Bioshock Infinite

The original Bioshock didn't do much for me. Despite the well-crafted environment, the combat felt a bit detached and repetitive. It just didn't click. I played about a third of it before giving up. A while later I looked up the ending online and was pleasantly surprised. The gameplay wasn't for me, but I certainly respected the writing.

A few weeks ago a cousin mentioned that she was playing Bioshock Infinite, and thought it was really good and really creepy. Then a Steam sale happened, and I stumbled across the title. Between being $8 and having pretty damn good user scores, I figured I'd try it out.

The gameplay was a lot more solid than its prequel, the environment was neat, there were some neat mechanics, and I found myself getting very quickly attached to Elizabeth. 11 hours later while playing the final stretch of the game, I was pretty certain I was experiencing a masterpiece.

A couple miscellaneous and spoiler-ish things:

• The retro/modern music was genius. At first I thought it was a nice/surreal touch, but it turned out to be tied into the story.
• Whereas the first Bioshock had you experience a utopia after it had fallen apart, it was really fascinating experiencing such an inwards collapse first-hand. I liked watching the progression from a repressed people, to a modest uprising, to tipping the scales and becoming an even more brutal power. Really chilling to watch noble efforts become drunk on power and reflect the evil it was initially trying to usurp. 
• Elizabeth! Probably the most I've ever become attached to a video game character. It was incredible watching her 'mature' in the little things: her expressions, posture, and tone of voice. She was helpful, too. She made for a really gratifying companion to have. I was surprised at how alone I felt without her around. And how heartbroken I was for her character.
• I'm not one of those 100% completion nutjobs, but I did find myself exploring an awful lot to find good loot. At first I thought the audio recordings were kinda pointless, but as I progressed they really became captivating and drove me to find more. 
• Lovely, interesting settings. Not only the Patriotic Steam Punkish technology and contraptions, but the political and social tones. It was kind of refreshing to see such ugly and racist tones addressed head on. Lots of application to society today too, in a way. It was a very honest critique of American culture.
• The story and ending was... Incredible. Definitely one of those "What the hell is going on" moments, where you can't turn away. It's all so strange, and yet captivating. The last four hours of the game were really tough for me, because I couldn't put it down. I had become so invested. But it wasn't until the last thirty minutes that things really started unraveling and messing with my head. I just... Can't believe how it was all connected.

No, I'm not going to spoil it for you. You need to play it to appreciate it. You need to have that ton of bricks dropped on your mind five seconds before the game cuts to credits, so that you can lay in bed sorting it out and realizing all the little details along the way that connects everything together.

And that's part of what I liked about it: it made me think. Really think. I could tell it wasn't just haphazard storytelling, but that everything was done for a reason.

Wonderful. Just wonderful.
-Cril