The Glade 4.0

Err, okay. Make me be more specific. The "equippable" hand-wavy magical powers. I'm generally down with the "magical talent is something you're born with and can learn to use with practice and training" fantasy trope. The "I found a magic potion and it gave me designer superpowers" is only tolerable to me when dressed up in a self-deprecating comic book tone, though. And even then, it really bothers me when somebody with newfound amazing powers can instantly control and use them naturally and subconsciously. Total immersion breaker.

Dunno why, it's just how I'm wired. I dislike potions in fantasy settings, too.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

So do I, but for different reasons. I always save the damn things for some unforeseen emergency later in the game, which never comes. Then, when I'm in the endgame, I'm wishing I either used them or sold them back when I could have used the money.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

OMG I love it so.

I've been hearing great things about this game. As much as I'd rather not drop another $60, I just might need to. Grrr. If I can just hold off for several months, that price will drop dramatically.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtR59jmdrXM

First hour for anyone who is curious, but don't want to bite yet.

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"...the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?" -Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

This. I'll probably grab it on the Summer Steam Sale

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Plus they'll release some GOTY edition or something that includes any of the expansion content.

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I wanted to beat the game last night... but when you look at the clock and you realize it's 2am and you've already failed a big encounter three times... *sigh* Stupid job.

I only got a couple of hours of playtime in last night, but I'm bloody loving it.

There's a moment near the beginning (the raffle) that is so shocking well-written and paced that I've been gushing to friends all morning. Just phenomenal.

I wish there were more moments like that, with the actual civilians of the city. Unfortunately your experience quickly shifts to that of seeing/fighting rebels, police or supernatural enemies 99% of the time. Sometimes you'll come across a lone person scared in a room that you can't interact or converse with in any way. There's a lot of missed opportunity in making Columbia seem like it's actually living and breathing. Instead it just comes across as a floating Afghanistan where the population never knows if they're going to see tomorrow.

I caved...

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Ok, I want to get this now.

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Holy shitsnacks!

My only real gripe is the save system...it's amazingly bad...

This game would be abyssmal without Elizabeth. With her driving the narrative it is epic. Never experienced an NPC character who is so completely well done and so integral.

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The ending was pretty spectacular.

Yours is not the only reaction of that type, Lenas. My Twitter feed this morning was rife with extremely positive reactions (it appears most people I follow finished it yesterday).

I'm pretty strenuously avoiding spoilers, but would appreciate knowing about where I am in the game. Could someone take a look at my progress and just let me know what percentage of the way through the game I am?

Spoilers, obviously, for anyone who hasn't played it yet.

75% or so.

OK, cool. I'm going to try to finish it tonight then. If not tonight, then tomorrow. But I see coffee in my future.

I can't even confirm it because guides aren't out yet, lol, but yeah I think you only have like two or three big sequences left.

Edit - You know, let's say you're 2/3rds through. I did all of that stuff in one sitting but I realize now it was a longer-than-average sitting.

Edit 2 - If you're playing on hard, you're in for a few pretty rough sequences. I'll admit, I kicked it down to easy for the very last fight. I freakin failed it 6 times, and restarting it is rough. Although in the end I think I was just going about things wrong.

I just finished this game on hard. Holy balls. This game isn't flawless, but I think it does earn the right to call itself a masterpiece.

I'm definitely going to have to do this again on 1999 mode and try to pick up all the things I missed, not just in terms of the voxophones and such that I failed to find, but elements I missed in context with the ending. Some of the foreshadowing is obvious enough that I picked up on it the first time around even though I didn't really grok what it was about. Some of it is really subtle and I'm not even quite sure what to make of it yet.

For instance:


**** me sideways.


Considering the "balls to the wall" direction they were clearing aiming for with the combat in this game, I did better than I thought I would. But yeah, I got my *** handed to me several times in several fights: The first handyman fight, the graveyard fight, and the last fight were all pretty brutal. As for the last one, success does seem to be pretty dependent on strategy.



I have to say that the +melee range and melee stun gear make for a pretty hilarious combo, especially if you pair it up with the +health on melee kill gear and the undertow vigor.

The first time around, I maxed out shields first, then salts, and finally health. For my next run on 1999 mode, I think I'll follow a 2 salt, 1 shield template instead. I don't think I used vigors nearly enough or as effectively as I could have. And in general, salts seem to be more plentiful than specific ammo anyway. Ostensibly 1999 mode limits your funds severely enough that you really do have to focus on just two weapons, and you probably won't have enough cash floating around to restock on ammo at a vendor as I had to do from time to time. I can't decide what weapons to focus on, though. Maybe the handcannon and...something else.

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

I found a handy infographic to help explain stuff for those of us that have beaten the game.

MASSIVE SPOILER - Seriously, stay away until you've beaten it.

Some of the fights are significantly easier with a sniper rifle than any other weapon choice.

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Random thoughts:

• The Beach Boys are oddly compelling as sung by Columbia's gayest quartet.
• Favorite moment in Bioshock Infinite: finding a hotdog in a mailbox. I don't even.
• Comment from another forum: "It's like someone took the works of H.G. Wells and Donnie Darko and put them in a blender"

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.