Herein I review the game Bioshock Infinite and its two DLC extensions, Burial At Sea Episodes 1 & 2. I mostly eschew gameplay (it is a typical first-person shooter with some small variety) in order to focus on the storytelling and character elements in the game. I look at the major characters of the game, important elements, and notable settings and evaluate what they tell us about one another/themselves and how they fit in the overall story. And while I find much to laud in specific memorable moments of the game, the overall storytelling in Infinite and its DLCs leave a lot to be desired. Much of it is contradictory, nonsensical, vague, ill-defined, caricaturistic, and out of character for those involved in the events taking place. The game is enjoyable and playable. It even flirts with some grand ideas. But ultimately it has plot holes big enough to drive a semi-truck through, which brings the entire experience down.
Tag: Andrew Ryan
Bioshock, Ayn Rand, and the Horrors (?) of Objectivism
I am not an Objectivist (which should be obvious to anyone who has read any of my other articles.) But I have studied it in order to understand it. And I am constantly annoyed by the multitudes who have not and yet have very loud and very pompous opinions on Objectivism and Ayn Rand. In the video game subculture, there is no game widely held to be a definitive commentary on the “true” nature of Objectivism than the 2007 game “Bioshock.” There is only one problem with this belief: From start to finish, including all the lore, at no time is anyone in the game an Objectivist nor is there any time in which Objectivism guides the people in the story. While the game is magnificent in many ways it is an absolute failure as a critique of Objectivism. Here is the definitive explanation of why it fails so badly.