First things first: I thought this was an amazing game. It's beautiful to look at.
Seriously, look at it. It's incredible
It's a brilliant world and easily as engrossing as Rapture from Bioshock. Of course, Rapture's enclosed dark settings were meant to drive up the atmospheric horror and tension in the game. Tension, as it turns out, is not so easy to create when you've got wide open spaces and clear blue skies. As such it's hardly surprising that this game is not a survival horror like it's predecessor and more of a...huh. I suppose first person shooter would be the most accurate, but calling this an FPS would be on par with calling a song of ice and fire a fantasy novel. It's technically entirely accurate, but fails to do justice to the scope of the work.
The actual fighting aspects of it are nothing special, and are certainly not top quality compared to the cavalcade of shooters out there, but that's not this is about. This game, and the bioshock series, is all about a philosophical point. Bioshock had the Atlas Shrugged business going on, this one has american exceptionalism and the racism that was inherent in that.
This is how the world sees America
And that's why this game is great and leaves an impact on people, rather than just being forgotten once you've finished it. Well, that and the fact that it turns out you're trying to kidnap your daughter from a crazy you from an alternate universe...wait, what? I can't be bothered to explain it because it just gets more confusing if you don't explain it right. So, instead if you haven't played it go out and play it and see what I mean
Also, look out for these two. They're the best.
So, this game is fun and sure it has it's drawbacks such as the most insane difficulty curve when it comes to enemies (Lady Comstock I'm look at you!) and definitely play it.
Theory time!
It's like Adventure time, only with less adventure. Though it still could be mathematical! Anyways, through the game you're pursued by the Songbird: A large metal bird/man hybrid which protects Elizabeth.
He's kind of a big deal
Through a voxophone you learn that he was created in a similar way to the big daddy's, by blending machine and man in an irreversible process. Now, it's never stated which unfortunate soul is turned into Elizabeth's jailer and truth be told it could just be some random dude, but I think it was in fact...Booker Dewitt. Yes, the hero himself. The reasoning is simple: Booker get's the key with the bird on one side and a cage on the other, later you choose a choker for Elizabeth with one of those two symbols on it. But, much like the heads and tails of a silver dollar, it's the same image from two perspectives. The bird is the cage. It never referred to Elizabeth, but instead to Booker. A man who is free only because he doesn't realise he is trapped. Forced to right his wrongs by fighting and killing and dying.
But that was more of a digression. The main thrust of the argument is 3 points. 1. Death by water brought to you by Elizabeth. So, Comstock, Booker, and Songbird are all killed by being forced underwater; twice directly by Elizabeth and once while she looks on. 2. He stops you. He always stops you. Old Elizabeth explains how you never freed her because the songbird would always stop you. Now, this is flimsy, but still, he stops you because he is you. You can't think up a course of action that he can't anticipate. 3. The mark of the false prophet. In the game everyone on Columbia knows the false prophet by his mark, the letters "AD" carved into the back of his right hand. The thing is, how do they know it? When Comstock kidnapped Elizabeth Booker didn't have that mark. So, what? Comstock perved on an alternate version of himself? Or maybe, when Comstock found out he had to create Songbird he opened a tear to another world where Booker had given his child to another Comstock and kidnapped him. He sees the AD on his hand and knows that Booker will have that mark.
His nose doesn't bleed when Songbird dies because the songbird Booker isn't native to that universe, and your Booker hasn't been to the universe he is native to, so there is no link in memories. Also, the idea of there being another comstock who kidnapped Elizabeth doesn't invalidate the game, as the ending showed there are lots of her.
Wow, that was long and boring right? Wrong! That was so entertaining your mind couldn't handle it and you had to pretend it was boring. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I'd also like to say that since this game I now have an entirely heterosexual crush on Troy Baker, who also voiced Joel in The Last Of Us.
He's appearing next in your dreams
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