Psychoward
Banned
"best gameplay and writing of the series, amazing art, feels like a proper adventure but the slow pacing doesn't lend itself well to replays"
boom where's my check
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Eurogamer: Three years on, how does Bioshock Infinite hold up?
- Thread starter Enter the Dragon Punch
- Start date
"best gameplay and writing of the series, amazing art, feels like a proper adventure but the slow pacing doesn't lend itself well to replays"
boom where's my check
Agree with every part of this post.
Psychoward
Banned
By saying The Last of Us is actually a good game you're implying that Bioshock Infinite isn't a good game.
Some of the concept art initially portrayed the game as much darker, vigors like murder of crows creating half human half crow hybrids, bucking brunco half human rams and the whole elizabeth shifting timelines caused people to merge with their other half having multiple heads or arms ect.
Seemed like as the game was costing them more and more money they needed to streamline and frankly *mainstream* the game into a more straightforward gallery shooter to attract a bigger crowd.
Man, this is such a damn bummer. I enjoyed Infinite and look forward to playing it again but it's a shame they weren't able to pull it together before having to just get a game out.
old manatee
Banned
I kept myself completely spoiler free after the initial Bioshock Infinite reveal. I was a true believer after listening to Shawn Elliot talk about it.
That game was totally full of shit. Gameplay and story.
That game was totally full of shit. Gameplay and story.
-MD-
Member
It's not.
Not everything is just "bad" or "good", sometimes it can be thoroughly mediocre, like Infinite.
It will still be seen as a game with genre topping combat and animations, beautiful graphics, strong characters, and a solid story, but bogged down by poor pacing leaving it as the 2nd best Uncharted game.
fuck beaten
lukeskymac
Member
Terrorblot
Member
I have to disagree with the criticisms regarding plot but just about everything else is on the nose. Bioshock Infinite always struck me as an incomplete package: In terms of atmosphere it's unrivaled, the story? Great but not exceptional, and gameplay is downright mediocre.
Yes you can. Bad critics are overwhelmed by presentation. Good critics ask why they feel the way they do and go from there.
Most game critics are bad critics overwhelmed by presentation. There are few good critics in games.
I'm pretty good at this, which is why I now have a job as a consultant.
By saying The Last of Us is actually a good game, you're implying you have low standards.
lukeskymac
Member
By implying it is not you're showing you're just a contrarian.
ProvenDeadly
Member
I think for any game if you pick it a part it looks bad.
I still love it and although I would agree combat isn't anything special I wouldn't say it is bad or below standards.
It's a great game.
I still love it and although I would agree combat isn't anything special I wouldn't say it is bad or below standards.
It's a great game.
The story makes sense in Infinite but it's poorly told because the designers wanted to stick to some of the misguided notions of videogame storytelling.
I can't say much against the piece in Eurogamer simply because my memory is fuzzy on the game. Some of those criticisms, however, read about as simple as "I don't like thing..." which looks like the author wanted to throw shade at a good game just to say he's caught in the zeitgeist against the game. The least the guy could have done is point to some of the games in the genre that did what Infinite does a little better. Then I could probably consider that Infinite was a bit overrated.
I can't say much against the piece in Eurogamer simply because my memory is fuzzy on the game. Some of those criticisms, however, read about as simple as "I don't like thing..." which looks like the author wanted to throw shade at a good game just to say he's caught in the zeitgeist against the game. The least the guy could have done is point to some of the games in the genre that did what Infinite does a little better. Then I could probably consider that Infinite was a bit overrated.
Psychoward
Banned
maybe, but at least the gameplay wasn't shit even when it was released so
Bio 1 had god awful shooting, no way to use plasmids and the gun at the same time, and that terrible hacking minigame repeated ad nauseum. And I played it before Bioshock 2 even released and I was still horribly let down by everything other than Rapture and Ryan. Pacing was garbage as well.
the proper ranking is of course 2> infinite> 1
This thread is going fast.
ProvenDeadly
Member
That part was fucking stupid. I love Infinite but that was just awful. Also the last fight before the ending. Everything else is good.
Accusations of contrarianism come from people who don't have valid criticism. I don't even need to defend myself.
brandonh83
Banned
Would've been my GOTY 2013 if it weren't for The Last of Us
Great game, mind-bending story that worked in its own context. Wonderful score.
The Wonderful 101
Great game, mind-bending story that worked in its own context. Wonderful score.
I didn't liked Infinite when it launched. Didn't liked the shooting and the story all things considered.
I was interested in it when they were showing trailers and impressions, but when I played it felt like they wanted and needed to do something much different than a Bioshock in the sky.
To me, Infinite should have been it's own series and the gameplay should have been something more like Deus Ex instead of your regular FPS. Columbia is, in theory, a great place to be explored and you should be able to talk to people and get to know them.
If I remember correctly, the mission was to get in quietly into Columbia, get Elizabeth and get out. No need to kill anyone. No need to usher total chaos in the city. No need for a single bullet if everything goes according to plan. By the time they started escaping and the whole city got up in arms, I knew Infinite was going to be something much different than what I expected and, even then, it wasn't a good experience at all.
I was interested in it when they were showing trailers and impressions, but when I played it felt like they wanted and needed to do something much different than a Bioshock in the sky.
To me, Infinite should have been it's own series and the gameplay should have been something more like Deus Ex instead of your regular FPS. Columbia is, in theory, a great place to be explored and you should be able to talk to people and get to know them.
If I remember correctly, the mission was to get in quietly into Columbia, get Elizabeth and get out. No need to kill anyone. No need to usher total chaos in the city. No need for a single bullet if everything goes according to plan. By the time they started escaping and the whole city got up in arms, I knew Infinite was going to be something much different than what I expected and, even then, it wasn't a good experience at all.
Some of the concept art initially portrayed the game as much darker, vigor addicts like murder of crows creating half human half crow hybrids, bucking brunco half human rams and the whole elizabeth shifting timelines caused people to merge with their other half having multiple heads or arms ect.
Seemed like as the game was costing them more and more money they needed to streamline and frankly *mainstream* the game into a more straightforward gallery shooter to attract a bigger crowd.
No problem with the darker tone, but the concept of vigour addicts and people merging with other animals puts it too close to a Bioshock rehash.
Psychoward
Banned
As someone who will defend Infinite to the death.... yeah that was awful in both story and gameplay. Really highlighted that 2 had the best gameplay formula of the bunch.
As a HUGE Fan of Bioshock Infinite at first looked like it was going in the messed up direction Bioshock was going then completely jumped ship.
Added more concept art if your interested.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
What annoys me about the backlash to this game is it feels like everyone is trying really hard to overcompensate for overhype.
If you take a measured look at this game, it's clearly an enjoyable linear rollercoaster ride of an FPS with amazing art assets. Nothing more nothing less.
But everyone thinks they're fighting against some pretention of it being great art, so it suddenly becomes "terrible".
If you take a measured look at this game, it's clearly an enjoyable linear rollercoaster ride of an FPS with amazing art assets. Nothing more nothing less.
But everyone thinks they're fighting against some pretention of it being great art, so it suddenly becomes "terrible".
Kenzodielocke
Banned
You know, I like games when they give me those special moments and Infinite had a lot of them. Gameplay was probably dull or at best servicable, but I will never forget that game.
And that is the important thing for me. That is also why I really like MGS4 and dislike MGSV.
And that is the important thing for me. That is also why I really like MGS4 and dislike MGSV.
I don't think it has any of the thematic cohesion of the first game, but I have to say I really enjoyed walking around and taking in the sights...
It's hard to be too critical of it when it felt so unique, but of course I acknowledge it has very serious issues. Matthewmatosis' review seems to me to be the best.
It's hard to be too critical of it when it felt so unique, but of course I acknowledge it has very serious issues. Matthewmatosis' review seems to me to be the best.
It's a very devisive game, that's for sure. You either love it or hate it, I don't see a lot of opinions in the middle.
I found the game a chore to get through. I thought the story was stupid as hell and the gameplay and level design was a big step down from Bioshock 2 (aka the best one). Booker talking kind of had the opposite effect of the silent protags of the first two games - that sense of lonely desperation.
But the biggest failure was that Columbia was no where near as interesting to explore as Rapture was.
I *respect* that the team and Levine tried to do something very different, but I think they failed to deliver on the initial potential of the game.
I found the game a chore to get through. I thought the story was stupid as hell and the gameplay and level design was a big step down from Bioshock 2 (aka the best one). Booker talking kind of had the opposite effect of the silent protags of the first two games - that sense of lonely desperation.
But the biggest failure was that Columbia was no where near as interesting to explore as Rapture was.
I *respect* that the team and Levine tried to do something very different, but I think they failed to deliver on the initial potential of the game.
thebadmoodvivi
Neo Member
Infinite is The Magnificent Ambersons of gaming
They built three games' worth of content for Bioshock Infinite. At the end of the day--and this has been told to me by a few Irrational folks a few years back (I think this stuff is public knowledge by now)--it was the consoles and Levine that killed the game.
Levine, as I understand it, kept changing things and never really knew exactly what he wanted, but this was in part because a lot of what folks DID want literally could not work on consoles; they just weren't powerful enough to handle a lot of what we saw in the demos. So indecision+consoles ruined things.
Reminds me a bit of Terrence Malick in that sense--that guy had 250 hours of footage for Thin Red Line and his editors had to come in and fix it.
Levine, as I understand it, kept changing things and never really knew exactly what he wanted, but this was in part because a lot of what folks DID want literally could not work on consoles; they just weren't powerful enough to handle a lot of what we saw in the demos. So indecision+consoles ruined things.
Reminds me a bit of Terrence Malick in that sense--that guy had 250 hours of footage for Thin Red Line and his editors had to come in and fix it.
User 479360
Banned
I liked it a lot. To each their own.
I look forward to returning to it when it's in the Collection.
I look forward to returning to it when it's in the Collection.
OFF COURRRSE.
The game was a victim of hype as repeatedly stated! People just refused to believe the game could be bad because that would mean their anticipation for this overhyped game based on its franchise name and the people working on it would be for nothing!
The game was a victim of hype as repeatedly stated! People just refused to believe the game could be bad because that would mean their anticipation for this overhyped game based on its franchise name and the people working on it would be for nothing!
The Last One
Member
I played it again last year and still think it's an amazing game. It's really a different approach when compared to Bioshock 1 though.
This is why I rarely read reviews these days. I just can't believe the hyperbole.
Who cares what you think 3 years down the line? A review is for the benefit of the consumer but it is useless if the reviewer keeps getting consumed by hype.
I can't begin to count the number of reviews that hype the latest AAAA game to the skies for it to be generally regarded as just an OK game down the line.
I always found it strange how people talked down on Bioshock 2 back when Infinite was coming out. Despite some of the flaws of Bio 2, I found it to be a much more enjoyable game. The Minerva's Den DLC was especially great.
I'm happy people seem more willing to criticize Infinite now that the hype period is long over. The fans were ultra defensive of that game for quite a time.
I'm happy people seem more willing to criticize Infinite now that the hype period is long over. The fans were ultra defensive of that game for quite a time.
I didn't like it then. I remember meandering through loot feeling incredibly tedious, the plasmids being underwhelming, and the story being incredibly indecisive and uninteresting due to how indecisive it was with what it wanted to tell.
Like, I hated all the insane zealotry Last of Us inspired on Gaf, but it absolutely felt like it ate Bioshock Infinite's lunch as this kind of escort game with attachment and some sort of strong emphasis on story.
I wonder how long before game journalists come to their senses about Shadows of Mordor next?
Like, I hated all the insane zealotry Last of Us inspired on Gaf, but it absolutely felt like it ate Bioshock Infinite's lunch as this kind of escort game with attachment and some sort of strong emphasis on story.
I wonder how long before game journalists come to their senses about Shadows of Mordor next?
Already Torn
Banned
It's gonna be awkward when Kevin Levine makes his next game and advertises it as "from the creator of Bioshock Infinite", and everyone is just upset instead of happy. Bad characters, terrible story, insultingly pretentious, good visuals and music.
Piston Hyundai
Member
The GTA IV of shooters.
Psychoward
Banned
you vastly overestimate how many people actually hated Infinite lol
HughJanuss
Banned
You mean the best game of last gen and one of the best games of all time? yeah it did come out that year. whats your point?
If only journalists take a hard look at other games they gave high scores for, like say...Mass Effect 3 where they even defended the ending.
Bioshock Infinite was an amazing experience for me. The music, the atmosphere, the characters, the story, the ending and the essentially epilogue dlc. And this is coming from someone who consider fps as my least favorite genre next to annual sports game.
Bioshock Infinite was an amazing experience for me. The music, the atmosphere, the characters, the story, the ending and the essentially epilogue dlc. And this is coming from someone who consider fps as my least favorite genre next to annual sports game.
DonMigs85
Member
On console or PC? PC won't get a remaster for Infinite