Bioshock

[deanb]

So I've completed it, here are my thoughts. 

 

Game itself

As noted it's Bioshock in the sky. I think probably one of the main losses to me is the hacking mini-games, all the more evident at the ability to point Elizabeth at a lock and go "unlock that for me" and as long as you've enough locks she does. There's also no map, which can get a bit frustrating. Other than that everything is exactly as it is in Bioshock.

 

Story

 

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I don't get it to be totally honest. Stuff went all a bit tits up at the end as it tried to cram a crap ton of story into the final 15 minutes. Brooker is Cromstock, yet apart from the bit at the end telling you this directly there's rarely anything linking the two. I should note I knew this tidbit before playing because as mentioned earlier in thread asshats were spoiling the story. So it's not even a "watch it second time with this info and you'll get the references" (there is one minor bit at the altar near the end). The two personalities, character, ideologies are so different. I'm not even sure how he went from being Brooker to Cromstock apart from it seems as is Elizabeths made him. The Bioshock storyline is pretty simple compared to the convoluted mess of Infinite's ending.

 

The rest of the story to that point is mostly straight up affair and no issues, uprising of the oppressed and all that stuff. Gets you from A to B. Nice that the start is all fairly regular, getting to look around and take in the sights before it goes tits up with attacks.

 

 

That Scene

 

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Heh, was just about to go "I'll likely play it in the future again, but no immediate compulsion". Then realised another feature removed: choices along the lines of the little sister. Storywise they affected it very little, but game wise it changed the gameplay a bit and means bit of replayability.

 

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The choice of choker badge design and if you kill or spare ..war buddy whose name I forget. And best I can tell they've little affect on the game except if dude is in the interrogation cell later or not.

 

[Mister Jack]

So....could someone maybe explain the ending?

[deanb]

  On 3/28/2013 at 12:55 AM, Mister Jack said:

So....could someone maybe explain the ending?

 

I second this motion.

 

 

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As best I can guess in dying at the baptism it kills both the Brooker that has Anna(Elizabeth) and gives her away, and also Cramstock who becomes religious nutjob ruler of Columbia. Which sort of makes sense except these two "same" people are so wildly different. No idea about the many lighthouses thing and it tying in with Bioshock 1/2. Also I've no idea what the overall chronological order is either. Or why certain things happen in the first place.

 

 

 

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I think Irrational just kind of tried to be too "twist ending" and over stepped their bounds. Bioshock 1 was neat, and "oh yeah that works" with the whole "you're a mindwashed clone", Infinite...well you and I aren't the only ones confused.

 

 

edit:

 

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Doesn't help that it's a straight 15-20 minutes of handholding and Elizabeth and Lutece(s) explaining it all to you in a game that tells story through environment, action and audio diaries.

 

[Mister Jack]

 

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If Booker dies at the baptism, how does that kill Comstock? I suppose it might kill the Comstock he MIGHT have become (not likely at that point), but wasn't the whole idea that there are an infinite number or parallel possibilities? How would killing THAT Booker kill ALL the Bookers and subsequently all the Comstocks?

For that matter, how did Comstock go into Booker's dimension to buy Anna in the first place? Is that what the Lecute twins were hired to invent? A means to go over there?

So the first Booker sold Anna to Comstock? That would mean this is a time loop, isn't it? Is that why Comstock was a "prophet" and could predict future events? And how did Booker lose the memory of selling his own daughter in the first place?

 

[Mister Jack]

From the wiki:

 

 

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As Booker progresses through Columbia he is antagonized by Father Comstock, the city's founder and leader. The latter is seemingly gifted with foreknowledge, and predicts Booker's future actions. The latter also occasionally experiences strange lapses in consciousness, always accompanied by a bleeding nose.

It is eventually revealed that Booker DeWitt and Father Comstock are, in fact, one and the same: after the battle of Wounded Knee, Booker attempted to cleanse himself of his past through a baptism. Unable to follow through, he rejected the ceremony and fell into a life of gambling and debt. Eventually, he was forced to sell his child, Anna, to Comstock via the Luteces, a pair of time-travelling scientists. Filled with remorse, he set out to Columbia to retrieve her, as the effects of time disruption altered his memory so that he'd believe he was sent there on a mission. Following the events of an alternate BioShock Infinite, upon realizing that Elizabeth is in fact Anna, he returned to the moment of his baptism and accepted it, rechristening himself Zachary Hale Comstock. He then made a fortune, purchased Anna from his earlier self, and locked her in Columbia to protect her from Booker. In doing so, he created a self-feeding time loop, disrupting the space-time continuum and creating the Tears.

In the current events of BioShock Infinite, however, Elizabeth/Anna is at the full extent of her powers, and realizes that to prevent the loop from ever occuring Booker must never become Comstock. With the help of multiple versions of herself, she drowns him before he can become baptized, closing the loop and erasing both Comstock and herself from the timeline. In an alternate universe where Booker is never killed, he decides to keep Anna with him.

 

[Mr. GOH!]

I'm, I think, at about the halfway point.

 

 

 

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I just got warped into alterna-Columbia in which the Vox Populi have guns. Which is weird; why did I have to trek all the way to the bottom of the impound in the first place?

I'm not quite sure about this whole parallel world business; it's oft-abused in bad sci fi. In bioshock, though, it seems like parallel worlds collapse into each other, at least when an observer has been to both, is my guess.

Booker has clearly traveled between worlds before, as he gotten a nosebleed or two, and the accompanying parallel-world graininess before. Not really sure at this point where or how. My guess is that he's somehow connected to Elizabeth, or wherever she comes from.

The Letuces are funny, but what are their goals? Why are they helping Booker when the female one helped Comstock?

 

 

To those who are still playing; listen to all the random old-timey songs. 

[Waldorf and Statler]

Started the game today. Got slightly past the beach section they showed off to IGN and I'm now about to start the official game with Elizabeth at my side.

 

Out of everything I've liked I gotta say the one I found fucking awesome, as all "ooooh literature" as it is.

 

was early on pre-shooting when you're visiting around the carnival and

 

 

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You see the dark side of the population when the interracial couple gets brought out as the price for winning the raffle. The change in atmosphere, the eery music and the cheering individuals. Wow, what a scene. Brilliantly done.

 

 

 

Also, hot dam is this game hard in Hard. I can't remember the last game where the majority of the game I spend looking for money/life/mana because I am genuinely low throughout every section as shit runs out WAY too fast. I've only died twice and one of them was with a certain crow boss battle. I'm trying to not waste too much money buying items to buy Vigor upgrades but I'm not finding SHIT of money and those upgrades are expensive as shit.

Edited March 29, 2013 by Waldorf And Statler

[CorgiShinobi]

Yep, I began on Hard (still am), and turrets are beasts at first. Booker will get diabetes at game's end because anything you eat seems to give you a sliver of health.

[Waldorf and Statler]

Seriously I don't even know what the point of using anything that isn't a medpack is. And yeah I don't tend to kill turrets because they are bullet sponges. And using the possess skill  takes away half your salt so I can't just possess them.

[CorgiShinobi]

I just got to the part where you can improve Possession's capacity. It makes it "usable" now.

[Mister Jack]

I'm currently playing on 1999 mode. Come at me, Columbia.

[Waldorf and Statler]

I'm not even gonna touch 1999 mode. Hard mode I'm already forced to hide and scavange dead bodies like Gollum, I don't need a game where a bird can look at me and kill me

[Mister Jack]

It's actually not THAT hard if you always always ALWAYS take your time and don't rush into fights. Keeping a carbine or sniper rifle on you at all times is also recommended. And use vigor traps. I mostly ignored them in normal mode but they'll save your ass in higher difficulties.

 

Oh yeah, get EVERY infusion. Use a checklist if you need to.

[CorgiShinobi]

Is it me or does the carbine suck?

 

I'm getting into the part of the game where the other weapons are becoming available, so now I have more options. Still, I would swap the pistol, shotgun, and machine gun. Then I got that gatling gun from a patriot bot and didn't put it down for the next hour.

[Waldorf and Statler]

I actually JUST got to the part where I received the sniper rifle and the rpg. I haven't touched the rpg yet, but that'll be used for big baddies and when baddies happen to be grouped together. Outside of running low on bullets I can't see switching these two out. I'm afraid this might turn into Far Cry 3 where I take care of enemies from afar, so I won't be using vigors too much. In fact the game had to tell me "Remember to use vigors" haha. I might end up setting up traps more to secure the place I camp in.

[deanb]

Yeah possession sucks at first, but comes in pretty handy as you upgrade Vigors and get the Infusions. Except of course on enemies immune to them. Also the Patriots, it works on them but for a few seconds at best unlike regular enemies and turrets.

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

http://www.plaidhatgames.com/news/226

 

 

Now I'll be on my merry way before I get spoiled for a game I won't play for a year in all likelihood.

[Saturnine Tenshi]

Nice, P4. Wonder if it's worth playing at all? I know you're into all these snazzy board games.

 

As far as weapons/vigors are concerned, I stick with the machine gun and either the hand cannon, sniper rifle or RPG at this point in the game. And possession is hella useful versus the tougher normal enemies. The crow/fire/RPG guys. They can wreak havoc on their once-allies. And when it's over, they just off themselves.

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

The designer designed only one other game but it was received well, so hopefully it's good. The publisher has done Summoner Wars and Mice & Mystics which were reviewed well also. No way to tell until someone gets his hands on it, but it's definitely a "designer game" (read: not Monopoly).

[Mister Jack]

Man Patriots are the worst on 1999 mode . They're immune to all the best vigors and they have a crapload of HP. Has anyone found out what their kryptonite is? And don't say shooting them in the back because they turn around too fast.

[Waldorf and Statler]

You know I consider it a tactic of sorts with the bigger baddies, at least at first and I might later again, to distract them with crows or possess them and attack them while they're allies Problem is when they're immune to the specific vigor I have. Like I know the crow guys are weak to fire but I don't really like using it.

[Mister Jack]

[deanb]

Even on Normal I couldn't get Patriots on the back, and with them being shocked too.

 

Has anyone managed to fling someone off Columbia? It's an achievement to do it to several people and I've not managed once. Same with fighting on the rails, nothing seemed to happen like in the 2010 video with the people coming at you on the rails, they just travel into the arena to battle you via the skyline. 

[Mister Jack]

  On 3/29/2013 at 5:56 PM, Deanb said:

Even on Normal I couldn't get Patriots on the back, and with them being shocked too.

 

Has anyone managed to fling someone off Columbia? It's an achievement to do it to several people and I've not managed once. Same with fighting on the rails, nothing seemed to happen like in the 2010 video with the people coming at you on the rails, they just travel into the arena to battle you via the skyline. 

 

Undertow + barge enemies = easy achievement

 

You can also use Bucking Bronco on someone standing near an edge and then shoot them a couple times to push them over.

[deanb]

Ah yes. Undertow seemed relatively weak so I didn't use it much. Same with Bronco too, I guess for specifically going for the achievement they're pretty neat, but floating enemies doesn't do much in this game for you. It keeps them out the way, but so does Possession.