Following almost seven years after the first title in the series, the downloadable BioShock Infinite takes the concept of the BioShock city and puts it high in the sky. In the game, players explore the equally twisted and whimsical world of Columbia. Developed by Irrational Games (formerly 2K Boston) and published by 2K Games in 2013 in a game that explores the technology and ideologies of the 19th century particularly with regard to how American society was changing at that time.
The game also combines elements of the Wild West as well as early American industrial dominance. Born out of a fantastical sci-fi concept of the day, the city of Columbia’s ability to float about the Earth’s surface can be seen as a metaphor for the belief in limitless benefit to be derived from nascent industries in the post-Civil War United States.
How to Download BioShock Infinite
You can download the game (as well as its many DLCs: Burial at Sea Episode – One and Two, Columbia’s Finest and Clash in the Clouds) from Steam. To start your download click on the link located below the review.
The Game Review
Set in 1912, the player assumes the role of a Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt in search of a woman named Elizabeth who is reportedly held captive in the floating city of Columbia. For those players that may not be familiar with Pinkerton agents, they do not have the best reputation in American history and were often used for everything from political assassinations to breaking up strikes. This small detail should alert the player immediately that the morality in BioShock Infinite will be a little bit different than that encountered in other titles.
Though Booker will be successful in finding Elizabeth this is really only the beginning of the jumping off point for the game. Like the original BioShock, there are powers and upgrades to obtain in the game but there isn’t the Big Daddy/Little Sister problem like in the original game. Armed with Vigors and gear that grants specific abilities, the player largely zip lines around the city in the pursuit of its truths.
This can make the action not only unique but mind-bogglingly complex at times. You will be fighting people while you zip line and this is a unique part of the game that gives it that much more oomph in the wow department. Indeed, the best comparison with the original title is that one is more noir and the other more action based with BioShock Infinite being firmly in the latter camp.
A lot of the philosophical context for the game derives from the conflict occurring within the city of Columbia itself. Torn by elitist and nativist factions, there is also an underground movement representing the lower classes in what can only be taken as a microcosm of the United States at the time. These conflicts are largely self-contained to the city of Columbia and presented within such a narrow context that they rarely approach the sort of universalisms of BioShock.
This limited focus for narrative and philosophical thrust benefits the game’s action at the expense of its story as one cannot help but feel that there are large chunks of the game’s spirit missing because of this omission. That said, as an action game and a narrative, BioShock Infinite is among the best in the industry.
