Here it is my final entry in the Bioshock Collection Review of the third and last game in the series, Infinite. I played this game when it was originally released for the PS3 and I got to say I am still not too impressed. Yes, I know people went crazy for it and the new direction it took from the original two games. It’s just after playing the first two games, multiple times in a row, I found myself cringing playing Infinite. I could not wait to finish the game and cared even less for the main characters. Unlike, while I was playing Bioshock 1 and 2 where I felt connected to the story. Running around a flying city of incredible beauty quickly lost its lustre after my first battle with the citizens of Colombia.

It started off so good, but the more I learned of the story I just felt let down. I had such high hopes for Infinite after waiting so long for its initial release. Then when it was to be remastered I thought maybe it would be better and fun to replay. I was wrong! Graphically wise it didn’t look any better and the glitches during the game play happened way too often. I could just be walking from one area to the next, it felt like walking though water. Which was a real problem when I was being attacked as soon as I entered a room. I would run out of an area to regroup and re-strategise, but I couldn’t get out of the line of fire because I was wading through jello. I don’t quite remember the lag the first time playing, I could have just blocked it out. I can’t block it out this time.

Giving the player options with weapons is always nice and the ability to upgrade them is even better. Soooo….. You can hold ammunition by the box full and yet only hold two guns at a time. You can upgrade your weapons with money that is extremely scarce in a thriving town. I found more money in Bioshock 2 in the dilapidated city of Rapture then in the city of Colombia. Very odd, that there was more to scavenge within the leaking, battle torn underwater city. Not too mention that the choice in guns wasn’t a real option since only two weapons were even worth taking into a fire fight. Upgrading them seemed a waste of money too. I get the idea of making a game challenging, it shouldn’t affect the enjoyment of the game though. Take a look at such insane challenging titles as Dark Souls or Bloodborne. Extremely difficult and are intoxicatingly fun.

Changing the powers from adam using plasmids to salt wielding vigors was a neat idea. Also having enemies like the song bird, handyman, and motorized patriots were a welcome change. Allowing you to equip different pieces of clothing with unique attributes verses genes was new as well. All of this should have had a greater impact on the game play, yet it felt forced. It was good as an idea just not in practice. The song bird was an incredible site on your first encounter. Leaving you with a racing heart as you try to regain composure to move on. I just wish there was more in dealing with it then a few crazy cut scene encounters and the inevitable team up at the end. The handyman was just a boring pain in the ass to deal with because he took way too many hits to bring down. Now, I did like the motorized patriots and had fun taking them out or possessing them to fight for me. Other than that I hated fighting my way through obnoxious enemy hordes with limited resources and power.

Inifinite felt like a different type of game with the basic structure of Bioshock. I hated the limiting of weapons to use, the lack of power behind the vigors, and the over powered enemies of Colombia. What I loved was the use of sky hook lines and the fact that it could double as a melee weapon. Riding the sky line rails using them to get the drop on the enemies was fun. Engaging in chases during fire fights also added a unique way to fight. Some of the new vigors give you a slight advantage during the any hordes of enemies. Just not enough of an advantage that makes it a worth while to use. Instead, you will find Elizabeth’s ability to open tears to other words much more useful. She can open tears to bring in allies to help fight along side you, to weapon caches, health caches, and cover.

I will not go to much into the story itself, because honestly its the only reason to play it. I may go back and replay it just to platinum the game myself, but not because I enjoy it. The best thing to come from this game is the two part DLC, Burial at Sea. In it you play as Elizabeth in Rapture before it falls to shit. I highly recommend finishing Infinite just to get a back ground for Burial at Sea. You won’t be disappointed.

All in all I would recommend playing just to see the story play out and then on to the DLC. Playing on hard mode will drive you crazy and unlocking the 1999 mode may cause you to break your controller. 1999 Mode is the hardest difficulty with no saving progress. Good luck to any brave souls to take on that challenge. That being said, I feel that Infinite can be fun at times yet gets old really fast. You won’t find yourself being able to gaze off into the distance to admire the view. In the beginning you will and it is awesome, but after horde after horde of clearing out enemies you will just want to move on. The weapons are boring with no fun upgrade, just increasing existing attributes. The same goes with the vigors themselves, they seemed too plain and boring. You can play Infinite, just don’t expect too much from it. It’s just not Bioshock!