Bioshock Infinite

[RedCoyote]

Should I play Bioshock 2 before playing Infinite?

[Natirasha]

Only if you appreciate playing good, slightly unnecessary games that are essentially ignored by the rest of the series.

[RedCoyote]

Well, despite the lopsided victory of one yes to zero nos, I went forward with Infinite anyway. Maybe I'll get back to the second game in the franchise later.

I'd guess I'm over halfway through at this point.

Not a bad game, but I had too high of expectations, I guess. It feels just like Bioshock with a different costume. I mean, it's different, but... it feels so similar... even though I haven't played it since it came out in 07/08. It also feels too polished. I kind of have to snicker at the fact that there's literally a button on here that gives you a magical arrow that tells you where to go. Come to think of it, maybe Bioshock had that, too. But at least Bioshock you were forced to backtrack a little bit... Infinite is completely no-going-back so far. I can only imagine the person that would actually need such a thing in such a linear game like this.

Playing this game only makes me wish I was reading a book about this universe instead. But maybe I'm just saying that because I'm getting older. I could nitpick it to death, but it's okay. It's just a bit frustrating because I'm not even like Mr. Indie-gamer or anything like that, but this really comes across as too triple A title-ish to me. Often times it just feels like "press square to win". I don't think I'd recommend it unless you're a big fan of steampunk or over-stylized, over-generalized political thrillers.

[Oman]

One of the biggest problems with Infinite is that it's basically Bioshock with a different costume. It's a problem with sequels, especially mutli-million dollar sequels, where the safety of the brand is so critical that gameplay mechanics feel stagnant or too similar.

I'm not going to post a whole thing on it because as usual Extra Credits did it already:

[RedCoyote]

Wow, Oman, thanks for posting that. That's 100% dead on. It's exactly how I felt. Very articulate and, more importantly, very well explained with several examples.

[Oman]

Extra Credits are the best. Honestly the best.

[Chevre]

Don't forget, you now have the opportunity to get this game + the rest of the series and the acclaimed XCOM for $20 through Humble Bundle!

[Oman]

Also Spec Ops: The Line. Personal favourite.

[RedCoyote]

This game gets a LOT better in the last ~20/25% of it. Just finished it this evening. The game is absurdly easy until you have to

fight Lady Comstock

. That gave me problems. The game is so forgiving though that you never really have to worry about getting stuck at any part though, so after about half an hour, I got through it. The ending was kind of 2deep4me, as is usually the case with time travel stuff, but I intend to scour the Internet with hopes of understanding it better. The Extra Credits video is still on the money as far as criticisms go, but I'd encourage anyone to trudge through the middle part of the game (fetch quest after fetch quest after fetch quest) if only to make it to the end. The story is fun and more layered at the very end and the Irrational Games knows how to get the atmosphere right, even if they're sloppy when it comes to the overall gameplay and originality.