Fanciful utopias? Mystical powers? Mass murder? It’s easy to see that the BioShock series has what gamers crave. As these rabid fans return to Rapture in the brand-new Burial at Sea DLC, we at Gamers Heroes take a look at the original BioShock’s world…and how it has the slightest edge over BioShock Infinite’s Columbia.
Big Daddies
Mowing down waves of general mooks is a good warm-up, but sometimes you need to up the ante and fight against something a little bit bigger. The hopping Handymen of BioShock Infinite offer a fair challenge, but the Big Daddies of BioShock leave a much bigger impression. Combining high speeds with a massive drill, encountering one in Rapture always promised a fight to remember.
A Morality System
Gamers like to be given a choice, no matter how small. The Little Sisters dotting the pipes and hallways of Rapture were one such choice, wrapped up in a cute little shell. Do you harvest these little girls for their Adam, or do you do the right thing and set them free?
It might not have amounted to anything more than some power-ups and a different ending, but it added more…humanity to the game, more so than BioShock Infinite’s populated world of Columbia.
You Can Carry More Than Two Guns
Question: If BioShock Infinite’s Columbia was supposed to be the land of the free, why does it only allow its citizens to carry a maximum of two weapons at a time?
The original BioShock did away with this handicap, allowing its denizens to carry as many weapons as they wanted from the Power to the People vending machines — more than I can say about BioShock Infinite’s Minuteman’s Armory.
A Better Environment
Traversing BioShock Infinite’s skies in the floating city is great…when you’re actually peeking outside. Most of the game is spent in rooms and areas that would be right at home on terra firma. Some of the more unique things the city has to offer (like rail lines) simply go around in a small circle.
However, the underwater city of Rapture in the original BioShock manages to have a unique style from beginning to end. Even simple areas like doctors offices and bars ooze that 1960s-era charm.
A Better Twist
Both BioShock and BioShock Infinite pack a twist worthy of M. Night Shyamalan, but the original handled it with far more panache. Without spoiling too much, the original BioShock wrapped things up nicely, while BioShock Infinite found a loophole to continue the story for an infinite amount of time.
Hey wait…
