Windows Bioshock Infinite (Contains Spoilers)

[anshuvorty]

SPOILER! DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE YET TO COMPLETE THE GAME!

So let’s talk about the story.

I’ve been trying to piece it together for a few days now, and my head is starting to hurt, so I need to write this down.

I may be wrong, may be missing pieces, so please, question and correct me if you know better than me!

this website really helped to piece together the story for me, please take a look: http://ps3.mmgn.com/Articles/bioshock-infinite-ending-explained-what

 

[blasto2236]

Great article! Although the author seems to mostly reach the same conclusions that OP did in his timeline.

I hadn't thought about the split second after the credits, though. It really is a happy ending when you think about it. Now that order has been restored, Booker wakes up finally ready to be a father to Anna.

One of the things I loved most about the game is what a great job they did building a connection between Booker and Elizabeth. The few times we were separated during the game, I felt a true sense of loss and an urgency to get her back. That's not something that is accomplished with player companions in most games, save maybe for ICO.

 

[anshuvorty]

I just loved the subtle details that the team added to make the game even more realistic and believable. Everything from how Liz moves and acts to other NPCs in the world were taken into consideration a whole lot. The small conversations that Liz and DeWitt have when they are waiting to get from point A to point B makes their relationship believable and you develop an attachment to the characters.

One small grip that I did have was how Songbird's character wasn't really described all that well. How was he created? Is he a man or a machine? Why is he so attached to Liz? How is it possible for SongBird to suddenly switch allegiances and start trusting DeWitt at the end of the game?

This is a small detail that may have been overlooked just so that the overall bigger message could be resonated at the end of the game.

Will continue to play this game years after this game's release! Well worth the 60 bucks!

 

[blasto2236]

I just loved the subtle details that the team added to make the game even more realistic and believable. Everything from how Liz moves and acts to other NPCs in the world were taken into consideration a whole lot. The small conversations that Liz and DeWitt have when they are waiting to get from point A to point B makes their relationship believable and you develop an attachment to the characters.

One small grip that I did have was how Songbird's character wasn't really described all that well. How was he created? Is he a man or a machine? Why is he so attached to Liz? How is it possible for SongBird to suddenly switch allegiances and start trusting DeWitt at the end of the game?

This is a small detail that may have been overlooked just so that the overall bigger message could be resonated at the end of the game.

Will continue to play this game years after this game's release! Well worth the 60 bucks!

Well as far as how Songbird came to be on Booker's side, I thought that was explained fairly well. It's controlled solely by music, so once Booker had the tune from grown-up Elizabeth, he was able to control it with the whistler.

As for the backstory of Songbird, I get the feeling that'll be explained in one of the DLC expansions. I hope to learn more about the Luteces, as well. It's interesting to me that they are essentially the main characters in the game, or at least the catalyst for everything that happens.

 

[anshuvorty]

Well as far as how Songbird came to be on Booker's side, I thought that was explained fairly well. It's controlled solely by music, so once Booker had the tune from grown-up Elizabeth, he was able to control it with the whistler.

totally forgot about that minor detail! Thanks for pointing that out!

 

[Random14]

Optimistically it was a happy ending. No more Comstock, so things are back to "normal". The thing I hate with these endings is that you never have any idea how much they remember. Whether Booker, whatever version survived (if he survived and its not just another hallucination like those occasional moments when he, the Luteces and Elizabeth were back in his PI office), remembers everything, or he just is suddenly worried about his daughter... and even then, Booker was seriously messed up after Wounded Knee and his time as a Pinkerton agent. But still, its better for the world if he just wallows in his despair rather than become a religious fanatic who has a superweapon at their disposal.

Really, I think it comes down to a... what was it, a grandfather paradox? If someone goes back in time and kills their own grandfather, then they're never born... but then if they never existed, who went back and killed the grandfather? Depending on the "rules" of whichever sci-fi universe it usually works out, but as seen at the end, almost any and everything has happened, is happening and will happen.

On a darker note, at the end, once Booker understood what was going on (not that Booker was ever stupid, just that this kind of stuff is way outside a normal person's knowledge, especially a supposedly normal early 1900 person), he did basically say to smother Comstock in his crib... probably being he is Comstock so, yeah. Symbolically any version of Comstock was born (again) at that baptism post-Wounded Knee, but hard to tell if any version of Booker survived, or any version of Elizabeth. Well, if a Booker and Anna survived guess that's still a happy ending, and the journey was definitely worth it.

 

[anshuvorty]

I hope to learn more about the Luteces, as well. It's interesting to me that they are essentially the main characters in the game, or at least the catalyst for everything that happens.

I loved that they chose British/English actors for these roles. I think it adds beautifully to the narrative and doesn't seem out of place in the slightest sense.

They add that vibe that they belong in this city, but at the same time, they are strangers, and makes you question their existence as well as the city as a whole.

 

[jamesbarns]

Wishing Well

I really wanted to play this game ever since I heard of its release (like most of you) but I don't have the required specs. I kind of want to build my own gaming PC, but since we are on a forum dedicated to Macs, what would you recommend me getting? Build my own Rig or get some kind of Apple Product? I am planning on mostly just gaming.

 

[blasto2236]

If you're in the market for a new machine if say you may as well get a nice Mac as you can boot Windows and get the best of both worlds, which you can't do if you build a gaming pc.

 

[anshuvorty]

If you're in the market for a new machine if say you may as well get a nice Mac as you can boot Windows and get the best of both worlds, which you can't do if you build a gaming pc.

you also have to consider the upgradability component of gaming pcs. Many gaming pcs are windows, and built by gamers themselves. Due to this, gamers can keep upgrading their video cards, ram, cpus, hard drives as needed to get the best performance possible and make their pcs "future-proof." With the recent release of the iMacs by Apple, they are slowly but surely restricting how much you can upgrade your Mac. The Mac Pros would be perfect, but it looks like Apple is slowly phasing this model out (until the rumored 2013 comes out..).

So, I would recommend building a gaming pc since you can build it with your own budget in mind, at a fraction of what an iMac would cost, and add to it, the future-proof feature of our custom build.

just my 2 cents...

 

[Irishman]

I really wanted to play this game ever since I heard of its release (like most of you) but I don't have the required specs. I kind of want to build my own gaming PC, but since we are on a forum dedicated to Macs, what would you recommend me getting? Build my own Rig or get some kind of Apple Product? I am planning on mostly just gaming.

I have found myself changing my mind on some of the hard lines I used to draw in the sand for myself. If you'd asked me a year ago, I'd have said "Buy a Mac!" regardless of what your needs were. Now, maybe it's because I HAVE a new Mac myself and don't feel that pressure to upgrade, but I'm not as vociferously anti-Hackintosh as I used to be.

For you, that's probably what I'd recommend, given how you plan on using it.

As long as you're comfortable being your own tech support, which you likely are, since one of the options you're considering is building a rig. Go the extra step, go to tonymacx86.com and identify parts that work well with Mountain Lion, go to pcpartpicker.com and put together and get realtime prices for your components to get top of the line performance, buy a retail copy of ML, do the same with Windows 7, and have the best of both worlds.

Just my two cents.

 

[skysailing]

Played and finished on the Retina. FANTASTIC game, INSANE graphics (played on Ultra without any problems or any stuttering) and the storyline was INCREDIBLE. Extremely proud of the team for the amount of detail they put into this immersive world.

 

[MRU]

spoiler alert

cant believe I skipped the end credits and missed the final reveal! doh.....


Great game, but not sure i'd call it the masterpiece. Differing realities are always a bit of a cop out in science fiction when you need to fill substantial plot holes, but they handled it well enough.

Still my favorite moment was at the end when you end up in Rapture so very briefly.


Biggest issues with the game are the same as Bioshock & bioshock 2. That is like the plamids from earlier games you rarely need to use more than two throughout the entire game. A fully loaded bronco, lightning charge, matching hat with storm effect and the carbine gun maxed out basically got me through the entire campaign fights with very little struggle. Even the big guys posed little threat.

Also the rewards for collecting lockpicks and getting safes left me bitterly underwhelmed. It was like much of the exploring didnt reveal anything significant other than a few extra coins that I didnt really need as long as I had my carbine, bronco & lightning.

Also Elizabeth is way too much help. She is always there with salts, ammo and health. As helpful as it was - it felt like I was never really in threat even in a big firefight and never in danger of running out of what I needed.


It's a fantastic game dont get me wrong, but certainly not the 100% (10/10) masterpiece some reviews are painting of it.

A firm 9/10 or 92% review.

 

[Irishman]

How much playtime would you say the game is? How many hours?

 

[MRU]

How much playtime would you say the game is? How many hours?

10-12 hours if your going for all the lockpicks / safes in areas.

----------

I loved the ragtime cover of INXS' "(Everybody Wants to) Rule the World". I was kinda dumbfounded when I found the first "red tear" and heard Creedance spilling out.

It's TEAR FOR FEARS ;-) not Inxs. And when you consider Tears and think of not the crying kind but the portals, then the band name is almost as appropriate in context of this game... Clever developers

 

[Irishman]

10-12 hours if your going for all the lockpicks / safes in areas.

That is so short! Damn. I thought Rage was short at 20 hours.

 

[0098386]

Well, I finished it and thought the build up was intense. But the ending was a total let down. It told a clever tale (if a little cliched and recycled) overall and I loved the world they built.

Finished at 11 hours with 52% of the achievements (Steam), almost got all the Voxophone and sightseer objects so it's not like I rushed through it. Perfect length though - I was worried it would drag on in parts, but I'm a bit let down there's no real end-game where we can run around and max out our weapons/vigors.

 

[ScottishCaptain]

I'm confused.

I just finished the game, but the ending doesn't make much sense. If there are an infinite number of universes containing all possible variations of everything, then how is it that drowning Booker in one magically fixes all the others?

If you're going to roll with the whole "infinite number of universes, everything that could possibly and impossibly happen is basically happening in the past, present, and future all at once all the time"... Then by definition, is there not an infinite number of universes where Comstock is alive and well?

I'm just confused as to why they spun the whole infinite-alternate-universes thing, then totally backtracked by drowning Booker in the end claiming that somehow that would wipe out every instance of Comstock in existence. You can't do that because you just finished saying that there are an infinite number of universes where everything has happened in a different manner. That means that there are an unknown number of universes where Booker is dead, Elizabeth is dead, Elizabeth is alive, Comstock is alive, Comstock is a nice person, Comstock is a bad person, etc, etc, off into infinity.

It seems like what they wrote directly contradicts itself on more then one level.

-SC

 

[skottichan]

I'm confused.

I just finished the game, but the ending doesn't make much sense. If there are an infinite number of universes containing all possible variations of everything, then how is it that drowning Booker in one magically fixes all the others?

If you're going to roll with the whole "infinite number of universes, everything that could possibly and impossibly happen is basically happening in the past, present, and future all at once all the time"... Then by definition, is there not an infinite number of universes where Comstock is alive and well?

I'm just confused as to why they spun the whole infinite-alternate-universes thing, then totally backtracked by drowning Booker in the end claiming that somehow that would wipe out every instance of Comstock in existence. You can't do that because you just finished saying that there are an infinite number of universes where everything has happened in a different manner. That means that there are an unknown number of universes where Booker is dead, Elizabeth is dead, Elizabeth is alive, Comstock is alive, Comstock is a nice person, Comstock is a bad person, etc, etc, off into infinity.

It seems like what they wrote directly contradicts itself on more then one level.

-SC

Because in most time travel theories, there's a Prime timeline, and everything deviates from specific points. In Bioshock, the Prime Booker is who you're playing, so when that Booker goes back to his baptism and is drowned before it, all the deviating timelines (either creating Comstock or not) are erased.

This of course, speculates that we don't have any Comstocks that are created prior to that deviation point, but since Anna/Lizzy can see all timelines at that point, she can say with certainty this action will close off those potential timelines.

I still speculate that the post-credit scene is a new Prime Booker, due to the Universe despising a void.

[/COLOR]

It's TEAR FOR FEARS ;-) not Inxs. And when you consider Tears and think of not the crying kind but the portals, then the band name is almost as appropriate in context of this game... Clever developers

Gah, thank you. Not sure how I screwed that up. -.-

 

[anshuvorty]

Also Elizabeth is way too much help. She is always there with salts, ammo and health. As helpful as it was - it felt like I was never really in threat even in a big firefight and never in danger of running out of what I needed.

If you think Liz is too much help, try playing in 1999 mode, this mode is only for the most hardcore of gamers, which sounds like you, try it and let us know how it is...

 

[435713]

Because in most time travel theories, there's a Prime timeline, and everything deviates from specific points. In Bioshock, the Prime Booker is who you're playing, so when that Booker goes back to his baptism and is drowned before it, all the deviating timelines (either creating Comstock or not) are erased.

This of course, speculates that we don't have any Comstocks that are created prior to that deviation point, but since Anna/Lizzy can see all timelines at that point, she can say with certainty this action will close off those potential timelines.

I still speculate that the post-credit scene is a new Prime Booker, due to the Universe despising a void.

So it's one Universe then? My interpretation was that there are "Infinite" #'s (wink) of Universes so each person feels theirs is the 'One'

Kind of felt Nihilistic to me. As in it didnt stop it in all Universes. I never really liked Ambiguous stuff and try to avoid it, but damn that hype train got me. This game is getting better reviews than any other I have seen almost. Little surprising since I felt it would be more polarizing, and the gameplay felt a shade repetitive. Minority for me I guess.

 

[MRU]

If you think Liz is too much help, try playing in 1999 mode, this mode is only for the most hardcore of gamers, which sounds like you, try it and let us know how it is...

Too many games on lots of platforms still to play at the moment - ill save 1999 for a re-visit some day though . I'm not really hardcore (even though I'm a big gamer) but I did find the game overly easy on normal compared to many other games on similar difficulty.

 

[utekineir]

Because in most time travel theories, there's a Prime timeline, and everything deviates from specific points. In Bioshock, the Prime Booker is who you're playing, so when that Booker goes back to his baptism and is drowned before it, all the deviating timelines (either creating Comstock or not) are erased.

This of course, speculates that we don't have any Comstocks that are created prior to that deviation point, but since Anna/Lizzy can see all timelines at that point, she can say with certainty this action will close off those potential timelines.

I still speculate that the post-credit scene is a new Prime Booker, due to the Universe despising a void.

Gah, thank you. Not sure how I screwed that up. -.-

But if you are "prime booker" then how come the twins had tried their experiment a hundred or so times already.

 

[ScottishCaptain]

The prime theory makes no sense when you introduce "infinity" into the equation. If there are an infinite number of alternate universes representing all possible path choices, then it is simply impossible that Comstock was eliminated from all of them.

Why?

Well, how many decisions did Booker make during the campaign at Wounded Knee? If each of those decisions spawned an alternate universe, then it is simply impossible that some of those universes didn't still swing around to the creation of another Comstock. Would it be the same unique Comstock featured in the game? Absolutely not. It would be a slightly different Comstock, who would likely be just as evil as the one in the game (or not, you can't know for certain).

So I still fail to see how drowning Booker defeats Comstock. Lutece said it himself- how would one know how far back to go? You can't know, unless you go back to the absolute beginning (the creation of the universe).

-SC

 

[Valkyre]

Played and finished on the Retina. FANTASTIC game, INSANE graphics (played on Ultra without any problems or any stuttering) and the storyline was INCREDIBLE. Extremely proud of the team for the amount of detail they put into this immersive world.

Hey, could you please specify at what resolution you played on the Ultra settings and how was the framerate? Cause some videos I saw on youtube playing the game on the rmbp, could go to 1080p with medium settings to have a consistent and respectable framerate.

So if you could shed some more light (maybe tell us any customization you did on the settings) I would be very thankful.