Just beat it. You up for discussing that mind ****, Sparky?

I went into this game with expectations set so high that I'd be disappointed if it didn't turn out to be a top 10 game of all time for me, and I think it lived up to expectations.

First off I just want to say how refreshing it is to see how ambitious this game was. A lot of times if I see a movie trying to be overly ambitious I'll more often than not just roll my eyes, but it's so incredibly refreshing to see someone put this much thought into a video game. And not only that, but for the most part I think they were able to tell a fairly logical story (or at least as logical of a story as you can regarding alternate dimensions and time travel). There are still some things that don't make complete sense to me, but them telling a very engaging story with some epic twists thrown in didn't really come at the expense of just coming up with random BS to make it all work. You could tell it was very clearly thought out and the amount of foreshadowing in the game really makes me want to play it again.

When I compare it to the first Bioshock, I definitely prefer the story of Infinite, just due to how ambitous and engaging it was.

The atmosphere in the two games was fairly comparable, but I'd give the edge to the first Bioshock mainly due to the fact that the audio logs were far better. I felt the voxophones in Infinite could have been better utilized. It just didn't feel like there was enough meat there. You'd just get small tidbits that didn't add all that much to either the story or the atmosphere. Those kinetoscopes were a nice touch though.

That being said, the atmosphere in this game was still great and there were many memorable moments. I thought the whole Monument Tower sequence was awesome, from the creepy diagrams of experiments on the first floor to the viewing chambers set up around Elizabeth's tower. And it was pretty cool when some of the time travel aspects started seeping in. You hear "God Only Knows" and "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" renditions and you kind of do a double take, and then you hear "Fortunate Son" come in through one of those tears and it kind of hits you.

From a gameplay perspective, it was fantastic. Similar mechanics to the original, but I think I preferred the vigors this time around. And some may consider this a novelty, but I thought the skylines added so much to the game. They were such a cool feature to add in, and the mechanics behind it were set up perfectly. It just made you feel like such a boss in combat.

I did play the game on medium so I can't really say much but I felt the game was unbelievably easy on that difficulty. Honestly, the only part I had even a little bit of trouble with was the final fight on Comstock's Airship, only because the songbird kept dying before I could kill all the Vox. I'm not really sure if that was a bad thing though. It let me focus on the story more, and never caused me to become frustrated with the game.

I don't think it's any coincidence that Bioshock and Bioshock: Infinite may be the two games I've immersed myself the most in out of any game I've ever played. This series really is the pinnacle for storytelling in video games IMO.

Just beat it. You up for discussing that mind ****, Sparky?

Yeah i agree, though i did love the kinetoscope's in infinite. My favorite being the "no thankyou, were quite alright" and he takes his city to the sky lol.

Here's my thoughts:

In terms of characterization i still prefer Andrew Ryan as the antagonist. The orson wells-inspired voicework and dialogue for Ryan was a lot more interesting, and place-able in real life. Zachary Comstock just felt slightly more hallow, and you never had the same closure with his character as you did ryan, even though you being him was a really great twist.

I wish the game hadn't been quite so linear. A couple of the sniper sections felt eerily quintessential shooter, something the first bioshock never felt like. Disliked the lack of emphasis on using vigors, you can easily shoot your way through the entire game. It's good to allow multiple play styles, but i missed some of the my old techniques, wasn't as much room to be creative. Besides bucking bronco and possession all of them boiled down to shoot x at the dudes.

Have you read any of the ending interpretations? Specifically rapture being an alternate version/dimension of columbia? Instead of the little girls you have elizabeth, instead of the big daddy you have the bird. You and comstock are alike, just like you and ryan. Instead of Atlas controlling your actions you have the two physicist twins/one person or whatever.

I'm playing through it again knowing the ending just to pick up on any tidbits i missed. It's great the game keeps track of all the audio logs so you can just pick up the ones you missed on the first playthrough.

Yeah, I can see what you're saying in terms of gameplay, and I've heard a lot of similar complaints. Honestly though, I didn't mind it. While the vigors weren't a necessity to killing enemies, I still loved that the choice was provided. The game itself was so easy that I kind of just enjoyed taking out the enemies in various ways. And I felt undertow was actually extremely useful if I ever got bogged down at all.

As for the game being linear, wasn't the first one similar to that? It's been a while since I played it but I don't believe it had anything similar to the "sidequests" in Infinite (not to say these were anything substantial, but there was some room to go off the beaten path in this game that I can't really remember in the first game).

I do agree with you about Ryan being more of an interesting villain. At the same time though. Not to say Comstock wasn't interesting, but it's tough to beat Ryan in this regard. And as interesting as the twist was in Infinite, I still feel like the twist in the first game was better, and possibly the best turning point in gaming history. It came totally out of left field for me and managed to be a commentary on the nature of video games in general. It's just tough to equal that.

I have read up a bit on the ending and have heard that theory. It does make a lot of sense. Really impressed with how Levine managed to tie the two games together without it really seeming forced. I really don't think there are any series or games out there that can rival this storytelling ability, along with atmosphere. They really have something going here, and I'm interested to see where they go next, if they do decide to make a new game that isn't simply a rehash like Bioshock 2 was.

Yeah I'm on my second go-around and have been making an effort to mess around with the vigors more. I do wish they had done more interesting stuff with elizabeth's tears. Just getting hooks and med packs by pressing square seemed a little contrived. It would have been cool if she warped in a tornado or something to take out enemies, it would have made her appear as powerful in game as what she was capable of during cutscenes.

yeah, i guess the first just did a better job of seeming like it wasn't as linear. Remember having to take pictures of the people? There was a map and it seemed like more backtracking, unlocking new areas. I remember having to come back and melt away ice to reach new paths, though i suppose bioshock infinite has similiar instances. I guess i felt the first bioshock was more metroid/castlevania-ish in design.