Videogame review: BioShock Infinite

BioShock Infinite. Photo IGN.com

BioShock Infinite. Photo IGN.com

Published Apr 2, 2013

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BioShock Infinite

Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, PC

Developer: 2K Games

Rating out of five: *****

Welcome to Colombia, circa 1912. A city that physically floats above “Sodom”, where white men celebrate the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the flag of choice is more Star than Stars and Stripes.

BioShock Infinite harbours some lofty ambitions in more ways than one as it paints its picture of American exceptionalism, depicting the dystopian undertones of an alternative American Dream.

With appearances being ever deceptive, however, Colombia itself is a beautiful study in soft hues and shimmering reflections, a deliberate contradiction to the turmoil brewing beneath the surface.

Similar in temperament is protagonist Booker DeWitt, a man out to serve his own selfish needs who, in his freeing of the imprisoned “Lamb”, Elizabeth, might just be able to shake his own chequered past.

It's when examining the relationship between the two that Infinite is at its strongest: the inevitably bloody gunplay never quite matches the plot in terms of raw entertainment.

Irrational Games have at least done a good job of promoting exploration over shooting and it's here, in the savouring of the deftly laid nuances, where Infinite shines. - The Independent

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