BioShock Infinite

BioShock Infinite
File:Bioshock-infinite-logo.jpg
Developer(s)	Irrational Games
Series	BioShock
Platform(s)	Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows
Genre(s)	First person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player

BioShock Infinite is an upcoming first-person shooter video game, and the third main game in the BioShock series. Previously known as "Project Icarus", it is being developed by Irrational Games for a 2012 release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Windows platforms. The game is a prequel to the previous BioShock games, taking place aboard the air-city, Columbia, in 1912, but features many of the same gameplay concepts from the previous games.

Plot

BioShock Infinite is set in 1912, prior to the events of the first two BioShock games. The primary setting is city suspended in the air by giant blimps and balloons, called "Columbia". Unlike the secret development of the underwater city of Rapture, Columbia was proudly boasted by the American government when launched in 1900. Between its launch and the game's events, the city became involved in an "international incident", and the location of the city was soon lost from everyone else. Like Rapture, Columbia is considered a failed utopia, with signs present suggesting a theocracy government taking control at some point. Columbia has been compared to a cross between steampunk and the Star Wars Bespin cloud city. as well as the airships of Final Fantasy settings.

The main character is Booker DeWitt, a former, disgraced agent of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. He is hired by individuals, aware of Columbia's location, to invade the air-city and rescue Elizabeth, a woman that was abducted as a girl and has been in the air-city since.

Gameplay

BioShock Infinite is a first person shooter with role-playing game elements similar to the previous two games. As DeWitt, the player moves about the various structures of Columbia using a grappling hook and other transport means to search for Elizabeth. DeWitt has powers similar to those given by plasmids of the previous games; previews reported powers such as levitating weapons out of foes' hands and electrocuting them. Once reunited with Elizabeth, who also has a set of such powers, the player must work together with her to escape Columbia. However, using Elizabeth's powers also harms her, an action compared to the choice of killing or saving the Little Sisters from the previous games.

Development

Prior to its announcement on August 12, 2010, Irrational Games has used the moniker "Project Icarus" to describe their next game, creating a teaser site in late July 2010. Over the weeks leading to the announcement, the animation on the teaser site slowly built up to a animated infinity symbol on the day prior to the announcement.

According to Irrational's Ken Levine, the team had to revolutionize their previous work on the BioShock game in order to realize Columbia, including both indoor and outdoor settings that take place thousands of feet above the ground.