Bioshock Infinite making big claims about ending

[Ross Scott]

I saw this at PC Gamer and it definitely got me thinking:

 

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/12/07/bioshock-infinite-ending-is-absolutely-different-to-anything-youve-seen-in-a-videogame/

 

They're saying the ending to bioshock is different than anything I've seen in a videogame. That's a big claim. While I love System Shock 2, I wasn't taken in by Bioshock, I thought I might skip Bioshock Infinite because of that, but a statement like that almost sounds like a challenge. I've seen a lot of interesting endings in videogames. Here are a few that come to mind:

 

-Ending where you were helping the bad guy all along and didn't realize it / betrayed

-Ending where you were the bad guy all along and didn't realize it

-Ending where it was all a dream

-Ending finding out the whole thing was a simulation

-Ending to a murder mystery where the murderer is not found

-Ending where you become as bad as the person you were fighting / you become corrupted by the power you're using

-Ending where the protagonist murders the love interest

-Ending where you put yourself back in extreme danger for no damn reason at all

-Ending where you go back in time and kill yourself

-Ending where you commit suicide (without time travel)

-Ending where you take over the world

-Ending where you take over the world then hold a heavy metal concert with your minions

-Ending where you pass the buck to some random side character who screws things up

-Ending where you transcend into a higher being

-Ending where the whole world transcends into a higher being

-Ending where you kill everyone important and have anarchy

-Ending involving alien abduction

-Ending undoing everything you did via time travel

-Ending creating a paradox and a split timeline

-Ending where you're trapped in a delusion

-Ending where the bad guy wins, but it's not really that bad, just not great

-Ending where you are tortured horribly forever

 

 

I'm sure there's potential for some un-used game endings, but it's not a lot. I don't think I've seen an ending in a videogame where you de-evolve into nothingness, only in movies. Feel free to post any thoughts on this. Also I haven't played Mass Effect 3 (or 2) yet, but I know its ending is infamous (and don't know what it is), so maybe use the spoiler tag if you want to talk about that. Feel free to post other crazy endings you've seen not listed here.

[Pinkie Pie]

Mass Effect 3 talk. Nothing really spoiler-y but hidden just in case.

From what I understand, Mass Effect 3's ending is a lot like Deus Ex's ending if internet commenters are to be believed. (Deus Ex doing it better, apparently) And from the preview images I've seen on Youtube of Deus Ex's ending, they do look similar just from that alone, I guess. The reason ME3's ending is so infamous is because of how bizarre a turn it took compared to the rest of the series, and all the plot holes and inconsistencies that accompanied it.

 

 

As for the ending of Infinite being unique, I can't help but feel a little cynical seeing as how this is the same dev team that argued against people for thinking the lead woman wasn't 'hot enough'...and then changed her design, anyway. That and the fact that I've been through my fair share of false promises when it comes to videogames. But who knows?

 

Of course, the fact that it may very well be something we've never seen before doesn't mean that it won't be bad. I admit, I'm not much of a Bioshock fan (played a little of the first one, was interesting but never got around to buying it) so I don't really have any expectations, I'm just hoping it doesn't turn out like crap. Between ME3 and apparently ACIII, we don't need anymore bad endings to popular franchises.

[Chuckthe2nd]

One theory is that when they say "Different than anything you've ever seen in a video game", he means in a purely visual sense. For example, (this is just speculation):

 

They might have managed to pull off some kind of spectacular gameplay sequence in which the entire city is falling from the sky, disintegrating as it hurtles downwards; this leaves you trying to run through the collapsing city (which is entirely in freefall), jumping from chunk to chunk of falling rubble and between segments of remaining Skyhook rail, all while being assaulted by floundering enemies making a final attempt at bringing you down (literally); this all being because you're trying to save Elizabeth before the city hits the ground or some shit.

 

That would be something unbelievably hard to pull off from a visual and technical standpoint, and as long as they got it to work, could be a highly memorable sequence that "no one has ever seen the like of before".

 

That's most likely not the real ending, but it's an idea.

[Kirkreng]

I'm with Chuck on this one. They most likely don't mean the overall vague idea of the ending like the ones Ross suggested, but rather mean something more specific.

 

But then again, Notch could say the ending of Minecraft is unlike any other game and be right. Marketing-esque claims like these should always be taken with a large spoon of salt.

[Collective Foal]

I actually don't agree with Chuck on this one. I think they might be taking the multiple ending approach, but there will be an insane number of endings that you can have, all of them determined by large and small factors, some of them not even significant enough that you'd notice. I don't know though.

[Chuckthe2nd]

That's another good idea. Wasn't there some other big-name title in recent years that had one of those "half a million endings" things?

[Ross Scott]

One theory is that when they say "Different than anything you've ever seen in a video game", he means in a purely visual sense. For example, (this is just speculation):

 

They might have managed to pull off some kind of spectacular gameplay sequence in which the entire city is falling from the sky, disintegrating as it hurtles downwards; this leaves you trying to run through the collapsing city (which is entirely in freefall), jumping from chunk to chunk of falling rubble and between segments of remaining Skyhook rail, all while being assaulted by floundering enemies making a final attempt at bringing you down (literally); this all being because you're trying to save Elizabeth before the city hits the ground or some shit.

 

That would be something unbelievably hard to pull off from a visual and technical standpoint, and as long as they got it to work, could be a highly memorable sequence that "no one has ever seen the like of before".

 

That's most likely not the real ending, but it's an idea.

Bulletstorm more or less had all this, including a rail system way the hell above the ground. Also while not the ending, No One Lives Forever had you in the sky in freefall where you have to hijack someone else's parachute to survive. NOLF 2 had you fighting inside a trailer that was flying through the air in a middle of a tornado. To be clear, the quote from Ken Levine is "I can tell you it is absolutely different to anything you’ve seen in a videogame."

[Chuckthe2nd]

Well then.

 

Yeah, I doubt it will be all that phenomenal, but I still expect it to still be pretty darn good considering Irrational's track record for fantastic visual spectacle in their games.

[The Hamburglar]

I don't have faith in Ken Levine honestly. When what a lot of people consider to be his masterpiece is a shot-for-shot remake of a better game it's hard to trust in a guy. Although I'm not going to go in expecting much from the story, I think the gameplay would still be pretty enjoyable.

 

Also I have to ask, what did everyone find so appealing about BioShock's visuals? I thought everywhere in the game looked exactly the same; murky green rooms with leaking water. Only later in the game did they mix it up by turning the environments reddish orange.

okay now i'm gonna take a guess at a few endings in Ross' post.

-Ending where you commit suicide (without time travel) (Silent Hill 2)

-Ending where you transcend into a higher being (Deus Ex)

-Ending involving alien abduction (Silent Hill)

-Ending where you are tortured horribly forever (I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream)

[Kirkreng]

Also I have to ask, what did everyone find so appealing about BioShock's visuals? I thought everywhere in the game looked exactly the same; murky green rooms with leaking water. Only later in the game did they mix it up by turning the environments reddish orange.

 

I guess you skipped Arcadia and Fort Frolic.

[The Hamburglar]

Also I have to ask, what did everyone find so appealing about BioShock's visuals? I thought everywhere in the game looked exactly the same; murky green rooms with leaking water. Only later in the game did they mix it up by turning the environments reddish orange.

 

I guess you skipped Arcadia and Fort Frolic.

Oh yeah, Fort Frolic had Sander Cohen going for it. Nothing still stood out in that level to me.

[Obsidian]

Eh, I have a feeling these claims are going to fall flat when the time comes. As long as the ending is good for once (what do life and Bioshock have in common? All the endings suck and there's no replay value), I'll be happy, but I'm not expecting an ending to end all endings. The first two Bioshocks were fun rides while they lasted, and that's where my expectations are for Infinite.

 

Also I have to ask, what did everyone find so appealing about BioShock's visuals? I thought everywhere in the game looked exactly the same

 

You can replace "Bioshock" here with any other game title in recent years and still have it be true. I can only think of a few games that don't fit here, but those had environmental mash-ups that felt schizophrenic or the reasons for the environments felt forced.

[The Hamburglar]

Eh, I have a feeling these claims are going to fall flat when the time comes. As long as the ending is good for once (what do life and Bioshock have in common? All the endings suck and there's no replay value), I'll be happy, but I'm not expecting an ending to end all endings. The first two Bioshocks were fun rides while they lasted, and that's where my expectations are for Infinite.

 

Also I have to ask, what did everyone find so appealing about BioShock's visuals? I thought everywhere in the game looked exactly the same

 

You can replace "Bioshock" here with any other game title in recent years and still have it be true. I can only think of a few games that don't fit here, but those had environmental mash-ups that felt schizophrenic or the reasons for the environments felt forced.

i dunno, Unreal had an absolutely unique and one of a kind environment design that i haven't seen in any game since.

 

oh wait recent years.

 

okay yeah you've got me stumped. In Human Revolution, if you get the mod that removes the piss filter, the game does have some interesting cyberpunk designs going for it.

[HLPrincess]

...It must involve sex change operation that's the only amazing thing that comes to my mind!

[Chuckthe2nd]

...It must involve sex change operation that's the only amazing thing that comes to my mind!

What the fucking fuck are you talking about; how is that relevant?

[HLPrincess]

...It must involve sex change operation that's the only amazing thing that comes to my mind!

What the fucking fuck are you talking about; how is that relevant?

 

 

It's a type of a game ending I've never seen (and I'm pretty sure no one has used) and in the same time, the most "amazing" one I could think of.

[Pinkie Pie]

She does have a point, I've never seen that in a game ending before.

 

Not that that would be a *good* ending, but unique, if anything.

[Collective Foal]

-Ending where you are tortured horribly forever (I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream)

 

I think he meant physical torture... so I'm not sure about that one.

[lonesomedrifter]

-Ending where the protagonist just goes "Fuck it, I don't really give a shit."

[Obsidian]

...It must involve sex change operation that's the only amazing thing that comes to my mind!

 

Wasn't that kind of how the bad ending of Bioshock 2 went? XD