NowGamer: "We look at the importance of a videogame's world, and how Bioshock Infinite failed to succeed where its predecessor had."
This February, Prime members can claim a fresh lineup of free games, including BioShock Infinite Complete Edition, Surf World Series, AK-xolotl: Together, Sands of Aura, The Talos Principle: Gold Edition, Stunt Kite Party, The Smurfs 2 — The Prisoner of the Green Stone, Hardspace: Shipbreaker, Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior, Dark Sky, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, El Hijo — A Wild West Tale, Colt Canyon, Republic of Jungle, Royal Romances: Cursed Hearts Collector’s Edition, Deus Ex: Human Revolution — Director’s Cut, Night Reverie, Sine Mora EX, Redemption Reapers and Yes, Your Grace.
Twinfinite: “War may never change, but the prices of rare games do!”
"And lastly, famous Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling helped to create the action-RPG’s setting. What’s really fascinating, though, is that the game was partially financed by taxpayers from Rhode Island (which allegedly lost the state millions of dollars). Yikes!"
1. Now infamous Schilling
2. No allegedly, it did. And they couldn't pay it back.
3. What really lost the money wasn't the SP release but the MMO they were working on. This was supposed to be an introduction into the MMO world.
I hate counting limited editions for these lists. I mean, they're made to be rare and expensive. It's far more interesting to hear about the NCAAs (even if most people know that one already) and the El Chavos than some massive hit that came with a $200 statue at retail.
Me too. Here's the best I can do:
El Chavo Kart $90.14
NCAA Football 14 $87.72
Spiderman: Edge of Time $75.94
Spiderman Web of Shadows $75.09
Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions $67.76
Wow, El Chavo Kart is not at all what I expected by the name. 100% looks like a Sackboy Kart game.
It's so odd that so many Spider-Man games are seemingly given lower print runs, even if they're not the best games.
Most Xbox games don’t hold as much value compared to other systems. Kameo, Blue Dragon, Last Remnant , and a handful or 2 of other games that I kept.
One of the biggest TV and movie tropes in the last decade has been the multiverse, the idea of exploring multiple dimensions to uncover alternate versions of existing ideas. From both a business and creative perspective, it makes sense why established franchises are shaking things up in this way.
However, there aren't many video games latching on to this trend, as rendering multiple worlds in real-time is a difficult feat and the medium is relatively young in comparison to its contemporaries, making crossover opportunities more difficult. Still, there are a few great titles that manage enough to overcome these challenges, and here are some of the best examples.
While I love someone mentioning Planescape, not really multiverse. Planes and dimensions, yes. But, they are typically their own locations and are very rarely tied to another 'verse' let alone another plane. The only things that are directly tied are the ethereal and material planes. Otherwise, they are dimensions created of their own design and goals by the creator/owner and not comprised of 'their own version of another dimension'.
Different strokes for different folks. I thought the world was the only thing that made me finish the game. Sometimes its cool to use your own imagination of what the world is instead of whats only put in front of you.
I definitely agree with most of the author's points. Bioshock infinite did present a story well, but failed to give much depth to the world. The opener was the best part of the game imo. Establishing a unique world full of life. And then instantly everything empties out and you spend the rest of the game slogging through a somewhat plain shooter. Not a bad game by any means, but you can't help but feeling such a wasted potential.
My problem with Infinite's world is that it missed the point of what made Bioshock interesting in the first place.
Bioshock wasn't interesting because of Rapture alone. Bioshock was interesting because of Rapture AND all the characters who filled it (Atlas/Fontaine. Andrew Ryan, Tenenbaum, splicers, Big Daddies, Steinman) and their conflicting viewpoints.
In this regard, Infinte failed utterly. The Twins were the only truly interesting characters. Elizabeth was cute, but that's about it. The main protagonist was the incredibly cliche "stern but beloved religious leader, adored by the populace yet hides a dark past". Within the first 10 minutes I was already like "really? Comstock is the guy I'm supposed to fight??"
I found that unlike Rapture, Columbia was very centred on an American theme and focus which distanced me from really engaging in the game as much as Rapture did.
I really enjoyed the design of the world in Infinite, especially first walking through the beginning portion. Beyond that though, it never really measured up to the first one for me.
Big Daddies were a way more developed enemy than the Handymen ever were. Handymen would show up to randomly attack you and die. Big Daddies had a more sensible place in the world, were much more interesting to fight (since you could observe them, follow them, set up traps, etc.), and overall had a lot more personality as an enemy type. They felt like more random encounters than a set up fight, they would freely battle other enemies, would get defensive when you approached a little sister, etc. They felt real in that world, while the Handymen seemed like "eh, we need something like a Big Daddy".
The powers felt the same way. Instead of being a fallen city that featured absolute scientific freedom, and these genetic enhancements completely tore the place apart, the powers were just...there in Columbia. Yes I understand that they would see certain things through tears, which was a way to give the game world these powers without there being a more developed explanation for them, but even with that excuse they never really felt like they had a place in the game, but were there instead because the first game had powers and they should have them in this game just because.
I don't know, overall the world/game just didn't feel cohesive like the first one to me (although, design wise, was still really cool to look at).