2K Bioshock Infinite: The Complete Edition - PlayStation 3

Bioshock Infinite is the much anticipated sequel to Bioshock I and II. The original Bioshock is a classic -a first-person shooter with a beautiful Art Deco setting in an alternate 1959, and a storyline that is absolutely mesmerizing. Bioshock Infinite starts off in a similar epic fashion, but unfortunately it falls flat compared to the original Bioshock. This is not to say that Infinite is a "bad" game, but it is not in the same league as the original Bioshock. I will explain my reasoning below.************************************************************************************************************************WARNING: Some minor spoilers below. I try to avoid spoilers as much as possible, but there are a few in my review.************************************************************************************************************************First off, if you're thinking of purchasing Infinite, this is the package for you! It includes the following:-The original game.-Upgrade Pack (gives you a few extra items at the start of the game).-Early Bird Special Pack ("exclusive" gear not found elsewhere).-Clash In the Clouds: DLC that allows you to fight for money which can then be used to "upgrade" your museum!-Burial at Sea 1: DLC that continues where the storyline of the original game left off.-Burial at Sea 2: Final DLC that concludes the storyline.As a whole, this is an amazing value! If I were to rate just the package this is easily a five-star deal. My problems lie with the game itself. After playing Bioshock I and II, I was expecting an amazing experience akin to the original games. Unfortunately, that is simply not the case, and I will explain why in detail.GRAPHICS:##########The first thing you will notice is that Infinite is beautiful. The graphics look amazing. My first thought was "this is even more impressive than Bioshock". At first glance this appears to be the case, but after you play for a few hours, you may change your mind. The game is still attractive, but you will see the same character models OVER and OVER, and "different" location sure look similar. That said, I don't play games simply for the graphics, so this is not a big deal in my book.SOUND:#######Infinite has some amazing "classic" American music such as "Can the Circle be Unbroken" and "Ain't She Sweet". These are wonderful period pieces that are similar in nature to the pieces used in the original Bioshock. However, the music simply does not have the same impact as in the original Bioshock. What do I mean: well in the original Bioshock I vividly remember having an intense battle with the children's song "That Doggie in the Window" blasting in the background! That left quite an impression. Similarly I remember "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön" and other such pieces. However, the music in Infinite was simply not used to the same effect. Aside from "Can the Circle be Unbroken", I do not remember the music having much of any impact on the game. I do feel that the music added a good deal of drama in the second "Burial at Sea" DLC. Regardless, this is not my real beef with the game.GAMEPLAY:##########Fighting: Now we get into some serious issues. For example, in the main campaign you can only have two weapons. Also, since there are a limited number of bullets you can carry, you will find yourself running out of ammunition often. Sometimes, in the middle of firefights, of which there are many, you will find that you somehow lost your weapon only to have exchanged it with some gun you did not want. In fact, quite a few of the weapons while interesting in theory, are really quite useless. Part of that problem is that you only have a few bullets. Now, you can upgrade weapons which is great, but for the most part it's not as useful as you might think. In fact, the weapon I used the most in the game is the skyhook (melee) weapon. To give credit where credit is due, in the "Burial at Sea" DLC they changed this so that you can have multiple weapons. This was a great improvement, but the larger main campaign is still a drag. Also, there are NUMEROUS fights, and they're not much fun. You kill a few people, you may or may not get killed, which really does not matter and you eventually clear out the enemies and continue. What about plasmids? In Infinite, you do not have "plasmids" instead you have "vigors". They're basically the same thing. However, while in Bioshock I recall using each and every plasmid in some way, in Infinite this was not the case. I certainly did use vigors while fighting, but I found that just a couple are all you needed. They simply did not feel "special" like they did in the original Bioshock.NO Maps: While the original Bioshock had a map system, Infinite does not! Therefore, it's easy to get lost. That is why if you press the up arrow an arrow on the ground appears and tells you where to go. A map would have been MUCH preferable because it would have allowed you to explore the area while keeping track of where you are. As it so is, there is a little bit of exploration in the game, but very little. You will come across numerous houses, and almost all of them are locked, which is unfortunate. To be fair, you can find some "side quests" but these hardly do nor mean anything in the game. Why? because you have NO IMPACT on the how the game ends! In the original Bioshock there were three endings, and the ending you received depended on YOUR actions! In Infinite, you make a few choices during the game which at first seem important. Well, they are not! There is only one ending to Infinite and that is it. There is no game+ where things change and your decisions have any impact. There is only one ending, and it is quite disappointing. Furthermore, in the original Bioshock there were not many "characters" in the game, but they all had gravitas. In Infinite, there are many characters, including random townspeople you come across. It's wonderful to see them, but there is no real interaction with them. In fact, the only time you really interact with them is when something sets them off and they start shooting at you.Elizabeth: Your companion is a great character. She's much more than the damsel in distress which is wonderful! However, she is hardly utilized like she should be. Basically, since the game's mechanics are broken and you run out of ammo often, during a fight Elizabeth will find ammo for you. How does she find the ammo? well, it's not explained. It would have been much preferable if Elizabeth took an active role in the fight rather than simply acting as an ammunition depot. Again, because of the fact that you can only have two guns and a limited number of bullets which are quickly depleted, it's almost necessary for Elizabeth to funnel you arms. To her credit, she does also send you health kits, points out if she sees snipers, and points out lock picks (why does she not simply collect the lock picks herself?) She manages to find money, which she tosses to you. HOWEVER, if you look at early footage from the game before it was released, it's clear that Elizabeth originally had a much greater role in the fighting. She also has the ability to use "tears" which open up spaces into other dimensions. This ability is barely used in the game, while originally it was clearly meant to have much more of an impact on the game.STORYLINE=========There are many first-person shooter games. Probably many people play "just for fun" without a thought about the story. This is absolutely fine, but what sets Bioshock apart is the amazing story. Bioshock was inspired by the works of Ayn Rand, and is stunning storytelling. Infinite, starts off with a "deep" and epic story, but never really goes anywhere. There most certainly is a conclusion to the story, but in the end you will be left wondering about the whole meaning behind your journey in the game. Again, in the original Bioshock there were twist and turns in the story, but it was clear what was happening, why it was happening, and the conclusion was epic, beautiful, and logical. In Infinite, there are too many holes in the plot. It deals with a multiverse and has the same problems that plague the "time-traveler's paradox". That is to say: if you go back in time, and kill your grandfather, how could you be born and then go back in time and kill your grandfather? Similarly, the ending to Infinite is paradoxical. You can certainly read on some theories to the ending and while you can accept it, if you play through the game and the DLCs you will see that there are gaping holes in the plot. This is unfortunate, since the original game really had no such plot holes and everything came together beautifully.Deus Ex Machina: The Songbird is one of the most awesome things about Infinite. In the beginning of the game, you meet this enigmatic creature, and you just know, that eventually you will have to deal with it in an epic showdown! Except that you never do. From all the pre-release trailers and discussions, it appeared that you would indeed have to battle the Songbird. However, this was taken out of the final game. In fact, you never really learn much about this wonderful creature, although it does come to your aid as a Deus ex machina. Similarly, Elizabeth's "tear" power also seems to serve as a Deus ex machina of sorts. That said, what epic battles can you expect in this game? None. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Do you remember in Bioshock when you first went up against a Big Daddy and how epic that was? Expect nothing that gratifying here in Infinite.DLCs=====I actually really enjoyed the "Burial at Sea" DLC. Especially the second episode, since you have much less health, and NO shield! In the original campaign, you have a shield, which is great, except that it gets depleted almost instantly and before you know you even lost the shield you're about to die! Secondly, when the shield is recharging it gives an annoying yellowish hue around your screen. A bleep would have been much preferable. Back to the second episode, if you play the game smartly you do NOT have to kill anyone! This is a nice change from the rest of the game where you're basically a force of slaughter. In the original Bioshock, while of course you did kill quite a bit, I felt like it was far less intense since you were killing crazed maniacs. In Infinite, you often blow the heads off (literally) "normal" human beings with no repercussions. The DLC does also suffer from the storyline mess, yet without giving away too much I found it much better.PROS=====+Great package! You get all DLCs and a bunch of bonuses for a great price!+Good graphics. Nice atmosphere, for the most part.+Weapons and vigors are upgradeable.CONS=====-Story is a far cry from the original Bioshock, and is disappointing.-Gameplay is not balanced, and leads to repetitive firefights of which there are too many.-You may expect some epic fights, but there are none. Instead lots and lots of similar enemies.-Elizabeth is underutilized as is the Songbird.BOTTOM LINES: While it had great potential, ultimately Infinite feels like a great game that never came to fruition. Pretty, but not nearly as enjoyable nor as beautiful as the original Bioshock. Not a "bad" game, but not the epic sequel you may have hoped for.

I really loved the story, and it heavily outweighs the game experience for me. The story ranks up there with the best science fiction and would be particularly appealing to 'Doctor Who' fans. This game has must-play DLC, and thankfully, it's included in the Complete Edition. The 'Burial at Sea' DLC completely ties this story into Bioshock 1. It does not disappoint and should have been part of the original game. There are two features that add to the FPS experience. The sky-hook is a lot of fun, and the addition of Elizabeth as your companion was my favorite part.However, the rest of the gameplay gets in the way of the story for me. At times, it became tedious and a bit of a grind. I spent way too much time looting and looking for lock picks. There are parts where you'll get stuck in a fight when all you want to do is advance the story. If you have a real job and adult responsibilities, forget about the trophies/achievements. While the trophies/achievements aren't extremely difficult, they are very time consuming. This game doesn't offer any puzzles other than "how am I going to kill this handyman with the limited resources available," and half the time you can just run to the next door. This game offers a lot of gear/equipment options, but only 4 can be used at a time, which makes it far less useful than it was in the first Bioshock.Criticism aside, it's a solid yet rudimentary shooter. It does what it does extremely well. Difficulty does not affect the story, so an experienced FPS player can blow through this game in 6-12 hours as long as they don't care about achievements/trophies. When it's all said and done, I'd probably enjoy it more if it was just a movie.

God - the praises you can (and will, if you find yourself new to them) sing about the Bioshock games having played them - unlike most - will genuinely last a lifetime.The whole franchise is magnificent. I've never been a fan of FPS (First Person Shooters) ever - never will be. Somehow though Bioshock transcends it's merge genre.Play it. Play it. Play it. That's all I can really say.Disc comes complete with Main Game (Disc 1) and all DLC - including Burial at Sea, Irrational Games swan song which not only ties the loose ends together between Infinite and the first two Bioshock games but also introduces stealth mechanics in it's second part and a plot that expands your appreciation of both iterations of all the Bioshock universes.And there are many.It's impossible to describe how absolutely effecting Infinite is. You care about the characters, you care what happens. The art style and direction is stunning. Really, really lovely. The story incredibly manages to juggle grown up themes of American Imperialism, Manifest Destiny, Consumerism, Capitalism and theocracy alongside ideas concerning quantum physics, choice and free will - it's ending is perfection and the additional content worth the price alone.I can't recommend the game enough. This in addition to the previous collection of Bioshock and Bioshock 2 are more than just simply play-station games - they're essential.Unmissable. Experience them all.

The first 2 Bioshock were better, sorry to say, but i played it through, and it was a good game this one.1 and 2 however, in my opinion blew this one away due to much better industrial steam punk artistic design, and much better audio. The piano music was more nuisance than enjoyable - The audio didn't turn me on at all with this one - maybe i was just too old for this one, or maybe it was a bit more politically correct than previous versions. I heard they upgraded the game engine on this one - ya, ok - i can see some cool playability here but they dropped the ball on the audio. The mega fight monsters were not as creative - I just would never enjoy the more robotic effect of that... BUT SERIOUSLY, if you find a good price, this is playable, and features quite good, normal fighting with normal type controls. I'll give it 4 stars, but I normally give 5 if I really like something. Bioshock 1 and 2 get top rating from me. I wish they would bring back the old, and upgrade that to the new.

After playing Bioshock 1 and 2 I found myself curious for this one. I ended up loving the hell of this game. The games atmosphere is also amazing as the first two. Actually its a bit better. The environment is beautiful and so dreamy like especially early in the game. There is a great story to this game which I won't go over but its good. The gameplay plays like the past Bioshock games. But because your in the sky you have a better option to use this rollercoaster like mechanic the game introduced where you use this skyline and shoot all the bad guys like crazy with it. The game is pretty lengthy considering most fps aren't long. You will catch yourself playing for a couple of good days. You don't have to play the other 2 to get this but I would consider you to play the other 2. The DLC stuff can be downloaded when you put the game in. 2 DLC's are related to the early Bioshock games under the sea the other DLC is more like a single player type of thing which can be fun. This is a game you must own on the ps3