'BioShock' Takes to the Skies

As much as I loved the original 2007 BioShock, I could never bring myself to purchase its sequel, released earlier this year. I’d heard good things, but the general critical consensus was that it was well crafted, but it was essentially a retread of the first game. Now, if you’re aiming to rehash a game, BioShock certainly provided a great template: it was fun, engrossing, looked amazing and provided a great deal of story without force-feeding it to the player. I welcomed a return to the underwater dystopia of Rapture, but part of me wanted something new and fresh for the follow-up that would justify shelling out another $60. Fortunately, Irrational Games’ BioShock Infinite looks to be exactly what I was waiting for. After all, what better way to freshen up the franchise than by taking it from the depths of the ocean to the clouds?

BioShock Infinite takes place in 1912 in the airborne, hyper-patriotic American city of Columbia. Gaming blog Kotaku reports that Irrational—which did not develop BioShock 2—has been working on this project since wrapping up the original BioShock.

Although it takes place prior to the first game, Irrational’s creative director Ken Levin does not consider it a prequel.

“I don’t want to think about that,” Levine told Kotaku. “I don’t think it’s particularly constructive to have that conversation.”

But, like in the first game, BioShock Infinite transports the player to a crumbling would-be utopia. Levine describes it as a symbol of turn-of-the-century American Exceptionalism.

“This is not a floating world’s fair,” he said. “Columbia is a Death Star.”

Consider my interest piqued. Click here to watch the trailer.