Gamers examine first-person shooters

David Chambers and Sam Boyd

BIOSHOCK: INFINITE by David Chambers, web editor

There isn’t much I can say that hasn’t already been celebrated by this first-person shooter adventurer. Read no more past this sentence if you want a cut and dry answer: play it. Breaking from its previous two canonical installments, Bioshock: Infinite takes place in the same universe and shares a few of the same recognizable elements.

Pros:

+ The story is a modern masterpiece. Without revealing too much about it, it is the kind of title that makes me proud to know and understand quantum physics.

+ Visually, it delivers a new color palette compared to other major shooters. Vibrant in all meaning of the word, it’s really nice to mix up from the regular pastel hues that have grown all too common. It doesn’t push the limits of the graphics, but rather focuses on making the game as beautiful as possible, something I wholeheartedly agree with. The score is otherworldly and helps the experience all together.

+ It delivers on all points as for as the genre goes and much, much more. With a new rail system existing through the surroundings, it adds a delightful vertical element that I see missing from far too many titles. Some of the more hardcore RPG elements in the game have been toned down, and while still existent in basis, it would have been nice to see a return of the gun upgrading system from the previous games.

Cons:

– The only thing negative about the game may be that I expect the same quality from anything coming out of Irrational Games. You too will want to spend more time in Columbia than in real life.

 

CRYSIS 3 by Sam Boyd, sports editor

Crysis 3, once again following main character Prophet, does an excellent job of following up the massively successful Crysis 2. The campaign on this sci-fi shooter is slightly above average, and has the same twists of a story like Call of Duty. But the multiplayer is the real highlight of this game: either being frustrating or genuinely awesome.

Pros:

+ The characters can do much more than commonly found in other first-person shooters. Whereas Call of Duty and Halo are just guns and knives, Crysis 3 combines those characteristics with the ability to do parkour. Now I can jump on top of a traffic pole and jump down on top of unsuspecting enemies. I’ll die, but I sure do scare the guy.

+ The “Hunter” game mode is arguably one of the most intense and entertaining game modes ever. Never has a game twisted my emotions so much as this one. You can go from being happy that you killed the hunter one moment to crying that an arrow hit you in the back of the head.

+ Not only are there guns, but also bows and shields. There is something rewarding about getting a kill with the bow and arrow and then proceeding to throw a heavy shield at somebody. Some call it barbaric, I call it creative.

Cons:

– The controls can be difficult to learn since they are different from the typical first-person shooter. Crysis 3 is fast paced, so you can miss opportunities if you do not know the controls. Many times I could have stomped a bad guy, but I didn’t know the button and died.