Maintaining similar themes to the other two, Infinite relocates from beneath the Atlantic Ocean to the skies of an alternate America. I mean, who jumps with Y in 2016?īeing only three years old, third game Infinite has had less of a graphical overhaul and has instead simply been sharpened in places, with greater detail added to the environs and, of course, a boost in frame rate and resolution. An option to modernise the control schemes would have been welcome, though. I was engrossed in both within minutes of starting and, although the first one is the better game, both were still hugely compelling. Fair enough, the improved shadows and textures are incredibly welcome and make a major difference to the aesthetic, but the gameplay hasn’t been altered and both games are still so utterly playable. What’s remarkable is how well the first two games have aged. It does include all the DLC (including the fantastic Minerva’s Den), as does Infinite. The multiplayer is absent though, which is oddly pleasing as no one wanted it then and we still don’t want it now. The mystery is no less compelling, however, and the gameplay is so similar you can’t really criticise one without the other. The environments are rarely much different to those of the first game, although you spend more time actually underwater thanks to something I won’t spoil here that’s story related. As a result, Bioshock Remastered is nothing short of beautiful. Shadows play tricks on your eyes and mind, while flickering flames and sparks of electricity combine with neon lights and the tell-tale golden flash of items worth investigating to spread a dusting of stark, twinkling colour upon the bleak, burnt flesh of the rotten city. Rapture feels more alive than ever now, with glittering water effects, powerfully effective light and shadow play and a smoother, faster frame rate. The atmosphere was extraordinary then, and it’s even better now thanks to the vastly improved visuals. Mixing melee combat with an assortment of guns and sorcery-like genetic enhancements called Plasmids, Bioshock offered an almost unprecedented level of choice for an FPS as you discovered more and more new ways to defeat Adam-addicted splicers and the terrifying Big Daddy, a diving suit-clad monstrosity whose sole purpose was to protect the “Little Sisters”, horrifying little parodies of children created to suck the Adam from the recently deceased with massive needles. Trapped in Rapture, a sub-aquatic city torn apart by the drug known as Adam, your only hope is to follow the guidance of the mysterious Atlas and discover who you are and why you’re there. The first game’s story is masterfully told through audio logs and often disturbing visual clues, or imparted by the various NPCs called upon to help out nondescript protagonist. The original and its immediate sequel have had the most work done to them, with full re-skins adding wonderful detail to the decaying halls of Rapture, the underwater Utopia that never was. Just the remaster of the first game would have been enough to part many fans with their money, but the Collection features all three games in all their splendour. Very few games before or since have bettered it for gameplay, story, setting, or atmosphere. An utter masterpiece in almost every sense, that it’s subsequent sequels could never quite match up to its glory was hardly a solid criticism. Bioshock is one of those games that defined the last console generation for many people.
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