WHAT PLAY YOU!? Version 2.0

[Steve Justice]

I'm very tempted by it, and once I'm done with Far Cry 3 (still playing this quite solidly BTW, and I've only just got to the second island. I just get sidetracked all the time), I'll probably look into getting this.

[PunkStep]

Is it worth playing the first BioShock game first? Never got round to playing it. Let alone the second one.

[Mr. Seven]

You don't need to play the first BioShock first but Infinite will lose a small but huge bit of impact for you unless you do. It's still one of the best games of the last few years, so dive right in ASAP.

 

Goin' quote LaGoosh from the other videogames thread as I presume he meant to post here:

 

Completed Bioshock Infinite on Sunday. Bloody epic brilliant stuff. 10/10. My favorite video game ending ever. When they talk about the evolution of storytelling in gaming I think Bioshock Infinite will be listed as one of the first games to deliver true compelling and gripping storytelling on the same level of a film or novel. The ending stayed with me for hours, I couldn't sleep because it was haunting me. Cemented an already fantastic game as one of my favorite ever games.

 

I'll preface by saying that I love the series. The original is a game-changer. The sequel is underrated but it's definitely more a 1.5 than a brand new thing. Infinite though, is indeed something else altogether. I'm not sure I'd go full marks though. There's probably too many ideas at play here and thus some get shortchanged. Also, Ken Levine is waaaaaaaaaaay too heavy-handed with some of the themes and they detract on occasion. Still, it's a remarkable achievement in terms of design and narrative and quite fun to play if a little repetitive and the final fight is really lazy and irritating. Elizabeth is a revelation, though.

 

The ending... I'm not sure if it's uplifting or depressing. It hit me like a punch to the throat even though I guessed the ultimate result. It also does Inception a whole hell of a lot better than the movie.

 

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Three things I found seriously upsetting:

 

1: Songbird's death. It was beautifully staged.

 

2: Booker never said goodbye.

 

3: "Anna, is that you?"

 

3a: They never got to Paris!

 

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I'm looking forward to playing through again. I'm still not sure where I stand on the ending. It's super downbeat and the holes are there should you wish to tear it to pieces.

[LaGoosh]

Yeah any story that features concepts and ideas that Bioshock Infinite does

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time travel, alternate universes, parallel dimensions etc.

 

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");document.close(); is always going to have holes but on an emotional level it completely floored me and made my jaw drop which has never happened to me in a video game before.

 

The moment where

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you return to Rapture

 

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");document.close(); just fucking made my brain explode at the time. Never saw that coming. The joy of the Bioshock games to me has never really been the action. The action in this was bloody great fun but really it's the side dressing to the story, spectacular visuals and unique atmosphere and setting that you can't get anywhere else.

 

 

Also the first Bishock is about 4 hours too long and the ending is crap, first 2/3rds is excellent but I felt that Infinite was paced really well for the most part.

[CleetusVanDamme]

I'm stuck on Bioshock, I think I'm near the end... SPOILER - Highlight the black box to read

Comstock's airship getting attacked by the Vox Populi. I manage to take care of the first few waves of enemies alright, targeting the gun-ships with Songbird, using possession on the RPG-guys etc, but by the time the Zeppelins come and the Patriots start dropping; I lose track of everything and fail shortly after.

It's fucking infuriating, spent the last few hours trying and failing over and over again.

 

Great game up until now, though. My only other big complaint with the game so far is the melee combat, the sky-hook just isn't that much fun to use on enemies, there's no real weight to it, and the 'executions' look shit (apart from that first one that happens in a cutscene). Doesn't measure up at all to the wrench and the drill from the first two games.

 

Let's hope I get to see how it ends one day...

Edited April 4, 2013 by CleetusVanDamme

[TUFCfan]

I'm stuck on Bioshock, I think I'm near the end... SPOILER - Highlight the black box to read

Comstock's airship getting attacked by the Vox Populi. I manage to take care of the first few waves of enemies alright, targeting the gun-ships with Songbird, using possession on the RPG-guys etc, but by the time the Zeppelins come and the Patriots start dropping; I lose track of everything and fail shortly after.

It's fucking infuriating, spent the last few hours trying and failing over and over again.

 

Great game up until now, though. My only other big complaint with the game so far is the melee combat, the sky-hook just isn't that much fun to use on enemies, there's no real weight to it, and the 'executions' look shit (apart from that first one that happens in a cutscene). Doesn't measure up at all to the wrench and the drill from the first two games.

 

Let's hope I get to see how it ends one day...

 

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As with a lot of the later parts of the game, I found that the return to sender vigor really helped on this. There is enough of the salts lying around that you shouldn't need to worry about using it fairly often. I also found the patriots were fixated more on destroying the parts of the ship leaving you free to go round the back of them for some easy shots. The way I did it was set the songbird on a gunship, use a shotgun and return to sender to go to where the dropped troops were and take them out and then head back to where you started to take out the patriots from behind. I luckily managed to do that section first time without dying, admittedly only on normal, so that strategy definitely worked for me. The important thing is to remember to use the songbird on a ship/zeppelin as soon as it's available to use as they cause more damage than the ground troops.

 

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Edited April 4, 2013 by TUFCfan

[LaGoosh]

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I just used the rocket launcher on the patriots and as they walked towards the main deck of the ship I would just continually use possession on them to slow them down while rocket launchering them. The Vox ships are the priority though, just make sure you get them as soon as they appear and then worry about everything else. Once you've done that you've finished the game

 

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Edited April 4, 2013 by LaGoosh

[Stylin_and_Profilin]

Has anyone here had their 360 modded?

 

I got a cracking 2nd hand deal from Gumtree for a 250gb slim with all the extras which was too cheap to turn down so i've transferred all my stuff onto that for going online and left with my old Xbox 20gb elite. So old infact it's the non HDMI version of which i've yet to see another one the same as!

 

Anyway i did a bit of reading up on the whole modding scene and eventually took the plunge last week and had the older console flashed onto LT 3.0+ to allow 'backups'.

 

It's certainly been a steep learning curve as i needed to buy a specific model of dual layer DVD burner but at the same time very interesting and a feeling of satisfaction after finally getting a game to burn and play having shredded through double figures on Verbatim DL discs (not cheap!). Everything is working a treat and i am pretty chuffed with myself.

 

The one thing which seems a grey area on is playing online? I've followed everything through word by word on the correct processes to ensure it Xbox Live! is safe but i am still cynical hence the fact i've transferred everything onto my other console and, at the the moment, keeping this as a standalone. People have reassured me it's perfectly safe but i am still dubious.

 

Any experience / advice?

 

Appreciate this is perhaps a no-no on a public form so i'll leave out specifics, likewise if mods feel it inappropriate to be on here i fully understand.

Edited April 5, 2013 by Stylin_and_Profilin

[pain-giver]

Wow, just finished Infinite and that ending just blew my mind. The game isn't perfect and the middle dragged and dragged but the final hour was just amazing, absolutely amazing. Well, except that final battle which dragged on and on and that is one of my biggest peeves with the game, the fucking stupid boss battles. I was playing through on hard, and the section where you fight SPOILER - Highlight the black box to read

Lady Comstock 3 goddamn times

was ridiculous. I ended up just using the same cheap tactic of SPOILER - Highlight the black box to read

equipping melee gear and punching her in the face for 20 seconds

.

 

Lazy, lazy game design and as I said, the final fight is just dull. Don't get me wrong, I liked the general combat but the fact is the fight was just a SPOILER - Highlight the black box to read

drawn out arena battle where you have to hold 'X' down on some ships at different time periods

 

 

But yes, that ending. I could go on and complain about some of the less impressive aspects of the game, but the ending was just simply marvellous and it ended the game on the perfect high note.

 

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The part where Elizabeth kills Songbird sent a shiver down my spine, and then you realise that you have ended up in rapture and that just blew my fucking mind. And then everything just ties together and I was just completely mesmerized at what was happening. The final scene was just heartbreaking to watch. I'm assuming that the part at the end means that the Booker's that didn't get baptised survive?

 

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For anyone wondering if they should play Bioshock before playing Infinite, I would thoroughly recommend doing so. It's not completely necessary, but as others have said, the game is fantastic. As for number 2, the game is somewhat average compared to 1 and Infinite, however, its still worth a playthrough. The Mirvanas Den DLC is a wonderful experience so if you do play 2, make sure you pick this up as well!

Edited April 6, 2013 by pain-giver

[FLips]

I must be the only one not really digging Bioshock then?

 

I've just got up to the part where you get the Shock Jockey, so admittedly not that far in, but I'm not really hooked by it yet. I'm enjoying the story so far but for me the actual gameplay is pretty shoddy. The combat is too loose and just feels like there's no bite to it at all.

The only bits in it so far that really wowed me, were

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the lottery with the reveal of the super racism

 

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the part in the lighthouse at the start which I found pretty tense.

 

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Aside from those it just feels like plodding from one area to the next and trying not to get ripped to shreds in the dodgy combat bits. I'm also already sick to death of Elizabeth throwing coins at me.

 

I wasn't a huge fan of the first Bioshock though, and never even bothered with the second. So I think I wasn't really ever going to be amazed by this one. The locations and surroundings aren't really impressing me either, I think games like the Fallout series do the whole early 1900s/War vibe way better.

 

EDIT:

 

Right well I just completed it and I still have the same opinion of it.

At times it looks gorgeous and the ending, though extremely predictable is handled really well. Aside from moments such as the ones I mentioned, and

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Songbird's death

 

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");document.close(); I didn't get anything from this game. It starts well, but for me as soon as you

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start jumping through tears

 

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");document.close(); the game gets lazy and super repetitive. At times I was rushing through it just to get past bits. The entire fighting mechanics are shite, there's no punch or weight to anything you do, and it usually ends up with you just spamming your Vigor moves. Especially towards the end with some of the boss fights or longer battles.

 

I really wanted to love this game, as it was getting rave reviews from near enough everywhere and the trailers got me genuinely excited for it.

Sadly due to it being a mix of an incredibly average game hidden behind pretty views, an artsy but predictable story, and the mechanics being arse, I just didn't get anything from it. It somehow managed to feel short but drag at the same time.

Edited April 7, 2013 by TripleA

[Steve Justice]

Finished Far Cry 3 yesterday, which means I can now start going to bed at a reasonable hour.

 

I thought the main story was OK, a bit short though. If I wasn't so preoccupied with everything outside of the story I would have finished this a couple of weeks ago and would have been left disappointed. As it is though, it's just a fun game to play.

[Tommy!]

Having got a bit tired with skyrim and playing the life from WWE13 I took GT 5 back off the shelf.

I remember why I put it on there mighty quick as I've hit a massive wall in progressing, however having a blast on a few races is a great way to kill an hour or two.

 

I've also picked up Farcry 3. Ok so far, don't know how long I'll stick with it but it looks to be might promising.

Being killed 10 times in as many minutes due to falls off cliffs and being pecked to dead by an emu sort of killed the buzz a little bit but there looks to be some great potential for fun.

[Stinky Dad]

Finished Bioshock the other day. Thoroughly enjoyed it but being a massive fan of the the original and lesser so the sequel I have t agree that this fell a little short.

 

Today I traded in COD Black Ops 2 for Far Cry 3. Cost me a quid. Good deal?

[SpursRiot2012]

I really have to recommend Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine. It's a really fun little game.

[PunkStep]

After about 6 years of trying to get a copy to work on my Xbox, I was resigned to the fact I would never play Oblivion. Then I notice it for