First Impressions: Bioshock Infinite

March 26th saw the release of Bioshock Infinite – where Ken Levine takes the reigns again on another atmospheric emotional roller coaster, but rather than dealing with Objectivism and the follies of man (Bioshock 1 and 2), Bioshock Infinite focuses on propaganda, racism, and an unhealthy combination of church and state. There are many articles that will tell you the story, or the game play, but this is more of my “first impressions” of the game. SPOILERS AHEAD, so read on if you enjoy the ride rather than the destination.

This game pulls off an impressive level of atmosphere and exposition. I started out on a boat heading towards a lighthouse, a scene for those who have played Bioshock 1 & 2 will be familiar with. It really felt more like an homage to Bioshock’s past, sort of like the debut trailer for Infinite. It helped me plant my feet into the world and let me know I was about to start a magical journey. So I went into the creepy light house, filled with cross stitched frames telling me to wash my hands of my sins, something I immediately recognized as something my grandparents would have in their home. I went to the top of the light house and rang a bell, the sky lit up with a red glow as fog horns shook my $30 computer speakers, a chair appeared, and my curiosity took over as I strapped in and realized my lighthouse had just transformed into a rocket ship. That’s right– sorry JFK and NASA, the real first people to create a manned rocket were turn of the century seceding  racists!

As I flew through the clouds, my breath was taken away. The scene ahead was an impossible flying city, filled with magnificent statues, town plazas, and skyscrapers. My rocket ship deploys a parachute and I slowly descend into a building and thoughts race through my head “there’s no way this was planned, were they expecting me.” Now, as a sort of disclosure, I grew up Mormon up until I left for college, and as a result I am still very familiar with the culture and symbolism. I find myself in a sort of religious indoctrination zone and I am introduced to Father Comstock, the prophet of the magnificent flying city of Columbia. I turn the corner to find a room filled with water as men and women sing hymns as they slowly walk towards a preacher on the other end. I immediately recognize what’s coming next; this is a baptismal font, and the sinners of Columbia must be immersed in water in order to find redemption before entering into this blessed city. I reluctantly took the preacher’s hand (a task that took me minutes of contemplation and trying to glitch my way past him), and was babtised… and then promptly drowned. Dang.

My character wakes up in a beautiful garden (Genesis anyone?), coughing water, as I’m greeted by three grand statues of Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin. That’s something you’ll notice about this game, Columbia loves statues. They are magnificent, grand creations, that pierce the clouds that surround the city. And it’s exactly this reason why I love this game so much already (I’m about 5 hours in). The atmosphere is fantastic. Yes the combat is satisfying and the story is pretty interesting, but something that made me love Bioshock 1 and 2, was the atmosphere. This impossible city being a world I want to explore and discover, it’s the reason why I keep opening up my PC to play more. The entire city seems dedicated to the idea that it was created by a sort of mandate of heaven, and you’ll see posters of military service everywhere. But what is Columbia defending itself from? It’s up in the clouds? Unlike Rapture which sought solemnity under the sea, Columbia soared to the skies to destroy the enemies of America… and that means the Irish  Chinese and Africans of the world. That’s right. Columbia is filled with racists. But remember, this is a city in 1912, a lot of people really did consider race as a curse/blessing. The game even says that it’s the white man’s burden to take care of God’s creatures and keep them in their place. In a scene later in the game, I visit a museum dedicated to showing the “savages” and the history of war. You” see in the screen shot below a bunch of asian caricatures (complete with evil squinty eyes, sharp teeth and patty worker hats) burning a book of manners… because of course an ungodly creature would never want to learn manners.

The game so far is beautiful and enthralling. Despite a couple of bugs (my game crashes occasionally), and some intuitiveness key bindings, I’m finding this a very fun game. Something that I was immediately impressed with was the “escort mission” aspect of the game. Part of the story involves me rescuing Elizabeth and dragging her around town as we try to escape from the city. But Elizabeth isn’t your typical girl, no she holds her own better than I can. Sure she’s not fighting the bad guys, but she avoids the firefight and manages to toss me helpful items when needed (ammo, health, and magic points known as salt). Not only is she useful in combat but her out of combat exposition is amazing. As you walk through the city during your quiet moments, she’ll comment on how something is “just like a book [she] read!” (remember, she’s been trapped in a tower her whole life ala Rapunzel though she looks just like Belle). It’s the little things like this that make me glad that the game was delayed several times – the amount of polish that went into this was fantastic. Let’s just say that after I finish this review, I’ll be dancing in the clouds for a couple more hours tonight.