Having recently watched the trailer for Bioshock Infinite, I am in total awe. Not much has been said about Bioshock: Infinite, but recently an associate did an interview with Ken Levine and other developers of Irrational Games, the developer of the Bioshock series, which has shed some light on what this new release is going to be like. Bioshock: Infinite is going to be one of the biggest releases of 2013.
Just a little history before we get into the specifics of this upcoming game. I played Bioshock the moment it launched in August 2007. It was a new franchise, and no one knew what to expect. Nevertheless, the anticipation was high because of the promotion Bioware did for its soon-to-be classic. Well, what do I say. From the moment I started playing Bioshock, I couldn’t drop it. It was a game-changer, a new way to look at first-person shooters. First-person shooters were becoming pretty much a drag those days (even today), and Bioshock was like a breath of fresh air in the midst of all the hodgepodge. We at iLLGaming embraced the mechanics of Bioshock. How you could switch between a conventional weapon and a genetically modified hand, which could do all sorts of ill things like freeze zombies, set them on fire, and assign a hoard of insects to chew them till death, all in an extremely dramatic and over-the-top way. It was a fun FPS game, with a great storyline, a truly unique setting, and next-gen gameplay mechanics. And then obviously, you have to love the Little Sisters. What a great addition! Bioshock easily qualifies amongst my of ours All Times.
So then, three years later, we see Bioshock 2. We got to play it a few days before its official launch. And this time the expectations were sky rocketing, and the build-up to the official release was massive. After getting our hands dirty with Bioshock 2, were we impressed? Yes and no. Yes, because it took everything good about its predecessor and refined it. Weapon and plasmid play was smoother, Big Daddies were giving a complete revamp with a total reversal in roles I wont say the game was bad. No, because thats all Bioware did to the game. Nothing concretely ‘new’ was introduced in Bioshock and we at Illgaming see it as a continuation of the plot, with barely no gameplay changes. Don’t get us wrong, Bioshock 2 was a good game, but just not ‘fresh’ enough to keep us interested.
Now, coming back to Bioshock: Infinite, and how Irrational Games is working to make it different from its predecessors, in short, fresh.
SET AND SETTING
Bioshock and Bioshock 2 were, as we remember, set in the underwater city of Rapture, with dimly lit corridors and alleyways that were sinister in every possible way. On the contrary, Bioshock Infinite is set in the city of Columbia, built by the American government in the 1900s to much fanfare and industrialist activism. As seen in the trailer, the general setting is bright, colorful, and glitzy. Bioshock 1 and 2 can leave a claustrophobic person weak on the knees with their permanent enclosed spaces, whereas Infinite is wide open underneath the sky. Levine describes the sky as a “Fourth of July blue.” It clearly sets itself apart from the waterlogged Rupture alleyways. Colors are bold and bright.
NARRATIVE
Bioshock: Infinite takes place in an alternative fictional 1912, a time at the pinnacle of the rise of capitalism and industrialization, a time when great things were being invented, and thus, clearly, the grim look of the previous Bioshocks doesn’t suit. This era gave birth to American superiority and the feeling of American Exceptionalism, and this is exactly what Bioshock: Infinite is based upon. “We’re not out to teach any history,” said the game’s lead artist Shawn Robinson at the premiere. “But things you create are more grounded when they’re related to a piece of history or reality.”
THE OPEN WORLD
In Bioshock 1 and 2, when you look outside a window, all you can notice is a school of fish swimming around with some vegetation in the background. That is your only interaction with the outside world, and although it complemented well with the narrative, it did get suffocating at times, and Levine admits that it was an “easy way out” strategy. Well, in Bioshock: Infinite, if you spot a tower far away, you can actually go there. Levine claims an “open-world” gameplay. And plus, since Bioshock: Infinite isn’t based underwater, by principle it offers much more freedom to explore without boundaries.
A new gameplay mechanic is added to Bioshock: Infinite is the concept of “Skylines.” Skyline is the major form of transportation in Infinite and is an integral part of the gameplay, as claimed by Levine. It’s basically like a rail system, minus the trains, it lets people slide with their hands. Levine describes it perfectly:
“This is like being on a rollercoaster except you’re hanging in the air and you have a f*cking gun.”
Here’s a 10-minute gameplay video from IGN showing off the Skyline system.
CUTSCENES
“We dont do cutscenes. Thats just not our thing.” In Levine’s words.
Bioshock: Infinite is going to have no cutscenes whatsoever, mainly due to the open-ended nature of the sequel. The story will progress smoothly, without any cutscenes being used to aid the storyline. We’ll have to wait and see how this “cutscene-free” story telling is actually implemented. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.
UNREAL ENGINE 3.0
Irrational used a modded version of Unreal Engine 2.x for Bioshock 1 and 2 and as claimed, the engine limited their development to realizing its full potential and vision. For Infinite, Irrational is working on Unreal Engine 3, which is modified to provide the desired ambient lighting effects and buoyant buildings. The game’s open-endedness is somewhat inspired by Batman: Arkham Asylum, where players can explore already visited areas to find new gameplay elements and advancement of plot.
NO ‘PORT’ VERSION FOR THE PS3
This time, Irrational has heard the woes of its fans, who felt alienated when the PS3 versions were mere ports of the Xbox 360 and PC versions. Irrational confirms that they have an entire team working separately for a pure PS3 version, much to the joy of their fans. Also, PS3 owners have something to boast about since stereoscopic 3D for Bioshock Infinite is an exclusive PS3 feature.
The release date for Bioshock Infinite has been set to February 26, 2013.
What do think of Bioshock: Infinite? Do you think it’s going to a truly worthy successor to the previous titles of this franchise? Let us know by commenting below.
PS: And hey, Game Informer did a special edition cover for their magazine, based on Bioshock: Infinite. It’s pretty sweet. Check it out.
