Support NeoGAF

[Jack Scofield]

So I've been playing a fair bit of the game (up to the Hall of Heroes), and it's great fun, but I can't help but be dumbfounded/annoyed/saddened by some of Irrational's design choices.

The game feels like it actively discourages experimentation and limits your options in ways that Bioshock 1 and 2 never did. For example, only allowing two weapons at a time (and without ammo variations as far as I know) and the removal of hacking greatly limits your approach to a combat situation. Lack of manual saving makes experimenting with different approaches cumbersome and inconvenient. One of the things that I loved to do in the other Bioshock games is saving before a fight and then trying out different combinations of weapons and plasmids and hacked security to maximize effectiveness or just for fun, and then reloading the save to try out something else. The design of Infinite flies in the face of that.

Keep in mind that this is coming from someone who adored everything about the other Bioshock games. Infinite is wonderful so far but it isn't quite the Bioshock I know and love.

Anyone else feel the same way?

Completely agree with the save complaint. Just earlier today I was wandering around Emporia for 20 minutes because the game wouldn't give me a checkpoint.

Lack of a New Game+ sucks as well. Near the end of the game you're so powerful and combat opens up immensely. Unfortunately you only get to enjoy the extent of your powers for a limited time until the game is over. Hell, give us combat arenas in separate modes. I wouldn't mind replaying certain battles over and over again, but the save system makes that impossible.

 

[Bedlam]

I'm currently at Emporia (just defeated

Spoiler

Mrs. Comstock's ghost

). Right up until

Spoiler

Fink's Factory

I loved pretty much every moment of the game but this area - I don't like it very much at all. It seems that it's not as well designed as the rest of the game as far as visuals and layout goes, which is why it probably reminds me of those late-game Bioshock levels. Exploration is tedious here and said bossfight made me think I was playing a poor man's

Spoiler

Return to Castle Wolfenstein

. Hopefully the game picks up again after this section.

 

[Polo67]

Ken.. The best ever story teller in gaming? I'm stunned right now with the bioshock series

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Has anyone posted this yet?

Homemade voxophone

 

[DatDude]

I'm currently at Emporia (just defeated

Spoiler

Mrs. Comstock's ghost

). Right up until

Spoiler

Fink's Factory

I loved pretty much every moment of the game but this area - I don't like it very much at all. It seems that it's not as well designed as the rest of the game as far as visuals and layout goes, which is why it probably reminds me of those late-game Bioshock levels. Exploration is tedious here and said bossfight made me think I was playing a poor man's

Spoiler

Return to Castle Wolfenstein

. Hopefully the game picks up again after this section.

Yeah, easily the worst level by far. Don't worry, it goes uphill from there.

 

[chickdigger802]

Anyone else take out their phone every time they quit to check if an autosave was recent?

And yeah, with the way how 'looting' works and ammo and what not, it really does feel like pre halo shooters, except you are limited to 2 guns for no real good reason.

They really should have grouped together some guns so that they share ammo or something

 

[Locke_211]

I just got to Emporia and am a bit confused about some of the plot details so far:

Spoiler

This whole alternate dimensions thing came a bit suddenly and is a bit odd. Are they permanently in a different dimension now? Had they left for Paris successfully, would it have been an alternate reality Paris or does the effect only stay on Columbia? Did I miss something simple that explains this? Or is some sort of explanation coming later?

Also, I'm still waiting for some sort of twist or reveal.

Having said that, I'm really enjoying it! And writing wise, my new favourite line in a videogame is Elizabeth's

Spoiler

There'll be a revolution like in Les Miserables!

 

[Andrew.]

Just finished and everything was it was amazing except for the combat and AI. Waves of non stop bullet sponges with bad AI are not fun. But the story, pacing, and atmosphere make up for it. 9/10

Give me a break dude. Bullet sponges my ass except for Handymen or Pats and really, that's only if you're clueless about how to properly take them down.

And let's not get started on the "waves" because we all know there's really only two sections in the entire game where this occurs and the first time isn't even that big of a deal since you have a large area to utilize for attacks and strategy.

 

[FartOfWar]

Just finished and everything was it was amazing except for the combat and AI. Waves of non stop bullet sponges with bad AI are not fun. But the story, pacing, and atmosphere make up for it. 9/10

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by bad AI (as developer and player understandings of AI differ dramatically)?

 

[FartOfWar]

I didn't like that much combat mechanics and tuning (HUGE hitboxes, HUGE area of impact of powers, flat weapons, inconsistent enemies behaviour), but when things get intense the gameplay is very funny and distinctive.

Like in this situation, definitely one of my fav of the entire game:
http://youtu.be/01vKtPBEUNE

As experience, the arrival at Columbia and the ending blew me away.

Thanks, that was mine. : )

 

[TTG]

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by bad AI (as developer and player understandings of AI differ dramatically)?

I felt like the typical encounter is an angry mob chasing Dewitt. You're always beating the grunts back with a stick, so to speak. The melee guys go a long way in creating that, but often it's armed enemies as well. It makes for a frantic sort of firefight, they try to maul you while you're limiting how exposed you are, shooting the guy who presents the biggest threat at the moment in the face. In a sandbox shooter, I'd like a chance to take a breath and weigh my options, come up with a strategy. Bioshock has a seemingly unlimited number of cannon fodder pressing the issue, making them the priority, not letting me explore in the moment.

It probably also plays a part in why there are complaints of not knowing where you're getting shot from. I did a quick search of a walk through, look at this scenario. The guy comes out of the far door, so he's got no one behind him through the door and a wall almost directly to his right:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X15dsT4sBZA&t=12m30s

He takes a chance to advance slightly to chase one of the 2 people he spots right outside the door and there are 3 people BEHIND him straight away. Is this because the AI was doing it's usual thing, trying to get in his face? Which in a relatively open space like that could mean enemies converging from all sides? Maybe a misdiagnosis on my part. Don't tell me they just spawned there. But the sort of constant nuisance of guys running at you, it's frustrating. He spends the rest of that firefight right outside his point of entry and he had no choice really. Especially true in my case(playing on hard or 1999), you can't really advance through that little onslaught because you're just not doing enough damage.

Look at the Order of the Raven or all the boss fights against a certain someone from Memorial Gardens as examples. I'm pointing out some of the worst ones, but the problem is more widespread. You just don't see Elites, grunts and jackals with that kind of strategy. It's tedious and it muddies up the water. There are some other issues, but this is the most frustrating one.

It's a great sandbox with a lot of cool, well implemented tools by the way. And there are different enemies there that are fun to fight, like most of the arena type encounters. The grunts suck though and I think that comes back to their AI.

EDIT: just realized there's a big time gap between our posts, oh well.

 

[SniperHunter]

Spoiler

I don't think you can take them out before they wake the others but you can definitely sneak past them. Avoid the light. Go around behind and don't get too close! There it is.

thanks a lot!

 

[aparisi2274]

What's the best way to take out the

Spoiler

enemies with the search light helmets (comstocks tower) before they wake up corpses?

I just sneaked past those enemies, so as not to have them do the thing they do....

 

[mephixto]

I just sneaked past those enemies, so as not to have them do the thing they do....

I used the possesion trap, funny to see all of them suicide at once.

 

[Cudder]

I think this might be one of the best paced FPS games I've ever played.

 

[AlphaTwo00]

I felt like the typical encounter is an angry mob chasing Dewitt. You're always beating the grunts back with a stick, so to speak. The melee guys go a long way in creating that, but often it's armed enemies as well. It makes for a frantic sort of firefight, they try to maul you while you're limiting how exposed you are, shooting the guy who presents the biggest threat at the moment in the face. In a sandbox shooter, I'd like a chance to take a breath and weigh my options, come up with a strategy. Bioshock has a seemingly unlimited number of cannon fodder pressing the issue, making them the priority, not letting me explore in the moment.

It probably also plays a part in why there are complaints of not knowing where you're getting shot from. I did a quick search of a walk through, look at this scenario. The guy comes out of the far door, so he's got no one behind him through the door and a wall almost directly to his right:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X15dsT4sBZA&t=12m30s

He takes a chance to advance slightly to chase one of the 2 people he spots right outside the door and there are 3 people BEHIND him straight away. Is this because the AI was doing it's usual thing, trying to get in his face? Which in a relatively open space like that could mean enemies converging from all sides? Maybe a misdiagnosis on my part. Don't tell me they just spawned there. But the sort of constant nuisance of guys running at you, it's frustrating. He spends the rest of that firefight right outside his point of entry and he had no choice really. Especially true in my case(playing on hard or 1999), you can't really advance through that little onslaught because you're just not doing enough damage.

Look at the Order of the Raven or all the boss fights against a certain someone from Memorial Gardens as examples. I'm pointing out some of the worst ones, but the problem is more widespread. You just don't see Elites, grunts and jackals with that kind of strategy. It's tedious and it muddies up the water. There are some other issues, but this is the most frustrating one.

It's a great sandbox with a lot of cool, well implemented tools by the way. And there are different enemies there that are fun to fight, like most of the arena type encounters. The grunts suck though and I think that comes back to their AI.

EDIT: just realized there's a big time gap between our posts, oh well.

Thanks for summing up my issues with it as well, but I think in addition to some of those AI issues, there's a ton of other issues that also contribute to it. The grunts not taking any more interesting tactic other than charging at you is definitely there, but even if some take a break and flank outwards, the sheer volume (which is how they end up amping the difficulty later on) means that at some point, at least some cannon fodder will be charging at you in your face, nudging players to deal with immediate threats instead of planning. Enemy types, positioning, spawn points, all seem to just do really basic, noticeable stuff, and never goes beyond that, and it really flies in contrast to how well some of the other things have been done in the game.

I had just recently wrapped up a podcast with a friend/excoworker talking about this (our main focus of those podcasts are on design in games), and we blew two hours discussing about Infinite. It was kind of amusing that both of us arrived at the same conclusion that the gameplay and the mechanics behind it was surprisingly lacking/undercooked compared to the polish of everything else in the game.

 

[The Librarian]

Thanks for summing up my issues with it as well, but I think in addition to some of those AI issues, there's a ton of other issues that also contribute to it. The grunts not taking any more interesting tactic other than charging at you is definitely there, but even if some take a break and flank outwards, the sheer volume (which is how they end up amping the difficulty later on) means that at some point, at least some cannon fodder will be charging at you in your face, nudging players to deal with immediate threats instead of planning. Enemy types, positioning, spawn points, all seem to just do really basic, noticeable stuff, and never goes beyond that, and it really flies in contrast to how well some of the other things have been done in the game.

I had just recently wrapped up a podcast with a friend/excoworker talking about this (our main focus of those podcasts are on design in games), and we blew two hours discussing about Infinite. It was kind of amusing that both of us arrived at the same conclusion that the gameplay and the mechanics behind it was surprisingly lacking/undercooked compared to the polish of everything else in the game.

Heh. It's funny how there are people complaining that enemies to often stay back, making traps useless, and others saying enemies rush you too often.

 

[AlphaTwo00]

Heh. It's funny how there are people complaining that enemies to often stay back, making traps useless, and others saying enemies rush you too often.

There's definitely that too, which, to me, is indicative of multiple game systems conflicting with each other. I noticed at many points specifically

Spoiler

outside comstock house

where enemies were clearly stuck in a bounded box of where they spawn, and don't move beyond a certain invisible gate. However, if you're within a certain section, they'll charge like hell.

I had an entire area laid out with traps

Spoiler

just outside the market with the shop with the lady sweeping

and none of the enemies would ever wander out of it, but if I walk through the zone to the other side, they would attack upto a point, and stop chasing me once they hit the other invisibale wall zone.

 

[lowhighkang_LHK]

I need some help.

I'm having trouble at the part where you first (or it could be the last time?) you control

Spoiler

songbird

I am playing on hard mode. I'm having a hard time taking down the patriots, and i know there is a combination of salts that work well and I'm just not figuring it out outside of mind control. Any tips on them and how to most quickly get through that segment, since it seems it's event triggered and not actually "timed."

 

[The Librarian]

There's definitely that too, which, to me, is indicative of multiple game systems conflicting with each other. I noticed at many points specifically

Spoiler

outside comstock house

where enemies were clearly stuck in a bounded box of where they spawn, and don't move beyond a certain invisible gate. However, if you're within a certain section, they'll charge like hell.

I had an entire area laid out with traps

Spoiler

just outside the market with the shop with the lady sweeping

and none of the enemies would ever wander out of it, but if I walk through the zone to the other side, they would attack upto a point, and stop chasing me once they hit the other invisibale wall zone.

Eh. In both those encounters, if I recall correctly, was where the enemies had a clear advantage in terms of height, and it makes sense they want to stay there.

I get some complaints about the combat, but overall it's a lot of fun and the sandbox is just spectacular.

I need some help.

I'm having trouble at the part where you first (or it could be the last time?) you control

Spoiler

songbird

I am playing on hard mode. I'm having a hard time taking down the patriots, and i know there is a combination of salts that work well and I'm just not figuring it out outside of mind control. Any tips on them and how to most quickly get through that segment, since it seems it's event triggered and not actually "timed."

Deploy Shocky Jocky traps in the path of the MPs to paralyze them, and put Return to Sender traps around

Spoiler

the core

.

 

[CloakedPuppet]

Just finished last night.

Fantastic story and presentation: check
Mind-numbingly repetitive gameplay: check

Still, an enjoyable ride and great example of how well games can truly create a convincing and fantastic world. Absolutely stellar job by Irrational on that front.

I know it's a dead horse by now but I really am looking forward to the day when we can experience great storytelling without relying on tired shooter mechanics. By the end of the game, I would have gladly shelled out for a micro-transaction to skip the combat sections in order to just see how the story finished. Simple puzzle elements (a la Myst) would have been preferable over 12+ hours of whack a mole.

 

[lowhighkang_LHK]

Eh. In both those encounters, if I recall correctly, was where the enemies had a clear advantage in terms of height, and it makes sense they want to stay there.

I get some complaints about the combat, but overall it's a lot of fun and the sandbox is just spectacular.


Deploy Shocky Jocky traps in the path of the MPs to paralyze them, and put Return to Sender traps around

Spoiler

the core

.

Okay, thanks. The Return To Sender bit sounds a bit obvious, should have thought of that. That's charge LT and release right?

 

[RedSwirl]

About to start a 360 rental copy. Normal or hard? Normal felt way too easy for me in Bioshock 1 and 2.

 

[Ein Bear]

About to start a 360 rental copy. Normal or hard? Normal felt way too easy for me in Bioshock 1 and 2.

I say hard. Normal really is a piece of piss, and I enjoyed the game much more the second time round on 1999 mode. Makes you have to think and experiment a bit more.

 

[ElzarTheBam]

About to start a 360 rental copy. Normal or hard? Normal felt way too easy for me in Bioshock 1 and 2.

Hard. Even that's not hard.

Also finished the game for the third time today (on 1999 mode again), and took a completely diffrent approach to gameplay. Focused on melee and the hand cannon.

Vigors were return to sender and charge and I also took a completely different approach to the

Spoiler

final battle

. The game never punished me for bieng creative, and I really loved that.

Sometimes it's feels Halo CE'esq when the whole sandbox is in play.

 

[RedSwirl]

Hard. Even that's not hard.

Also finished the game for the third time today (on 1999 mode again), and took a completely diffrent approach to gameplay. Focused on melee and the hand cannon.

Vigors were return to sender and charge and I also took a completely different approach to the

Spoiler

final battle

. The game never punished me for bieng creative, and I really loved that.

Sometimes it's feels Halo CE'esq when the whole sandbox is in play.

That's at least good to hear. I'm still not pleased hearing how linear and "streamlined" the game sounds but I at least expect the combat to be somewhat open-ended. I still don't understand why Halo CE's sandbox-style combat hasn't been fully replicated in really any shooter since. I feel like Halo 3 came close at times but that's it.

 

[FlyFaster]

Posted this in the spoilers thread but it's worth mentioning here as well.

Very Short Review:

Overall the game is clear contender for 2013 goty.

Nothing else this year come close to imo. The game is firing on all cylinders. Story, pacing, combat, control, ect. And the game was made in such intelligent ways with story and action intertwining. I could go on but this game is 10/10.

Great game, go get it right now.


p.s. I never played Bioshock 1 or 2 but will be going back to check them out. Infinite was amazing.

 

[GillianSeed79]

I wonder if Fart of War could answer a question about the collectible gear. Obviously, what gear you get is random, but is it just completely random or is there some algorithm that was used that bases it on your play style? Like in my fist playthrough, I focused on a mix of weapon and vigor upgrades and got stuff like the headshot damage increase gear and awesome blood to salts gear fairly early in the game. In my second playthrough, I focused on purely upgrading my vigors and most of the gear I ended up getting early was melee-based gear. I have a feeling it's completely random, but just wanted to know. I didn't realize how awesome blood to salts was until it ended up being the last piece of gear I found in my second playthrough. Also, is there more gear than you can actually collect in a single playthrough? Like I swear I didn't get the headshot damage upgrade in my second playthrough unless I missed it.

 

[The Librarian]

Okay, thanks. The Return To Sender bit sounds a bit obvious, should have thought of that. That's charge LT and release right?

Yup.

That's at least good to hear. I'm still not pleased hearing how linear and "streamlined" the game sounds but I at least expect the combat to be somewhat open-ended. I still don't understand why Halo CE's sandbox-style combat hasn't been fully replicated in really any shooter since. I feel like Halo 3 came close at times but that's it.

Heh. Halo 3 took Halo sandbox as about as far it can go. It's far more expanded in scope and encounters than Halo CE.

 

[DatDude]

Just finished last night.

Fantastic story and presentation: check
Mind-numbingly repetitive gameplay: check

Still, an enjoyable ride and great example of how well games can truly create a convincing and fantastic world. Absolutely stellar job by Irrational on that front.

I know it's a dead horse by now but I really am looking forward to the day when we can experience great storytelling without relying on tired shooter mechanics. By the end of the game, I would have gladly shelled out for a micro-transaction to skip the combat sections in order to just see how the story finished. Simple puzzle elements (a la Myst) would have been preferable over 12+ hours of whack a mole.

Than would it even be a game?

I mean, I wouldn't mind less shooting either. But than, I'd feel we'd be spiraling in that old age debate on whether games need to move towards being MORE gamey (ala doom and the games of old), or should they become more passive and cinematic (Tell Tales Walking Dead, Journey, Heavy Rain, etc).

I mean on one hand you might be crafting a more well rounded experience. But on the other hand, your sort of shunning the exact aspect that makes this medium unique in it's own right.

So idk to be honest.

 

[Jack Scofield]

Replaying it, I'm enjoying combat much more than I did the first time. There's so many options to each encounter. My new favorite tactic is using Undertow to bring enemies into traps (preferably Shock Jockey). And with the Blood to Salts gear, I usually end up with more Salts than I began with. It's fun.

 

[t-ramp]

I started a new game in 1999 mode the other day and played through the first series of combat encounters. I'm not sure if I want to do another complete playthrough now, but looking at some screenshots I took the first time... this game is really gorgeous, I might do it.

 

[FartOfWar]

There's definitely that too, which, to me, is indicative of multiple game systems conflicting with each other. I noticed at many points specifically

Spoiler

outside comstock house

where enemies were clearly stuck in a bounded box of where they spawn, and don't move beyond a certain invisible gate. However, if you're within a certain section, they'll charge like hell.

I had an entire area laid out with traps

Spoiler

just outside the market with the shop with the lady sweeping

and none of the enemies would ever wander out of it, but if I walk through the zone to the other side, they would attack upto a point, and stop chasing me once they hit the other invisibale wall zone.

But weren't you just arguing that all bots blindly bum rush you?

 

[FartOfWar]

Hard. Even that's not hard.

Also finished the game for the third time today (on 1999 mode again), and took a completely diffrent approach to gameplay. Focused on melee and the hand cannon.

Vigors were return to sender and charge and I also took a completely different approach to the

Spoiler

final battle

. The game never punished me for bieng creative, and I really loved that.

Sometimes it's feels Halo CE'esq when the whole sandbox is in play.

Great to hear. We had to account for a ton of possible player approaches and loadouts. I became a big fan of Halo's combat while making this.

 

[t-ramp]

Nobody has extracted all the artwork of this game, have they? The posters and whatnot in the game are almost universally outstanding, I wouldn't mind having some high-res images of them to admire.

 

[CloakedPuppet]

Than would it even be a game?

I mean, I wouldn't mind less shooting either. But than, I'd feel we'd be spiraling in that old age debate on whether games need to move towards being MORE gamey (ala doom and the games of old), or should they become more passive and cinematic (Tell Tales Walking Dead, Journey, Heavy Rain, etc).

I mean on one hand you might be crafting a more well rounded experience. But on the other hand, your sort of shunning the exact aspect that makes this medium unique in it's own right.

So idk to be honest.

Good points. I don't know where we will end up but I know that games need to evolve in order to stay relevant or, at least, exciting. I'm not saying that shooters need to be done away with. Only that we need to look at that as not being the main or only gameplay component. Switch it up or re-shuffle the deck from time to time - even if it's only in the occasional stealth encounter.

I felt that variety was severely lacking in the encounters in this game. So much so that, for the first time in a very long time - I finished a game that felt as much of a chore at times than anything. It's a testament to the rest of the package that I stuck with it.

In a perfect world, I'd love to see what would happen if Irrational and Arkane studios got together to make a game. The love child of Bioshock and Dishonered?!! Sign me up!

 

[RoboPlato]

For some reason I've been brutally stuck on a section on 1999 near the end for the past week.

Spoiler

In Comstock house, after the second Boy of Silence that you can sneak by, there's a couple of turrets, a few regular enemies, and a Krow Klansman. I keep getting torn apart instantly because there's no decent weapons around. Six shots from a Handcannon and the pistol are not enough.

 

[Papercuts]

For some reason I've been brutally stuck on a section on 1999 near the end for the past week.

Spoiler

In Comstock house, after the second Boy of Silence that you can sneak by, there's a couple of turrets, a few regular enemies, and a Krow Klansman. I keep getting torn apart instantly because there's no decent weapons around. Six shots from a Handcannon and the pistol are not enough.

I was having an ammo crisis at this segment. I am pretty sure I was able to actually run away from everyone.

 

[DatDude]

Good points. I don't know where we will end up but I know that games need to evolve in order to stay relevant or, at least, exciting. I'm not saying that shooters need to be done away with. Only that we need to look at that as not being the main or only gameplay component. Switch it up or re-shuffle the deck from time to time - even if it's only in the occasional stealth encounter.

I felt that variety was severely lacking in the encounters in this game. So much so that, for the first time in a very long time - I finished a game that felt as much of a chore at times than anything. It's a testament to the rest of the package that I stuck with it.

In a perfect world, I'd love to see what would happen if Irrational and Arkane studios got together to make a game. The love child of Bioshock and Dishonered?!! Sign me up!

For what it's worth, and I know this isn't a proper solution, but playing easy would help alot of your issues.

It won't fix the variety issue per say, but enemy encounters would be more like window dressing since they would go down in a matter of a shot or 2, allowing you to simply enjoy the atmosphere of the world, and the narrative, rather than worrying about the next enemy encounter, or dying.

Again, not a proper solution. But playing this on easy does make shooting, and the combat less relevant, and allows more attention for the narrative and atmosphere to be experienced.

 

[GeoramA]

Platinum'd this bad boy. Loved 1999 mode, made me appreciate my vigors a lot more. Used Return to Sender and Bucking Bronco a lot.

 

[TTG]

Thanks for summing up my issues with it as well, but I think in addition to some of those AI issues, there's a ton of other issues that also contribute to it. The grunts not taking any more interesting tactic other than charging at you is definitely there, but even if some take a break and flank outwards, the sheer volume (which is how they end up amping the difficulty later on) means that at some point, at least some cannon fodder will be charging at you in your face, nudging players to deal with immediate threats instead of planning. Enemy types, positioning, spawn points, all seem to just do really basic, noticeable stuff, and never goes beyond that, and it really flies in contrast to how well some of the other things have been done in the game.

I had just recently wrapped up a podcast with a friend/excoworker talking about this (our main focus of those podcasts are on design in games), and we blew two hours discussing about Infinite. It was kind of amusing that both of us arrived at the same conclusion that the gameplay and the mechanics behind it was surprisingly lacking/undercooked compared to the polish of everything else in the game.

The number of bad guys is a double edged sword, I don't know if reducing that would be more like cutting off the nose to spite the face than dealing with the root cause. But, you bring up a good point.

The big arena style encounters are the highlights. There's enemy variety there, usually some of those floating boats that come in with reinforcements, skylines... Really good sand box stuff. And, like I said, there are a lot of well implemented mechanics there. Vigors are great, so are the skylines, so are the tears and gear to a smaller extent. Obviously the game wouldn't be perfect had that problem I mentioned/showed was eliminated, but it's more inconsistent than anything else.

But weren't you just arguing that all bots blindly bum rush you?

That was mostly me, I think. And it's a sort of deflating response. You ask for input, I start rambling and then... :/

 

[CloakedPuppet]

For what it's worth, and I know this isn't a proper solution, but playing easy would help alot of your issues.

It won't fix the variety issue per say, but enemy encounters would be more like window dressing since they would go down in a matter of a shot or 2, allowing you to simply enjoy the atmosphere of the world, and the narrative, rather than worrying about the next enemy encounter, or dying.

Again, not a proper solution. But playing this on easy does make shooting, and the combat less relevant, and allows more attention for the narrative and atmosphere to be experienced.

Yep. I already switched from hard to normal and finally to easy in the last bit of the game. I normally love challenge but, in this case, I was just eager for the slog to be over with.

 

[HueyFreeman]

And in this game 40% is almost always the requirement is fulfilled. At least with the Melee-Burns-Enemies gear.

although I think that's 70%

 

[RoboPlato]

I was having an ammo crisis at this segment. I am pretty sure I was able to actually run away from everyone.

I will attempt this tomorrow after I've actually gotten some sleep.

 

[Quesa]

I became a big fan of Halo's combat while making this.

I'd love to hear about this.

 

[AppleSmack]

Is this game worth $60 for 1 playthrough? I don't ever replay games, so I'm not sure if I should spend $60 on this relatively short game for 1 playthough.

 

[RedSwirl]

I cannot play this game with a controller. It feels wrong. I guess I'll have to go ahead and buy it on PC for that reason right there.

As soon as I entered combat (I started on hard) something just felt really off. I played both the previous Bioshock games on PC, and this still feels very much like Bioshock (and a bit like System Shock 2 before it). It wasn't even just the aiming. I felt completely disoriented in terms of my awareness of the environment.

The whole thing handles like a PC shooter, which is weird because this is set up very much like a gamey console game. Somehow I can still feel the old PC lineage in the controls if that makes any sense. I felt the same thing when I tried to rent the console versions of Fallout 3 and Dragon Age Origins.

What little I played (probably an hour) was technically linear, but it didn't feel like I was playing another Call of Duty clone. It felt like... a linear Shock game.

Anyway, story and art direction are pretty engrossing too. I definitely wanna see where the whole thing goes, and am definitely interested in 1999 mode.

 

[DatDude]

Is this game worth $60 for 1 playthrough? I don't ever replay games, so I'm not sure if I should spend $60 on this relatively short game for 1 playthough.

It's not THAT short.

If you take your time with it, there's no reason why you couldn't sink 12-15+ hours into Infinite.

As for whether it's worth your money? Depends what you enjoy in games honestly.

If you're a fan of narrative, and incredible atmosphere than this will probably be one of the best 60 bucks you spent in a long time.

If you're more solely a fan of "visceral" gameplay, than you should probably look elsewhere (not to say the gameplay is bad, but if you're looking for a Vanquish, you won't be finding it here)

 

[ElzarTheBam]

Great to hear. We had to account for a ton of possible player approaches and loadouts. I became a big fan of Halo's combat while making this.

Awesome. : )

 

[The Librarian]

Bought this shirt from the Irrational store. Thanks for the game, guys!