Bioshock Infinite

I was never into FPS (first person shooter) games before, I never found them interesting since I don't like the concept of looking at the game world without seeing the full body of your playable character, but this game has changed that, I actually don't mind it at all, I actually like it, it gives me the feeling like you're in the game and the people are actually talking to me, I just don't really like platforming FPS games, I can't really scale how wide the gap is sometimes when I need to jump over one. Back to Bioshock Infinite, I never tried the first 2 games before but it's not a dirct sequel so I wasn't afraid of not being able to understand the story, although I may not understand the references to the previous games. What got me hooked on the game first is the beautiful environment, a city in the sky? I was stunned, although scientifically speaking it's impossible how the city has such beautiful panorama (learnt that from Game Theory on Youtube). I was never good at shooter games at first, I played a lot of GTA IV at the time and I always used the auto-aim, so suddenly playing manual-aim.... let's say I died a lot. But practice makes perfect, now I can't stand auto-aim in any shooters. I also wasn't familiar with the Bioshock games so I was afraid I'd run out of ammo and had to depend on the melee attack, but they have vigors, and they're all very interesting, potions that give you abilities like fireballs, lightning bolts and even possess someone and summon crows. The game really made me feel like I'd been missing out on a ton of great stuff.

Ok, I know what you're thinking, why haven't I discussed about the greatest part of the game? The story. Since I wasn't familiar with the Bioshock games, I wasn't expecting such complicated twist, I knew about the "would you kindly..." stuff in the first game but I seriously wasn't expecting alternate realities and versions of people, the ending really stuck with me. I was so mind-blown, the characters are also likeable, ok, Booker is just a guy in debt who wanna pay everything back by bringing Elizabeth but it's amazing how such a simple goal leads to this adventure. I also can feel attached to Elizabeth, she's lovable, I actually feel like I wanna protect her, but gameplay-wise she's the one covering my ass, giving health packs, ammo and salts (sort of mana potion of the game). Her facial expressions feel real. All the side characters are also quite interesting in some way, although Comstock is only a racist prophet, but his back-story also intrigued me. Finally a game I where I actually enjoy collecting the audio logs.

With the game's additional story Burial at Sea, episode 1 got me interested in the first game, and episode 2 makes a really great conclusion. episode 1's gameplay is pretty much the same as the main game, but episode 2 really emphasizes on stealth since you play as Elizabeth this time and she doesn't have the brute force Booker has... or had.

Soundtrack is ok, I'm not really a fan of old songs but looking at when the game takes place makes it makes perfect sense since it'd be awkward to hear WUBWUBS from gramophones you find in certain rooms. The battle music are pretty forgettable just some tense sensation music but they really go well with the atmosphere.

BUUUUUTTTTTTT!!! (I'm gonna do stuff like this, put the good stuff up there and put a big BUT on the bottom. Butt jokes, anyone?) it really bugs me when you're hiding from enemies while Elizabeth's twirling around the room oogling every stuff and checking out the color of their underwear while the enemies are just walking back an forth like Elizabeth's a ghost or something. Elizabeth is never really in the way so don't need to fear you're gonna die because she's blocking your vision but sometimes when she points out important stuff in the environment like upgrade potions and lockpicks, I sometimes have a hard time finding where she is, having those items highlighted helps a bit but sometimes I still have trouble with that. It also doesn't have much replay value, unless you're curious if you've found all the audio logs, you can't start a new game with your upgraded stats, it keeps the challenge but a bit awkward you need to play it from scratch again.

Verdict: 8.5/10