It seems like the OP answered their own question. I loved the game and it lived up to all my hype. I don't know if you guys know, but Video games are pretty rad.

Different strokes for different folks.

Sorry you don't like it, but everyone I know who's played it feels pretty much the opposite, so... Yeah...

I am not super far into it but I agree with the combat. Not feeling it. It's ok I guess but I loved the combat in the other Bioshock games.

its fucking awesome.

The gaming community's refusal to accomodate contrary opinions holds back the medium and, most importantly, makes gamers look like a bunch of idiots. As long as legitimate arguments are presented, criticism of a game (or movie, album, book, etc.) is never trolling. The biggest trolls are you lemmings who defensively label all critics as "haters" while having nothing of value to offer to any discussion of the game, aside from it being "SO F'N AWESOME DUDE".

Bioshock Infinite is a good game that a lot of people love, and it's being rewarded with big sales. Analyzing where it fell short and where it could have been better doesn't hurt anyone except for you and your foolish pride. Gaming is a relatively new and evolving medium that also happens to make more money than any other form of entertainment. AAA titles deserve thoughtful, even harsh criticism. Sales won't be dented regardless, and game quality will only be improved.

No one in this thread is calling the OP a hater or dismissing his opinions because they don't agree with him. The problem people have with the OP is not that he didn't like the game, but that he presented his opinions in a condescending manner, offered anecdotal evidence that contradicts the actual public opinion of the game, and seems to regard anyone that likes the game as some sort of unrefined plebeian incapable of recognizing a good game.

I think this community is mature enough to engage in actual discussion about the merits and flaws of any game (even ones nearly everyone loves), but this is not what the OP tried to do. He brought mostly nitpicks and flaws that don't exist (has he ever heard of rebinding keys?) and the legitimate complaints he had were buried under a tone of elitist superiority veiled in a thread title "question" he only ever had the intention of answering with an emphatic "YES", as opposed to actually sparking discussion.

It also doesn't help one's argument when in the process of poorly deconstructing why they don't like an extremely well received game, they proceed to name other extremely well received games and dismiss them as terrible (in this instance The Walking Dead and Mass Effect) without giving any real reasons and again using ridiculous anecdotal evidence that everyone hates Mass Effect (really???) and that it sold poorly (again, really???).

I guarantee everyone on this forum is here because they want to discuss video games, but they want to do it in an intelligent manner, and the OP did not do that.

I don't get this argument, the skylines are in like 10% of combat sequences across the entire game. The combat is pretty terrible, enemies are way too spongey and the weapons suck.

I didn't think much of the story until the end, then it gets really cool. The first hour of the game floored me with how damn nice that world is, shame it gets all dark and gloomy later on. Way better at the start.

@milkman said:

Man, I'm going to get a lot of leverage out of this picture the next couple weeks.

*Man, I'm going to get a lot of leverage out of this picture for the rest of time on video game forums.

So tired of the MGS4, GTA IV, etc critics that say games that are well received actually sucked and because a vocal minority says so, no one likes them and never did like them.

I think that the left trigger right trigger complaint is completely valid after 6 years of shooters knowing better than to put scope on right stick click. That control decision is like... having strafe on C-Buttons for Golden Eye and Perfect Dark. Seems fine in theory, in reality it causes you to simply just never use the function in question. That said that is easily remedied by changing the control scheme to the Shooter control scheme which is really nice. Magic on Left Bumper, switch weapons on Y, Switch Vigors on Right Bumper. Takes a little getting used to but once you do it's perfectly natural.

Otherwise I think no, the game is solid and the reaction from critics and folk reflects that. Don't be silly.

That is absolutely what many in this thread have done.

Examples? And I like how you focus on one sentence instead of actually addressing the point of my post. Whether or not people are willing to actively discuss and critique the game can't be determined by the responses to this thread because the OP didn't really present any material worth discussing. Many of the complaints are quite frankly foolish, and the issues presented by and large do not hold up under any scrutiny. An entire paragraph is dedicated to the default control scheme on PC, which is just about the easiest thing in the world to adjust. How is it the game's fault if the OP is too incompetent to rebind the keys?

You can call people that disagree apologists, but the fact of the matter is the OP put forth a very poor argument to justify not liking the game, which isn't helped when he mentions other well regarded games and dismisses them as well. If people get the sense that someone just hates things that are popular and well liked by most people, why would they take the ramblings about this game that is popular and well liked seriously at all?

If we're to have an actual discussion about the game, we need some better examples of areas that the OP feels it fell short. He could talk about similar games he doesn't like, and how they did things better than this game. He talks about Mirror's Edge, Dear Esther, and Amnesia, but those aren't shooters. It comes off as someone that just does not like shooters if those are the games mentioned as being good compared to this game; it's like saying Starcraft II sucks cause it's not as good as Uncharted. Again, it's not the game's fault if it the genre just isn't someone's cup of tea.

It's the poor arguments and apparent dislike for shooters and/or popular games that makes people dismiss the OP, not their fragile egos being incapable of hearing criticism for Bioshock Infnite. Bring a coherent argument with more valid critiques and I guarantee people will be more willing to engage in discussion.

Those are fair points.The machine guns and pistol felt underpowered when I was forced to use them but I rarely did. And the Vigors added the extra punch for me. I think the skylines were used just enough to be exciting when they were there, if every little sequence had them I don't think it would have felt as special. I can see a person who loves precise or realistic shooters not enjoying the combat but this is the type of FPS I like.

It's not that I like "realistic" shooters but RPG'ing one guy in the face 4 times and him still standing just pisses me off. (It was one of the armoured rocket guys)

I'm playing on 1999 mode right now and I'll probably give up soon, I thought medium had bullet sponging but this is truly a joke...

I think it might. It is a very pretty game, with a lot of atmosphere, but in my opinion the writing, especially for elizabeth is embaressingly bad. I rolled my eyes quite often when she and booker had a "heartfelt moment". Maybe it's just me, but it felt way too forced and manipulative. Again, the visuals and attention to detail (barring the clone npc armies) is top class, and the gameplay is pretty good aswell.

@milkman said:

Man, I'm going to get a lot of leverage out of this picture the next couple weeks.

Me too.

@lackingsaint: Wrong that is not what it implies.

@sooty said:

I agree about Columbia getting too gloomy, but I rather liked the combat. Although I wonder if it says something that after finishing Infinite on 1999 Mode, I kinda want to replay BioShock 1 again.

Hrm.

Some people really should just come to grips with the fact that their soul has died and move on.

I admire Infinite far more than I like it. I'm glad to see a marquis title with some bite, but goddamn the game has issues in both its story and gameplay.

I think that Elizabeth is one of the best companion characters ever. Some of the little things she does, not just throwing you ammo and stuff, is unlike anything that any companion AI has ever really done.

I tapped out here, and everything else you wrote seemed pretty fucking stupid as well.

To answer your question seriously though, as if someone normal asked it, I'm sure that this is a game that will be called "Overrated" for years simply because of how discussion hypes up games for most people nowadays. I like to think of the overall enjoyment factor of a game as an ocean. The first wave of people who have no expectations enjoy it so much that they tell the next wave about it. The next wave thinks it's great but not as good as what wave 1 experienced and so on and so forth until we end up with people who are out to prove everyone wrong by saying it sucked completely and wasn't anywhere near as good as wave 1 said it was. This was pretty prominent when the Walking Dead was sweeping GOTY awards, and now it'll probably be seen in full force when Bioshock Infinite will certainly be up for a few awards as well.

See, this is why going into a game fresh is the best experience one can have really, that's where all of the excitement stems from as you beat the game, that's why the initial wave of people who play it enjoy it way more than you do when you play it after it's been built up in your head. So next time, when you don't "get" a game, take a step back and leave all of your expectations at the door before complaining incessantly.

Mind explaining how something can be "overrated" if you don't care to take into account the opinions of others? I bet it'd take some kind of split-personality disorder thing where one of you really likes it and one of you hates it. Same with "backlash"; if you're not reading reviews, what back is there to lash?

I changed to the "COD" controls straight away, LT = Aim, Right Stick = Melee, Y = Change Weapon, LB = Plasmid, RB = Change Plasmid. Right Stick click in for aim is just so uncomfortable.

I fucking love the game, so much detail and sound design in every scene.

I think it has less to do with the quality of the game and more to do with the amount of affection everyone has for the game.

If the front page of r/gaming is nothing but bioshock infinite then people are going to start to hate it, regardless of quality. There are always people that just don't like something, because it just isn't for them and when it feels like everyone is telling someone that they have to like it, they might lash out.

I think it's why when a GTA4 or whatever gets nothing but perfect scores, there are people that just have to tell you that's wrong. The higher the praise the more you have to back up that praise. And eventually you will be worn down or you will move on and then all that's left are the criticisms.

I'm going to say, No. I mean obviously there will be people who dislike the game (ex your post) but i think the game is high quality and the majority will range from loving to liking the game at least.

Personally i loved the game, wasn't a big fan of the combat in the original bioshock (big daddy's were just bullet sponges and boring to fight) but I feel the open space of most of the places you fight in and the types of enemies make the combat more engaging. I think fighting the Handy men in a open area with skylines on hard difficulty is some of the most fun i've ever had in a FPS in my life tbh. The story definitely hinges on you enjoying the characters, so I can see you not liking it if you don't (can't really see why you wouldn't but hey everyone has different taste). Also the gameplay absolutely compliments the story, maybe you just haven't gotten that far into the game?

I think you should finish the fucking game before you try to take a crap on it. I personally was enjoying it but I thought the story was kinda going somewhere stupid, but the ending blew me away and really made me like rest of the game way way more.

Dont. Feed. The. Trolls.

Haven't played the game and I'm not trying to shit on it, but from my outside perspective it seems a little facile.

"Religion: bad" "racism: bad".

I don't think that designing a likeable companion character is meaningful. It is very easy to create a likeable character. E.g. look how emotionally manipulative Clementine from the Walking Dead is as a character. It's impossible to be unsympathetic towards her. (And that's OK, don't get me wrong, but it's also very simple.)

I saw another thread about the game's meta-commentary about how a lot of culture today rehashes franchises with the same constants and different variables, but that's an observation that's apparent to literally everyone. We all know that Call of Duty is mostly the same every year. We all know Iron Man 3 will be "more Iron Man".

The game still seems much more thoughtful and aspirational than most other games, but it seems overrated in that it's praised without context. People say stuff like "the story's great!" without conveying what that really means.

Questions I have: Why is the story so good? What is the game really saying on a non-literal level (i.e. if Jaws is not a movie about a shark, what is Infinite about/not about?)? Is what it's saying original or compelling?

And again, if my observations are oversimplified it's because I haven't played the game yet, so take them with a grain of salt.

Most people won't be able to articulate exactly "why" a story is good, it just is to some people. Your not going to find your answers from others only if you take time out and play the game yourself. I mean it is a game not a movie, games are more about the entire experience and everybody experience will be different (even if only slightly since it's a linear game)

@nicked: You just have to experience it for yourself in order to have a good time with it. If I saw only the ending of a game and read a thread or two about it, I'd have nowhere near the amount of infatuation I would have had if I played through it and experience things for myself.

@artisanbreads said:

@milkman said:

Man, I'm going to get a lot of leverage out of this picture the next couple weeks.

*Man, I'm going to get a lot of leverage out of this picture for the rest of time on video game forums.

So tired of the MGS4, GTA IV, etc critics that say games that are well received actually sucked and because a vocal minority says so, no one likes them and never did like them.

Seriously........ fucking baffles me that those 2 games get so much rearview hate now.

I feel that BS:I is hands down the most overrated and over-hyped game in recent history. That being said, it is still a well crafted game, or should I say, it's one of the best books I've ever played. There is virtually no player choice, it's a rail shooter. And the game has no innovation over previous Bioshock games, or any game. It's a mediocre game wrapped in a great story, and that's all.

The story for Bioshock Infinite was fine. Good even.

But the gameplay was utterly boring compared to previous Bioshock games. The weapons were boring, the enemies were boring, etc. No one in their right mind rates this as highly as Bioshock 2 (a vastly superior game).

Its a well made game, but my god. The ending has the same dumb time travel problems every time travel plot has. The combat feels dated already. It's pretty highly overrated. Good game? yes absolutely. Among the best of the generation? No, i don't think so. If thats "backlash hate" then whatever.

I am only about half way through and I am not a fan of it either. The combat isn't that fun. A lot of the weapons feel underpowered, which could have been remedied a bit if you could carry all of the weapons but you can't. As a result, I find myself walking around with a rocket launcher and a sniper rifle, which is bullshit. The level design feels so blatantly linear compared to System Shock 2 and BioShock, which felt more open. The setting of Columbia is nowhere near as cool as Rapture and I really miss the horror trappings from the older games.

Fair enough if you like it but yeah, I think it's overrated.

Bioshock Infinite is definitely not the masterpiece its supposed to be. I thought it was going to be the next Half-Life 2, and it ended up being just another hype-wagon shooter. Sure, the setting is absolutely gorgeous, but on the PC it stutters like shit and has little to no support. The whole game felt like it had too much filler, and the combat scenarios, unlike BIo 1 and 2, left to be desired.

I think I really loved it the first time through, but my second playthrough really showed me a game that has a lot of flaws and that isn't all that replayable. Nearly two months after its launch, I can say that Bioshock Infinite is far from being a GOTY nominee in my book.

Honestly, I got bored about midway through and quit around the Fink section. He said he wanted to hire me as the head of security, so he was going to send 50 guys after me to see if I could kill them.

A) That is a bad interview process. I mean that is just really, really dumb.

B) I just couldn't do any more fucking arena fights. I had a stack of other games to play, I was done.

Then a month later I came back, switched to easy and cruised through the back half of the game. Really enjoyed it. So I thought I'd be part of the backlash, but the ending, storyline, technical stuff is really outstanding even though I found the shooty shooty part to be pretty lousy, repetitive, annoying. I mean I've got shooter fatigue pretty bad, but still, I just don't think the gameplay was all that. This might be in my top ten, but I see people saying its going to be GOTY and I just think that's nuts honestly.

The ending was a bit confusing and poorly explained, but still a brilliant concept imo. Watching the GB ending analysis was pretty helpful also.

The greatest sin to me is that an overbaked time travel plot-line ultimately muscled the satire out of the game.

@jasonr86: Aren't those called hipsters?

@milkman said:

Man, I'm going to get a lot of leverage out of this picture the next couple weeks.

@ozzdog12:

I barely remember what I had said in this thread. I checked and I don't know. Aren't hipsters pretty chill? They are just kind of obnoxious?

I quite like the game. Way too much combat though.

nope

I understand why people dont like the combat ... I on the other hand loved it , I think the problem relies on the randomness of the gear , but once you find a combination that you like oh man things get really awesome. I guess they should´ve included a skill tree orr equipment tree rather than the randomness , ie my gears lets me score more critical attacks , then when I do huge amounts of damage or critical hits , I stun my enemies with electricity then if I use the crow vigor , with the ability to create traps after killing an enemy , you just melt opossiton in hard difficulty ... so it all depends on your abilities etc. also you guys know you can improve your guns right? Altho yeah I still prefer the old school carry all the weapons type of deal. The spongy enemies makes sense when the combat is like this ... too bad most people just want the more COD type of 1 kill enemies.

@irishdoom: strong this. People underestimate presentation and games with strong presentation can really bring a game up a league. Presentation is more than pretty graphics which is why crysis is completely unexcitinv