Ken Levine Discusses How the Environment Shapes Combat in BioShock Infinite

Irrational Games boss Ken Levine knows that most strategies for survival in the original BioShock ended with the constant use of the Elecrto-Bolt and shotgun; however, he hopes players will see the benefit in using the range of tools available for encounters in BioShock Infinite.

In an interview on the PlayStation Blog, Levine noted that the tight spaces and low enemy count per encounter in the original BioShock made falling back on specific weapons an easy decision. In BioShock Infinite, areas are open and can house multiple enemies--sometimes more than a dozen--forcing players to utilize the game's entire arsenal of weapons and abilities.

"One of the reasons we wanted to really expand the scale of the environment and the number of enemies [in BioShock Infinite] was to create situations where certain tools would have clear strengths and weaknesses based upon what you were up against," Levine said. "There is no perfect combination or an ideal set of tools, and there's going to be a larger variety of weapons and powers."

In the complete interview, Levine delves into the relationship between Booker DeWitt and the mysterious Elizabeth as well as how combat works throughout the Sky-Line rail sections of the cloud-city, Columbia (as spotted in the recent gameplay video released for the game.)