Gamescom 2010: BioShock Infinite First Impressions – Stop What You’re Doing! Read This... Now!

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Dan Webb

The general rule is that very few games at Gamescom truly wow us to the point that we’re literally lost for words. I know! Mr Webb, lost for words? That’s got to be impossible! But after seeing most of the triple-A games at E3, it’s just the way Gamescom usually is. There is however usually the one exception. The one that stands out and makes its debut at the show. Last year Rage wowed us, and this year it was Irrational Games and their latest BioShock title that completely knocked us off our feet.

Moving from the moody tubes of Rapture, Infinite heads to the skies and takes place in Columbia circa 1912. No, we don’t mean that drug lords were adventurous in 1912 and attached billions of helium filled balloons to make a flying drug ship out of the South American drug state. This is something entirely different. It’s essentially a floating World’s Fair, yet there is something truly sinister about it.

“You wouldn’t have to go to the World’s Fair, it would come to you,” said Tim Gerritsen, Director of Product Development at Irrational Games, as he introduced this new setting. “It didn’t take long for a lot of people to figure out you could do a lot more with a floating city than just turn it into a World’s Fair.”

“Eventually there was a violent incident and it was revealed that Columbia was more than just a World’s Fair,” continued Gerritsen, “It was indeed a battleship. A sort of floating Death Star. It was taking American progress, but also American will and forcing it upon people whether they wanted it or not.”

After being disowned by the American government, Columbia was left to float away and operate to its own devices. It almost became a myth of sorts, popping up in various places all over the world, but never for too long.
 

Taking on the role of disgraced former Pinkerton agent, Booker Dewitt – who was described by Gerritsen as the “ultimate fixer” – your next job is to head to Columbia to retrieve a young girl called Elizabeth who has been held captive there for 12 years. But wait... Columbia is supposed to be a myth, is it not? Correct, but the mysterious gentlemen who gave you the job not only knows where it is, but how to get you there.

The live demo picks up the short passage of play on the surface of Columbia itself and it’s a far cry from the dark dingy environments of Rapture. Instead, you’re welcomed by beautiful blue skies, the delicate chorus of the Columbia’s local bird life and a whole host of soft fluffy clouds. Still, there is something very eerie and off about the new setting. If it’s not the anti-foreigner signs that welcome DeWitt to Columbia or the two-wheeled cart being dragged down the cobbled streets by a horse so oblivious to the sparks it’s kicking up, it’s the woman sweeping her porch while a fire blazes behind her and the signs that glimmer as you walk past them. It’s almost surreal and very dream-like. Of course, the crashing bell-tower doesn’t help create a perfect picture of Columbia, but that commotion soon dies down after it nearly ends DeWitt’s adventure before it starts.

As DeWitt crosses the deserted, but equally as epic floating city, passing huge sprawling statues and a bizarre monorail system, the Pinkerton arrives in a park area where the distant yells of a preacher of some sort hang in the otherwise hauntingly silent mecca.

Crossing the park to where the passionate gentleman preaches to his heart’s content to seemingly no-one, DeWitt passes an elderly gentlemen covered in crows as he sits perched on a bench, whilst passing various obscure propaganda signs pitched on the lawn. “They’ll take your wife,” one of them boldly claims.

“Who are you!?” screeches the preacher as he breaks his stride, his voice taking on an almost evil overtone. Seconds later the preacher fires a murder of crows at DeWitt, stunning him ever so slightly and knocking him back. DeWitt quickly responds and dispatches his supposed bodyguard over the edge of the floating island as he rises to his feet.

“Chhhaaaarrrleesss,” the preacher screams, as the protagonist takes no chances and instantly opens fire on him using his sniper rifle and his telekinesis powers to get the better of him. It’s not long before the unknown local makes for a quick getaway, gripping onto the monorail system’s tracks and escaping to another of Columbia’s distant platforms that you see in the distance.
 

“Woah, would you look at this!” says DeWitt, as he picks up a bottle of blue tonic that he finds lying around the park area. Without questioning its contents, the gruff speaking fixer drinks it all up. Moments later the screen’s colour suddenly fades away to monochrome, leaving only the crow that now sits on DeWitt’s arm in full focus, while the crimson red worms that hang from its mouth are the only thing that manages to maintain their deathly colour.

As DeWitt gets his senses back, now obviously possessing the power of the crows that the preacher just used against him, the Pinkerton has to think quick to avoid the mortar fire that the escaped evangelist decides to use against him. Quickly sniping a couple of his henchmen that occupy his side, DeWitt makes a snap decision and grips on to the wacky monorail track and makes his way down to him. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained!” he chirped as he grabs on.

Momentarily losing his grip and having to latch onto another track meant the ride over for DeWitt wasn’t easy as he had hoped, and as he touches down, he dashes for cover in what looks like one of the local bars.

Walking into the almost Wild West-esque bar, the locals seem none too bothered about the arrival of this unknown traveller. To the right of DeWitt, a local takes occupancy at a grand piano; to his left, a gramophone entertains those who congregate round the bar. Nothing out of the ordinary here it would seem, even the guys at the bar nonchalantly clink their glasses together and make a toast. All of a sudden everything stops; the music, the chatter, it’s as if time stopped still for a moment and all DeWitt could see was the burning eyes of over a dozen locals.

“WE’RE CLOSED!!” one of them shrieks, as they all descend upon the newcomer with shotguns and a look in their eyes that doesn’t quite seem normal. Using the crows and the telekinesis though, DeWitt takes a few down and makes a run for the outside.

At this point, ten or twelve flood onto the street, with DeWitt making short work of them thanks to the help from an unknown associate. Hang on though, there’s still the matter of the crazy preacher firing mortars at DeWitt. Fear not, DeWitt reacts quickly, using the telekinesis to turn and return the mortars to where they came from, seeing the old man off, once and for all.
 

The female assistance happens to be Elizabeth, DeWitt’s rescue assignment, but before the pair could settle, there was more heat to contend with. Perched behind cover, Elizabeth preps a devastating attack on the locals that have them pinned down. With electricity bolts flying everywhere, Elizabeth uses her powers to manipulate the weather, with rain clouds and whirlwinds swirling close by the pair. After creating a huge fireball, with which DeWitt throws at the rest of the locals using his telekinesis, the danger looks to have subsided... for now.

Moments later a huge metallic creature – about twice the size of DeWitt, and with red eyes and huge hulking hands – attacks the pair who thought they were clear of danger by throwing a horse at them for good measure. As the frantic horse neighs its way past DeWitt’s earlobe, the pair combine to lure the beast on to a bridge in an attempt to gain an advantageous position. Combining their powers, the pair make short work of the bridge, bringing it from under the mechanical beast’s feet and watching him swirl out of sight. Epic.

“We got ‘em!” DeWitt screams, “That was the one chasing you, right?” Elizabeth stops and stares longingly, “No, no, that wasn’t him, that wasn’t him...”

“That’s him!” she screams as a huge flying mechanical wonder swoops down on the pair which rather teasingly fades to black, signalling an end to the pretty stunning demo.

Watching the short live BioShock Infinite demo at this year’s Gamescom was a captivating experience and most definitely the highlight of the show. With Irrational’s attention to detail and a stunningly beautiful, yet bizarre and surreal sequence of events, literally everyone was perched on the edge of their seat waiting to see what happened next. I dare them to say otherwise. It may have only been ten minutes in a hands-off presentation, but boy, what a ten minutes they were! Questions like “What’s with the glimmers?,” “Why are the locals so unpredictable and cranky?,” “What happened in Columbia?” and “What the hell are those creatures?” still need answering in the coming months and years, but upon first impression, I don’t think there is a better word to sum it up than “wow.”

Wow... It’s going to be a long wait.

BioShock Infinite is scheduled for a 2012 release.

Comments
78
  • I love BS I can't wait for this, so many amazing games coming.
  • cant wait!
  • sounds amazing !
  • was it better than the first trailer hinted?
  • too long to read hopefully a video of this demo will come out soon instead
  • I'd buy it if there is always a chance you can fall off the map/level. Or blow a hole in the wall and then jump out to your death. There is no point making it all fancy and in the air if there's an invisible war stopping you and your enemies being pushed off.
  • Great write-up. Offers quite a bit of insight I wouldn't have known otherwise.
  • #7 Invisible wall* not war.
  • @6 - Don't be so blummin' lazy! Read it!
  • WOW is right! So can't fucking wait for this. Sounds like Bioshock reborn. I just hope they can keep pace like thaty throughout 8 or so games!
  • Very nice. Makes me excited to see whats going to go on with the story.
  • i loved the other two bioshocks and this sounds awesome.
  • this game seems like an amazing idea, rapture was great, but im lookin forward to columbia
  • Can't wait for this game!!! And webb, you have put so much information in this article ... I was reading it, and it was as if i was there!!! Thx for a so well written article! ;)
  • Why is this called Bioshock? It sound good but the inclusion of plasmids it sounds unrelated. Whats up with the player character talking?
  • Sounds good but besides the inclusion of plasmids it sounds unrelated*
  • Thanks for that Webb and i agree with #15 :]
  • Not seen anything that impresses me yet
  • Sky-O-Shock is gonna be awesome. This sounds VERY impressive. Eager for more.
  • @16 Prehaps they want the protaganist to be more than a silent errand boy, same as visceral games is doing for issac in dead space 2. Seriously I don't understand the whole silent good guy thing.
  • @21 I assume it was either: -A powerful way of expressing how much of a pawn you were. -To avoid making the main character annoying like in Borderlands. -To make the character a badass like in Half Life or Halo. Either way it's tradition and this just doesn't sound at all like Bioshock to me, seems like there just using the name to sell it.
  • This looks real cool. maybe the guy you see in the trailer was adrew ryan's dad singing. cant wait for 2011. :)
  • this game is going to be AMAZING.
  • I agree with @22. This game sounds like it will have plenty of potential but is it really the Bioshock we learned to love and adore....I guess only time will tell and hopefully its not a waste of time. ^_^
  • Two fucking years! Why did they announce it!
  • Ahhh. Irrational. You had me at Bioshock...
  • Why did they show the game if it wasn't going to be out in two years. Game companies do this when they have give or take a year left
  • The initial idea seems similar to Laputa, but it sounds pretty intresting, will be keeping up with this.
  • Looks good but shouldnt have been called Bioshock.
  • LOL #1 likes bullsh*t nah only kiddin this bioshock looks & sounds intresting.
  • 2012 can't come soon enough
  • 2012 is gonna be a good year. except for the whole end of the world scenario. Damn Mayans
  • @28 yeah that never happens (Street Fighter X Tekken). I'm glad they announced it. I feared with the mixed results of BioShock 2 (I loved it)there wouldn't be another. the knowledge that there's another game in the series is enough for me. I'm still keeping up hopes that Raptures story will continue as Ken Levine alluded, but this is awesome.
  • @20 Sky-O-Shock is a retarded name; at everyone else complaining about the name, Bioshock isn't solely about Rapture, It's about mysterious, hidden worlds out of the normal citizens sight. Let it go.
  • like rage this will get a release date a year or so after expected
  • great read, cant wait for this, big bioshock fan!
  • 2012? Fuck off.
  • Yeah, I know #38. I won't even be able to play this game because the world is going to end....
  • Good god, 38, let's hope it releases before December 21st.
  • ohhh yeah...thats right, the world is ending!! almost forgot......... sheesh :( .... i better go pack my survival kit
  • Nice but 2012? Bit far off to get excited about.
  • Sounds amazing. I have no doubts I'm going to love it but it doesn't strike me as a BioShock game. Hopefully someone manages to put this video up on the net for viewing.
  • Wow cant wait. The trouble is 'released in 2012' in the gaming world actually means 2014. Damn.
  • I want to know what links this game to the previous two. Can't be called Bioshock without some kind of link to them...
  • @#45 - Well, what links Final Fantasy games together? The combat, the massive worlds and huge stories... BioShock is heading that way. Telling the story of a new and unique world (Columbia), humanity's plight and failures, and the traditional plasmid stuff seem to be the things grounded in the franchise's roots.
  • Lame! Why must they continue to destroy the memory of the first Bioshock! So much potential just wasted.
  • Wow, why are they announcing something that's coming out in 2 years.
  • i could understand ppls monaings about this being called bioshock, but tbh if it was gonna be set in Rapture it would have probably been called Bioshock 3....since its not set in rapture its called Bioshock INFINITE. from what ive understood from reading about the bioshock universe theres gonna be 5 bioshock games atleast, Bioshock 1/2/3/4/5 ( one of the games being called for the moment Bioshock:Future )if i understood it right. this isnt part of the Rapture storyline, its set BEFORE Bioshock 1, so its a prequel of sorts and wouldnt be too surprised since the setting is a floating worlds fair that one of the expo displays ull come across as an easter egg will be the prototype plans for an underwater city =P
  • sounds great, the last one should have been Bioshock:(insert name here), it was good but it just seemed like an expantion maybe done for the money. this is the true bioshock 2
  • Wow graphics look siik.
  • It sounds awesome but, yeah, it shouldn't be called BioShock. It's pretty obvious they're just doing that to get more hype and sales.
  • Hopeful at this one!
  • thats alot to read mr. webb. i hope that this game doesnt have multiplayer like the second. its pointless. i also hope that its dlc scam free. i can hope cant i? just keep it like the original with no mp and if there is any dlc make it free.
  • i bet you that this is going to be like how assassins Creed is, how they are pretty much coming out with a 3rd game but not calling it assassins creed 3.. and thats because its the same but not the same. i seriously wouldnt be suprised if they came out with this bioshock infinite than a year or so after that is released Bioshock 3 will be announced. its just all about milking it for as long as possible. even with extended DLC that originally should've been on the game to begin with. but they release it as DLC.. and people FREAK OUT over it. and HAVE to have it right away cause someone they see on there friendslist has it so its a must! yeah not for me.
  • @6 & @7, I agree. Must have though, no matter what
  • I'm so excited for this game! The trailer blew my mind and this just makes it better :)
  • I thought this game looked absolutely retarded. After reading this, maybe pretty good after all. We only have to wait 2 years to find out. Or wait till gameplay lol
  • Okay, this game just got awesomer.
  • tldr If it's twice as good as BioShock2 it'll still be terrible. I really hope they shoehorn multiplayer, horde more, firefight mode and beast mode into this!! Don't worry about the campaign, no one plays that anyhow. (sarcasm, BS2 pissed me off because the story was crap and the MP was worse)
  • it is true that this game is radically different from the first bioshock, but think about it... don't you think it would become a little tedious to walk the dark halls of rapture again? i mean, what's left there if fontaine, ryan and the little sisters are gone? obviously bioshock is a series that is open for an original branching... i was skeptical when first looking at Infinite, and i didn't think it should've been called Bioshock, because its not even made by the same company, but obviously, the name must tie in somewhere with the previous games (besides plasmids). and also, 2012 is just another year. the world will not end, unless the people decide it will (e.g. nuclear war, biological warfare)
  • I was unsure about this at first, but after reading the entire article,, I'm pretty excited!! I LOVE Bioshock, but this seems completely different, and yet the same. I hope it lives up to the other bioshock games. Not looking forward to waiting til 2012 tho =/
  • Yeah! Like everyone else said! I rather be stuck in damp, dingy underwater tunnels that all look the same, all game long, rather than see breath-taking scenery and views of the sky from miles in the air. Seriously. Just THINK about what you're saying before you say it. You're all legally retarded otherwise.
  • BTW, for those who don't know: BS1: Irrational Games BS2: 2K Marin BSI: Irrational Games So, in other words, it's back in the master's hands. BS2 was abysmal. I simply could not get through that game because 2K made a Rapture that was completely void of all the personality that Irrational went out of their way to add in for BS1. To say you're going to miss Rapture is like saying you'll pay another $60 for a new set of tonics and plasmids. Rapture's DEAD. Get over it.
  • What #65 said. Exactly what #65 said. Think about it in this way: If the creative minds behind the original want this new one to look, feel, sound, play a little or a lot different, why should you have the audacity to say it's going to suck because it's not dark anymore? You let Irrational bless you with the first and now you're rejecting the third because it looks different? You don't deserve it. In b4 Diablo III rainbows are gay.
  • @65 - Ahhh. That's probably why I hate Bioshock 2 Looks amazing. The floating city of Columbia sounds great. Can't wait to see how well they do with a bright open-air world instead of dark rusty hallways deep underwater. If I had to play one more game down there i'd kill myself.
  • @67 i already did O.O
  • I need this game in my life, don't wanna wait 2 years. Guess I'll have to play Bioshock a couple of hundred times to pass the time.
  • This is going to be great!! Love BioShock!!
  • How can you title this Bioshock. where is ma big daddy and shit!
  • hope theres splicers
  • wow :D
  • Can't believe i gotta wait two years to get my hands on this.
  • Sounds gd glad they didn't stick with the underwater rapture it kind of freaked me the hell out but I guess got awhile to wait for it :(
  • @71 your big dad got smashed by a big foot XD.....anyways the worlds not gonna end in 2012, i looked up that if the world ends with all the theories floatin around, it wouldnt end just instantly, it would take MILLIONS OF YEARS for anything to happen. ot: dont really have anything to post bout it XD
  • looks pretty beast to me
  • Definitely gives something to look forward to in 2012 other than the end of the world. :) Here are my predictions based off what I've seen so far: 1) Tie-ins with the original games somehow (I don't think it would carry the BioShock name otherwise) 2) Co-op gameplay with the DeWitt and Elizabeth characters 3) A new big daddy-type enemy that would crush the former kind (symbolism in the announcement video, anyone?)
  • I love Bioshock 1 & 2 i am going to buy this definetly.
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