Bioshock Infinite is looking lovely. Those who have been able to get to their Xboxes today will have probably already checked out the trailer. For those who are away from their Xbox, or indeed those who don’t have an Xbox, never fear. Because this is the Internet, land of the free, the “exclusive” trailer is already plastered all over every video-sharing and social networking website there is.
So one more site posting it won’t hurt, surely. Take ten minutes out to watch the trailer above.
Unlike the trailer for the original BioShock, which used CG to fake what gameplay “might” look like, this is (apparently, anyway) actual gameplay. And—get this— it looks pretty incredible.
A number of things are immediately striking about it. First up, the draw distance is pretty special. There are several sequences where the protagonist interacts with (or shoots) things that are a considerable distance away. And it certainly looks like a goodly proportion of the game world will be accessible in an “open world” kind of way.
The physics of the player character also look as if they’ve been improved. Rather than gliding around the world like most first-person games, the view in Infinite pitches, and rolls around. During the sequence where the player is sliding along the aerial cables which seem to link the various “islands” that make up Columbia, the view is wobbling around all over the place very realistically.
These improved physics also extend to the environment in general. BioShock had some great scripted moments where the environment would change, collapse, explode. But Infinite looks set to take this to a whole new level. Buildings collapse. Rubble is strewn around. Whole sections of level are destroyed by giant enemies.
Perhaps the best thing about this trailer is that it looks like a pretty seamless transition between “plot” and “gameplay”. It looks like the player will be completely immersed in the game world for the entire time they spend there. And what a terrifying world it looks like, too.
BioShock Infinite may be some time off yet. But if it’s looking this good already, who knows what treats are in store when it does finally hit store shelves?
