For once, I am anticipating this game. I'm usually in the Yahtzee camp of "assume it will be shit" but this game intrigues me. It looks like it'll be an good change from the underwater city of Rapture.
I'm prone to vertigo, so I'm not sure if I'll enjoy this game. I don't like platformers for a similar reason. Death by falling just kind of confirms my irrational fears. That said, the directions they're taking this game seem interesting.
While the star of Bioshock games have always been the environment, and this looks like a winner, here they're adding dialog and characterization. I'm not sure how well that will work. Jack was a blank slate the player could project whatever they wanted upon, or nothing at all. Booker DeWitt does have a voice for more than the occasional scream and grunt that allows him to trade verbal jabs with other characters, primarily Elizabeth, the Princess Peach of this game. Yet another princess in need of rescue.
However, they're trying to make Elizabeth more than a goal with cleavage. She's able to help DeWitt with her powers as well as trade dialog/provide exposition. So she'll be a sidekick who'll probably need to be re-rescued from time to time. Also her powers seem to take a lot out of her. This will probably end with a heroic sacrifice on her part. I hope my powers of clairvoyance didn't spoil it for you. If they do this right, this could go down as one of the great video characters/relationship. If not, it will be just yet another failed attempt at that. But the trailer shows that are reaching for that brass ring, so kudos to them for trying, at least.
The environment deserves re-mentioning. What I liked about Bioshock was that the city of Rapture felt like a credible metropolis even though it was just a series of video game levels. It was an illusion that this was, in fact, a living, breathing city (now in ruins) that elevated Bioshock to the top of my game shelf.
Bioshock Infinite appears to be doing the same with the flying city of Columbia only moreso. They appear to have people wandering about utterly ignoring DeWitt as people in a city might do, giving a greater impression that they have lives. The Splicers in Rapture seemed to have nothing better to do except wait for Jack to show up and shoot them in the head from behind. This might not effect the game as much as it seems, but if all the citizens of Columbia are not instantly hostile, this will enhance the feel of the game.
My previously-mentioned powers of clairvoyance also predict there will be some controversy over the nature of Columbia. Wikipedia says it's steeped in jingoism and racism. Overheard dialog referred to "coloreds" which have been missing from Bioshock games now that I think of it. Probably because they're too smart to get involved in a utopia that fails because it is founded upon flawed political ideals. in any case, I predict some will make a mountain out of this molehill with certain terms being thrown about by game characters, completely ignoring that it's mostly the bad guys using such terminology. But hot button topics do nothing if not create controversy where none needs to exist.
As for the gameplay itself, this is difficult to judge. Early in the first Bioshock, the interactivity was greatly reduced to good effect. It slowly built up as you played the game. The clip may be early in the game, but it can't be too early as Elizabeth recognizes DeWitt. So what we may be seeing here is mostly "interactive cinematics" sort of like in Half-Life where characters converse while the player is free to run around the room, jumping on the furniture like a monkey until the dialog reaches a point where the player needs to approach a character and press a button. The video may be part this, part actual gameplay but the person playing knows where to go and what to look at, so they made it look too good to be real gameplay. But it's hard to tell without playing it myself.
Overall, i am anticipating this game more than any other. It's worse for me because my computer could barely run the first Bioshock, so I'll need an upgrade before even trying to play this one.
