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BioShock Infinite Review PS3

Story



This game takes place in 1912, where Booker DeWitt is the main character. In order to resolve his debts, he needs to find a girl by the name of Elizabeth in the floating city called Columbia. He managed to save her, but Booker will find several complications and mysteries upon saving her.

I cant spoil the story much since the story is very, very good. Also, the story is best left unspoiled to those who have not played the game yet. The game has very good plot twists and surprising revelations, as well as a mindblowing ending. The story also tackles some issues like racism, which was a problem back in the early 1900s. The ending could be confusing to some people, but may makes sense to others.

The characters in this game are pretty well-developed, such as Booker, Elizabeth, Lady Comstock, Comstock, and the two mysterious people who kept appearing to Booker and Elizabeth. I find that Eliazbeths personality is the most interesting compared to rest, with Bookers serious personality that contrasts Elizabeths naivety perfectly in the game. However, I find myself a bit hard to relate to Booker since we will never see him in full-flesh except in the ending Chapters. In a way, this makes sense since this game is played in first view perspective.

Gameplay



This game is played in first perspective view. As you all may have known, you will need to explore Columbia and go to different places to meet your objective, such as meeting someone or go to a location. Since the games world is big, you can always explore around for supplies, or you can just enjoy the scenery in the game. You can loot stuffs from dead bodies, or available containers in the game such as trashcans. As you play in the game, you will progress by running or using the skylines.

Game progression is quite linear, since you can always check for your objectives in the games menu or go to the marker by pressing the Up Directional Button. Since the game world is quite big and you might get lost in while exploring, it is advisable for you to check your marker constantly to know which place you need to go next. In some areas, you might need to use lockpicks to open doors. To do so, you need Elizabeths help. In some doors, you may need to spend a certain amount of lockcpicks. Behind these doors, you will usually find some supplies or certain collectables.

As you play in the game, you may come across to optional Quests. These Quests are optional to do, but will reward you greatly such as money and Infusion Upgrades. It is recommended to complete these Quests especially if you are playing harder difficulties.


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In combat, you will fight human enemies such as polices, armed guards, and etc. You can use a variety of weapons to fight them off, such as Pistol, Machine Gun, Sniper Rifle, and other weapons. As any shooter fans, each weapons have their own pros and cons, such as higher fire power, limited ammo, and other factors. Depending on your playstyle, you might want to stick to two of your favourite weapons in the whole game. You can only equip two weapons in the game, and you can swap weapons with weapons dropped by enemies or weapons available at specific locations. You can also use melee attacks to fight off enemies if you have run out of ammo.

There are several types of regular enemies, such as pistol-wielding enemies, RPG-wielding enemies, and others. As you progress in the game, you will need to fight more powerful enemies called Heavy Hitters. They can deal you higher damage and takes longer to be killed. There are few variety of Heavy Hitters such as Fireman and Handyman, and they require certain strategy to beat them efficiently.

Throughout the game, Elizabeth will accompany you most of the time. She is a very helpful ally, and she will occasionally provide you money outside of combat zone, and occasionally provide supplies such as ammo, Health Kits, or Salts during combat. If you die in combat, you will be revived at the expense of some money. However, if you have run out of money upon dying, it will be game over for you. Technically, you will not die in this game if you have a lot of money like the Prince of Persia 2008 game. However, there IS a Game Over for you in this game unlike Prince of Persia 2008 game. Be mindful if you die in combat, enemies will recover some health. However in 1999 Mode, they will recover full health if you die in combat upon revival. You can also ask Elizabeth to open Tears to spawn weapons, recovery items, or allies to fight off enemies. Make use of these Tears in combat to fight them easily.

In addition to weapons, you have access to Vigors. Vigors are powerful magical abilities that allow you to defeat enemies more efficiently. In order to use Vigors, you need to spend Salts, which is the MP (Magic Points) version of this game. There are different types of Vigors in this game, such as a Vigor that allows you to turn enemies into temporary allies, a Vigor that allows you to throw fireballs, and other useful Vigors. All Vigors in this game have some sort of alternate usage, such as setting a fireball trap using Devils Kiss Vigor. It is best to experiment which Vigors that you like in combat since each Vigor in the game can function effectively in combat.



As you play on in the game, you can upgrade your weapons or Vigors by spending Silver Eagles (in-games currency). You can find Silver Eagles by looting enemies or stuffs, or given by Elizabeth. You can upgrade a weapons stats such damage, reload speed, and others. Most of the upgrades are expensive, so you need to spend your money wisely. You may also buy Vigor upgrades to increase their effectiveness. It is recommended for you to buy upgrades to Vigors that you like most, since the Vigor upgrades are expensive.

Throughout the game, you can find stat upgrades called Infusions. By finding an Infusion upgrade, you can either increase your Health, Salts or Shield stat by one point. You can only increase a stat by ten times, and you need to spend it on other two stats. Usually you can find Infusions in lockpicked areas or by doing Optional Quests. You may also find accessories called Gears to gain extra bonuses, such as increased critical hit damage, auto-reload, and others. Gears can be find thoughout the game in certain secret areas.


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The gameplay is good, but I felt is a bit underwhelmed compared to other shooters. This game lacks interesting puzzles, since that would have make the game more interesting than generic first person shooter games. The combat is solid, but felt a bit repetitive since the game lacks true boss fights or more variety of enemies. Due to these two factors, the game progression feels a bit more linear than usual. Since the game has many chapters, you will find yourself more immersed to the games storyline than the combat.

Graphics



The graphics are great, with nice looking environments and great looking characters that reflect the early 1900 era. The atmosphere, the buildings, and others are truly well-designed.

Unfortunately, the PS3 version suffers minor screentearing issues. It is not gamebreaking, but noticeable when there is a high activity on screen, such as explosions and stuff. Other than that, there are no bugs and glitches that I find in the game so far.

Sound


The soundtrack is still composed by Garry Schyman, who composed the music for previous BioShock games. I like the music, since it is quite fitting to the games timeline and atmosphere. My favourite is perhaps the end credits song, Will the Circle be Unbroken. This song is singed by Courtnee Draper (Elizabeths voice actor), with the guitar played by Troy Baker (Bookers voice actor). I like the lyrics, and it is especially feels relaxing. A very simple song, but with good lyrics.

The voice acting is pretty good, but with some notable voice actors like Troy Baker, Jennifer Hale, Laura Bailey, and others. This is also Courtnee Drapers first voice acting role, and I find that her performance is memorable as well. I was a bit surprised that Jennifer Hale voiced her character with British accent, which is awesome. Then again, I totally forgotten that she did voice Naomi Hunter in the first Metal Gear Solid game with British accent.

Replay Value



I cant say that this game has enough replay value, since it doesnt have much unlockable content. I personally perceive this game as a one-time-playing game, unless you want to tackle harder difficulty modes like 1999 Mode, collect Voxophones and other stuffs, or attempt to get all the Trophies (PS3) or the Achievements (PS3) in the game. Still, I am glad this game does not have multiplayer, since it will surely deviate or dampens the games positive factors in many ways, especially the story.

Conclusion



This is my first FPS game since 2011, and I like this game a lot due to its extremely well-told story,excellent realisation of Columbias world, nice graphics, good voice acting, and great characters. However, the game suffers some issues, like minor generic combat, low replay value, linear progression, screentearing issues, and etc. If you look past the flaws, I feel that this game is good in many of its own ways. However, it is hard to justify whether it is wise to buy the game in its full price, due to its low replay value. Fortunately for PS3 owners, they will get the first BioShock game included with this game, which may justify the full price of the game despite the low replay value. The playthrough will last about 15 hours, depending on your own gaming skills. Unless you want to play harder difficulty modes like 1999 Mode, it will add more playing time. Despite its flaws, this game is still great in my books, and I felt that is has one of the best written storyline in the history of games. I highly recommend you to purchase this game when it is cheap enough to justify a 15 hour playthrough game, unless you are a BioShock fan. Also, you might want to rent the game first if you are afraid to spend a lot of money in buying it.

Score

Story: 10/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 9/10

Final Score: 8.5/10 or 34/40

Pros and Cons

Pros

- Extremely well-written storyline.
- Full of good plot twists.
- Great characters.
- Well-realised game world of Columbia.
- Elizabeth is a helpful and important in both combat as well as story.
- Good voice acting.
- Full of explorable areas.
- Vigors are awesome to use.
- Fluid and smooth combat.
- Upgrades make you feel noticeably powerful compared to regular games.
- Many epic and breathtaking scenes.
- Nice graphics.
- Good music.
- Great voice acting.
- PS3 version includes the original BioShock game.

Cons

- Ending may cause some people to be baffled.
- Gun combat may feel generic.
- Linear progression without much challenges.
- Lack of puzzles.
- Lack of true boss fights.
- Minor screentearing issues.
- Low replay value.
- Lack of much unlockable content.