I appreciate Bioshock 1 for art and setting but did not really like the story much or the gameplay. I liked those parts of Infinite as well and then enjoyed the story and gameplay more for sure. That's the best one to me.

Of course I skipped 2 so make of that what you will.

Infinite, the pacing was great and I loved the world it created. Fun combat, great art, and grand creativity throughout. It also did what I hoped the original would do, where you actually play through the downfall of the city.

Bioshock 1 felt so monotonous to me after the initial hour or two of wonderment. To the point where I never even bothered with 2, and didn't buy Infinite til 6 months later.

@csl316: Yeah good call on getting to see some of the society. I really enjoyed those parts of Infinite as well. Very good flavor to add to the world. Bioshock 1 was much more one note.

Fuck Bioshock Infinite.

Fuck you!

@fatalbanana: Be kind!

EDIT:i had to vote for a game in the poll to be able to view the poll so i was thinking about choosing bio 1 or 2..couse i think both r awesome, i love both 1 and 2 AS THE SAME!

@iamsowanted: You saw what he said.

@fatalbanana: Saying "Fuck infinite" isnt offending anybody,so lets all be kind here

My gut reaction was to say Bioshock because that game came out of nowhere and had such a profound impact on me but I think Infinite is better. I had sky high expectations going into Infinite and it exceeded them, everything about that game clicked for me.

@iamsowanted: Yeah I'm just joking. I apologize, even though his opinion is wrong.

I came to Bioshock in 2011 rather than 2008, and whatever magic had been there was totally lost on me. It's a loud, messy game with dismal enemy variety, only one and a very poor one at that boss fight, tiny corridors that made it feel less like Atlantis and more like a sewer and an annoying plot where you're trying to get from one point to another the whole time except the walls keep crumbling and blocking your path. The twists in the story had little effect on me because so little of my character was established, but they still all hinged on my character. Even when the art was pretty, what it portrayed were these shitty, shady metallic little buildings. It's also very easy. It was my first FPS game, and I never died once until the escort quest at the end when one of the Little Sisters got hurt. I'm not a big fan! Only part I liked in particular was the Big Daddies roaming around peacefully until attacked, and the massive weapon/powers wheels you were given.

I never bothered with 2 because it seemed like more of the same.

I played Bioshock Infinite the year it came out and liked that a lot more. The story actually takes place in the present instead of mostly happening in the past, and the characters will often talk to you face to face instead of over audio logs. Even when they won't, they are regular humans and not odd crazy people. Even the main character is a person this time around. That got me a lot more interested in their story than anything in the original. The art design portrayed beautiful, open sky cities and colorful buildings. Combined with the rails through the air you could actually move around on, that made it feel like a much prettier and fun place to move around and have shooty action in than anything in Bioshock 1. Best of all, they removed(or did they change?)the noisy turrets you could hack so they didn't annoy me anymore. The plot lost me a little once they changed alternate realities halfway through. They removed the big weapon wheel too, unfortunately, and they had the gall to make the final boss a damn tower defense. The part with the ghost was a pain. Most of the human NPCs have an uncanny quality if you look too closely at them. Most problematic, I actually like shooting melee dudes more than I like shooty action against other gunmen, with a regenerating shield. But for the most part I enjoyed my time much more with Infinite than 1. For all of my little frustrations along the way, it was an interesting ride.

Bioshock 1. It's the only one I come back to once per year to replay. It's one of my top 10 games of all time.

2 had some gameplay improvements but it definitely wasn't as interesting story-wise.

I haaaated Infinite. It played well but limiting me to two held weapons, arena-style combat encounters, and a story that I was just not interested in killed it for me. I had to force myself to finish it.

I almost voted for Bioshock 2. I really liked how that game improved on the original, particularly with dual-wielding. And the Minerva's Den DLC was fantastic too. Forced to choose one or the other, however, I guess I'd pick the original. That first visit to Rapture was just so incredible, and it's a game that I've gone back and played several times over.

Infinite was just ok, in hindsight. I didn't like how so many of the gameplay elements were dumbed down or removed altogether. No hacking? Only two weapons at a time? It was fun, but not as good as the first two games.

Infinite wraps everything up in such a cool and interesting way. Its the best one.

Infinite is the only one I really liked. Bioshock is cool and all, but I'm not a big horror guy and I wound up hating the aesthetic. I think seeing Rapture in its prime might've done more for me, since Infinite let you see Columbia before it all went to shit and it had some of the most gorgeous art design I've ever seen in a game.

Plus that background story of the guy stealing pop music from the future and writing old-timey showtune versions of it was so good.

Bioshock Infinite. Loved the others too.

Infinite for me. I like the setting in the first Bioshock but the gameplay is atrocious and the environments get less interesting in the last third of the game.

Infinite on the other hand had competent gameplay and it had better music, characters, story and setting.

I'm going to spoil stuff in this comment, just so you know. The first Bioshock, but I like them all. Bioshock 2 and Infinite are as superb as one another, but not as good as the first for different reasons (which can be summed up with Bioshock 2 is too similar, Infinite isn't similar enough). Going through the collection now, and playing them back-to-back, I may (or may not) end up rethinking that thought for once, though not in the sense that Bioshock is worse, but that Infinite is for once better, perhaps as good. To me, what makes the first Bioshock such a masterpiece, aside from its great story, and the way it deals with its themes, is just Rapture. For me, going back to Rapture was great, but that mystery not being there as much made two not as special a game. Infinite on the other hand didn't give me what I expected, which was again, focus on creating the environment a character. They did that a bit, but it wasn't quite as much of an emphasis; the focus was put more on the story of the great characters, and the reveal in the end about the multi-verse.

To me, the end quote could have been 'just another city'. Everything about the events of the first Bioshock, revolve around Rapture; basically nothing of the issues, like race, or political and religious views, with the characters, actually matter that much. To me, it was like saying 'look at this interesting stuff, buy heeeey! It's just another city where shit happens!'. It looked pretty, and it was interesting, but the fact the multi-verse hung over it, and everything fed into it, it disappointed me, despite loving the multi-verse part of the story. I was already not being as immersed into Columbia as I was Rapture (partly, or maybe entirely due to the fact I didn't feel like I was exploring as much of Columbia as I did Rapture, where it felt more linear), and the end told me why. The other stuff I disliked was the enemy placement. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I was expecting more of the same with Infinite, just much, much improved, and it's not what I got in a major aspect.

I've played through them multiple times, but finally, being about to play Infinite in the best possible way (well, visually), and going through them back-to-back so I can instantly feel the similarities and differences (even though they're all, always clear in my memory), I may enjoy Infinite more now. Bioshock 2 is perhaps a better game if you look at it as one with the first, rather than a standalone, because while two doesn't bring the mystery as much, which is the reason as a standalone it's not as good, it can be seen as an extension of the first Bioshock, and you're just unraveling more of the story and history of events in Rapture. Overall, I love them all, but the first is the most transcendentally immersive experience of the three, and one of the most of any game I've ever played.

Skipped two, but I'll probably go back to it when the remaster thing comes out since I already own it on PC. Obviously 1 and Infinite are fantastic games, but I voted for 1 simply because it was such an incredible game for the time. I hardly remember much about it now that it has been so long, but I do remember just being sucked into that world and story.

Infinite. That game made me shake it was so engrossing, beautiful, emotional, and fun.

Bioshock 1 is an imperfect masterpiece as well. The last boss of that game really soured the experience though. Boy did that game not need a last boss.

@jjbsterling: I'm interested to hear why you had such a reaction to Bioshock Infinite. Could you explain some of your issues?

Infinite's the only one I finished, although I'm planning to give the first game a second shot. The story wasn't great, but it was fun to play and looked fantastic from top to bottom.

i havent and i should play 2 but i had to vote for bioshock infinite. still one of my favorite gaming experiences, haters be damned.

@redhotchilimist: good point, didn't think about how infinite handled the storytelling differently. i probably agree it's more captivating to actually be experiencing things firsthand, though i still think the first does a terrific job with atmosphere and setting.

Bioshock 2 told a beautiful, human story and had moral choices which actually paid off in a way that didn't feel cheap or unearned. Minderva's Den is also part of Bioshock 2 and it's a wonderful story as well. Also a big plus: Bioshock 2 doesn't completely shit the bed in the last third like Bioshock 1 and Infinite do.

Up until a couple of months ago, I would have said Bioshock over Infinite, but now I think I may have to change my answer. My Dad is getting into gaming and wanted to play through it recently and let me tell you, as awesome as that game was when it came out, and as cool as it still is narratively, actually playing it feels dated. Like, really dated. More so than other older games I've played. The movement speed feels slow. The aiming is kludgy. The game never really ran that well on 360 to begin with but it feels even further behind the curve than I remember it being. Plus that shitty hacking mini-game and enemies that went into bullet sponge territory pretty quickly (also - "Circus of Vaaallluuuue HAHAHAHAHA!).

It just isn't a great experience. The story stuff is still cool as hell, but with the controller in hand I was constantly trying to remember why I thought it was so great.

Infinite is easily my favorite even though I feel that the story loses a little something once you start jumping through the tears, there's a feeling of personal disconnect with the events going on but I can overlook that in interest of the time travel/multiple dimension nature of the story which I still liked a bunch.

I enjoyed Bioshock 1 but boy that game really drags after the Atlas/Fontaine reveal

While Bioshock 2 was undoubtedly more of a product of business, I really really enjoyed the way that game played where you had plasmids on one hand and Big Daddy weapons in the other. The dual wielding worked great. The drill was especially a lot of fun with upgrades and the like. I think it played the best out of all three games.

Story wise.... ehhhhhhhhhhhh. Which is arguably something people have a larger focus on when it comes to Bioshock games, so I would understand if it's the odd man out in this contest. Still, out of the three games I had the most fun with 2. Which surprised me a whole lot back when I wrote about it a few years ago.

BioShock 2 is easily my favorite game of the bunch. I know it's the black sheep of the three, spawning as some Frankenstein's monster from the cold, calculating, ever present hand of business. But this game plays and feels so damn well in the story mode that a lot of the shortcomings such as justification for its existence, doesn't bother me. It was awesome to play as a Big Daddy. It was awesome to use the Drill on enemies, especially when you get the dash move. It was awesome to dual wield with plasmids. All the weapons felt like they meant business, especially the double barreled shotgun and heavy machine gun.

I also found the Big Sister boss battles legitimately terrifying as they're incredibly fast and armed to the teeth with plasmid abilities and such. The lead up to a fight them is also really good as they shriek and make it clear that 'oh shit, they're coming for me' and you should probably get ready. The fights with the other Alpha series were also really good. Timing a melee strike to stop them charging always felt good. One thing Bioshock 2 really nailed, I felt, was combat. You even had a reason to use trap Plasmids to protect Little Sisters, provided you bothered collecting ADAM with them.

It was also nice that everyone had a unique character model from Tannenbaum, to Sinclair, to Poole, to Eleanor and Sofia Lamb. It felt like Bioshock 2 was way more polished than the first game, even if it struggles to justify its place in the universe. I remember having zero interest when this game came out, and I'm kinda sorry I didn't try to check it out then.

LoL, careful. I've had comments removed for less. I was supposedly being "passive aggressive", :P

Infinite was my pick. Better pacing, fun gun play and environment interactions (well, mostly melee), and fantastic story.

I'd probably still go with Infinite over Bioshock 1, though I think they both have their share of problems, the popularization of "Audiologs as easy storytelling device" being one of them. Infinite has a better emotional core to it with Booker and Elizabeth, and I even mostly like the way the plot goes up its own ass at the end with all of the meta-meta multi-dimensional nonsense. There's some stuff I don't much care for (the false equivalency problem of "Hey guys, the rebels are just as bad as Comstock. Get it?") and even then I remember having problems with some of the combat encounters and weapon/ammo management stuff. I'm not sure I like it as much in hindsight, but it's still a great game.

The first Bioshock is also a great game, but I think it becomes a tad less impressive once you remember that its big twist was lifted straight out of System Shock 2 and everything that happens after that big twist is super boring, culminating in an ill-advised final boss fight. Also, you can totally play like 80% of that game just running around with the electrobolt and the wrench, just like Jeff always mentions.

Infinite was the only one where I didnt enjoy the actual playing part at all (too bad because everything else was really great ) and I can barely remember a single thing that happens in 2 so Bioshock 1 it is. Im getting the collection in the mail today so we'll see If my opinion might stil change. I've probably finished Bioshock 1 four times before , Bioshock 2 twice and Infinite only once.

Never played 2, but Infinite is just an absolute fucking mess of a game. All of the combat is just endlessly tedious and the story stuff is like someone read the classic "good things and bad things" Dril tweet and thought it was serious. So Bioshock 1 by default.

Infinite, loved the theme, the story, and the combat was much improved. I liked the first game at the time but couldnt finish it and could never get back into it. Never tried the second

I think the first Bioshock is the more important game, but I prefer Infinite in regards to story and gameplay and setting. Also the DLC for Infinite was fantastic and would have loved to have a few more episodes of it.

All the games are flawed in their own way, with Bioshock 2 oddly being the most well rounded of them all. In the end, I'd say Bioshock 1 is the best, followed by 2, and Infinite is that game that had a lot of promise but ended up being a largely meaningless mess.

My answer as to why Bioshock is my favorite, and why I think it's the best, is pretty simple actually. It was the first real exposure to atmosphere and strong narrative in gaming for me. Prior to Bioshock, games to me were just like Call Of Duty, Zelda, or Pokemon. Don't get me wrong, those are all great games (well, COD hasn't been that great lately), but Bioshock not only showed me that video games could be so much more than just gameplay, it did it in a goddamn phenomenal way. Infinite and 2 were both great games, but they didn't have the same impact on me as the first, or the same impact on video gaming as a whole. And yes, I know Bioshock isn't the first atmospheric narrative-ly strong game, but it was my, and many others' first.

Never enjoyed 1 or 2. I literally started the original 5 times over several years, but stopped playing it every time, out of boredom. I finally managed to finish it out of spite. Had a little easier time with 2, but it never really hooked me either.

I loved every blessed second of Infinite.

Infinite vs Bioshock 1 is kinda like the Aliens vs Alien comparison. Though Infinite is a refined gameplay experience with a more expansive story.

Bioshock 2 is just more of the first game.

@colonel_pockets:I'm seriously not in the mood to be very eloquent about it and I could probably rant for hundreds of more words than this, so I'm just gonna fire off just a few of my issues with it. Also, spoilers, but honestly who cares.

The combat is such a gargantuan step back compared to the other two games. The guns are boring and unimaginative and the enemies are all cookie-cutter beyond a few Handy Men and a brief interaction with the Boys of Silence.

Elizabeth is waifu-bait and not a good character, her arc is garbage. In fact, no character at all is worth getting invested in. Booker is a generic mysterious asshole, Comstock might as well be the boogieman for most of the game, Songbird is literally flying wasted potential, the Twins are maybe interesting until you discover anything about them.

The world is interesting to look at but useless to explore. Unlike the previous two games where each level is a unique area to wander and discover, Infinite is linear and filled with useless and non-consequential interactions.

The story as a whole is useless. It feels like an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Ken Levine feels like he needs to pull a fast one at every turn and it becomes exhausting. As others have mentioned the "aren't both sides of the argument bad lol," is bullshit. All the dimensional/time travel stuff made everything feel like a waste of time (most of the game's issues stem from the alternate dimensions, actually).

Here's the big one for me, It retroactively tries to go back and re-contextualize Bioshock 1 (Burial at Sea also does this, which is a whole other can of worms, Burial at Sea might be my least favourite thing I have ever had the misfortune of playing. When I say Fuck Bioshock Infinite, FUCK Burial at Sea ten times more than that).

It fucking bothered me how they went back and tried to mess with the original game and tried to shoehorn all these new assholes into the old game. It felt like they were trying to retcon the original Bioshock and, regardless if that was the actual intent or not, it drove me nuts.

There is absolutely NOTHING Bioshock Infinite does that the original Bioshock (or Bioshock 2 to a lesser degree) doesn't do better. I'm not looking to have any Hot Discourse™ with anybody about this. The game sucks.

@jjbsterling: Wow. You feel really strongly about this. I love Bioshock Infinite (except for the ghost fight; fuck that) and disagree with just about everything you said, but I can see where you are coming from.

Bioshock 1 is the best and Infinite is the worst.Bioshock 2 is much like 1 but slightly worse and Infinite is nothing like Bioshock, it is not worthy of the Bioshock name. I never liked it because it put too much focus on the combat which was never very good and it lacks any atmosphere that Bioshock had.

@jjbsterling: Fuck, BioShock Infinite!

@jjbsterling: I like you, you seem like a cool dude. In other words I agree with your points and I could add a bunch on top about the less thought out gameplay systems Infinite has comparatively to 1 and 2 and the absolute failure to contextualise gameplay elements in the world elegantly in the way that Bioshock 1 did.

I would probably have been more into it if you could actually see and move around in the ocean more. In Infinite, you can pretty much always see the skies, and have a special way to get around them unique to that game. Bioshock 1 establishes Rapture well, but because it's such a clammy, submarine-like place with no gameplay mechanics tied to the location being underwater(unless you're counting magic sea snails as the origin of plasmids or one of the enemies wearing a diving suit) I just couldn't get into it. The intro sequence wasn't enough for me.

Uuurgh, that was one of the things I was talking about when I said "noisy". The shop starts laughing, the turrets start whistling, either a person talks over the radio or an audiolog starts playing, some automated message on loudspeakers rings in the background and all the splicers start yelling.

I like the story and setting of Infinite the most, but I had BY FAR the most fun playing 2 so my vote goes there. It's a smartly refined version of the gameplay foundation of the first game. I never understood the specific praise for Minervas Den though, I could not tell you what that was even about, it's as much of a blur story wise as the rest of 2. 1 was better in that regard, but failed at some key points so to me it's an overall worse experience than the other games in the series.

This, so much this. The opening of Bioshock is incredible. There are fish and a giant whale and a huge city in the ocean, its fantastic. Then pretty much most of the game is spent exploring small cramped tunnels and rooms. Most of the actual levels are pretty boring

Well, last generation I only had a PS3, so not only I came to the party far too late (also, Brad spoiled the twist for me in a podcast), but the PS3 port is pretty abysmal. Not bad enough to make me dislike the game, but I had to put some effort on my part to look past the issues into the cool world they created. The reveal of the city was one of the best moments of the last generation.

I played 2 later on, and while it is better as a port and from the gameplay perspective, a lot of it felt tackled on. Bioshock 1 was such a closed and complete experience, the setting didn't really allowed for many of the characters and changes they introduced in 2. To be fair, I don't blame 2K Marin for what they did... they had a difficult task and they did far better than anyone could hope for; but there was no way they could match the impact of the first one.

I played Infinite the moment it came out, and loved it. The setting, the gameplay, some of the final moments... it was a great game with a lot of fresh content. Sure, the ending has its issues, but it is still something we have not seen a lot of before (or after). It was one of my strongest candidates for GOTY.

My favorite part of Infinite was the Buried at Sea DLC, so I am going to have to say Bioshock 1