But Will BioShock Infinite Be Worth Playing A Second Time?

6 responses to “But Will BioShock Infinite Be Worth Playing A Second Time?”

1. 

   Cal

   August 10, 2011 at 6:58 am

   Well it seems one of the obvious answers is that there are clearly choices you can make during the game which effect at least the immediate action. I wouldnt expect Mass Effect levels of narrative divergence though

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   1. 

      Awnshegh

      August 10, 2011 at 8:22 am

      I’ll take that one step further and say I don’t want that level of divergence. The first bioshock gave you 1 choice with regards to the storyline. It did not affect the overall arc of the story or the wonderful twist.
      A choice on how to tackle a level – ala Deus Ex – will get me playing 2 or more times. Playing through a second or third time just to see different endings just annoys me.

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   2. 

      mattroe

      August 10, 2011 at 9:19 am

      I *hate* diverging stories. I feel like I have to play game over and over just so I can see the different endings, it becomes a chore.

      I agree with Chazz. The best way to make a game have replayability is to just make it fun. You don’t have to rely on gimmicks.

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2. 

   Chazz

   August 10, 2011 at 8:23 am

   I found the first two games so much fun that just playing through them again and again was still fun even if the differences in each playthrough are slim to none.

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3. 

   THXultra

   August 10, 2011 at 10:02 am

   Higher difficulties is good enough for me, Bioshock really comes into its own on hard and really makes the game that much more epic!

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4. 

   Stu

   August 10, 2011 at 12:27 pm

   Definitely have more choice when it comes to levelling and the abilities you can have equipped. Much as I love Bioshock, by the end of the game you had pretty much all the gene tonics and plasmids, so which ones you buy first is the only real choice. By the end of the game, no matter what order you buy your abilities, you have everything. You always end up strong.
   Making the levelling trees more “exclusive”, like in Deus Ex, would justify multiple playthroughs because you’d always be forced to play in a completely different style.
   For example, making your character stealthy, and only having access to abilities which are in line with that, would be completely different to deciding early on that you want to be strong and good with heavy weapons. Infinite’s environments and gameplay seem to allow a greater scope of choice when approaching a battle, and having that reflected in how your character levels would change the way you play with each playthrough.
   Multiple endings etc I’m not worried about, because Bioshock’s story alone would justify playing through more than once. If you had more choice as to HOW you play through, I’d be happy to smash it out three or four times on different difficulty levels.
   Having the element of Elizabeth being affected by your choices would also hugely broaden the possibilities for combat.
   I’ve finished Bioshock probably four or five times, and even though I deliberately focused on different abilities each time I always found it was a remarkably similar experience. I found what “worked” combat-wise and didn’t deviate from that regardless of what I bought at the Gatherer’s Gardens.

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