Up up and….away?
Over the last couple of weeks teaser trailers and artwork has begun to appear giving us a small glimpse of the next installment in the highly popular Bioshock series.
Set in 1912 before the events of Bioshock one and two it could be assumed that this game is a prequel to the other Bioshock titles. Don’t let this fool you though, oh no it would appear that this game is quite different. Firstly Bioshock Infinite abandons the familiar underwater city of Rapture and takes to the skies in an entirely new floating city called Columbia. This gives the game a very different feeling from previous Bioshock titles, one not of claustrophobia but of light, space and fresh air. In Bioshock infinite you play as agent Booker DeWitt. Booker has been sent to the floating city to rescue a character called Elizabeth who for reasons unknown has been imprisoned and is unable to escape. As with the original Bioshock games Booker and Elizabeth have multiple special abilities which when used alone or combined with each other can be used to fight their way out of columbia. This is just a fist glimpse of what appears to be a surprisingly simple storyline. Break in, get the girl, fight the bad guys, escape before the city falls out of the sky. Still, I really don’t expect that it will be this simple, do you?
Aside from the obvious fact it is not underwater, it appears that there is much more this first glimpse of Columbia can tell us. Firstly it is easy to notice the large amount of propaganda plastered around the floating city. Though this propaganda is a traditional feature of the Bioshock series, interestingly this time it has taken on a much more patriotic theme. Though this could be read as simply patriotism gone mad, a later screen shot shows us that this game may have some links to the 4th of July Independence day celebrations. As we know in Bioshock one things all began to go wrong at a new years celebration begging the question could this be drawing comparison with the original Bioshock game?
In addition to this the propaganda shown also gives us a small, if not a little unclear insight into further themes within this game. The screen shot below clearly shows us a poster emblazoned with the slogun “Do not burden Columbia with your Chaff”. Though at this stage I am merely speculating the true meaning of this message if you liken it to the phrase “separating the Wheat from the Chaff” this poster takes on quite a sinister meaning. My guess is that once again we will be presented with theme of a failed attempt to create a utopian society possibly with the further use of specially selected children for some dire purpose. Its all just speculation for now, but I for one am guessing that as with Rapture, Columbia is not all that it seems.
From this first look at Bioshock Infinite is it clear to see that in dragging the city up from the depths of the sea certain changes to the mood and art style of the game have had to have been made. Differing greatly from the dark and damp art deco world of Rapture Columbia is instead airy and open with much more of a mad inventor vibe. In the opening seconds of the teaser trailer we are shown an ornament depicting the Chicago world trade fair of 1893. With worlds trade fairs having a distinctly retro feeling of invention and innovation it is soon apparent that this choice of ornament is not just coincidence. The city is powered by a strange mixture of metal fans and hot air balloons giving it a strangely retro and yet obviously scientific vibe. Looking further at the floating city the new aerial setting does give Columbia a definite wow factor, I cannot help but feel the lack of the claustrophobic feeling created by the knowledge that the weight of an ocean could fall in and crush you at any moment does definitely take away from the all important Bioshock fear factor. Then again I am not afraid of heights… perhaps Booker is…
As attached to Rapture as I am this new city both excites and intrigues me. I am however slightly worried about certain other aspects of the game. For example in the first two bioshock games we rarely got a close up look at actual human characters, well not ones who weren’t spliced beyond recognition anyway. The trailer for bioshock Infinite clearly shows us both of the main protagonists as well as multiple other characters, all of which to me look look, well, too child-friendly. Part of the fear factor of Bioshock was in the fear of what lurked in the shadows, and having everything is bright sunlight is to me detracting from the grim mystery of the game.
On a positive note we are also shown what appears to be a new type of big daddy character. Though part biological this new menace seems to be much more in keeping with the steam punk trend than his deep sea cousins adding exciting new aesthetic possibilities to this game. I am truly looking forward to seeing what other surprises Columbia has to offer.
One final note. Really, did no one just think to bring a parachute?
Until next time,
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I can’t wait for this. While Rapture is definitely going to be near-impossible to top, I think it’s a very smart move not to milk it too much – a third time in Rapture would be full of recycled ideas and stuff we’ve seen already. I’m really excited to see the Bioshock gameplay used in a new environment.
I love Rapture, but it’s time for something new.