E3 2011: Bioshock: Infinite brings back on-rails gaming, while XCOM delivers spooky aliens and a strategic challenge to defend 1950s America.
2K Games had one of our favourite stands of the entire show. At events like E3 there’s usually a front area, where normal punters can come along and have a look at stuff, and then another area that is strictly invite only. Often, these can be pretty plain, but 2K opted to riff on its Bioshock Infinite setting.
The 2K press area was replete with padded booths and stools, a long bar, and lots of tables. Looming in the back was a lifesize model of Songbird, a villain from the game… and a spooky one, too!
And speaking of that game…
Bioshock: Infinite Ah, BioShock… we’ve never quite gotten the buzz around this one. It’s one of those games that we can kind of appreciate, and understand that it’s good, but for some reason the feel of the gameplay just doesn’t quite sit with us.
We’re still not sure that Infinite is going to be any different, but there’s no denying that Irrational Games has a strong title on their hands.
We got a brief backgrounder on the game, and it’s slightly left of reality setting, and the history of Columbia, the floating city that was meant to be a beacon of peace but that has instead become a symbol of conflict. In this history, Columbia fired on civilians during the Boxer Rebellion, and is now split by its own internal conflicts. One of these is between two factions, The Founders and the Vox Populi, and our demo takes place as the two break into open fighting.
At this point, you’ve rescued Elizabeth, and the banter between her and the main character – ex-Pinkerton agent DeWitt – is really something. She’s sweet, very innocent, while DeWitt is much more worldly. In one sequence, we not only get to see just how gorgeous the game’s engine is, as they walk into an abandoned store, but also how cute Elizabeth is. She tries on an Abraham Lincoln mask to make a cheesy impersonation, and it’s just so guileless.
Now, she’s just been – apparently – rescued from prison, and her gaoler is a large, nasty construct called Songbird. He shows up and menaces the pair of you, but isn’t revealed – he’s a rumbling, screeching presence that tears up the street outside before moving on. When he shows up again later, and Elizabeth gives herself up to save you, you start to see those classic Bioshock tropes. Innocence entwined with monstrousness, and the idea that all is not as it seems.
Too, classic Bioshock social commentary is present, as the Vox brutally topple the wealthy and privileged from power, only to make themselves a greater evil.
The action and combat is pretty much what you’d expect, but with one very neat edition – on-rails combat.
No, not like those crappy old games. Columbia has many aerial rail lines running through and around the city, and both you DeWitt and his enemies can use them to get around. You use a small handheld grappling-style device to attach, then you roll along like a one-man-monorail. What’s interesting is that you can combine this with combat, use momentum to gain speed and jump from rail to rail, and even reach out of the way places – like a fleeing zeppelin.
Infinite is looking like another very well-considered exercise in tone and storytelling.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012