It was around the dining table in a ritzy central Auckland hotel room that I recently got the opportunity to preview Irrational Games' much-anticipated Bioshock Infinite.
Game previews traditionally consist of a level or two of the game, usually the best levels the game has to offer, but I waslet loose on the first four hours of Bioshock Infinite, free to play and explore as I saw fit.
Set in 1912, the game is based in the fictional floating city of Columbia. It's a beautiful, idyllic setting, alive with people going about their business. It is a mixture of classic Americana and fiction so well crafted that it almost comes across as a believable snippet of history.
You play as Booker DeWitt, an ex-Pinkerton agent charged, well, forced to track down a girl named Elizabeth. Why? Booker isn't entirely sure, but what is certain is that Elizabeth has unique powers that a lot of people are interested in.
Booker discovers a dark side to this floating paradise and through regular hints that could easily go unnoticed - such as a barbershop quartet singing a Beach Boys' song, a Cyndi Lauper tune on the beach and Tears for Fears somewhere else, you could be forgiven for thinking that some kind of time travel is involved later in the game.
Bioshock Infinite is laced with tongue-in-cheek humour and swings from serene and relaxing settings to intense fire-fights, all while keeping you on your toes with a general feeling of uneasiness. It's released on March 26 and, even this early on, looks to be one of the best of 2013.
