Bioshock Infinite Spoiler Thread

Pages

Bioshock Infinite Spoilers Thread

IMAGE(http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/4994/bioshockinfinite1jpg.jpg)

This is the spoilers thread! Talk about the game, story points and other stuff the catch-all shouldn't have to contend with. Read at your own peril.

Do spoiler tag any late-game stuff for a week or so, please. Or Elizabeth will hit you with the book.

Anyone know of a place that's just spoiled the whole game? I don't plan to play it but am curious about the storyline.

I know only of the end-game spoil-age that has been floating around Reddit et al. I don't think I'm smart enough to try and summarize the ending plotwise but suffice it to say that it will spark much discussion.

Spron wrote:

I know only of the end-game spoil-age that has been floating around Reddit et al. I don't think I'm smart enough to try and summarize the ending plotwise but suffice it to say that it will spark much discussion.

IT WAS ALL A DREAM!

I've only played the first 15m or so, but I'm finding it interesting going over and comparing the intro to Bioshock's, and comparing Comstock and Vox Populi vs Ryan and Atlas. Just how much they're in your face in the world, whether as posters, the slogans that are around and so on.

Here's how to unlock one of the options you don't get until you beat the game

Not sure if that works on PC, but there's probably a .ini setting you can tweak instead

I'm trying to hold back in the main thread. This game is so damn good. ~4 or 5 hours in.

Also wondering if my limited knowledge of American history and historical figures has me missing out on some meaning/foreshadowing... Very much enjoying the twisted Americana style.

I can see some of the themes and scenes in this game will be uncomfortable for some folks in the United States. Enjoying the fact that its fairly mature in its commentary though.

I just realized after the arcade...

"Dimwit" = "DeWitt"

Heh.

I have a few predictions, super major plot spoilers if true:

Spoiler:

Given Comstocks lies about his accomplishments in combat, I'm thinking Elizabeth may not be his daughter, probably is the offspring of the First Lady though? The death of the First Lady could be tied up in this.
Separate point, Bookers 'Anna' from back home, wondering if her race may have some significance given the race issues in game, just a wild hunch.

So far I'm enjoying the combat more than Bioshock, sticking with Carbine and Shotgun, Bronco and Possession. The end result of possessing an Rocket armed enemy... Is about what you would expect. Awesome.
For some funny reason (I tend to do this in RPG games) I'm sticking with the above vigor powers as they seem less dark/booker. I feel like my Booker wants to change himself and (despite killing tonnes of people with guns) wants to take a somewhat nobler path.
On the combat though, the big battle just before departing Soldiers Fields felt a bit confusing to me, too many options and too wide open for such a small umber of opponents? Maybe? Not sure...

Seem to be keeping up with lock picks, though FYI safes seem to only be giving

Spoiler:

cash rewards

Also curious to hear what happens with the earlier game moment if you throw the ball at the intended targets...

Spoiler:

if you didn't, the couple show up later with a small gift

Finding myself getting more and more smitten with Elizabeth. She balances a great line evoking my urge to help her despite her being very strong willed and powerful in her own right.
Also, minor spoiler/hunch

Spoiler:

anyone else get a creepy 'would you kindly' vibe every time Elizabeth offers you money? I assume that is meant to add the feeling that she is helping us and we need her, but just so,etching about the reaction and the sound, I don't like it

Schmutzli wrote:

I just realized after the arcade...

"Dimwit" = "DeWitt"

Heh.

Yep, I thought this too. But that would mean Comstock knowing DeWitt was coming way ahead of time, not just a tip off recently, no? I'm guessing I need to go deeper to figure that one out.

Alright, roughly 12 hours done and I'm still smitten. Found a decent place to let the game sit, as I've got a five day camping trip to attend to. Such poor timing.

I've just

Spoiler:

crashed the First Lady after the return of the Songbird, and Elizabeth has just had a little costume change after her incident with Daisy

Some wonderful twists and turns already. Glad there is lots of shades of grey in the characters in this game.

Major story spoiler for ~10 hours in with my added speculation on top:

Spoiler:

Elizabeth claimed to be a bastard child, which I picked as above, BUT the implication from other character being that Comstock was the father it seems, but I still think the facts were murky/assumed and the revelation may still be as my per my prediction, Comstock not Elizabeth's father

But so far my biggest curiosities are with the impact of these tears and who this mystery couple is that keeps aiding us.
So many great moments already, I'll be pulling my hair out not being able to play this game for five days.

Mini review, with a critical end game spoiler:

Spoiler:

Looper, am I right?

troubleshot wrote:
Schmutzli wrote:

I just realized after the arcade...

"Dimwit" = "DeWitt"

Heh.

Yep, I thought this too. But that would mean Comstock knowing DeWitt was coming way ahead of time, not just a tip off recently, no? I'm guessing I need to go deeper to figure that one out.

Spoiler:

My best guess is Comstock knows a WHOLE LOT about what's coming, for a long time. Remember the barbershop quartet at the beginning singing The Beach Boys? Telegram to NOT pick the winning baseball, #77 (probably Comstock trying to alter history)?

Some other things: 7th cavalry at Wounded knee, 77 on the baseball, 727 on something, I forget what. EDIT: His badge on the loading screen, his Pinkerton number.

And this HAS to be the first video game that dealt with menarche as a plot point.

mr_n00b wrote:

Mini review, with a critical end game spoiler:

Spoiler:

Looper, am I right?

I'll be departing this thread pretty soon. How long did it take you to complete, did this include 'smelling the roses' or just pushing straight through?

It took me about 11 hours. Early on I was very meticulous about investigating every nook and cranny, but soon you encounter large portions of the game that are linear with little to no branching off the beaten path. The best you can hope for are the occasional locked door that you need to lockpick, random tears with anachronistic* music, audiologs and cypher books. Clearly I didn't get 100% completion on these items but I consciously decided to chase them whenever I encountered an open arena where it felt like exploration would be fruitful.

Schmutzli wrote:
troubleshot wrote:
Schmutzli wrote:

I just realized after the arcade...

"Dimwit" = "DeWitt"

Heh.

Yep, I thought this too. But that would mean Comstock knowing DeWitt was coming way ahead of time, not just a tip off recently, no? I'm guessing I need to go deeper to figure that one out.

Spoiler:

My best guess is Comstock knows a WHOLE LOT about what's coming, for a long time. Remember the barbershop quartet at the beginning singing The Beach Boys? Telegram to NOT pick the winning baseball, #77 (probably Comstock trying to alter history)?

Some other things: 7th cavalry at Wounded knee, 77 on the baseball, 727 on something, I forget what. EDIT: His badge on the loading screen, his Pinkerton number.

Bungie had nothing to do with this game, though...

I've been sitting on this for a bit, but regarding the racism shown in the game and some of the themes explored up until leaving Finkton.
Could it not be construed as anti American or a damning commentary in that this 'nation' appears to be built on religious zealotry, slave labour and immoral industrialisation?
Am I way off track here? Perhaps, not being American I'm seeing the canvas underneath as the subject when it was only intended as the setting.

troubleshot wrote:

I've been sitting on this for a bit, but regarding the racism shown in the game and some of the themes explored up until leaving Finkton.
Could it not be construed as anti American or a damning commentary in that this 'nation' appears to be built on religious zealotry, slave labour and immoral industrialisation?
Am I way off track here? Perhaps, not being American I'm seeing the canvas underneath as the subject when it was only intended as the setting.

I don't see it as an 'anti-american' game, although I do think many elements are designed to resonate with and edify an American audience.

The idea is to take the worst facets from various eras of American history (including present day) and hoist them up for the player to reflect on. Its like the designers did a mind experiment: what if we took the most exaggerated forms of American exceptionalism (its cults, Founding Father worshipers, patriots to a fault, etc) and put them all in one city in the clouds? What can that scenario tell us about America as a nation, its proclivities, strengths and weaknesses?

I don't think it is supposed to be the 'story' of America in 1912, or a condemnation of America's history in general -- although it may introduce some of the more grisly aspects to an unsuspecting audience. It is more a pointed reminder NOT to derive the wrong story from history, as Comstock and others do, while highlighting the particular ways Americans are susceptible to historical revisionism. It is hard to judge history within the context of its own time, and this game really highlights the discomfort associated with that, as I think you are experiencing.

I also don't see it as anti-American because I think Bioshock as a series has always celebrated Americana, while at the same time condemning the consequences when American idealism tips over into utopianism. As with all games in the series, Infinity explores the tension between ideology and the outcomes of ideological behavior. It is sympathetic to the causes of extremism (Vox Populi) while remaining ambivalent about the solutions, avoiding the temptation to over-simplify society's problems that leads to ideology in the first place. So I don't think it can be construed as simply against anything, except the suffering of the normal person, and perhaps humanity's ongoing impulse to fall in love with simple solutions. American history is particularly rich with utopian sects, especially with religious undertones, and between Rapture and now Columbia we have two contrasting images to play with, which is awesome. I think your initial assumption was right - the setting very much is the subject.

I'm frankly in awe of how Americana is worked into the cloth of the game. Every instance is pitch-perfect (on the level of O Brother Where Art Thou). Like the baptism at the beginning or-

Spoiler:

the woman singing CCR's Fortunate Son anachronistically as Vox Populi burns down Columbia.

.

Schmutzli wrote:

I also don't see it as anti-American because I think Bioshock as a series has always celebrated Americana, while at the same time condemning the consequences when American idealism tips over into utopianism.

I like this, that seems to work for me.

I'm such an idiot. Got that spoiler when I hit the quote link... I think ill sign off this thread officially now till I finish. Which will be a week away. Ugh.

Its so great that gaming has matured to a level where it can broach these topics and provoke these kinds of discussions in this manner.

I finished it (this is the sad way I spend my spring break). I have many questions about the ending. I loved it, but man. Questions. I'll probably wait a few days to let people with actual lives finish it too. Big one though:

Spoiler:

I get the Looper bit with Dewitt, but who are the twins? Did I miss something at the end there?

Twins spoilers:

Spoiler:

They're not really explained through the main narrative, at least as far as I can tell. The audio logs and various other tidbits reveal that the Lady is this BioShock's scientific genius, Rosalind Lutece. She's behind the mechanics that allow Columbia to fly. Since the Gentleman, her "brother", is never mentioned by anyone but her (I think), it's assumed he is another version of her from another universe (I don't believe this is actually stated outright, though). The reason they can seemingly appear and disappear at will, is because after certain machinery is sabotaged (ordered by Comstock), Rosalind Lutece is killed, but now exists in every possible universe simultaneously. It also unites her with Robert, because the same thing happened to him, I guess? I need to listen to her Voxophones again.

That's what I've pieced together from my experience in-game and reading stuff online. I could be entirely wrong, obviously. It's been known to happen.

Schmutzli wrote:

And this HAS to be the first video game that dealt with menarche as a plot point.

I'm a little ashamed that I had to look up the word menarche. But then, as a male, that's always been "icky".

Hyetal wrote:

Twins spoilers:

Spoiler:

They're not really explained through the main narrative, at least as far as I can tell. The audio logs and various other tidbits reveal that the Lady is this BioShock's scientific genius, Rosalind Lutece. She's behind the mechanics that allow Columbia to fly. Since the Gentleman, her "brother", is never mentioned by anyone but her (I think), it's assumed he is another version of her from another universe (I don't believe this is actually stated outright, though). The reason they can seemingly appear and disappear at will, is because after certain machinery is sabotaged (ordered by Comstock), Rosalind Lutece is killed, but now exists in every possible universe simultaneously. It also unites her with Robert, because the same thing happened to him, I guess? I need to listen to her Voxophones again.

That's what I've pieced together from my experience in-game and reading stuff online. I could be entirely wrong, obviously. It's been known to happen.

You're partially wrong:

Spoiler:

They have a video of the brother noone knew about arriving in Columbia. There's also an audiolog where they talk about them playing telegraph with each other across the multiverse, and the trauma of him reconstructing his memories when he first crossed over is touched on in logs, and the very end. So they definitely met up before Compton tried to clean house w. regard to Elizabeth.

I figured I had that wrong. Thanks for clearing that up.

Maybe someone can help answer the last significant question I have about the game (big ending spoilers):

Spoiler:

I didn't catch any motive for why the Luteces would help Comstock steal Anna. Anyone?

Took a lot of self control not to hit the spoilers on my way down the page. I'm not quite all the way through yet - just met Vox Populi. Turning subtitles on gave me a pretty big hint to what I think the ending might be, something I probably wouldn't have picked up on otherwise.

Spoilering my ending conjecture:

Spoiler:

When the rowers emphasize 'doesn't' as in "He *doesn't* row" is when it clicked. I'd seen some of the marketing that showed the anachronistic songs, and combine that with Elizabeth's ability to manipulate and create tears tells me that Lutece and her partner are the villains and have seen Booker's experience in Columbia play out many times before. It feels like they have the ability to jump between timelines, but are doing so randomly until they find one where Booker gives them Elizabeth for

So I just finished it up, it was AMAZING!!!

RE: the twins

Spoiler:

I got the impression from one of the voxophones that some kind of accident caused the brother to be lost in the multiverse (something about her missing him and looking for a way to find him again, and in her final message mentioning that she'll see him again soon).

I don't play too many games these days, and I'm glad I made a last minute impulse buy about 10 hours before it was released.

Anybody know how to get in here:

IMAGE(http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/1082262203029071124/3CCD9CEF01502922006662076440FC85E906C380/)

It's to the right of Lady Comstock's tomb.

The more I think about this narrative, the more I realize it will take at least another replay to grasp it fully.

For instance:

Spoiler:

The whole existence of Columbia is based on a vision that Comstock saw of an "angel" showing him the future and giving him ideas. By the look of the statue of the angel Columbia and his description...this is obviously Elizabeth. But why would Elizabeth - even an alternate universe one - want to encourage Comstock to do so when it inevitably leads to another Elizabeth suffering terribly? My brain hurts.

I am actually thinking about running through on Easy to get a hold on things like that.

kuddles wrote:

The more I think about this narrative, the more I realize it will take at least another replay to grasp it fully.

For instance:

Spoiler:

The whole existence of Columbia is based on a vision that Comstock saw of an "angel" showing him the future and giving him ideas. By the look of the statue of the angel Columbia and his description...this is obviously Elizabeth. But why would Elizabeth - even an alternate universe one - want to encourage Comstock to do so when it inevitably leads to another Elizabeth suffering terribly? My brain hurts.

Spoiler:

'This has already happened' is a recurring message. I think Elizabeth was trapped at the point of her becoming all knowing at the end. When DeWitt-Comstock dies at the end only one Elizabeth remains - the one in the dress.

I've found a very well explained spoiler of the ending and parallels, etc.

WARNING! FULL SPOILERS AT THIS LINK!

http://www.reddit.com/r/Bioshock/comments/1b4fmx/my_detailed_ending_explanation_my_attempt_at_the/

Pages