues of turn of the century America. Even while the country was at the height of humanist optimism, it was also built on the shoulders of the oppressed masses of immigrants and descendants of the slaves. The stark rhetoric of the prophetic quasi-Christian movement at the heart of the society is thus set in savage contrast with the injustices and rampant racism against the wage-slaves that propel the industrialized city. The result is that you will enjoy the sections where there is no combat just as much as the fight scenes. At times it feels like going to some sort of warped Disney exhibit and is really chilling in its brilliant exposure of the racist tendencies in historic American culture. I won't say much about the actual story-line as I don't want to ruin it to new players, but it is a gripping and engaging story line that pulls you right through to the end. My one complaint is that the game severely limits how much you can save. The checkpoints sometimes are close together, but at other times it is shocking how long you have to go before another savepoint. This can get quite annoying at moments and my wife in particular complained about this feature, particularly considering that this was a big change from the original games. At least it is not an issue of having to reload the checkpoint when you die, instead you are resurrected and a monetary fine is taken for the respawn, but it is annoying that sometimes you have to play for a long time before it will save which is annoying at times. But in the larger scheme this is a small caveat to an otherwise incredible journey that will entertain and excite a wide variety of gamers.

Bioshock Infinite is just about everything I've spent the last three years or so dreaming it would be. Many of the more cynical folks out there seem to be annoyed by all of the glowing praise this game is getting. Personally, I can understand how this game could drive even a professional critic to embarrassing hyperbole. Bioshock was always in a 3-way tie with Dead Space and Assassin's Creed as my #1 favorite new franchise that started this console gen. The shoddy and bug-ridden AC3 late last year pretty much knocked it out of the running. I really enjoyed Dead Space 3 last month, in spite of some changes I didn't agree with. This game puts Bioshock way, way out in front. I definitely have a clear winner in mind now. What I *really* want to comment on is how much of a shame it is that last week's exclusive IGN review poisoned the waters for those who will play the console versions of this game. Their reviewer went out of his way to point out that the Xbox and PS3 versions are not as graphically impressive as the PC version (gee thanks for the news, Capt. Obvious) and he accused them of having "sub-par lo-res textures, even for consoles" or something along those lines. As soon as that review went up, the disappointment spread like wildfire. Gaming forums all across the internet were awash in the blood and tears of console owners who were devastated to hear that Bioshock Infinite was disappointingly not up to snuff. Well, I'm happy to tell you that, thankfully, it's a big load of b.s. As far as 360 games go, Bioshock Infinite looks absolutely fantastic. It compares with games like Gears of War Judgement and Halo 4 in virtually the same way that Bioshock 1 compared with Gears 1 and Halo 3. Like any 360 game, including Halo 4, if you go looking for blurry textures you will find them. Some textures are not meant to be viewed up close, jackass. Bottom line, this game is beautiful, even on the 360. If you haven't played the PC version, you should have no cause for disappointment. And y'know, even if the graphics did suck, the awesome game play would make up for it. This is way more of a robust shooter than either Bioshock 1 or 2 ever were. And don't get me started on the sound. I just bought a set of Astro A40 headphones w/ mixamp last week, and using them while playing this game is proof enough that they were worth every penny. I admit I did see one flaw in this game: They dropped the "save anywhere" system (which I always abused and will not apologize for that) and converted to a typical checkpoint/auto-save. In a lot of games, this wouldn't bother me at all. But in Bioshock, where you spend so much of your time roaming around huge areas scrounging for resources in every nook and cranny you can find, this is a big mistake. It really sucks when you get killed and have to back and re-scrounge everything you'd spent the last 10 minutes gathering. Also, I felt some mild disappointment when I realized that some of the cooler/weirder new game play features shown in demos back in 2010 and 2011 ended up on the cutting room floor. But all in all, this doesn't even put a dent in the overall quality. Nothing worth removing a star over. EDIT Oct 2016: A Bioshock Remaster Collection was recently released and I picked up the PS4 version. I played through Bioshock 1 and loved it as much as I ever did, but when I tried to play the Bioshock Inifinite remaster, I just couldn't stick with it. I loved it when it came out in early 2013, but it just doesn't stand the test of time.

After playing the first BioShock I was blown away by the story, the gameplay, everything about it. However after playing BioShock 2 I was disappointed, it did not live up to the first game. The game was okay, not spectacular or great.and definitely forgettable. When I heard about BioShock Infinite I was initially suspicious. I thought that after BioShock 2 that there was no way this game could live up to the first. I was wrong. This game is great. You are Booker DeWitt a former Pinkerton Agent sent to get a girl named Elizabeth from a flying city of Columbia. You are told to get the girl and take her to New York in order to pay of a debt. Columbia is nothing short of a masterpiece. The gameplay is similar to the first BioShock; ie the Plasmids are now Vigors and EVE is now Salts. Unlike the first BioShock you can only carry two weapons at a time forcing you to make choices on what to carry. One of my favorite things about the game is the Skylines. They're roller coaster-like rails that you attach to using a SkyHook which is also your melee weapon. In the game you get into these arena areas where one or two Skylines are present and give you access to various parts of the arena. So you can basically fight however you wish. My other favorite thing in the game is Elizabeth, the girl you are sent to get. Once you reach her you find out she has the ability to open tears. Tears are portal-like things to an alternate reality or dimension. During combat she can give you ammo, salts, and health if you need it. She can also bring weapons, turrets, covers, and many other things in your world to help you in your fight. Elizabeth is one of the best animated characters in a videogame I've seen and you don't have to worry about babysitting her; she's invincible. The only negative thing I can say about it; is that in the middle of the game it drags slightly. The combat is fun but in the middle of the game feels a bit repetitive but it doesn't last long. Other than that the game is amazing I heavily recommend it.

I've enjoyed this game so much. Everything about it is fascinating, mostly because the setting, characters and plot are all incredibly original and breathtakingly imaginative. Also, the is the most beautiful game I've ever played. The world is just gorgeous beyond words. During a large portion of the game, you're paired with a bot named Elizabeth, Usually, I hate bots. Most bots just get in your way, and spend a lot of time screaming "help me" and generally being a giant pain in the asre. Not Elizabeth. She is amazingly helpful. She picks locks, looks for treasure/useful items, heals your wounds occasionally, brings you ammo and other useful things during combat. She hides out of sight during most of the fights, and I've never had to drop everything and run to her aid. Her dialogue is complex, interesting, and entertaining. Elizabeth is more like a very helpful friend than an annoying, useless bot. I really missed her company, and her assistance, during the few chapters that we were apart. Combat was slick, instinctive, wonderfully unique, and a helluva lot of fun. Treasure and and gear were also quite novel and extremely well planned. The "monsters" were brilliant in design and execution. The mini games were very enjoyable, and all of the side diversions were entertaining. The one downside to this game are the save points, You really can't save the game. You have to make it to a certain point in the story before you can leave the game..If you're not at a save point, then next time you power up you're going to be forced to replay 5 -15 minutes worth of story. Not much of a hardship, given how enjoyable this game is, but it irks me personally when you can't save anytime you wish. Bioshock Infinite was the best game I have ever played. Looking forward to playing the DLC.

I have encountered at least three places in the game where I could not proceed at the end of a chapter, or I got stuck ("glued" to a wall or corner). But the most frustrating part is that the final battle which is very long and has an exponentially increased level of difficulty from the rest of the game. I played on Normal up until the Zeppelin battle which is so bad it left me wishing the developers responsible for this rot in Hell. Not to mention the story seems to be written by drug addicts. The overall art (but especially the steam-punk themed flying city) was the only part I liked in this game. The controls are frustrating when using vigors, since you can only have two that you can switch between with a press of a button, to equip others you need to hold the left bumper and select from a menu. I did put up with it through the game, but the last battle may require swift selection of the vigor that's best for a given enemy (for example I wanted to switch from Crows to Shock Jockey when going from battling foot soldier to engaging Patriots) and that's where the controls really suck. Overall I feel like this was a waste of money and time and I wish there was a Lemon Law that applied to video games (or software in general), so that makers of crap like this would go out of business.

Great game. Beautiful scenery. The idea of a floating city-marvelous. The tongue in cheek comments about our society and religion- priceless. The concept of multiple timelines and dimensions was awesome. But shame they didn't incorporate at least one without violence. If you are the average gamer you will likely love this game. If you have grown tired of games that use killing as the only solution to everything and are looking to do more than combine various weapon to kill more and better it will perhaps lead you to ask a few questions. I enjoyed the jabs at political and social engineering propaganda. I even appreciated the fact that it showed political change as just another bloody power lust and the rather mystical ending. The people who put this game together seem to be both politically and socially aware. I just wish they would have spent a bit more time exploring the positive side of that mystical element and not fall prey to shooting everything in sight...like 90% of the games available for the XBOX. Isn’t it time that gaming embrace more than dumb puzzles and gunplay. I wanted to finish the game so I could write this review, and it had a good ending, but I really had to force myself to keep killing everything in sight. Aren’t we over killing yet?? The folks who did this game are obviously very bright. How about a sequel where the fight for freedom ends in a society where we don’t buy into a choice between two types of violence and imprisonment. Can we visit a lighthouse that looks more like Fresco’s Venus Project??? Can we combine political intrigue with plots to liberate free energy from corporations and end with a better world? No one is writing games that show the real struggle of going from a consumer society where most people live in poverty to one where our basic needs are REALLY provided for without trying to dominate others. How about it folks? Perhaps a combination world of the early Fable series with some quantum physics and positive social engineering. And if you accept the challenge please make it run on the 360 platform. I am not going to do the Xbox One. There simply aren’t enough unique games to hold my interest anymore. I’m tired of killing and solving dumb puzzles.

I'm giving this game 5 stars because the gameplay was fun, the music was great, the story was a unique take on nationalism/communism/quantum physics, and the visual style was brand new. This is to emotion what Fallout 2 is to survival. Gameplay - The "plasmids" have been improved in a big way. In Bioshock, we had lightning blast, fire blast, ice blast, wind blast, etc. This has a tentacle you can use to grab people across the map and pull them in front of you, a murder of crows that distracts enemies and nests in their corpses, a shield that grabs incoming bullets and throws them back at enemies, and 5 others, all upgradable. Tears let you summon cover, ammo, health, sentries, mechs, weapons and access points, giving you a little more freedom in choosing a combat style. The rails you use to travel across levels, as well as numerous hidden supply caches, encourage a more movement-based combat style as opposed to the camping and ducking most FPS games have us familiar with. You can mix and match different sets of clothes to get your desired effects applied, like leeching or auto-reload. There's not much in the way of bosses, since the big bad guys in this game are weaker than you, and rightfully so since you're a Pinkerton enforcer. The music is touching. It's a mix of prototypical 60s hits, original compositions, classical music and gospel. The sound effects for the weapons, the voice acting, and the ambient noise are all carefully constructed and it shows. A lot of work went into the art direction and atmosphere. Propaganda artwork like we saw in Bioshock is prevalent and varied. Irrational was going for a 1912 feel and they nailed it. The heavily political storyline was approached with maturity and restraint. What I thought would either be a colonial justification echo chamber or a white guilt party actually ended up portraying both sides pretty negatively. The story ended up moving away from politics and into a meditation on time and space, and this is when the story really took off. Irrational didn't go the easy route and pluck random events from their imagination. They made every jump necessary. They wanted to make us intimately aware of the weight of Booker's decision that I'm not going to spoil here. The last part of the ending didn't make a lot of sense, but it was presented beautifully.

First, let me give the game it's due. The graphics are lovely, the voice acting is top notch, and the story is intriguing. Where the game suffers is the gameplay, which, as you might imagine is up there in terms of important elements in a game. The principal problems are (1) the game feels utterly linear and (2) combat is dull and repetitive (with one exception, but no spoilers here). To the first point, there are no decisions that felt like they mattered in any way, unlike the previous two BioShock games. Sure, you can take detours and find hidden items but that gets tiresome after the first few. It's also hurts replayability. To the second point, you can only carry two weapons at a time and they don't function too differently (unlike, say, a drill being differently from a gun). And none of the enemies are all that different from other enemies. After a while, the game just felt tedious, though I felt compelled to finish for the sake of the story. And finish it I did, to my great relief. Very glad to be done. I accept that I'm in the decided minority in my opinion of the game, and perhaps I'm just not a fan of the linear-story-telling genre, but just because you enjoyed the first two BioShock games doesn't mean you'll like this one.

Just wow never played Gane like this! Totally awesome a must buy game for Xbox 360! You must play THIS!

If you're a fan of the franchise, you can not afford to pass this game up. If you're not a fan of the franchise there's no reason not play it anyways. There's only one tiny link to the first two games so you need not play them to appreciate this near perfect game. This is almost certainly the most beautifully crafted game I've ever played. The colors, the environments, the music, the characters, everything is flawless. And to top off the most visually pleasing title you'll play for a while, the story is next-level good. The game-play is very similar to Bioshock 1 & 2. It's very tight and delivers a very satisfying play through every time you play. I can't say enough good things about this game, 10/10.

Let me start off by saying, the Bioshock series as a whole, is a true masterpiece. Although Bioshock: Infinite feels and plays different than the previous two, I found this game to be just as good if not better than the others. The story will take you on a roller coaster ride you won't want to end. It's just as good as watching a movie. The combat is incredible, but like I said, it plays different than Bioshock 1 & 2. With that being said it doesn't hurt the experience in any way, and if you played the previous two right in a row like I did, you will find the experience new and refreshing. If you are a fan of the Bioshock series, the shooter genre, or a game with an amazing story to tell. This game is a MUST have. You won't be disappointed with the time and money you put in to playing Bioshock: Infinite

Bioshock infinite si o si debe estar en tu colección de 360, muy buena historia, es un excelente juego y el envío como siempre muy rápido👌🏼

The game is a different feeling than its predecessors and I definetly was confused about the timeline in the BIOSHOCK series but this game was quite entertaining and had a lot of neat little parts and some great plotwork. The story is the kind that leaves you with your mouth open... BUY IT!