I’m all for maintaining reasonable expectations for unreleased products (games, movies, books, albums, etc.). But sometimes, something just looks so damn good that it’s impossible to be reasonable in creating your expectations of it. For me, Bioshock Infinite is one such product. Admittedly, I’m an unabashed fanatic of the first two titles; in fact, Bioshock currently ranks very highly on my list of all-time favorite games. So, yeah, I’m expecting Bioshock Infinite to blow me away.
Developer Irrational Games knows that people are dying to get their hands on this game. In their quest to create a product that meets (and hopefully exceeds) fan expectations, they reached out to the community to see what we were hoping to see in the game. In response to what gamers wanted from Bioshock Infinite, Irrational Games created “1999 Mode.”
Die-hard fans of the original Bioshock may remember the masochistic “Brass Balls” achievement, which required players to play through the game on the hardest difficulty without using the Vita-Chambers, the devices that would resurrect players upon death. 1999 Mode will probably make “Brass Balls” look like a tutorial. And 1999 Mode isn’t just a change in difficulty; it’s a complete overhaul of the way the game works. No big deal.
I’ll leave the full press release below, but players can expect 1999 Mode to introduce not just a harder difficulty setting but also more emphasis on play style, resource management, and player’s decision making.
Back in December, there was a survey from us here at Irrational to better understand how you play games. We had a hunch about a new feature forBioShock Infinite, and we built this survey to see if it’s something that our fans wanted. The results of the survey are in and we heard what you want loud and clear, which is why we’re proud to announce something new for the game: 1999 Mode!
BioShock Infinite’s 1999 Mode will feature an especially demanding gaming experience, forcing you to examine your decisions while going through your adventure in Columbia. With every choice you make, there are irreversible implications, and if your choices guide you down a path not suited to your play style, you will suffer for it.
It’s not simply a matter of adjusting the difficulty sliders in the game – the team went much further than that. Resource planning? If you’re to survive this mode, proper planning will be crucial. Combat specializations? You’ll need to develop them efficiently and effectively throughout the story; any weapon will be useless to you unless you have that specialization. Combat? You will need to carefully target every shot, and your health will be set to an entirely different baseline. Game saves? Well, yes, there will be those, but according to Irrational Games Creative Director Ken Levine “there are game saves, and you’re gonna f***ing need them.”
“We want to give our oldest and most committed fans an option to go back to our roots,” said Levine. “In 1999 Mode, gamers face more of the permanent consequences of their gameplay decisions. In BioShock Infinite, gamers will have to sweat out the results of their actions. In addition, 1999 Mode will demand that players pick specializations, and focus on them.”
Source: Irrational Games
Expect more Bioshock Infinite coverage from us in the months leading up to the game’s release.
Tags: 1999 mode, bioshock, Bioshock Infinite, comic booked, irrational games, ken levine, Kyle Black
About the Author
Written by Kyle Black
This is going to be AWESOME! THANKS Kyle!
I’m all for a challenge. It seems kind of intimidating though. Either way the game looks amazing!