This BioShock Infinite Preview gives a quick look at what can be expected from Irrational Games’ first person shooter title!
BioShock Infinite is an upcoming first-person shooter video game, and the third game in the BioShock series. It is being developed by Irrational Games for a 2012 release on the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms.
BioShock Infinite is not a direct sequel or prequel to previous BioShock games, taking place in an earlier period and different setting, though it features similar gameplay concepts and themes. The player controls a former Pinkerton agent, Booker DeWitt, as he attempts to rescue a woman named Elizabeth trapped aboard the collapsing air-city Columbia in 1912.
The Creative Director behind the beautiful looking new game BioShock Infinite sits down for an interview about dimensional tears, winged monsters and more in this video.
Watch the entire BioShock Infinite gameplay demo from E3 2011!
Ken Levine walks us through this Bioshock: Infinite demo and details its new setting in the sky and prototype of the “Skyhook.”
Key Features of BioShock Infinite
Here is a list of key elements that will be available in Irrational Games’ BioShock Infinite based on news and announcements made so far.
BioShock Infinite is a first person shooter with role-playing game elements similar to the previous two games. As DeWitt, the player moves about the various structures of Columbia using a grappling hook, a series of railways connecting the buildings called the Skyline, and other transport means to search for Elizabeth.
Weapons, Powers & Abilities
The player will gain weapons which can be used in numerous ways within the environment, including on the Skyline, to defeat enemies. DeWitt gains powers and abilities by using vigors and nostrums that are found through Columbia, the equivalent of BioShock’s plasmids and tonics. Vigors grant activated powers such as telekinesis, electricity manipulation, or animal control (as seen by the manipulation of a flock of crows within the gameplay demo), while nostrums are passive abilities that can improve the player’s strength or damage resistance.
Elizabeth
Once reunited with Elizabeth, who also has a set of such powers, the player must work together with her to escape Columbia. For example, Elizabeth can create a localized rainstorm on foes, which the player, as DeWitt, can then fire upon with an electricity-based attack, electrocuting the foes. The player will not be directly in control of Elizabeth, but instead she will react to the player and the current situation in a manner similar to the AI Director in Left 4 Dead, according to Levine. However, using Elizabeth’s powers also harms her, an action compared to the choice of killing or saving the Little Sisters from the previous games. Elizabeth also has the ability to interact with the tears in the fabric of space-time, pulling objects from the other side to use within Columbia, escaping from battle through these, or repairing them. The player will need to protect Elizabeth, but will not need “to babysit and hand-hold” her through the game.
The Skyline
The Skyline is a rail-based system (originally designed for moving cargo around Columbia but later used for personnel transport) similar to the concept found in the Ratchet & Clank games and described by Levine as “a roller coaster, over another roller coaster, over another roller coaster”; players activate a wrist-mounted tool that DeWitt and other enemies wear to jump and hang onto the self-powered tracks. The freedom of movement along the Skyline allows for several varieties of combat, including flanking, cover, and area-of-effect attacks through creative uses of the system.
Nostrums
Nostrums are permanent changes to the character and cannot be removed once used. These come in two types, stable and unstable varieties, the latter referred to as “potlucks”. Stable nostrums are more expensive, but the player knows exactly what effect applying the nostrum will gain them. Unstable nostrums are cheaper or can be found lying around the environment, but upon use, require the player to select one of four random effects to alter their character.
Check out the trailer!
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Take a look at our BioShock Infinite Screenshots Gallery!